Compose Music

Compose Music... Keep All Ideas

I have to admit it.  I have not kept all of my musical ideas, and have certainly not used all of them.  But I have kept many more.  There are still ideas I have in my head that I may or may not use, but I believe it is important not to discard any ideas.  Sometimes you may think an idea will be great for one piece, but it turns up in another, as was the case for Stravinsky when he took ideas from a piano concerto and used them in his Symphony in Three Movements.  Sometimes composers will use ideas in multiple pieces, as Mahler did in his Third and Fourth Symphonies. 

The important thing to remember is that no idea should be dismissed as "bad."  My mother used to implore me to keep my musical ideas, to not discard my papers.  I have kept most of them, and I get a kick out of some of my ideas from when I was very young and just getting started in music.  They make me smile a bit at their naivite, but I also appreciate the genuinely unique ideas I had. 

Compose Music... Take Time to Listen

When I think of the circumstances under which Mozart would compose music, I have a hard time comprehending how he managed to be as amazingly productive as he was.  His performance schedule was unrelenting, as he would often play for weeks on end, every single night without a break.  During the days he would compose, but his nights were late and his mornings early.  He had children, one of which was a toddler while Mozart was working on his great operas of 1786 and 1787.  He no doubt could be noisy and hard to handle at times as all children are.  Yet Mozart managed to complete an enormous body of work, much of which is of the highest quality.  Astounding.

As a composer myelf, I wonder just how this man found the time to just listen to the music inside.  I have a feeling with his amazing production he had music on his mind at virtually all times.  I however, bein far less gifted than he, like to sit quietly or take a stroll.  I don't handle outside distractions terribly well when trying to listen to the music inside me.  I also like to sit at the piano so I can play some of what I'm hearing.  I cannot even imagine Beethoven's frustration with not being able to play back and hear the music inside of him.  Legend has it he used to take a stick in his mouth and rest it against the piano so he could at least feel the vibrations the sound made while he played. 

The important thing is to always take time to listen - to really listen to the music inside of you.  Some people can work within activity and bustle as Mozart did.  Others such as Mahler and Brahms need silence.  We are need to find the style that best serves our creative process.

Compose Music... Keeping it Simple

When I used to compose music a while back, I would work hard to make things as complicated as possible to impress myself and those whom I thought would be dazzled by my 'intellectual prowess.'  When I think back on the games I used to play as a composer, I shake my head a bit as I realize how off base I was to think that was what composition is all about.

Composition can be whatever you want it to be.  You can compose to challenge others' ears, to challenge your own limitations, to create beauty... the list goes on.  I suppose it is really not for me to say why you "should" or "should not" compose music, but I found when I went down the road of trying to flex my intellectual muscles, the result was not nearly as worth hearing as when I simply "let the music come to me" and didn't work so hard to construct material I thought would impress.  I must admit, the desire to impress came in part from the college environment, especially when I studied with a composer briefly at Harvard for a few lessons.  I could tell he wanted "complexity" and I felt some pressure to deliver what he perceived as "legitimate music." 

Once I left college, I wrote my very best music.  I believe that wholeheartedly.  I learned many valuable things while in school, but when out of school, I felt freed up to write what I heard within, without so much concern over whether the music was "complex enough."   It's okay to keep it simple.  It's okay to write gorgeous melody.  It's okay to not be so complex.  If I had heard those words in school, it would have been like a breath of fresh air...

Compose Music... Write What You Hear

When I would compose music in the past, I used to try to write by design, by manufacturing things with special intervalic relationships and such.  Some of that had to do with experimenting with new compositional techniques when in college, some of it had to do with what I perceived was expected of me as a student of composition.  I perceived an expectation to be clever with the "thought" behind the composition instead of simply writing what I heard.  I believed I needed to steer clear of blatant melody, and concentrate on motific and rhythmic complexity, with less emphasis on melodic line.  That was not what I necessarily wanted to do, but it was what I perceived was expected of me nonetheless. 

I would say that while it is a good idea to be well rounded, to expose your ears to many different sounds, it is okay to write what you hear.  If it is melody, write melody.  If it is more motific and rhythmic, write motific and rhythmic music.  The point is, I don't believe you should write what you believe others think you should write.  Why do something that is supposed to be authentically self-expressive if you're going to write what others want you to write?  You can't win, and nobody is happy when you try to please everyone.  Besides, self expression is just that - expressing yourself.  Do not be afraid to trust wheat you hear, and write what you hear.

Compose Music... Learn by Listening

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...

Compose Music... You Can Do It

After watching the film "Amadeus" when I was just 13 years old, I was ignited inside with a burning passion to compose music.  But I didn't know too much about how to go about writing music.  I had viola lessons for a few years in grammar school, but never any piano lessons.  Where to begin?

My mom and dad used to keep 2 large collections of encyclopedias in our house.  From there, I went to the articles for "music" and saw diagrams for the keyboard, what note names corresponded for each key, and were those keys appeared on the grand staff.  From there, I created little tunes and was very proud when I had my first notes recorded on staff paper I created by drawing the lines with a ruler. 

There are several resources well beyond the dusty encyclopedias I used when I was a kid.  The internet is an amazing wealth of valuable information.  Not only is it a wealth of technical information, but of sound files as well.  It is just as important to listen to a lot of music as it is to write your own.  But whether or not you can write notes, you can still create your music by tape recording your voice.  Don't worry whether or not you deem yourself a "great singer."  It matters not.  The main thing is to express youself with freedom, and not be obscured by technicalities while learning the basics. 

Compose Music... 'Drawing' Music

I am not a great graphic artist by any stretch.  I can photograph a bit, and love writing words and music, but am not great with the drawing hand.  Still, anyone can "draw" their music.  What do I mean by this?

Well... there are times when the sound I am looking for when writing a piece is so obscure... so strange... I don't even have notes or even necessarily rhythms.  I wrote before about creating "rhythmic sketches."  Now, I am talking about literally getting out a large sheet of paper - one large enough to cover the floor, breaking out a magic marker or your favorite writing device, and "drawing" the sound in scribbles as it comes to you.  This intuitive approach may help you "see" what's in your head better - and enable you to pair down the piece to its finer details as you create.

Compose Music... Tape Recording Your Music

I not only love to write music, but words as well.  A few years ago, I had so many thoughts to express, I found the cumbersome act of writing words down on paper was simply not fast enough.  The hand cramping was not good either, and I needed a much more efficient of recording my thoughts.  It dawned on me I needed a tape recorder.

So... I went to the store and purchased a small tape recorder that took microcassettes. I could not believe how freed up I was to express myself with virtually no restriction - no hand cramping, and immediate recording of my thoughts.  It enabled me to express myself at an unprecedented rate and did wonder for freeing myself up creatively. 

The same can be done to record your musical thoughts.  Not everyone can write notes, and you don't have to do so to "write" music.  But if you can write down notes, this recording process can help you express your musical ideas without the hand cramping. 

Compose Music... "Rhythmic Sketches"

I have to admit, I do not always hear the exact notes when I compose, but often "hear" the general "shape" of the sound I am hearing in my head.  In other words, I often will hear rhythms, articulation, and the general direction of the pitches long before I get down to the details of what precise notes I will need in a given piece. 

What I do is compose a "rhythmic sketch" in which I jot down on staff paper the rhythms and articulation and general direction of where the pitches will be.  I find that the focus on details takes place in the later stages of the creative process, but one can certainly know some if not most of the pitches early on.  I write what I know I want, then pair down as I continue to create. 

The important thing is to know you don't have to have all the information before you begin to write music.  Write what you know, then refine and refine.  That is the fun of creativity - letting the music write itself, or take you where it will.