[From a 9-part handout for my introductory composition class.]
8. I think my idea has run its course. Now what?
8.1. There are at least three models for how composers see their roles:
- Master of the Universe model (AKA the "Control Freak"). Some composers see themselves as "masters" or "controllers" of everything they compose. They make a plan for the piece, and they use their skill and mastery to make the music follow the plan.
- In Touch with the Universe model. Other composers adopt a more mystical approach; there are countless potential musical ideas floating around out there, waiting to be brought to life by a composer attuned to them. This kind of composer sees her role as the medium through which some of the infinite thematic possibilities can be given the spark of life.
- Sometimes the Master, Sometimes the Mystic model. This is perhaps where most composers find themselves. Sometimes a person may feel a sense of mastery over their craft, while other times they feel like they are caught up in something bigger, like riding a wave, hoping to go along with that wave for as long as they can.
8.2. Once an idea has run its course, the way in which you see your role as a composer will likely determine how you proceed.
- If you see yourself as the Master of your music, you are likely to have made a plan before beginning; when your idea has run its course, you simply follow your plan and move to the next stage.
- Those who prefer a more mystical/intuitive model might choose to listen to the musical idea repeatedly in order to determine where it "wants" to go, or if it has said all it needs to say.
8.4. Sometimes (frequently, in my case) we get stuck because our composition is not turning into the kind of piece we had in mind when we started. Perhaps we had intended to write a fanfare, and we discover we are actually writing something with a more subdued, soulful character. Or perhaps we were asked to write a short, relatively easy work for a friend, and what we end up writing is long-ish and rather challenging.
There is no simple solution for this, but options include the following:
- Stop the piece you are writing and start over;
- Continue the piece you are writing until it is finished, and accept that it won't be as planned, although it can nevertheless be a good composition. Once finished, you could perhaps then begin a new composition that is more in keeping with the original plan; or
- Determine where your plan began to go awry, and fix it from that point onward.
- How much time do you have? An imminent deadline might call for option 2, unless you're not very far along in your piece, in which case option 1 may be feasible;
- More generally, the percentage of your composition that is complete is an important factor to consider; if you're almost finished, then option 2 would likely be most practical, for example;
- How catastrophic is the problem? If your perception is that the portion of work completed thus far is basically garbage, you need to step away, clear your head, and reevaluate this perception. It may be that abandoning your piece and starting over (option 1) is the best course of action, but it would be wise to seek a second and even third opinion before choosing this option, because it is also possible that at least some of what you wrote is salvageable, or that you're just having a bad day where your frustrations are colouring your perception. But sometimes starting over works really well; I have had experiences where the "do-over" resulted in a much easier composition process, with ideas that just seemed to flow more naturally and with less effort.
- What is the purpose of your composition? If writing for film, for example, you may not have the luxury of option 2; your job is to evoke the mood or character that would best fit the scene, and if that's not happening, then you have to keep at it until it does, which calls for options 1 or 3.
8.5. Getting stuck is a common experience when attempting to create something, so perhaps the most important thing to accept is that it is a normal part of the creative process, and try not to make too much of it when it happens.
8.6. If you can figure out a way to get past the point in your piece where you got stuck, the solution you come up with can become the the most inspired part of your composition. The words below may sound corny, but they're true:
Challenges = Opportunities for inspired solutions!
Other blog posts on being stuck:
Strike While the Iron is Hot! (includes section on "writer's block")
Posts
17 comments:
When I'm trying to write a song, I usually start with a relatively specific idea of a scene or mood that I want to evoke, but little plan other than that. I experiment with different instrumentation and passages until I feel like I'm in the vicinity of my aim and let it grow from there.
I can totally relate to what you mean about ending up with a very different type of piece than you set out to create, though, and was planning to mention that in my comment before I'd even gotten to the part where you mention it. I guess it must be a fairly common thing. It certainly happens to me often enough.
I've almost always gone with option 2, since I've usually grown quite fond of the song by that point, and even if it isn't what I intended, I want to develop it further. It helps that I've never had any time or external constraints on what I was composing.
In fact, there's been a specific style of piece that I've been trying unsuccessfully to write for years now, off and on, but each time I try, I always end up with something else. I think I'll be very pleased with myself if I ever get it to come out right, one of these days.
I really like the comment you end this blog with: “Challenges = Opportunities for inspired solutions!” I think that that is part of the reason that having a plan helps me; although in a way it also makes the composition process easier (some of the decisions have already been made), it also creates challenge in that it restricts possibilities. When I run out of ideas before the end of a designated section, I have to find new ones (or change the plan), and that encourages inspired solutions.
I also find your models for how composers see their roles interesting. I didn’t initially think I related to any of them, so it encouraged me to step back and re-evaluate how I see my role as a composer. What I decided is that I am trying to be in charge of what I write, as per the Master of the Universe model, but I don’t anybody (me included) can ever be completely in control of everything they compose. I’m not even sure that that is desirable. I identify even less with the In Touch with the Universe model; I don’t think musical ideas float around in the ether waiting to be grabbed and transcribed by some waiting composer, or that there is some all-powerful, god-like force jettisoning musical ideas into people’s brains.
However, I do think that we are all a product of our culture, upbringing, life situations, genetics, etc. and that those factors have very strong influence on our compositional output (okay, genetics might be pushing it – although genetics are related to personality, and personality has an effect on what kind of music a person writes).
Saying all that, I am not sure what to call what I consider to be my role. The “Product of Life Circumstances Attempting/Pretending to be Master of the Universe” role? A new idea for me to ponder . . .
This post presents some ideas that I had not considered before. I had assumed that most composers generally feel in control of everything they are doing, but after reading your three proposed models for how composers view themselves, my view on this has changed. I always start each new piece with a careful plan already in place, but when I eventually finish it, very rarely does it end up exactly the way I planned. I usually feel in control of what I am writing but since my plans never predict the final result exactly, I clearly let some ideas work themselves out and allow them to go where they want to go. If I had to place myself in one of your models, it would be the “sometimes the master, sometimes the mystic” model.
When creating a piece I am usually fairly capable of making a plan, sticking to it, and ending up with a result I can be content with. I am also often inspiration-struck, which more often leads to a dead end personally. But when an inspired piece comes to a good conclusion it is far more satisfactory. When I personally reach a compositional dead-end I look towards my array of unfinished works that I have saved up— quick ideas that never got developed, small melodies and chord progressions, etc. I find that I can often draw thematic material, lyrics, harmonies, or just inspiration from these other works that I can use to push-through my writer's block.
I find this to be a really interesting question that I think about a lot. I think I am a plan ahead person who just desperately wants to be to the just go with the flow. I feel like that I want to be able to just go with where the music takes me and just have it feel a lot more organic but I feel like I absolutely heavily rely on my plan before of how the piece is supposed go. But I think its a smart idea to just go all in on one of these and just play to your strengths so I think I'm going to try to do that going forward.
I really like how you explained the 3 different models of composers and how they see themselves. I just assumed a lot of composers had a clear idea of what they wanted right away and that I was doing something wrong or wasn't good enough because I don't tend to start with a plan when I compose. Usually what I do is experiment for a bit and come up with a plan later once I've found something I like.
Regarding the options for when a piece doesn't go according to plan, my default is option 3. If I think a certain motive/idea would be used more effectively in another section of the piece or in a completely different piece, I save a copy of whatever I'm working on just in case I want to use it again and go back to work on the spot where it didn't quite fit.
Getting stuck is an inevitable challenge that every composer faces continually throughout their career. For some people it might be a daily occurrence, while for others it might only happen once in a while. Planning ahead when going into a new composition or even when continuing a composition in another session can give invaluable results. For some people, planning implies creating a full diagram of the formal elements, but it doesn’t have to. In my case, I find that planning ahead more often involves a daily practice outside of your notation software/manuscript paper. This daily practice for me involves both listening to various types of music, as well as improvising at the piano or another instrument without any clear intention of putting any ideas I come up with into a composition. This is a space where I allow the music to come in a more “In Touch with the Universe model” approach, letting things slip away when they don’t excite me but subtly remembering the ideas that do. Allowing myself to freely play without the same scrutiny I’d put into a notated composition or recorded performance puts me in a headspace where I can come up with more original and unique ideas, filling up my toolbox for later use.
While I’m not opposed to the idea, and I’m interested in trying it out more in the future, I don’t personally approach a composition with a complete form sketch as the initial thing I do. I try to have a feel for the atmosphere of the piece before deciding on a rough idea for the form. I try my best to maintain a loose relationship to this initial idea, allowing it to be molded and re-modelled as I get further into the composition. As someone who isn’t incredibly spiritual, I don’t see this process as waiting for some sort of divine inspiration, but rather as a process of setting yourself up with initial good ideas and prodding your brain over and over until the next good idea clicks. In this way, I’d fall into the category of someone who listens to a section repeatedly before deciding where to go next. I always have to be careful of a big pitfall though because I compose this way.
It’s easy to create something with a lopsided and unideal form if you don’t pay attention to the piece as a whole. When you work closer to the “In Touch with the Universe” model, you’re often only thinking a couple bars ahead. This is an easy thing to fix, if you can consistently go back to look at how the piece is progressing as a whole, and then rewrite it as needed to correct the course of the piece. This method often involves a lot of rewriting and altering sections of the composition, but the result is almost always a better structured piece.
Both approaches are helpful, but I would be wary of going too far in one direction or the other. I think a healthy balance of planning and adaptability are essential to a good composition practice.
I see that I’ve responded to this post before, but my stance has changed since then.
I’ll admit, I’m definitely more of a control freak nowadays! It seems like every piece I write has to have some sort of plan, even if it’s just a rough outline. Planning pieces in advance has allowed me to compose more quickly, and the pieces nowadays I write are more clean and organized than the things I’ve written in the past. However, planning has also made some pieces very frustrating to write. There have been instances where I’ve given up on pieces that could’ve been masterpieces because my need to follow a plan was more important. There have also been times where I stuck to a plan but absolutely hated the final piece.
Part of me wants to write a piece where I get rid of all expectations and just write out ideas as they appear without a plan. I don't think the resulting piece will be very long or coherent, but I think it would be a neat exercise to try in one sitting.
I am a planner. I plan my day, my week, my month and my year. Sometimes it helps me feel more organized, but sometimes I need to take a step back and live in the moment. So far, this is what I am finding I am doing when I compose. I make a plan before I begin, generally more structural than content. And then when I begin the content, I see where "it wants to go." Sometimes that is following my original plan and sometimes my music takes me somewhere else. I think it was really beneficial to learn about these three types of compositional roles and planning strategies as I move forward with this course.
I do not think of myself as a huge planner most of the time, and definitely not when it comes to my compositions. Usually, I just keep writing down random ideas that adhere to the guidelines until one sticks. At that point I will try and roll with that idea for as long as possible until I feel a new idea is in order and then the process repeats itself. So, I guess it is fair to say that my approach is most similar to the second method in the post, but I can see instances where this may not work. Initially I was getting held up in thinking my ideas were terrible and would be constantly restarting, once I was willing to approach my compositions with the thoughts that there are no bad ideas, only underdeveloped ones, I have been having a much easier time. Now, when I feel a change is in order, I will try to change as little as possible (as per the third point), instead of just starting over. This has been very helpful in that I am being a lot more productive in my composing time, even though I often don't have a real plan.
I think I am more of a sometimes master of the universe, sometimes a mystic kind of composer (at the moment at least). I find myself coming up with a very loose plan in my head before I start writing but usually, as soon as I start getting my ideas out, they change (and I kind of forget about it...) and it becomes more of a feeling where the music wants to go kind of process. Lately, I'm having a little trouble just feeling where the music wants to go and this is causing me to get a little stuck. For the most part, I am able to take option 1 and just discard and restart my piece with a more inspired idea but I find that this takes a lot of time and leaves me wondering where that discarded piece/idea could have gone if I'd stuck with it. I think it would be beneficial for me to start organizing a plan a little more to guide my process and still be open to feel where the music wants to go.
I tend to be more in the mystic category as I do start with a rough idea, scale or chord progression but I love the excitement of not planning out everything and seeing where the music wants to go. Of course if I am given specific instructions, I will follow those to the best of my abilities but leaving room for spontaneity has always resonated with me. I largely think whether we are the "master type" or "mystic type" really comes down to our personalities and how we are wired. I loosely plan things but leave room to see if anything changes. When starting a project for example I may arbitrarily set up 64 bars of music but maybe I only have 49 measures and that's where the song wants to end. No big deal I can delete the last 16 measures.
I think for some personality types the master paradigm works really well! For me if I don't leave some of it to chance I will almost begin to resent what I am doing and get bored. I still follow a structure or form in my music but within a given set of self imposed limitations. Within these limitations I am free.
I have written music with and without a structure. It really depends what my mood is. Sometimes I'm in the mood to organize my ideas, and sometimes I'm in the mood to just see where the music takes me. I find both ways to be very valuable, but I definitely find a structure helps me write pieces for instruments or ensembles I'm not used to writing for. With a piano and solo instrument duet, I can realize a structure pretty well by composing freely, but writing for a quartet or a symphony works a lot better with a set structure. In the clarinet studies I have been writing recently, my first one was written with a set structure, while the other two were composed more freely. With the one I wrote with an already set structure, I was able to focus on experimenting with other things such as playing with time signature and tempo changes because I had already figured out my structure.
From my experience whenever I'm composing in notation software, I find myself not having too much of a plan and instead just messing around with various ideas as they come to me until something sticks. When something does stick, I then usually attempt to create numerous variations on that discovered idea and bind them all together into one larger cohesive unit, usually repeating sections with variations taken from other aspects of the piece. When I compose this way there is usually little to no predisposed plan happening in my mind before I start actually putting notes onto the page.
However, whenever I write songs that are not completed in notation software, usually being guitar - drums - bass - vocals, I almost always have a set plan before I begin recording or writing the song itself. I usually come up with chord progressions in my spare time that I end up taking home later and turning into a fully developed song, and also usually have ideas regarding form, hooks, etc.
I'm not exactly sure why the style of music that I'm writing in drastically affects my workflow, however I do find it interesting. Perhaps when I'm writing more contemporary-style music, I'm usually writing for instruments that I'm more familiar with playing, such as the guitar and drums, whereas when I'm composing a piece to be written out on sheet music I'm almost always writing for instruments that I'm much less accustomed to such as piano or strings quartets. This can possibly lead to me being able to more easily visualize and plan ahead of time for instruments I've more comfortable playing.
And so, regarding the question of which category I fit into, I would say I'm a part of both the mystical and mastery sides of the compositional world. That being said I switch between these two writing styles not based of mood or inspiration, but rather based off of the style of the music itself that I'm composing.
The above comment was written by Connor Parsons.
In this blog post, I got to explore what to do when a creative idea seems to have reached its limit. It discussed three models for how composers perceive their roles: the "Master of the Universe" model, the "In Touch with the Universe" model, and the "Sometimes the Master, Sometimes the Mystic" model. Each model influences how a composer approaches the end of an idea.
As someone who sees myself as "Sometimes the Master, Sometimes the Mystic," my approach to creating music involves a mix of planning and intuition. Sometimes I carefully plan out my compositions and personal music prativce, using my skills to bring my vision to life. Other times, I let go and follow where the music leads. Balancing these two approaches enriches my creative process and allows me to create music that feels both deliberate and spontaneous. I never saw it like this before this blog post and it’s really interesting how people can catagorize them selves. Like ya I do like to plan everything out but at them same time I really just go with the flow and I find doing this to be the best situation for me. A good balance of these is perfect for me and I will continue, but ensure I dont go overboard because it is important to stay organized.
The value of a plan and intention when writing is no doubt a way to shape a piece and decide on factors such as key, time signature, and genre early on in the process. I think it has value in this sense to place you in your tonal/musical area. However, it does remind me of a saying a teacher told me once; "Scarlatti didn't write 500 sonatas, he wrote the same sonata 500 times." As in, the harmonic layout of Scarlatti's pieces was always predetermined, due to the established 'rules' assigned to writing music during his lifetime. The idea of a "plan" and there being "rules" to follow aren't exactly the same per se, but I do think that they both have the capability to limit the creativity of a writer.
I find that my writing style does tend to follow the "Sometimes the Master, Sometimes the Mystic" description, with a slight lean towards the Mystic. With the assignments laid out this term, there were some rules set up for me to follow in all my compositions, which set a good limit on what I could do melodically and harmonically. I think the plan should always include the central theme, motifs, and harmonies you plan to work with, that way when we get stuck, there is something to look back to that can propel us forward. They're like tools in a toolbox, ready to go! Once we start writing, however, I think composing freely and allowing the music to take us off course is not something we should shy away from. Usually, when I write, I'll sit at a piano and freely play away until I come up with some motifs that I like, and notate them all in a document. Usually, I find a particular phrase that I want to centre my piece around, and from there I let the music move around wherever it feels right. If I get stuck, I'll reference back to the ideas I came up with before and see if they'd make sense where I am currently in the piece, or if there's a way I can start angling the piece to start approaching one of those ideas. This strategy hasn't failed me yet (I hope), and it almost feels like solving a fun little puzzle. The results are also always something I enjoy listening to myself, as one hopefully does when listening to their own works!
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