Stuck?

I understand from reading student blogs that at least some of you have felt "stuck" at some point(s) during the composition process for this project. If this sounds familiar to you, here are some things that may help, beginning with a slightly modified version of the answer I gave Mary Beth:

1. Be aware that the feeling of being stuck is a very normal part of the creative process. A common reason for being stuck is that we are putting too much pressure on ourselves, and this awareness can help you react in with at least some degree of equanimity, which in turn can help you become unstuck.
2. Try different things; there are many ways to become unstuck, none of which work for everyone. (More specific suggestions are listed in one of the links below.)
3. In this project you were asked to write three character pieces, so consider the mood/atmosphere that your first two pieces have, then think about what kind of mood/atmosphere would go well with them, either as a contrast or as a complement.
4. Think about textures; what textures do you use in your first two pieces, and what texture(s) might make a nice contrast to them for your third piece?
5. Feel free to drop by my office with your compositional sketches if you'd like suggestions that are more specific to your particular situation.

Want even more suggestions? Consider reading a couple of earlier and more detailed blogs I wrote on the subject:

• Creative Angst; Welcome to the Club!
• Running Into a Brick Wall

Musical Influences - 1

If you were asked to name the composers who have had the most influence on your music, what would you say?

I am sometimes asked this question, and I never quite know what to say... It is relatively easy to list many musical creators in a wide variety of genres whose music I love (although there are so many that it would be a challenge to make a comprehensive list), but I have never taken the time to figure out how much of an influence any of them have had on my music.

Until now. I recently received an E-mail asking me this question from a music teacher who had heard my music in the Northwest Territories, of all places(!), and while I was thinking about my response, it began to dawn on me that yes, a quite a few composers have influenced me to varying degrees in a number of my compositions.

I will spill the beans and reveal my answer later, but in the mean-time, what are your musical influences?

Instrument List

A list of instruments played by students in this class:

Piano (Lindsey, Joel, Alexander, Simon, Adam S.)
Flute (Sarah)
Clarinet (Mary Beth)
Trombone (Aiden)
Violin (Brooke)
Double Bass (Josh)
Percussion (Andrew)
Guitar (Steve, Dave, Adam B., Chris)

• Have I missed anybody? If so, kindly let me know, and I will add your name to this list.

• Voice (Megan and Stephen) not listed above for this project, but you will be able to write for voice for the next project.

• You can write for an instrument other than those listed above, as long as you arrange for a performer to be able to come to our class to play your music. The guest performer does not have to stay for the whole class, just long enough to perform your composition.

• You can write for yourself as a performer, but you do not have to do so. Note that one of the ways to earn class participation marks is through performing, so if you are not performing someone's work then you should make sure to contribute to the class in other ways, most notably by being an active commentator on others' music.

• What next? If you haven't already done so, have a look at the blog that explains this assignment. It is mostly a replica of the handout I gave you, but there may be some additional information there that is helpful.

→ Read "Project 1; More Details" when you have completed your chord progression.

→ Curious about what is required in order to create a "well-prepared score"? Read the following to find out:

• On musical detail (1)
• On musical detail (2)
• On musical detail (3)

Welcome (Fall, 2009)!

Welcome to all new music composition students in this semester's "Introduction to Music Composition" course (Mu3100)!

As mentioned in our first class, in addition to writing and presenting your music every week, you will be expected to keep your own on-line journal in the form of a blog, in which you will write your thoughts about the music you compose, and your reactions to the feedback received.

As if that were not enough, you also need to check in with the class blog, which is what you are reading right now (i.e., http://clarkross.blogspot.com/), at least once a week, and make a comment on items that interest you. If nothing interests you, then I guess you should make a comment about that! The objective is to engender a dialogue about ideas relating to composition between all of us (i.e., you, your classmates, and me). Unfortunately, there is rarely enough time in our classes to have these kind of discussions, which is why we're doing it on-line.

If you have not already done so, please sign-up for a blog at Blogger.com (which is the same as blogspot.com), then send me the link. You should have done so by Monday's class (Sept. 14).