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Topic: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude  (Read 1797 times)

Offline kakeithewolf

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Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
on: August 06, 2014, 01:20:44 PM
A while ago, I was making a rather virtuosic fantasy, when someone pointed out to me that it would be better to label it as an etude for glissandi, which were heavily used in the track. So, I decided I would put up the etude form and ask for feedback.

Feel free to comment.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #1 on: August 06, 2014, 02:47:42 PM
It still sounds a bit like you are writing for a machine rather than a pair of hands. There's some cool stuff at the beginning, but overall I don't get much real sense of drama or mastery of form.

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #2 on: August 06, 2014, 02:59:00 PM
It still sounds a bit like you are writing for a machine rather than a pair of hands. There's some cool stuff at the beginning, but overall I don't get much real sense of drama or mastery of form.

In this case, I agree that it is more machine-like than anything else. The idea I was going for wasn't a sense of drama or mastery, per se, but rather, I intended it to be a piece for practicing difficult glissandi.
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Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #3 on: August 06, 2014, 03:27:34 PM
If you want people to play your works, you need to have a certain gift for dramatic structure. Dramatic structure is what separates a real, cohesive piece of music from a mere jumble of notes.

These days, with notation software readily available, anyone can write virtually unplayable 'pieces' with thousands upon thousands of notes all over the keyboard.

Very few people can compose a well-structured, melodically and harmonically interesting three minute piece that folks actually WANT to play.

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #4 on: August 06, 2014, 08:30:58 PM
If you want people to play your works, you need to have a certain gift for dramatic structure. Dramatic structure is what separates a real, cohesive piece of music from a mere jumble of notes.

These days, with notation software readily available, anyone can write virtually unplayable 'pieces' with thousands upon thousands of notes all over the keyboard.

Very few people can compose a well-structured, melodically and harmonically interesting three minute piece that folks actually WANT to play.

There's something very interesting about that particular statement. When I improvise, I tend to gravitate towards the more dramatic. When I actually compose, I don't aim for "dramatic" very often.

Most of the time, I try to make works that are more along the lines of halcyon or joyful. In fact, my favourite form to compose in is the berceuse (which I find woefully underrated). Even when I write with instruments other than piano (in fact, especially when they aren't piano), I tend to try for halcyon or joyful. Many seem to favour drama, but I just don't prefer it in compositions that reflect my thoughts and feelings.

This etude was more or less an experiment with glissandi, though, than a piece I find personally significant. It was among two works I had abandoned due to being displeased with how they turned out, the other of which I deleted all traces of save for a rudimentary copy scrawled on paper in a mental ward. I am not particularly proud of the piece, but I put it up anyway to gauge my ability to conceptualize glissandi objectively.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #5 on: August 07, 2014, 01:01:29 AM
I'd love to hear your Berceuse(s)!

I didn't wish to give you the impression that this creation holds no merit whatsoever. There were some nice ideas, particularly at the beginning. Its form seemed a bit unformed, and I was disappointed by the expressive capabilities of the midi playback.

Again, I urge you to get away from midi playback, and write something that YOU can play with YOUR own hands. Don't worry about not being a virtuoso! Virtuoso players are a dime a dozen. Original composers are in short supply!

It shows more self-respect when a composer takes the time to play his or her own works, rather than rely on midi. Remember, midi playback absolutely RUINS even the finest compositions, rendering them without any sense of feeling whatsoever.

Offline j_menz

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #6 on: August 07, 2014, 01:12:37 AM
Again, I urge you to get away from midi playback, and write something that YOU can play with YOUR own hands.

It seems to me that this is essential for an etude. An etude is supposed to have a didactic purpose as well as a musical one, and how can you teach that which you have not learnt?
"What the world needs is more geniuses with humility. There are so few of us left" -- Oscar Levant

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #7 on: August 07, 2014, 12:33:46 PM
I'd love to hear your Berceuse(s)!

I didn't wish to give you the impression that this creation holds no merit whatsoever. There were some nice ideas, particularly at the beginning. Its form seemed a bit unformed, and I was disappointed by the expressive capabilities of the midi playback.

Again, I urge you to get away from midi playback, and write something that YOU can play with YOUR own hands. Don't worry about not being a virtuoso! Virtuoso players are a dime a dozen. Original composers are in short supply!

It shows more self-respect when a composer takes the time to play his or her own works, rather than rely on midi. Remember, midi playback absolutely RUINS even the finest compositions, rendering them without any sense of feeling whatsoever.


The problem I tend to have is that I can usually either have a recording made OR I can actually make a score so it can be played more than once. Problem is, most of my works aren't for keyboard, they're either chamber music or orchestral. In the case of those, I try to aim for using a soundfont, so I can at least convey some emotion.

Also, you can find the berceuses I have made here: https://www.youngcomposers.com/music/listen/5546/four-beceuses/
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #8 on: August 07, 2014, 01:32:39 PM
The problem I tend to have is that I can usually either have a recording made OR I can actually make a score so it can be played more than once.

I don't understand what you mean by this.
Why can't you simply write something out neatly by hand, stick it on your music desk, and play it?

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #9 on: August 07, 2014, 01:50:07 PM
I don't understand what you mean by this.
Why can't you simply write something out neatly by hand, stick it on your music desk, and play it?

The reason why is because I can improvise a piece that I don't have the compositional knowledge to write, and I compose works more often than not that require more skill of organized playing than I have.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #10 on: August 07, 2014, 02:09:31 PM
The reason why is because I can improvise a piece that I don't have the compositional knowledge to write, and I compose works more often than not that require more skill of organized playing than I have.

Anybody can improvise a 'piece' that they don't have the composition chops to notate.  That's one of the main reasons why improvisations and finished compositions are not the same thing.

Don't write beyond your skill level! That's like a 'chef' who is attempting to publish a cookbook, having not even once prepared the recipes contained therein, on the basis that they require too much cooking skill, that he doesn't have!

Would you, or anyone in their right mind, buy such a cookbook?  ???

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #11 on: August 07, 2014, 03:21:55 PM
Anybody can improvise a 'piece' that they don't have the composition chops to notate.  That's one of the main reasons why improvisations and finished compositions are not the same thing.

Don't write beyond your skill level! That's like a 'chef' who is attempting to publish a cookbook, having not even once prepared the recipes contained therein, on the basis that they require too much cooking skill, that he doesn't have!

Would you, or anyone in their right mind, buy such a cookbook?  ???

Continuing on the chef analogy, I could state that a chef who knows how to combine combinations of logical flavour combinations, has a conceptualization of the recipes within their mind, and knows how to execute the combination of those two elements would make a cookbook. A chef can know HOW to create a dish without having made the dish before. A chef can also not know how to create a dish and still create it successfully anyway. Probably not the best analogy for the skill level argument.

The reason why I compose beyond my playing ability is because I lack the fine motor skill and dexterity (primarily due to disorders I've had since birth) to properly do most tasks. This isn't limited to merely instruments, but rather, the entirety of manually done tasks. That's also why I use notation software, because my penmanship is about as good as a doctor's, also due to my disorders. In other words, Beethoven was deaf, I have incredibly poor gross and fine motor ability. I'm no Beethoven, but that isn't to say I shouldn't try. Besides, if I do happen to make something good, there's always someone else who can play it.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

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Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #12 on: August 07, 2014, 03:43:02 PM
I feel sorry for you, but sadly, the sorrow that I feel for you does not make your music any more palatable.  :)

Offline mjames

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #13 on: August 07, 2014, 04:35:27 PM
Those smiley faces can hurt. Oh and awesome, when are you going to post another composition? I really liked your dark void thingy or something. Catchy as ***.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #14 on: August 07, 2014, 04:52:47 PM
I sincerely try my best to help people rather than to hurt them.  :)
I've been putting the finishing touches on another small piece, and it should be ready for the public very soon indeed.

Oh, and kake, comparing oneself to Beethoven, no matter HOW prominently one mentions the disclaimer "I'm no Beethoven" is EXTREMELY inadvisable.  >:(

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #15 on: August 07, 2014, 05:25:29 PM
I sincerely try my best to help people rather than to hurt them.  :)
I've been putting the finishing touches on another small piece, and it should be ready for the public very soon indeed.

Oh, and kake, comparing oneself to Beethoven, no matter HOW prominently one mentions the disclaimer "I'm no Beethoven" is EXTREMELY inadvisable.  >:(

The only reason I stated Beethoven's name was because I couldn't think of any other composer with a significant handicap that affected composition. I realized after I posted that it was not the best idea to state it as I did.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline coda_colossale

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #16 on: August 07, 2014, 05:53:13 PM
Those smiley faces can hurt.
I'm going to hunt down and beat the **** out of the next person to use this:  ;)

I'm not saying this is the case in the current situation, but one can obtain a lot of knowledge about pianistic language and technique by observation and studying. It's not like trying to write a fugue without having the tiniest bit of knowledge of counterpoint.



Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #17 on: August 07, 2014, 05:56:08 PM
I'm going to hunt down and beat the **** out of the next person to use this:  ;)

I'm not saying this is the case in the current situation, but one can obtain a lot of knowledge about pianistic language and technique by observation and studying. It's not like trying to write a fugue without having the tiniest bit of knowledge of counterpoint.

True, that helps. Trial and error sometimes help as well.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #18 on: August 07, 2014, 08:30:19 PM
The only reason I stated Beethoven's name was because I couldn't think of any other composer with a significant handicap that affected composition. I realized after I posted that it was not the best idea to state it as I did.

No worries, kake. I understand that was the purpose of the comparison. My point was simply that nobody actually cares about handicaps in this business. As distasteful as that may be for some people, no publishing company will say "oh... he has birth defects that left him with terrible coordination.... poor guy.... let's publish his music and help him out... he hasn't had an easy time in life!".

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #19 on: August 07, 2014, 08:51:26 PM
No worries, kake. I understand that was the purpose of the comparison. My point was simply that nobody actually cares about handicaps in this business. As distasteful as that may be for some people, no publishing company will say "oh... he has birth defects that left him with terrible coordination.... poor guy.... let's publish his music and help him out... he hasn't had an easy time in life!".

I don't bother with publishing companies. If people want the files for my works, I'm more than happy to give the bloody things out for free. No reason taking people's money when I don't really have a use for it.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #20 on: August 07, 2014, 09:51:41 PM
I don't bother with publishing companies. If people want the files for my works, I'm more than happy to give the bloody things out for free. No reason taking people's money when I don't really have a use for it.

I don't bother with publishing companies either.... but publishing companies don't bother with me ;) and hopefully that will change when I develop a higher profile through concertizing. BS you don't have a use for money... you don't eat, or sleep under a roof, or wear clothes? Because last time I checked, those things are all pretty darn pricey!

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #21 on: August 08, 2014, 06:02:38 PM
I don't bother with publishing companies either.... but publishing companies don't bother with me ;) and hopefully that will change when I develop a higher profile through concertizing. BS you don't have a use for money... you don't eat, or sleep under a roof, or wear clothes? Because last time I checked, those things are all pretty darn pricey!

I get SSI because I'm ineligible for a job for numerous reasons. Those provide the money I need for my expenses. I also have stocks, a novella I sell online (only because the distribution site forces me to charge people), and on rare occasions, studies that pay me to get scans of my brain. It is perhaps best to state it as "I do not want money".

There is no reason to charge people for my music, on the other hand, and it is far from the point of quality where one can be justified in asking for money in return. If people want the audio files, I put them on Bandcamp for free (as well as YouTube). If people want the MIDIs, sheet music, or the MuseScore files, I can make RAR archives for them in a matter of minutes.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline pianoguy711

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #22 on: August 09, 2014, 03:59:08 AM
Anybody can improvise a 'piece' that they don't have the composition chops to notate.  That's one of the main reasons why improvisations and finished compositions are not the same thing.

Don't write beyond your skill level! That's like a 'chef' who is attempting to publish a cookbook, having not even once prepared the recipes contained therein, on the basis that they require too much cooking skill, that he doesn't have!

Would you, or anyone in their right mind, buy such a cookbook?  ???

I've been wrestling with this topic for a while, and I'm glad that you guys came upon it.  What do you do when your compositions are beyond your technique?  Are you saying that we should not compose them awesome? I would have to disagree.  Sometimes a composer is not the best interpreter of his works. Ravel, who was obviously an excellent pianist but not virtuosic by his own standards, preferred to have his friend Ricardo Viñes premier his works like Gaspard and Miroirs.

There is definitely an arms race between technical ability and composition that every composer most battle with (unless you're Chopin and you just start out brilliant  ::)).  But composing outside your technical capabilities forces you to confront these challenges as you would when learning someone else's piece.

@Kakeithewolf
The reason why is because I can improvise a piece that I don't have the compositional knowledge to write, and I compose works more often than not that require more skill of organized playing than I have.

I think your selling yourself short.  I think you have what it takes to transcribe your improvisations.  I know, it's hard work and it takes forever.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #23 on: August 09, 2014, 05:45:09 AM
kake, I'm glad to hear your finances are under control! That certainly gives you the freedom to compose however you want to compose!

pianoguy711,

You raise an interesting point!

Sometimes a composer is not the best interpreter of his own works.... but lots of other times, he is.


When I hear a piece someone has composed, I can always tell whether or not the person has the ability to hear the music in their head. Very few people have this kind of musicianship. Most rely upon midi playback in order to be able to hear the music that they write.

I am convinced that the art of composition is in peril as a result of this. Leaving aside the chef analogy, the 'composer' who cannot hear his own music in his head without a computer to play it back for him is like a 'novelist' who cannot read his own language.

How can you write something that you cannot read? It's bound to be nonsense, no matter how much time you spend writing it!

What I am talking about is VERY different from Ravel not being as capable of a concert performer as Vines.... or Schubert not having the confidence to perform the Wanderer Fantasy.

Ravel and Schubert could play their own works, even if they didn't wish to perform them publicly. Their most difficult piano pieces lay just at the edge of their technical abilities as instrumentalists, not so far beyond them that they needed a machine to know what they even sounded like!

So by all means, compose something that pushes the limits of your playing ability!

But don't compose something that you cannot even hear in your head without playback!
You should be able to write out your piece on paper by hand without touching the instrument. Otherwise, you don't really KNOW what you're writing... you're sort of just... guessing as you go, so to speak, leaning heavily on the notation software to provide you with ideas that you didn't have in the first place! 

Notation software exists to HELP composers.... not to stand in their way as a crutch!

And I caution people against writing difficult music for the sake of being difficult! Write music that is beautiful! Write music to uplift the soul! Don't write music simply for the sake of challenging people!

I say all of this with the disclaimer that kakeithewolf, being an independently wealthy amateur composer, can write whatever the heck he wants.... as can you, or anyone else for that matter!

There is no need for there to be an arms race! If you have worthy musical ideas, compose with them! If the musical ideas are truly worthy, it shouldn't matter whether or not you have the crystalline touch and lightning-fast reflexes of a master-pianist!

Offline quantum

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #24 on: August 09, 2014, 05:57:12 AM
What do you do when your compositions are beyond your technique?  

I've witnessed at least one occurrence where a set of compositions was deemed "unplayable" for practical purposes at the time of writing, to becoming recorded and nationally toured in concert.  Thankfully the composer was able to witness this before her death.  

One should not underestimate the ability of performers to attain yet unprecedented skills and apply them successfully.  IMO if one has a compositional idea one should notate (and I use the word loosely here) it in a manner that would best serve the idea, free from worry about being non conformant with any of the prevailing theories at the time.

Made a Liszt. Need new Handel's for Soler panel & Alkan foil. Will Faure Stein on the way to pick up Mendels' sohn. Josquin get Wolfgangs Schu with Clara. Gone Chopin, I'll be Bach

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #25 on: August 09, 2014, 10:39:51 AM
But don't compose something that you cannot even hear in your head without playback!
You should be able to write out your piece on paper by hand without touching the instrument. Otherwise, you don't really KNOW what you're writing... you're sort of just... guessing as you go, so to speak, leaning heavily on the notation software to provide you with ideas that you didn't have in the first place! 

There is no need for there to be an arms race! If you have worthy musical ideas, compose with them! If the musical ideas are truly worthy, it shouldn't matter whether or not you have the crystalline touch and lightning-fast reflexes of a master-pianist!

Actually, most of the time, I have the ideas for a composition and they naturally come to me BEFORE I actually notate them. I just use the notation software to make it both neater and to ensure I am correctly transcribing what I am envisioning in my head.

Such was the case with two notable pieces of mine, a composition named Zauberfuchs and the Sonata in C I posted a while back. In the case of the first, I actually have the hand written sheet music of a variation of the original piece, written on the back of a mental ward day schedule. Once I got out, it took me a month of writing and organizing ideas before it was even on paper, and even after that, I edited the sheet later by hand, In the case of the second, the themes on which I had built each movement had been stuck in my head up to six months prior, and it was a matter of slowly building the composition piece by piece until I had what I envisioned (and played to a degree) in my head.

All that being said, I do use notation software with caution.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline philolog

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #26 on: August 09, 2014, 11:55:48 AM
Composition, in my opinion, is not an either/or proposition. In other words, I decry the idea that one "must" be able to hear everything in one's head before notating the ideas. First of all, not everyone is born a Mozart, whose music evolved and presented itself to his inner mind automatically and completely, no doubt due to the uncanny talents of his unconscious. Secondly, such a dogmatic view ignores the element of improvisation, which can be a help to a composer as his music develops. In addition, it ignores the element of serendipity, where a previously unsuspected idea may come to mind, even through "noodling."

When Stravinsky used a piano to help him, did it prove he was less of a composer? Perhaps he could envisage his compositions completely in his inner ear and used the piano merely to confirm his choices but I don't know, I just raise the question for what it is...

I don't believe that awesom's analogy to a novelist not being able to read his own work is valid. Reading a score or a manuscript after the fact is not the same thing as the effort involved in creating it. Further more, concerning the composition of a novel, numerous times I've read that novelists feel that their works almost write themselves once the characters are well enough developed: they seem to feel that the characters are shaping the work, not the author. Whatever this tells us about the creative process, it would be an extraordinary writer who could envision every word in his novel in his mind before writing. No doubt those with the literary equivalent of perfect pitch combined with a photographic memory might be able to do so, but other mortals shouldn't be deprived of the pleasures of creativity.

To awesom's credit, he does concede that his personal views shouldn't prevent anyone one from writing however they see fit, whether with the aid of composition software or not.

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #27 on: August 09, 2014, 12:12:28 PM
Actually, most of the time, I have the ideas for a composition and they naturally come to me BEFORE I actually notate them. I just use the notation software to make it both neater and to ensure I am correctly transcribing what I am envisioning in my head.

All that being said, I do use notation software with caution.

That is good news to my ears!

Offline awesom_o

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #28 on: August 09, 2014, 12:23:26 PM

Further more, concerning the composition of a novel, numerous times I've read that novelists feel that their works almost write themselves once the characters are well enough developed: they seem to feel that the characters are shaping the work, not the author. Whatever this tells us about the creative process, it would be an extraordinary writer who could envision every word in his novel in his mind before writing. No doubt those with the literary equivalent of perfect pitch combined with a photographic memory might be able to do so, but other mortals shouldn't be deprived of the pleasures of creativity.


What you have read numerous times about novelists and their books 'writing themselves' so to speak is almost EXACTLY the experience I have had with composition over the years. Once I have thought enough about the feelings I seek to express, the piece weaves itself into existence, usually with minimal interference from my hand.

Granted, there are times when things flow more or less smoothly, and I am by no means 'above' a little experimentation or some improvisation. By and large, however, I consider improvisation and composition to be different realms, both of which interest me seriously.

I usually find that my best pieces are the ones in which the the material shapes the work almost entirely. The more I mess around, the more of a mess I make!  :)

However, I do not believe composition can be 'taught'. We can learn by drawing on the personal experiences of composers who we respect, but it is only through developing our OWN experiences that we can actually make real progress!

The muse is invoked in mysterious ways!

Offline kakeithewolf

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #29 on: August 09, 2014, 05:10:56 PM
Composition, in my opinion, is not an either/or proposition. In other words, I decry the idea that one "must" be able to hear everything in one's head before notating the ideas. First of all, not everyone is born a Mozart, whose music evolved and presented itself to his inner mind automatically and completely, no doubt due to the uncanny talents of his unconscious. Secondly, such a dogmatic view ignores the element of improvisation, which can be a help to a composer as his music develops. In addition, it ignores the element of serendipity, where a previously unsuspected idea may come to mind, even through "noodling."

When Stravinsky used a piano to help him, did it prove he was less of a composer? Perhaps he could envisage his compositions completely in his inner ear and used the piano merely to confirm his choices but I don't know, I just raise the question for what it is...

I don't believe that awesom's analogy to a novelist not being able to read his own work is valid. Reading a score or a manuscript after the fact is not the same thing as the effort involved in creating it. Further more, concerning the composition of a novel, numerous times I've read that novelists feel that their works almost write themselves once the characters are well enough developed: they seem to feel that the characters are shaping the work, not the author. Whatever this tells us about the creative process, it would be an extraordinary writer who could envision every word in his novel in his mind before writing. No doubt those with the literary equivalent of perfect pitch combined with a photographic memory might be able to do so, but other mortals shouldn't be deprived of the pleasures of creativity.

To awesom's credit, he does concede that his personal views shouldn't prevent anyone one from writing however they see fit, whether with the aid of composition software or not.

You do bring up some good points with this. A lot of my better works were combinations of experiment and the concrete melodies I had in my mind. Whilst it's true that I don't have the capability to hear every note in my head as many composers do, I know precisely what I want to convey.

Your notes on the novelist analogy are fascinating as well. I'm much more well versed in writing literature than music, and I experience the phenomenon you described: The ability to envision every fine detail about what I am writing. It is almost like a movie playing inside my head as I write. However, the words are written stream-of-consciousness, so I can't really say I plan ahead. Nonetheless, I write exactly what I wish to convey, and paint the scene I see in my mind using words.
Per novitatem, artium est renascatur.

Finished with making music for quite a long time.

Offline ted

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Re: Original Composition - "Fantasy" Glissandi Etude
Reply #30 on: August 10, 2014, 08:54:50 AM
By and large, however, I consider improvisation and composition to be different realms, both of which interest me seriously.

So do I. The extent and manner of their overlap seems a highly individual matter, almost impossible to make rules about.

However, I do not believe composition can be 'taught'.

Neither do I, and I'm none too sure about improvisation either. As our friend quantum once remarked somewhere here, once people are past a certain stage, getting them to improvise is like pulling teeth. I've often speculated that the drive to create comes from an altogether different part of the brain from measurable musical ability. The incidence of players of phenomenal knowledge and ability with no inclination to say anything of their own is so common it is almost the rule. On the other hand, if the creative drive is strong enough, it will find its own ways of bringing relatively modest talents to effective use.
"Mistakes are the portals of discovery." - James Joyce
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