When I began to compose music, I wrote music that was naturally imitative of the style of music I was mostly listening to at the time. While I listened to some Bach, my first compositional influence was Mozart. After watching the movie "Amadeus," my life was forever changed. I did everything I could to learn how to create music as the great masters did. I studied Mozart's life and music as well as several other compsers.
In a kind of chronological sequence, I went from Mozart to Chopin. As a pianist, I learned some great Chopin Ballades and Scherzos, and became very familiar with Chopin's style. I wrote a Nocturne of my own, quite remeniscent of Chopin's Nocturne, Op. 9, No. 2. I then went on to learn many of the piano works of Debussy, and began a piece for piano in the Impressionistic style of Debussy. By that point I was in late high school, then embarked for college, where my composition instructor challenged me to hear new sounds with music by composers such as George Crumb. Being so green as a college freshman, I was blown away at this wild and crazy music!
The point is, I studied and listened to a lot of music - a lot of music. I was encouraged to do so from all my teachers as well as casual contacts I made while in persuit of my composition degree. I encourage you do do so as well. Listen to jazz, to popular music, to classical, to film scores.... listen to as much as you can. It may seem strange to be so encouraged to listen to music when as composers we often want to "hear the music within ourselves." But there is much to learn when listening to many different kinds of music. Don't worry about "finding your voice." You already have it. We all have a unique voice. It does take time to evolve into a style uniquely "your own," but I found when I stopped trying to be original, I found myself and discovered my style blended many influences - the music I had studied from Mozart, Mahler, Chopin, Debussy.... the list goes on.
When you find "your voice," you speak n music without worrying about whether or not you are speaking in your voice. You do it automatically. You do it by first learning by others, then mastering the basics, then practicing your art until it becomes kind of "second nature." What is wonderful is knowing the creative well is an endless one. It is work to sometimes "find" this music, but remember when times are tough, that the music is always within you...
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