Notes

Male betta fish are surprisingly aggressive for their small size, and will attack any other males (and often females) in their vicinity. Despite their belligerent behavior, bettas are usually very beautiful and innocent looking to the human eye. This poses a really interesting juxtaposition of ideas in my mind, since we generally think of them as these tiny, colorful, harmless pets to keep in our homes. From the perspective of the fish, however, protecting territory daily is an arduous and dangerous task. This piece attempts to bring these ideas into the realm of music – mixing very serious, intense material inside the context of a sporadic and playful, sometimes melodious soundscape. The whole thing is meant to be loud and aggressive yet almost a bit silly, not unlike the personality of my own pet betta, Biff. Biff is written for and dedicated to my good friend, Jake Simons, who has known and admired Biff almost as long as I have.