Composition Tip: How to avoid the "blank page" syndrome

It is very easy to waste many composition hours by looking at a blank piece of staff paper (or a computer screen) trying to come up with something to write. As a student I had this problem, as an adult I don’t.

Why the change? Life got busier (kids, work, etc.) and I don’t have as much time to compose so I try and make the most of it. When I was a student I had endless amounts of free time.

Here is what I do:

1. I usually have an idea of the general character of the piece. For example, I want to compose an “uplifting” solo bassoon piece. “Uplifting” to me means that I probably won’t be using minor scales but will instead stick with major thirds and melodies that ascend.

2. Once I know the general character of the piece I will begin to improvise (brainstorm) and come up with (at least) 20 different ideas (melodies, chord progressions, motives). This stage is usually completed in 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t want to over think this stage.

3. Then I’ll go through my ideas and pick out a couple that I like and start developing them into tiny (10-15 measures) pieces. If this part is a struggle I will go on to the next idea I like.

4. The next day I’ll pick “the one” and then start brainstorming more ideas, this time related to “the one.”

I hope this helps,

-Rob

Composition Tip: Improvise the Big Picture

One technique I will often use when composing a piece is to begin with the overall structure. Usually this is a result of recording an improv. I'll listen back to it and write out just enough information needed for me to remember what I played. Using this "score" I'll begin working out the details in Finale.

In this way I am "seeing" the forest first, before the trees.

An example would be a piece I composed last Monday (5/7/2012). It started out as an improv, and then I notated the score. Here is the original improv: Improv_may_5_2012

You can download the score here: untitled_guitar_piece

I inserted time markers to help you follow along. As you can see, the sections are there, but I am improvising the details. The next step for me is to input it into Finale where I will have to make decisions about the details. My guess is this piece will become one of the pieces in my Red Guitar Suite. This piece has already had its premier: I composed this last Monday and performed it for a group of high school kids on Wednesday. I still have to figure out a title. For me, that is the hardest part.

-Rob

Music Composition Tip: Composition through Improvisation

There are a variety of ways to compose music. One such way is composition through improvisation.  John Duarte, the late-great guitar composer, once said that "composition is improvisation, given the benefit of time to reconsider and refine the product."

Improvisation is a great way to collect ideas that will be used as the basis for a piece.  I'm not talking about improvising over a set of chord changes like many jazz and rock musicians do, but to try and improvise an entire piece. The video above was done a couple of weeks ago and is an example of a piece that was completely improvised.

As far as what I am thinking about while improvising, I am trying to "hear" in my head what should come next. At around 56 seconds in this video I hit an F major chord. I remember thinking before I hit the F chord, "I think I will hit an F chord," and then after I did the F chord, "ohh, that probably didn't sound good." After listening to the recording I don't think the F chord sounds as bad as I originally thought.

As far as turning this piece into an actual piece of notated music, I would change some of the repeated material. Maybe vary it a little so that it is not so repetitive. A lot of times in an improvisation I will repeat a melody or a chord change because I am trying to think of what I should do next.  In addition to varying some of the ideas, I might add a new section.

In general, I find it easier to improvise a single melody rather than trying to harmonize the melody with chords. It can be a good idea to start with a particular scale and then go from there. In the piece above I am using an E natural minor scale and occasionally using the flatted 2 for variety.

A good improvisation exercise is to play a single note on whatever instrument you play. Then try to "hear" in your head what the next note should be. Then try and "hear" the next note, and then the next note, etc. While doing this try not to limit yourself by thinking, "what would Beethoven do after this note," just play what you hear in your head.

I hope this is of some help. I would love to hear any thoughts you might have.

Rob

Composition Tip: Without Deadlines you might develop “Paralysis by Analysis”

I remember watching an interview with Quincy Jones discussing the Thriller album by Michael Jackson. Apparently Thriller was written and recorded in a short period of time because the studio did not give them much time.  I remember in the interview Jones said that there was no time for “paralysis by analysis.” They had specific deadlines to meet and there was not a lot of extra time to over-analysis what they were doing. Of course, that album went down as one of the greatest pop records of all time, selling millions of records.

Deadlines can be a wonderful thing for composers. As a student composer, I was expected to write a certain amount of music by the end of the semester. If you are a professional composer you might have performance deadlines. You will need to complete the piece by a certain time to give the performers a chance to rehearse the work.

I’m giving a guitar concert in a week at Lake Michigan College. A couple of months ago I began the process of picking out pieces for this concert. I soon realized I had a hole in my program and I thought it would be nice to compose a new electro-acoustic piece specifically for this concert (Northern Lights, the video is above). I also realized at that time that I would have to start teaching in two weeks and once school began, I wouldn’t have much time to rehearse for this concert much less finish composing a piece.  So my goal was to compose a 7 or 8 minute piece in two weeks before school started. Earlier this summer I had had the idea of a guitar piece using Max/MSP and this concert gave me an excuse to write this electro-acoustic work.

When I think back on it the actual process of composing this piece is a blur to me. I don’t really remember what I was thinking about while composing Northern Lights. I do remember I started with a basic idea: I wanted it to be around 7 minutes and I wanted the electronic parts to sound like a chorus of guitars. That’s what I started with and then I composed the piece. I think it turned out OK considering the lack of time I had to work with. I would have preferred to have a month to compose this piece but I just didn’t have the time. I’m not saying Northern Lights is as good as the Thriller album, but like them, I didn’t have time to develop “paralysis by analysis.”

In general I like to write a section of music (20 measures or so) before going back and revising it.  This seems to work for me but it may not work for everyone. Every composer needs figure out a way to write quality pieces in a reasonable amount of time.

Here is an idea:

Try composing a 5 minute piece for your instrument in one week. The first 5 days write it out completely and ignore the inner critic. If it helps, try writing a bad piece. You might find that it isn’t so bad after all. Spend the last 2 days revising it.

Rob

Composition Tip: Listen

Earlier this week I mentioned I would talk about the 2nd best thing to do to become a better composer. The first is (surprise, surprise) compose. The second (a distant second) is to listen to as much music as possible, ideally with music in front of you. It is best to listen to a variety of styles as well. It is much easier these days to listen to a variety of styles than it was in the old days ( say, 50 years ago). Nowadays all you have to do is visit youtube and you can watch a video of  Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie perform together followed by a video of a John Cage performance followed by Horowitz playing Chopin. I really wish youtube was around in my teenage years when I first started playing the guitar. Back then (not that it is far back) I had MTV, the radio, and CD collections. Of the three I didn't have control over what MTV and the radio played and if you want an extensive CD collection it cost some serious bucks.

Of course they did have libraries and these can also be hit and miss. Most large colleges and universities have decent music libraries. Sometimes non-students are allowed to check items out.

As far as what to listen to, there is a lot of music. I would recommend talking with somebody knowledgeable about music to see where you could start. At the very least you should listen to Classical, Jazz, Blues, Gospel, and Rock. Of course, there is a ton of music composed in all of those styles. If you look up classical music in wikipedia it should throw out some of the big composers (Mozart, Beethoven, etc.) that you can start with.

To recap, if you want to be a better composer you must first, compose a lot of music. Second, you must listen to a lot of music. Composers don't tend to work in a vacuum.  Most composers are aware of what came before them as well as what is going on now.

Rob

scores, tabs, and mp3s available at http://www.robertlunncomposer.com

Composition Tip: Just Do It

Very simple. If you want to compose a piece then just do it. Very simple. If you have dreamed of writing an opera, a symphony or song for kids, just do it. Now. 


 As a teacher I work with composition students from different backgrounds and skill sets. The one thing that holds true for all of them is that a piece usually doesn't just write itself out. You (the composer) must actually put pen (pencil, computer, however you write music) to paper and compose. It is very easy to think about what a fabulous piece it is going to be. It is difficult to actually write a fabulous piece. My advice would be to spend less time thinking about what an awesome piece it is going to be and spend more time writing this soon-to-be awesome piece. The single best way to become a good composer (later this week I'll talk about the 2nd best way to become a good composer) is to write a lot of music. Mozart composed a lot of symphonies (41). How many are actually performed with any kind of regularity? Maybe 5 or 6.


In the words of Nike, "just do it." 


-Rob
scores, tabs, and mp3s available at http://www.robertlunncomposer.com