luderart Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I suspect it is sight-reading because if you have that then you can read all manuscripts and understand them which will help you imitate them. If you hear in your head what is written on a manuscript, then you can write down what you hear in your head. Now the question is, what is the best way to improve one's sight-reading, especially where several parts are concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEKHAR Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Did you say "imitate" ?:) If you are making experimental music, you must know what you want to express. If you are making traditional and tonal music, you must know what audience want to hear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PianoManGidley Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Hurm...hard to make a call on the single most important trait for a composer to have...but I'd harbor a guess at it being your ability to take criticism well--find out what's legitimately helpful that someone has to offer for improving your craft, and learn to just brush off the rest with either a "thank you" or a "whatever, screw you," depending on the tone and context of the criticism dealt. The way I see it, every artist worth their weight not only can stand to improve, but actively seeks to improve their craft without end. Ask the most talented musicians alive today after a performance what they thought of their performance, and they'll usually list at least one thing they could have done better...and it's because they know that there's always room for improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Bruckner Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 i'd say creativity. Imagination and creativity. I doubt that the early masters had much to study from, but they had creativity in abundance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinjessome Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 I definately say NOT sight-reading. The ability to read music well has little/no effect on your skill in writing it. ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEKHAR Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 Listening to lots and lots of music of different genre and tradition is extremely important. Listening can be a pastime for others, but for composers, it is a serious activity. We cannot afford to listen to music while reading the newspaper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlioz Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 composition is about both self-expression AND communication. The common dissent between these two is what makes music so special. Composition's single most important ability is the mood. ^2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CreationArtist Posted November 18, 2006 Share Posted November 18, 2006 The composers most prized abilities in my opinion are to think in the abstract, to communicate their feelings in sound, but most of all to connect all of their ideas in a logical albeit sometimes dissonant flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luderart Posted November 19, 2006 Author Share Posted November 19, 2006 most of all to connect all of their ideas in a logical albeit sometimes dissonant flow. What a great definition of composition! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Prodigy Posted November 19, 2006 Share Posted November 19, 2006 I honestly wouldn't know, I just randomly get musical ideas in my head, and compose them. If I could figure how to trigger these musical ideas, whenever I wanted to, that would make composing a lot easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CreationArtist Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Music is the art, the craft, and the science of organizing sound and silence in the framework of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Bruckner Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 the will to write. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest CreationArtist Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I'd say... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Living. Things like breathing are also good unless you can write really fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEKHAR Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 The ability to actually finish a composition which began with an inspirational idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marius Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Oh definately, that's a great point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young Prodigy Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Question is, how do you guys come up with musical ideas? For me, musical ideas just pop up in my head randomly, and I compose them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Reglay Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 1) For me, the most important ability in composition is the feeling, followed by coherence (like a common chat). 2) Musical ideas are the most important things in composition and I said feeling is the most important thing in composition. Then, my inspiration comes from feelings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerlinndan Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 I agree that sight-reading, self-expression, the ability to communicate, and the ability to think in complex logical chains are all indispensable skills for producing good compositions. But I believe there is a skill even more fundamental than all of these, and that skill is a good inner ear. By inner ear I mean the ability to conceive of music in great detail in one's head without any visual or other aids, and then the ability to analyze that music so that it can be written down. Then, once the music is down on paper, a good inner ear enables the composer to hear that music once more in his or her head in a way that allows for the flexibility of revision. Ours is primarily a hearing art, and for this reason I believe that the ear and its intuitions must reign supreme in making decisions about music composition. Of course I'm not saying that a good ear guarantees that good music will come out. I simply believe that it is the most fundamental of skills one can possess as a musician. (This is kind of motivating me to start a big ear training thread I've been contemplating for a while.) What do you all think? Is this the most fundamental skill as a composer, or is there something even deeper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulP Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 What is the single most important ability/skill for composition? I think the question is flawed. I can't single down one. But I can think of important attributes that cannot be missing: Passion, tenacity, understanding of music and the right balance between imagination and logic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berlioz Posted November 21, 2006 Share Posted November 21, 2006 The ability to actually finish a composition which began with an inspirational idea. Uhm... Don't they all start with inspirational ideas?... :D At least mine do... And I've finished them :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SHEKHAR Posted November 22, 2006 Share Posted November 22, 2006 Well, That's why you are a composer, aren't you ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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