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Re: The composers view

An interesting post from Stephen.

>Well for many composers the real question is how not to compose. When one
has
>learnt a craft there is a compulsion to use it.

I agree that if I knew how to compose then I would certainly have the
compulsion to use it. Indeed I have the compulsion to compose even now when
I don't know how to compose. So the problem that presents itself to me is,
how does one go about learning that craft and becoming good at it?

I would say that I'm a fairly proficient tenor horn player and played solo
horn in a couple of bands, orchestras and concert bands etc. I enjoy playing
all kinds of music and I know a good arrangement when I hear one. If I were
able to compose then I'd write a decent test piece for a start, some decent
arrangements of Andrew Lloyd Webber's (my versions of his stuff would be
alot better!), and I'd also write a musical amongst other things. I can
think of some cracking ideas that would sound fantastic for band, or how a
good arrangement of a piece might go, but any ideas remain stuck in my head.
I've got now way of gettig then onto paper.

The problem is that grade 5 theory and GCSE music doesn't go a long way in
getting ideas from your head onto paper. And no matter how good a tenor horn
player I may get, it's still a single line instrument and doesn't really
require knowledge of chords. The only chord stuff I know is I, IV and V,
which doesn't make for interesting harmonies. So how do I go about learning
to compose considering that the learning and composing would really be part
time and amature? I'm an engineer by trade and I'm not going to go to do a
music degree once I've finished the degree I'm doing now.

The approach that I feel would be suitable (not that I've got very far along
the way with it) is as follows.

1. Got to learn to walk before I run, so start from where I left off with
GCSE. Simple arrangements, simple harmonies.

2. I don't know much about woodwind, strings or percussion, so stick to
something that I know: Brass.

3. Simple arrangements would be enabled by simple scoring of a few
instuments. Therefore composing for Small brass ensemble e.g. trio, quartet
or quintet.

4. I'm not good at harmonising melodies yet, so use existing melodies for
which harmonies are known/ have been done by someone else. So we have
arrangements of existing music for small brass ensemble. Also gaining
experience of what scoring structures sound good, and what doesn't.

5. Study of the harmonies in these arrangements will enable knowledge of how
harmonies work to be gained. Composition of new music, experimenting with
harmonies. still small brass ensemble

6. Expansion of the small ensemble to something bigger, apply same
principals as above.

7. ...

I don't expect that I'll be able to achieve this all by myself, perhaps take
tuition for music theory and/or composition. And where I don't have an
ensemble at my disposal, then use of a (yes cringe you purist musicians)
computer to try things out.

How does that sound? Your opinions please.

On this note, are there places like the royal northen that do like tuition
for this sort of thing, but not as part of a degree course. Or what about
the Open University?

Dave Gosling
------------------------------------------
Systems Engineering
Loughborough University
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