[From a 9-part handout for my introductory composition class.]
9. Aren't these modern times? Aren't we obliged to pursue a completely new approach to composition? Who made all these rules, anyway? A bunch of dead white Europeans? Ever heard of World Music? Rock? etc.It is good to try new approaches. Take your inspiration from wherever you find it, be it hip-hop, Persian music, commercials, cartoon music, movie music, video games, ringtones, your dishwasher, the ocean, etc. Never feel constrained by the imagined shackles of history or tradition.
On the other hand, history has much to offer, should we wish to avail of it. Many composers have found inspiration in the music of earlier historical periods, among them Aaron Copland, David Del Tredici, Manuel de Falla, Henryk Górecki, Paul Hindemith, Arvo Pärt, Maurice Ravel, Wolfgang Rihm, George Rochberg, Igor Stravinsky, John Tavener, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. There are no rules when it comes to music composition; we can choose to make our own rules or not, and we all get to decide for ourselves whether we wish to blend old and new approaches to writing music.
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16 comments:
I like this. New and old ideas can definitely feed off each other. I play some of the most technically challenging classical piano music at school, and ripping fast punk rock drumming with one of my bands. The contrast in roles and style helps me be more open minded to each genre, and those I've yet to explore.
I totally agree with Justin. A broader knowledge of different music helps to expand ones musical and compositional abilities.
I don't think I've ever felt especially constrained by external rules of music writing (possibly because I have no idea what any of the traditional formalisms are). On the other hand, I suppose this means that I can't use them to my own advantage in a conscious and deliberate way.
But as a result, I've always tried to write towards some of the types of songs I've enjoyed the most. A lot of the music I write is heavily influenced by the Japanese video game music tradition, which for many years accounted for most of my favorite songs (as nerdy as that may be). In fact, one of the things I've most wanted to be able to do with my music is to write songs which evoke some of the same vibes as those songs that I've liked most throughout the years.
Perhaps this makes me somewhat unoriginal, since I've never wanted to innovate so much as emulate, but I like to believe that a certain uniqueness inevitably comes through in one's work, since everyone brings a bit of themselves to it.
I agree, James. I'm fairly new when it comes to composition; growing up I wasn't very confident and breaking down my creative barriers (which still have not totally dissolved) has taken a lot of time and a few leaps of faith. It was that thought of inherent uniqueness that really helped me to creatively progress. We humans are such detailed things that something as seemingly insignificant as the size or shape of our hands can have an impact, however small, on the music that we create. Which leads me to believe that there are infinite other traits that also impact our creative tendencies. My mind is not your mind.
Albeit a short post, I really like this. It "spoke" to me sort of speak. I never think of incorporating popular music into my composition. I always think I'm writing "classically". That's not to say I'm going to break out with a rock song, but it's a great thought to have. The ideas for composition can come from anyway.
Despite being a short post, I nevertheless enjoyed reading from it because of the fact that it talked about originality. We get all of these ideas in our heads these days about how to do stuff, and yet, some of us tend to follow old directions (like composing a violin concerto).
When it comes down to it, there are ideas out there that have yet to be discovered. For example, I have yet to see a concerto for electric guitar and orchestra, or for drums and orchestra. These would be very interesting ideas, but it doesn't mean that they will work, which is why I think some people feel constrained - because there are ideas that work and ideas that don't. However, it is always interesting to try out new ideas and to see where they go. In 2018, witness the premiere of my concerto for Banjo and Orchestra :)
As a person interested primarily in writing programmatic music, and for film specifically, I need to be able to write in a language the audience will understand if I am going to get my message across. This means that I have to work within a fairly tonal, traditional framework, with popular influences as appropriate. However, different styles, genres, and traditions all communicate different meanings and I consider it important to have familiarity with a broad range of musical types. I want to be the most effective communicator of idea and emotion that I possibly can, and that means knowing as many different ways to say things as possible. When trying to write programmatic music, it is a fine line between clichés and incomprehensibility.
I don't think there's an obligation to write completely new music anymore than there is an obligation to write anything else. I don't even try to write music that is completely new; I want to write music that is both new and old. Music that will be interesting to listeners, including myself, with aspects that are novel but also influences that can be related to even if not defined.
I do not feel constrained by history or tradition. On the contrary, I find they give a rich background that one can use to propel their craft forward. To start from nothing is an extremely daunting task. Tradition and history give us obvious things like formal structures (fugues, sonatas, etc) and tonality. It also gives us a tradition of innovation, both by doing old styles in a new way, or by doing new styles.
It seems almost impossible to write music that is completely new. There have been so many composers who did such wild things, that it's hard to imagine anybody writing much (if anything) that doesn't have influences from something that's come before, even if the influences are avant-guarde composers. For me, it is more important that it is good music (however that is defined) than that it is new.
I like this concept. Sometimes it is very difficult to even feel motivated to write music if we have no idea what to write about or if we feel constrained by tradition or something else. Personally I talk a lot of influence from the world of rock music when composing. There are little nuances I may pick up in a rock context that I feel might sound cool if transferred to a more contemporary classical setting. Also, in terms of writing with inspiration, I think it is very important to have some theme, concept, or story in your head when composing. It is very difficult to just make up notes without some sort of emotional pull to those notes and rhythms and all that make up the piece. For example, maybe you write a piece about war, or about solitude, or some social issue, or anything for that matter. I find it much easier to connect with music if there's something more personal behind it.
I think this post is awesome! Just sitting down and being able to come up with your own, completely fresh idea is an interesting concept to me because I don't think I would have been able to start a single piece all year if I wasn't actively looking for inspiration for my compositions. I think that it is cool whether you get inspiration from something new or old, and I think everyone should look anywhere they can for inspiration.
When I first started writing music, I was wary of making anything that sounded too similar to something I already knew, as I thought this was akin to stealing. Over time I’ve come to realize that everything is derivative of something else (and likely many things at once) and that it can be freeing to allow yourself to pursue ideas even if they are similar to something that already exists.
Often when people think about taking inspiration from something they think about a specific melody, chord, or instrumentation from another existing piece of music. However, there are many other places where inspiration can be drawn from. A certain characteristic of a piece of visual art can inspire how you approach melody, the changing seasons can inspire how you organize a piece, etc. The most exciting new ideas come to me when multiple of these events happen at the same time and mix together in my brain to create something new.
Taking inspiration from anywhere also helps prevent hiccups in the process of making a new piece. This is because it gives us more ideas overall, making it easier to have an idea ready when we go to start our next piece. When I have a stroke of inspiration and I’m not at my desk it makes me excited to come home and work on that idea.
It would be foolish not to take inspiration from wherever we can. The sources of inspiration are out there, as long as you’re at least sub-consciously looking for them.
I find this to be one of the hardest concepts to grapple with in composition personally. I am always questioning if I come up with a cool idea and end up writing a piece that I really like but it is also kind of just a typical piece what exactly is the point? Like yeah, I got to myself write a piece that I really enjoy which seems like should just automatically be good but if there are 100 other pieces out there that are basically indistinguishable why not just go listen to one of those a few times and move on to the next idea and hope that one is more original. Nowadays a lot of people seem to judge art exclusively as "how original is it" and while I always thought that that was important, I also think that art can easily be unoriginal on some level at least and be incredibly good. Every single classic blockbuster that is loved by the majority of the population in North America exactly follows the hero's journey structure. Does them just using the same form structure make them inherently bad art? I would argue no but a completely unoriginal also isn't good. So I think it really comes down to a tricky balancing act.
I believe inspiration can come in many different forms. It can inspire a title of a chosen work, the text (if it is with vocal parts) or it can create motivic content for a piece. I remember in composition 3100 with Andrew Staniland we would create motifs or collections of pitches from external resources such as images of cartoons, randomization of letters, and even taking a snowflake and tracing it on a staff. The snowflake process basically consisted of taking something like a piece of cardboard outside and then once it melts, tracing the lines and shape of it to resemble a figure that can be traced on a staff like a constellation. Oh yeah, constellations are another great one! More broadly, I gravitate towards music that relates to Earth and the Environment. in choral works such as "Elements" by Katerina Gimon (Canadian Composer based in BC), her four movements being the four natural elements of earth contain graphic images of fire and water while also musically depicting things such as waves, bursts, and the endearing mass of Planet Earth spinning on its axis. Like a lot of choral music even dating back to the renaissance, extensive tone painting was used as well. This is one example of many pieces that I relate to on a regular basis where the inspiration came before even sounds or motifs were depicted. Inspiration when writing music can also work the other way around in processes such as improvisation or experimentalism where new sounds or ideas are created on the spot. Then, the performer or composer may jot this down or remember these specific ideas which can later create something much much larger. Oftentimes the form or subject matter of the piece can be highly influenced by an event which happened that day, or it can eventually become a piece years afterwards. I find that as music students, we are constantly exposed to both ends of this spectrum. This is why I believe it is important to regularly engage in concerts and ensembles while also considering other things in life such as visual arts, theatre, drama, movies even. These things and much more are why there is still so much genuine music awaiting a place in a composition.
That was me above, Ben Diamond by the way. Sorry!
Sometimes it is overwhelming, as a student studying composition, wondering where to start. Why bother if there are so many "greats"? Writing music often feels underwhelming when you take a step back and remember what Bach and Mozart were writing at age 20. But I've noticed, I have never once thought the same thing about performing. I never think to myself as I practice:"Why bother when Kathleen Battle sings it so much better on Youtube." Sure, I know I won't very well sing my piece in my third year undergraduate lesson like the video from the MET I just watched, but that never discourages me.
And I think the main difference in this grapple with being the best in composition versus performance is that when you perform, you are in control of how elevated your art gets. But with composition, because other people have to play your work for you to become a popular and elevated composer, the doubts we have are greater. Composers produce for others. I think if we de-stigmatize this idea of the "finished product" for "others" the process of creating original work wouldn't be as stressful and daunting.
Even though there are great composers like Mozart or Charles Ives, there is always room for more "greatness". It's the same as anything really, there are hockey players who have come since Wayne Gretzky and there are advancements that have come since the radio was seen as the picture of technological advancements. We need originality in the world or we'll be bored.
I think this idea of inspiration wherever you can find it is great. When I'm writing a composition I do find myself doubting whether or not an idea I've had is good enough, original enough, or post-tonal enough! I would also agree with Anna's take on this idea, there is always more room for greatness, and not every great composer will sound/have sounded the same or have similar ideas. I think really being willing to experiment with new ideas, where inspiration comes from any direction or genre could open so many new possibilities for standing out and creating your own individual voice.
Reading this post and thinking about the possibilities that could come along with taking inspiration without as many limitations has already given me some ideas and a sense of more freedom when composing.
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