March 22, 201213 yr Share your own piece of compositional wisdom in the form of a short saying or maxim. Over time, we can have a compilation of composition-related maxims and wisdom that will be helpful to every composer. Mine is: If you look closely and listen carefully, the piece you have just completed points the way to your next composition.
March 23, 201213 yr Erm. Just write. Show your stuff to other people (composers, performers, musically-challenged people[!]). Rewrite... :D
March 26, 201213 yr Albert Einstein was not a composer...per se, but..... "Imagination is more important than knowledge"........ wow, just imagine.....
March 28, 201213 yr Author Composition is ever about self-assurance. Never diverge from your true course - neither by praise, nor by criticism.
March 28, 201213 yr Author Music is about the contrast and balance between regularity and irregularity, pattern and free form.
March 28, 201213 yr The essence of creativity lies unquestionably amidst the moments of pleasure and desire.
April 7, 201213 yr Author "Music is the art of thinking with sounds." Jules Combarieu "Music means itself." Eduard Hanslick
April 28, 201213 yr Author A great passage composed already holds in itself the keys to a great piece. One need only look hard at it and one will "discover" and "trace" the whole piece from it.
May 2, 201213 yr Author All consonance proceeds from dissonance, is arrived at or discerned from a giant pool of dissonances. Therefore, in order to arrive at original consonances, you have to hear (and allow to be heard) the original dissonances from which they proceed, indeed must needs proceed.
May 2, 201213 yr Not my own, but have guided me immensely: "Two musicians coming together to play a piece of music has to be interesting, even if the results are not in themselves a great piece of music. The way they find to work with each each other say something about music....Even if it's not working in completed music terms, the process is one of the most interesting listening experiences you can get." - Derek Bailey "Here we are: Kagel, 'Improvisation Ajoutée.' I bought this when I was about 15. Still marked: got it at Sam Goody in September, for 98 cents. And it's a really crazy piece, with the guys screaming and hooting, something that attracted me. I was over at my friend's house, and he really liked the Rolling Stones. And I just got this record, and I put it on and he looked at me like... who the hell are you? Are you out of your mind? And his mother was there, and she was like [puts palm on cheek] my God, take this off... and right then and there, I decided: this was the music." - John Zorn
May 5, 201213 yr Author Here's an interesting set of 13 advices for young composers (maxim-like title followed by a discussion) by a young composer: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/05/the-score-advice-to-young-composers/
January 27Jan 27 Author Let me revive this old and interesting thread I had started many years ago, and also take this opportunity to encourage newer members to add their own compositional wisdom in the form of maxims, as well as discuss each other’s maxims. Here is a new maxim that I thought of a few hours ago today: As composers, we never really know why we compose. If we knew it , we might never have become composers.
January 27Jan 27 As composers, we never really know why we compose. If we knew it , we might never have become composers. I DO know why I became composer. It is the passion and the will to speak positively to your audiences and, if necessary, criticize the negativity or simply enjoy the widest range of possibilities of art. It is also about exploring and sharing your talents with everybody. The Bible also says the talents should never be burried. And you should always try to improve your skills and explore the little explored and be open-minded. Edited January 27Jan 27 by Sojar Voglar
February 8Feb 8 I have several: Music theory matters and learning everything about it should be one of your top priorities Just because a few people out there have different tastes/opinions doesn't mean it's all "subjective" Get it right at the source; "mixing" can't do anything about bad pieces and crap timbres It's better to be great at one genre of music than middling in many Don't forget about woodwinds Avoiding "parallel harmony" in melodic lines to mentally appease the spirit of Bach, who is dead, will hold your orchestrations back from their full potential Work with live musicians as much as possible Compose something every day A 2 minute piece people want to play on repeat is better than a 5-minute epic they'll only listen to occasionally Improvisation has its place, but you should use it sparingly; every note should have real thought behind it. Friends don't let friends imitate Schoenberg A recording/mockup should be seen as inseparable from composition rather an interpretation of it and should therefore be as polished and the very best presentation of your piece as possible; "raw" or "live sound" is usually a cope.
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