Do you plan on having a future in composition? Just wondering.Show results
IOrangEI D Major Scale
Posts: 56
(6/30/03 6:45 pm) Reply
Re: Do you plan on having a future in composition?
I compose sometimes, but I haven't really studied music theory so I can't really express myself well with music. Although composing is definitely something I'll do in the future, just not for profit.
Re: Do you plan on having a future in composition?
I'm in the same boat as IOrangEI. This spring Ill be able to devote more time to musical theory and composition. I don't care if nobody else ever hears it, it's just something I feel like I need to do.
Umm...
Having a background in music theory is always helpful, but you have to be careful not to let the presupposed "rules" of theory hamper your musical ideas. Most theory courses, especially introductory ones, focus on late 1700's-early 1800's style of compositions. If you follow those rules, ie. no parallel 5th's, octaves, correct doubling, etc... it's hard to come up with something clever and originals. Most junior or senior level college compositions tell you to just forget what you learned in theory, because following those rules, compositions are very restrictive.
no
That's not quite true. It is still important to know theory, regardless of how "modern" your music sounds. You don't have to stick to the rules all the time, afterall rules are made to be broken, but it is crucial to know when you're breaking a rule. In addition to that, many of the rules of theory became rules for a reason. If you're trying to write something in a particular style, or get a particular sound it's important to know what the theoretical basis for that style or that sound is.
Also - originality isn't everything. I once had a masterclass with Samuel Adler where he stressed the fact that none of the "great composers" were in any way original. They all built on what came before them. The only possible exceptions to this (that we came up with in the class, anyway) were John Cage and Charles Ives.
Re: no
Yes, yes, yes. Music and theatre are my life!
RxScram E-flat Major Scale
Posts: 90
(12/25/03 4:57 pm) Reply
Re: no
Go to any American university today and ask the composition majors when the last time they wrote a Prelude, Sonata or a set of variations was. Most of them will say never. In order to develop as a composer, most of us can not go willy nilly and start plopping black blobs on paper and have it work. This is why learning the rules is important.
It would be very difficult to understand the power of using parallel fifths, for example, if you were never told why they were thought to be avoided. It's hard to write a sonata and fully understand development if you don't know how a variation works.
The rules of composition are like a set of encyclopedias. You invest a lot in them and then they sit on your shelf to be used when you need something to refer to.
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies 
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies 
Do you plan on having a future in composition?
