I’d like to introduce y'all to a concept I call “method composing”. It’s like method acting. But for composing. So here, for example, I’m setting a poem by Galway Kinnell called “Oatmeal” to music. It’s about oatmeal. But how do I know what notes to use? Does oatmeal demand serial technique? No, friends, it demands cereal technique. That’s right. I’ve made myself a bowl of oatmeal and placed it on top of my sketches. By alternating between bites of oatmeal and setting lines of text, I’m certain that I will come up with the perfect musical expression of Kinnell’s poetry. N.B. Instant Quaker Oats TOTALLY work. Come on and give it a try!