[From a 9-part handout for my introductory composition class.]
2. How do you develop compositional craft?2.1. Study the music of others.
(a) Study music of different genres; try to understand as many styles of composition as you can (but don't feel you have to fully understand all genres, or indeed any genre, before you begin composing; the study can be a lifelong process).
•How many compositions have you studied in detail?
•What types of compositions have you studied in detail?
•How much of your knowledge of music comes from history textbooks or other secondary sources, and how much comes from your study of specific compositions?
(b) Include lots of 20th- and 21st-century music in your studies. It has been my experience that a great many students who have some interest in composing have no (or limited) interest in the concert music of the past 80 (or so) years.
•Discuss; is this generally true? Is it true for you? If so, why? Is there anything wrong with this?
| (c) Study (or at least listen to) at least one piece by at least 6 of the following composers. When you find works that are particularly interesting/moving etc., study/listen to more works by that composer. Find out more about them via web searches or other means. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | Louis Andriessen | Bela Bartók | Luciano Berio |
| Pierre Boulez | John Cage | Ka Nin Chan | Aaron Copland |
| George Crumb | Mario Davidovsky | Morton Feldman | Brian Ferneyhough |
| Philip Glass | Gerard Grisey | Chris Paul Harman | Charles Ives |
| Helmut Lachenmann | György Ligeti | Witold Lutosławski | Olivier Messiaen |
| Tristan Murail | John Oswald | Steve Reich | George Rochberg |
| Clark Ross | Kaija Saariaho | Giacinto Scelsi | Anne Southam |
| Karlheinz Stockhausen | Toru Takemitsu | Giles Tremblay | Anton Webern |
| John Weinzweig | Christian Wolff | Bernd Alois Zimmermann | Walter Zimmermann |
(d) Think like a composer (part 1) while you listen or study. Ask yourself why something (a composition, a section, a musical gesture) works or doesn't; does a given musical idea or section go on too long, too short, or is it just right? Does it speak to you? Why or why not? What qualities in the music help you to connect with it? Sometimes we like a composition right away, and other times it takes a while for us to warm up to it, but we may end up liking it a lot. Why?
(e) Think like a composer (part 2): Learn what is idiomatic or non-idiomatic for instruments and voice types; make note of textures or orchestration techniques that are effective / captivating / beautiful / disturbing, etc. Many composers keep notebooks, not only to write down their own ideas as they come to them, but also to jot down anything that they find striking in the music of others. Some musical borrowing is not only "okay;" it's good! (It is also a time-honored method of composition pedagogy.)
› While it is true that many people who take an introductory composition class do not wish to become professional composers, one of the benefits of learning to think like a composer is that it can inform the way you play, teach, or research music.
2.2. Compose as much as you can.
•Composing is exactly like performing; the more you do it, the better you become (as long as you continually strive to improve!). Consider this: If you are musical enough to be admitted to the School of Music, you are musical enough to become one of this country's best composers. But you have to work at it.
2.3. Invite criticism from others.
While it is true that most of us need occasional encouragement in order to go on, we also need honest and constructive feedback from others if we are to grow as artists. The reason for this is that the creation of art is an inherently subjective process, but art itself generally has a communicative (or at least affective) function; in order to learn what effect our art has on others, we need people to tell us their thoughts and reactions to it. Invite criticism from friends and family, of course, but also from people you do not know as well — It is sometimes easier for a stranger to be honest with you than a friend. (Why is that?)
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