- You are curious as to how compositions work, and when you make personal discoveries in this direction you are more likely to think, "cool! I'd like to give that a try!" than "cool! I'd like to publish a paper about this one day!" (Not that there's anything wrong with this second impulse, and some composers do both successfully.)
- You hear or read that "X is a dead-end," where "X" can be minimalism, serialism, or any musical movement or technique, and, even though you may never have written a piece using this technique, you give it a try to see if there are aspects yet to be explored.
- If music theory books say you "can't" do something (e.g., write parallel fifths, follow a dominant chord with a subdominant, leave chord sevenths unresolved, etc.), you feel you must do it.
- You are told there is no future in composing, and think, "That's probably true. But it doesn't apply to me."
- You hear music by great composers, and think, "Nice. But I wonder what would it sound like if [some particular musical idea] had gone in a different direction?"
- You hear unrealized potential in otherwise unremarkable compositions.
- You catalog (mentally, or in a notebook) cool ideas for possible use in future compositions.
- You think, "I wonder if anyone has ever tried this (some musical idea) before, and go ahead and try it even if you discover that others thought of the idea long before you did.
- You are able to make snap decisions regarding the value of your musical ideas.
- Your snap decisions regarding the value of musical ideas prove to be good, at least some of the time.
- You are not deterred when you realize that some (or even a lot) of your musical decisions were bad. You try to identify the problems, and begin the work of fixing them. Or you trash the piece and start over.
- You are deterred when you realize that the composition on which you have worked for a month or more is crap, but it doesn't stop you from either trying to fix the problems or starting over.
- You see potential in musical ideas that others might dismiss.
- Your head is in the clouds.
- Your feet are planted squarely on the ground.
- You have rocks in your head.
- You are an iconoclast.
- You have a healthy respect for tradition, but don't feel confined by it.
- You have trouble with authority figures.
- You feel the need to express yourself, and music is the best way you know how to do that.
- You don't mind working for long periods on your own. You probably prefer working this way.
- You have the courage of your convictions, but are open to honest criticism from others.
- You don't mind trying something and failing, because it means you learned something along the way.
- You are not afraid to try new things.
- You are not deterred by the fact that, in the early stages, your composition might be embarrassingly bad, because you know that you will figure out a way to improve it. You understand that even great art can be pretty terrible in the initial stepts of the creative process.
- Your musical ideas startle you sometimes, and you wonder where they came from.
- You are honest about the flaws in your creations.
- You are delusional.
- You hear something amazing, and think, "I could do that."
- You believe in the value of having a plan before beginning a composition.
- You believe plans are for suckers, and prefer instead to make it up as you go.
- You don't buy into the "genius" paradigm, preferring to believe that "masterpieces" are the result of (a) an extraordinary amount of hard work, (b) a long period of learning one's craft, (c) a certain amount of cleverness, and possibly even (d) a good (or just relentless) marketing campaign.
- You are prepared to put as much work as it takes to become the best composer you can be.
- You aspire to greatness, but would settle for goodness, or even competence, at least in the short-term.
- You are moved by music in ways that words cannot fully express, and aspire to write music that can touch others in this way.
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Final Recital of the Final Piece
12 years ago
20 comments:
Great! All of these apply to me :)
This is a great post, and I'm sure that many non-composers would probably relate to a lot of these things as well!
As I was reading this and thinking about compositional "rules," I couldn't help but be reminded of this funny bit from Pirates of the Caribbean. (near the end)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6kgS_AwuH0
My favourite thing about being a composer is being able to articulate why I like some music so much, and then being able to use those ideas my own way.
I feel like this ties into the post somehow.
1-4: yes.
5-6: not quite there yet!
7, 14: my life.
8-12: yessiree
13, 15: i'd like to think so!
16: I'm also a rock climber, so yes, rocks are often invading my headspace! haha
17: to some extent.
18: definitely
19. you should've seen me in grade 8.... maybe it's better you didn't..
20-27: yes definitely!!
28. well, i'd like to think not! just... optimistic!
29. hopefully!
30. definitely valuable, though I rarely work this way!
31. hahahah yes I definitely make it up as I go.
32. I definitely buy into the genius thing. Some people just can't be touched.
33: yes!
34: I am content with smaller successes but I often (and this is one area where I am quite flawed) expect more and more of myself with each passing moment.
35. YES YES YES YES YES. This is the goal. Music is incredible and if I can share what's in me and that feeling with the world then I will be a happy soul.
Had a bit of a chuckle at this. Not only are some of the points funny on their own, but also true! I especially relate to numbers 4, 6 and 14. They're almost my exact thought's sometimes.
I enjoy 26 as well. Though I think that one is how I feel about all musical ideas. Whether mine or someone else. Where exactly do they come from? Especially small and simple things that most likely did require any revision!
I really enjoyed this post. It was good for a late night laugh.
Despite the fact that I don't consider myself a composer, I certainly could identify with many of the points on this list. I've only ever lightly dabbled in composing, but since coming to music school my interest in it has grown exponentially. If I had read this post three years ago, before beginning music school, I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to identify with as many points as I can now. I think most musicians would agree that it's hard not to find yourself thinking some of the things here whether or not you compose.
What am interesting post! Many more of these apply to me than I had thought. I'd never thought of myself as a composer before, or even wanting to. I know it most likely won't be an actual career because I love a good spotlight, but the composing I have been doing lately I've really enjoyed. And definitely change the way I hear other music now as you alluded to.
Such a funny post to read in the midst of finishing off several assignments (with the end of semester blues raging through, might I add). Although I don't think of myself as being a composer, I could identify with many of these points. I always wondered in theory classes in the first few years of my degree, "what would happen if I did do that..", or "maybe that broken 'rule' would sound good sometimes". Never did I attempt to write music before this course, but I often wondered what went through the minds of composers as they wrote; were all of these theory rules something that everybody strictly followed nowadays? Wouldn't it be fun to break all the rules and make your own rules?
I also prefer working on my own so much more than doing group work, which is why I enjoy this course. These assignments give me the opportunity to do whatever I want (within guidelines, of course), make my own decisions, and rely on nobody but myself.
Identifying as a composer is an interesting idea to me, because I don't identify myself as a composer - at least not yet. I think of myself as a musician who enjoys writing music. Particularly, I first discovered an interest in creating my own music in a contemporary improvisation ensemble, where we were encouraged to experiment with different sounds and ideas on our instrument, and away from it. Likewise, I have always had a deep rooted passion for technology, and from a young age, I dabbled in music software programs creating drum loops and bass lines for pop songs. IT was my formal music education that opened the door to composition. Reading through this list, I felt most of the points applied to me, so I might just be a composer, but my ultimate goal is to make music for myself and share it with others, and hopefully it will have some kind of lasting impact on them.
This post reminds me of the question that I sometimes ask myself: at what point does a person become a composer? (Or its question-siblings, at what point does a person become a performer, or a musician, or a . . .?).
For myself, I definitely relate to a number of these (although I did not count), but cannot identify myself as a composer (yet?) having never composed anything that I was willing to listen to. Maybe this means that I have the potential to become a composer—optimistic thought—although I do not relate to some (like 9-“You are able to make snap decisions regarding the value of your musical ideas”). I’m glad that numbers 14, 16, and 28 are not deterrents—my head is often in the clouds (particularly when it’s foggy and I’m outside), has rocks in it, and I’m pretty sure I’m delusional (although that might be a delusion?).
My favourite point is number 23: You don’t mind trying something and failing, because it means you learned something along the way. The learning itself is a type of success, and can be very valuable.
This was an awesome bit of comic relief during the end of semester crunch! However some of these are funny but are simultaneously applicable. For example "your head is in the clouds". While I laughed at this one first, I realized that this definitely applies to me as a composer! I find I compose the best when I let my mind wander and what ends up on the page tends to be a very good reflection of what I was thinking.
I remember when my first thoughts of trying composing occurred. When I was in first year I was working on Stamitz's concerto for clarinet, and I was required to write my own cadenza. It was received quite well by both my applied teacher and my studio. After this I had the itch to start composing something more substantial.
With this discussion we can also open up the debate of tabula rasa vs. innate theories, and whether we are born with the characteristics of a composer, and that is what we are meant to be, or if we acquire these "composer characteristics", and become composers because that is what we have decided ourselves.
Just as many others have mentioned in their comments, I was quite alarmed at how many of the points I could relate to. I think it might be fair to say that anyone with an interest in music could find points that applied to them. Even if a musician is not really interested in being a composer, they may still find that a point really resonates with them. I find it strangely satisfying to figure out what makes a composition work. Certainly, that sort of discovery makes me want to try it for myself, but it's also a discovery that is useful and interesting from the standpoint of any performer who has no interest in composing. Knowing how a composition works can help in better guiding the listener through the phrasing (and more). At any rate, I found this post to be an entertaining one!
I can confirm that the majority of these are accurate for me as well! I enjoy understanding the inner workings of successful compositions, dissecting why they work and using that knowledge for myself. I enjoy the process of creation, of making mistakes and taking wrong turns, then finding solutions. I am developing the patience to continue working to improve my skills and take great satisfaction in my own progress. However, over time, I have actually become less interested in, or perhaps simply less concerned with, rebellion and defiance of authority, wisdom, and tradition. The more I compose, the less I care about what the "shoulds" and "shouldn'ts", whether obeying them or contradicting them. And remarkably, the less I try to be an iconoclast, the better music I write. My music is perhaps more original and true to me since I've stopped trying to rebel; when rebelling, I was still controlled by traditions, by my desire to subvert them. Now, I'm free to compose however I choose, regardless of the authority and tradition. And I am very happy!
Most of these apply to me. After working on a piece for a while, or after thinking about working on a piece for a while, people who I am closest with will almost INSTANTLY know that is what I've been doing because conversing with me is like talking to a penguin. I get very caught up in my own mind, and cannot stop thinking about music. I have a million ideas in my head that have been stored there over the last maybe 5 years.
The people I'm closest with also know how obsessed I get when there are ideas on my mind. Over the summer my poor mother definitely learned to shut her ears off as I rambled on and on about some sort of effect I was going to incorporate into a piece.
I think one thing that sets composers apart is that they are drawn to this career (or lack of) path through listening. Many performers I know played classical music long before they really enjoyed listening to it that much. Many are there for the competitive aspect, and the love of playing. Composers are professional listeners. Every time I hear something awesome, it becomes my new favorite thing. It consumes my thoughts. I want to write something that affects someone else the unique way my new favorite thing affected me. And yes, I think music is the medium I am most capable of expressing emotions, I'm still learning (emotion is a hard thing to translate from mind to paper to sound) but I feel this ability just beyond my grasp.
And yes, I have rocks in my head.
I love this! I think many of these are not only stereotypical of composers - but essential in order to be a good composer. If I did not keep a running list of ideas, or if my head was not constantly in the clouds, I feel like I would never write anything different or interesting. At time same time, self-awareness is also very important. I think there is vale in being able to stand back from your work and look at it subjectively, being able to see what is good and what is not.
Generally, I think that as a composer, one has to be a very flexible and rigid at the same time. To see the potential in a musical idea and to see that a musical idea has no potential seems like two opposing actions, but they are just two sides of the same coin. Many of the points in the list seem to contradict one another, but a person who is set in their ways can't be nearly as creative as someone who is curious and determined to be a multifaceted person.
Concerning point #5, a finished composition to me is like a book. I don't tend to dwell on what ifs because to me, the story is set in stone. In the case of books, the author has to make a series of conscious and unconscious choices to tell a story and bring the audience to a certain point, and the characters and plot don't exist outside the realm of that book. Likewise, the composer has to make a series of conscious and unconscious choices, and those specific musical ideas only work together in the context of the piece. Though I never wonder about the direction of a musical idea, I do wonder often about a composer's intention, and a composer's consciousness of a certain musical idea. When listening to a piece, there can be a lot to process on the listener's side, so I wonder about the brain power that went into its creation. Music can move us very deeply, so I wonder about the kind of mind space a composer had to be in to come up with those musical ideas and to produce such music.
I absolutely adore some of these first points. I often find myself wanting to try something new that I’ve learned about whether it be something from class or a video I watched online or maybe a cool beat pattern I hear in a piece I’m listening to. I am constantly trying to intake and focus on new techniques so that my own style and techniques can grow and become better. I can also relate to hearing potential in something unremarkable or unfinished and saving small ideas here or there. There are often times when I’ll make up a small progression or melody and write it down immediately and add it to a little pile of these small motifs that I’ve collected from my brain over the years and have often looked through this when I get stuck in a piece to see if I’m able to incorporate any of them. I also use these ideas when potentially starting a new piece. Regarding wanting to figure out if anyone has tried an idea I’ve had or trying to break out of the standardized way of doing things this is something my friends and I do almost daily. The amount of conversations I’ve had with people like Matt Hardy or Adam Wicks about fascinating chord progressions, extended techniques or breaking out of standardized notation or theoretical practices is pretty much a daily occurrence. For example the three of us religiously send interesting theory videos to each other on a group chat we’ve created and then talk about the theories or analysis’ explained in the videos at nauseum. Some examples of recent videos we’ve discussed that others on this blog may find interesting would be these. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVWTQcZbLgY , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zGqN1ZOEJQ , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiNKlhspdKg, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0-KOAWWkZ0 , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb65fmSa610 .
I can definitely relate to many of these statements. One point that caught my eye was 20. I think music is one of the best ways to express emotion. Listening to music is such an interesting experience, especially when composers are really drawn to something and want to use their music to expand that feeling. I feel that I have still not fully obtained the ability to display my emotion in my music, but it is certainly something that I am working towards.
I can also especially relate to number 25. Quite often, during the early stages of composing a new piece, some of my musical ideas do not seem to fit in, and they can be very awkwardly placed. However, that never stops me because I know I can find a way to fix any problems that arise. An example of when I had a really hard time progressing past the early/awkward stage was when I composed a movement for string quartet. It was such a struggle that every time I had an idea, I would listen back to it, feeling that it did not fit into the piece very well. It took quite a lot of editing and careful planning, as well as expanding my listening repertoire to other string quartets (especially Bartok) to work my way out of the early stages of this composition.
Well said, a good number of these were very easy to relate to, especially number 28!
I also like point number 32 a lot. I don't believe that the great composers of the past were just geniuses who spit out symphonies and topped the charts immediately afterwards. I'm certain there were plenty of scrapped copies of symphonies on Beethoven's floor at any given point, most of which were probably pretty bad. A large part of composing is knowing when to roll with an idea and when to scrap it, not everything that you write is worth keeping.
I also like the idea expressed in multiple of these points which suggests that composers are more likely to try something new rather than attempt to study what has already been done. I'm the type of person who will listen to a cool piece of music and think "I want to make something like that" rather than think "I want to study this and analyze it".
The Majority of these don't apply to me and I'd want to take my career down the performance route as a solo artist or private voice teacher before I became a composer, but in saying that I do have a want to compose music for people but for a very specific reason;
This one point that really stood out to me as it changed my life so drastically is, "You are moved by music in ways that words cannot fully express, and aspire to write music that can touch others in this way." This point really speaks volumes to me because music had helped me through my Depression/Anxiety and that's why I have the passion for music and composing that I have, because the passion I have and the way music makes me feel really saved me from giving up my degree and staying in bed everyday not knowing what to do with my life or when I was going to leave my house again.
Music truly gave me a purpose and a drive to get better so that I can help people and better myself mentally in the process! I persevered and I made it through one of the worst ruts I had in my 3rd year of my degree which caused me to fail all of my courses that term and here I am now, doing a whole lot better mentally and finishing my degree this semester! So I am extremely happy with the work I have put into myself and I say to myself everyday "YOU DID IT," because it was an extremely tough feat for me to get this degree but I worked really hard and pushed myself on days when I didn't want too so that I could create and perform for people like me who need the motivation to get better and smile!!
It all makes it worth while in the end and I wouldn't change a thing as it has made me so strong as a person, musician and overall morally sound person who appreciates everything life has to teach us and it gave me a love for creation as well!!
The reason I am so captivated by this point is because If I were to create and perform music of my own to help people like myself, that have a deep passion for music, but they are held back by this unforgiving Illness that causes so many people today to struggle is the fact I get to help them and I know that will bring joy to my heart, making it full, knowing that people are being moved by the things I compose or sing. This point is what makes me want to compose beautiful music and help people appreciate what words cannot express only through music and an emotional feeling. Music has a different level of communication that not many people will understand but when you hear it talking to you and it makes you feel warm and happy, you know that life is so amazing and truly beautiful and it needs to be lived to the full of your potential!
I want every person to feel the way I do when I compose or sing because it is such a feeling that can't be described unless you feel and hear it yourself!!
So yes, even though the majority of those points don't apply to me, composing has a special place in my heart because of how influenced I was by other composers, such as; Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, Faure and many, many more and they all told me through their music how important it was to be there to help others because that is what we are all on this earth to do; Help and support each other!!
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