Is it possible to learn music compositions?

[gn622]

I'm thinking about quitting my lessons which are focused on playing and technique, and start studying how to compose music with my same teacher , but im having some doubts as I've always thought that you either have the ability to compose or you don't.

So what do you guys think? can studying makes a decent composer? what should i expect to study if i proceed with the plan?

[minona]

Well, I know J.S Bach used to get is prospective pupils to compose something before taking instruction to see if they have any creative aptitude. It might have just been an efficient way of selecting pupils in the face of so many requests, but I doubt it was full-proof though. It can take a little time for the mind to know even how to try. I suppose he expected his composition students to have tried.

What I suggest is, postpone this request, if possible -you can always use piano instruction anyway. During this time think carefully how much you really want to do it, how strong your urge is (or might be) to create music.

But it's really the act of composing that will tell you if it's for you. See if you can come up with anything -not refined, crafted pieces- just fragments or something that shows a little taste and imagination. Try in the style of you favourite composers. Try changing some existing music to see if you can make something new out of it. Do you improvise?

Hope that helps

Minona 

[awesom_o]

You need to get your playing and your technique to a very high level to be able to compose anything worthwhile.

Do not stop studying with your current teacher. Make as much progress in music theory as you can. Begin improvising at home. See if your teacher will teach you improvisation.

I don't believe composition can be taught.

In order to be able to compose, you have to be such a good pianist that you don't need a teache

[gn622]

I'm able to write pretty short fragments (20 secs for example) which i find to be beautiful, sometimes i can compose just a melody but can't make a harmony and sometimes i find a harmony scheme but can't fit a melody in it  

I don't intent to take it seriously, in fact i never took music seriously , i just want to be able to one day to listen to something and be proud of it.  

@awesome, i actually don't have a teacher in the traditional sense, i simply visit him once every few months and show him my new pieces just to make note of my progress, i can already play pieces like chopin's scherzo and his ballade.

[awesom_o]

I don't intent to take it seriously, in fact i never took music seriously , i just want to be able to one day to listen to something and be proud of it.  

I'm sorry, but if you want to be proud of your musical work, you need to take it seriously!

[minona]

It is possible to learn certain simplified forms of composition that might help you create music you want to create, i.e 'Common Practice' techniques, namely counterpoint and figured bass. These are indispensable in learning to compose music that grew out of these traditions.

I've never learned anything really worthwhile from the Rameau school of harmony though, (i.e. block chords). I think that is a very unnatural method of composing.

[Bob]

Yes.  It's like any skill.

Your regular teacher might not be the best teacher for composition though.

[iansinclair]

Certainly it's possible.  Basic composition isn't even all that hard.  However, it would be a good idea to have at least a certain amount of theory and understanding of forms and so on before leaping in.  There are a number of ways to learn that; it's quite possible that your current teacher might be able to help a lot.

Mind you, this isn't so that you will then compose in a certain style, or in the fashion of a certain era.  There's no real reason why you should; if you do decide to compose, it should be your own voice.  However, it does help to know some of the basics, and why and how some things work and some things just don't seem to!

As others have pointed out, though -- the better you can play piano (or some other keyboard!) the happier you will be, as then your compositional ideas won't be limited by your ability to try them out.

[lallino]

I'm thinking about quitting my lessons which are focused on playing and technique, and start studying how to compose music with my same teacher , but im having some doubts as I've always thought that you either have the ability to compose or you don't.

So what do you guys think? can studying makes a decent composer? what should i expect to study if i proceed with the plan?

As a composer and teacher, I would urge you not to quit playing and improving your technique. The deep knowledge and mastering of an instrument (or more) can only make you a better composer. Composition can be taught to some extent but for it to be anything worthwhile and rewarding one needs to have the urge to compose. What I mean is that in my experience  composers are born as such, and then researching and experimenting will refine their skills.

From your post I would guess you might have this urge. If not, I would not worry. Music can be enjoyed in multiple ways.

Composers research, study, analyse the work of great musicians until they find their original voice. You don't need a teacher in the formal sense but someone who can guide you through this process.

In conclusion if you enjoy composing and you want to get better do both composing and playing (and if you can't afford it maybe you can divide the time into the two).

[minona]

Well, I'm sure there must be competant composers who are not great virtuosos, or perhaps even disabled...? It would help you to write piano music to be a better player, but you can write for an instrument you can't play too!

Beethoven though the best pianists were composers, but I'm not sure it works the other way around.

[awesom_o]

To my limited knowledge, the only composers  of any stature who weren't notable pianists were Berlioz, Wagner..... and maybe Vivaldi.

There have been of course plenty of composers who, despite some advanced pianistic ability, were unable to play their most difficult works for piano.... Schubert, Debussy, Ravel.... Prokofiev....definitely a few others I haven't thought of

[ted]

To create piano music start improvising, as awesom_o has suggested. Composers of the best piano music, old-fashioned and modern were all very fluent improvisers. I cannot think of one exception. Piano music, in its nature, seems to demand a haptic intimacy with the instrument and its sounds. There is no need to stop working on pieces or technique though; "both" is better than "either/or".

[Nordlys]

It is possible to learn music composition.
However, As Lallino said, you should have an urge to compose, a creative force, as the goal is to create something which is uniquely yours.

It is not necessary to be a good pianist to be a composer, especially today when we have computer tools. But still the piano is a good tool for getting an imediate feeling and understanding of e.g. scales and harmonies. And usually, a good pianist will have a better understanding of the instrument and be able to compose very pianistic music.

Improvising is valuable for generating ideas, which you can later expand on.

[minona]

To my limited knowledge, the only composers  of any stature who weren't notable pianists were Berlioz, Wagner..... and maybe Vivaldi.

There have been of course plenty of composers who, despite some advanced pianistic ability, were unable to play their most difficult works for piano.... Schubert, Debussy, Ravel.... Prokofiev....definitely a few others I haven't thought of

I think Vivaldi was noted to be sat at the harpsichord on one occasion. I suppose he would have been familiar with figured bass and basic keyboard playing since he was a teacher. But how good he was is uncertain.

Haydn was not known to be a virtuoso pianist, and had more vocal-based training as a child, narrowly escaping castration!

Tchaikovsky was supposed to be able, but lacked stamina.

Berlioz, as a result of his father's discouragement, never learned to play the piano, a peculiarity he later described as both beneficial and detrimental.

Ligeti said he didn't begin lessons until he was 14 and never mastered the piano.

[soitainly]

 I don't think you have to quit piano technique lessons to compose, anything you do in music can be additive.

 I don't know if composing is only something that you are born with. I never really thought much about composing till later in life, when I realized that the things I was improvising were as satisfying to me as anything I could play. It just sort of dawned on me to start to focus on these ideas and finish them. Composing is as much as reaching a critical mass of diverse musical influences as it is academic study. It's like great authors tend to have an insight into life experiences, composers just seem to have lots of musical influences.

 There is still the tendency to limit your compositions to what you can play, so I wouldn't stop being a player. It's not like there isn't enough time to practice your instrument, ideas for composing tend to come at their own time.