Music Composition 365 Top Pick
Gustav Mahler
Symphony No. 4
Sehr behaglich
Oct 072011
Oct 062011
Music Composition 365 Top Pick
Bjork
Verspertine 2001
An Echo a Stain
I’ve been party to many discussions with fellow composers about originality in compositions. When this issues has comes up, I’ve hear many of my peers (and teachers) say that originality is not a necessary element to a composition. In these instances, I’ve politely debated the point, but held back a bit out of respect. Since I’m bringing the topic up this time, let me SCREAM THIS – originality in a composition is a MUST. Perhaps it’s just me, but trying to figure out how to make your work sound original is what makes it hard. And if it’s not going to be hard, why would you bother?
And let’s be clear, original doesn’t mean ugly or dissonant. It doesn’t mean anything about the tone of the piece or how large its consumer appeal appeal might be. And it doesn’t mean that it’s good. But any piece (of a mature composer) that has no originality is bad. The argument often made by my peers during the discussions mentioned earlier is “how well the piece works.” Hmm – If figuring out how to make a piece that aspires for nothing more than “to work” is what you’re after, why not just take up transmission repair. I really like it when a mechanic tells me how well my transmission works, and I don’t care if the work was unoriginal.
Oct 042011
In Music Composition 016 I was talking about my appreciation for singer/songwriters. An interesting label “singer-songwriter.” What is that? Words and noises and timing? I guess that would be correct; however, it’s also the personality of the composer, at least to some degree, the makes a piece by a good singer-songwriter good. John Lennon claims that writing In My Life marks the point in his life at which he truly felt like an artist.
Singer-songwriters are integrated musicians. That which is created cannot be abstracted from its creator as easily as can an orchestral work for example (or we wouldn’t have 374 recordings of Beethoven’s complete symphonies to choose from on Amazon). The Beatles track above could easily be covered (and has been many times) by many different artists. If you read the music down, the song can be made to fit with many different personalities. However, Lennon’s own voice still lives in there somewhere.
In the Robert Johnson track below however, things are different. His voice and his personality own this song. It can also be covered (and has been by many artists). However, it seems to me that any cover of this song is a completely different song.
I think that songs are often describable in terms of how linked the core of the song is to the personality and voice of the composer. In both of the extremes above, I’m envious of the singer-songwriter, because I can’t do what they do. I feel I could work up some decent poetry and if pressed I could produce a passable set of chord changes with a melody. It’s the integration of the two that is beyond me (so far). But who know what might happen? Lots of cool stuff has been written with nothing but open chords.
Oct 032011
For some reason I feel very comfortable writing for the clarinet.
Excerpts from Soliloquies
Leslie Bassett
Meghan Merciers – Clarinet
Oct 022011
I’ve never been a lyrics guy, or a text scholar. But some songs just get me. I envy what the singer-songwriter can do with words in time with noises.
Music Composition 365 Top Pic
Neutral Milk Hotel
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea 1998
Two Headed Boy
__
Two-headed boy
All floating in glass
The sun it is past
Now it’s blacker than black
I can hear as you tap on your jar
I am listening to hear where you are
I am listening to hear where you are
Two-headed boy
Put on Sunday shoes
And dance round the room to accordion keys
With the needle that sings in your heart
Catching signals that sound in the dark
Catching signals that sound in the dark
We will take off our clothes
And they’ll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine
And when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside
Now your eyes ain’t moving now
They just lay there in their climb
Two-headed boy
With pulleys and weights
Creating a radio played just for two
In the parlor with a moon across her face
And through the music he sweetly displays
Silver speakers that sparkle all day
Made for his lover who’s floating and choking with her hands across her face
And in the dark we will take off our clothes
And they’ll be placing fingers through the notches in your spine
And when all is breaking everything that you could keep inside
Now your eyes ain’t moving now
They just lay there in their climb
Two-headed boy
There’s no reason to grieve
The world that you need is wrapped in gold silver sleeves
Left beneath Christmas trees in the snow
I will take you and leave you alone
Watching spirals of white softly flow
Over your eyelids and all you did
Will wait until the point when you let go
Oct 012011
Music Composition 365 Top Pick
Sep 302011
Music Composition 365 Top Pick
The second movement of Ravel’s concerto is one of those works (and I know there are some composers out there who understand this feeling) that when I first heard it I thought to myself, “DAMMIT! Why didn’t I write that?” Those who know me well may be surprised that I would choose such a pretty piece as one that has influenced me greatly as a composer. What can I say? You just can’t say no to some melodies.
Maurice Ravel
Piano Concerto in G major 1931
Adagio assai
Sep 292011
Since it seems to be so important to me, I thought I might start defining “compositional impulse” and invite readers to ask questions about the things that will certainly make little or no sense and comment on things they like.
First off, this idea is not music specific; however, for a long time, music held a privileged place for those looking to satisfy a healthy compositional impulse. Compositional impulse is the desire to manipulate and combine the various media types that one encounters.
This desire may drive someone to become a (music) composer (or not), but it is separate from any considerations of content such as harmony or melody. In a manner now common to many media types, music composers from the time before electricity were the only artists who could program their intended finished product with such a detailed programming language that the act of creating could take place in complete isolation from the medium itself. The privileged place of music was in the composer’s brain.
The film maker Robert Rodriguez has spoken about how digital film making gear allows a smaller group of people to work on a film and “move at the speed of thought.” Making a film will never offer the same facile response to the changing tide of an artist’s “impulses” as the direct line one gets with a pencil and staff paper.
Of course this brings up some questions for later:
What about theatre? Isn’t writing a play the same as composing music straight to the staff paper?
Is “programming language” a good metaphor for music notion?
I know there has to be more. Think of them and include them in the comments section below.
Sep 282011
Music Composition 365 Top Pick
The Rain Song
Led Zeppelin
Houses of the Holy 1973