Douglas Gibson | Music Blog

This week as I was thinking about music composition I thought about a book called “Made to Stick – Why some ideas survive and others die.”

I was wondering how these concepts could be applied to our work as music composers. I would like to share with you two points from the first two chapters.

Having a plan: In Made to Stick the authors speak about the importance of having a plan. However they also state “in any battle the first casualty is always a plan”.

Once you are in engaged in you composition your plan may indeed be the first thing you throw out the window. But the benefit of the plan is from the preparation and mindset it creates even if you decide to abandon it. Planning is closely related to sketching. Sketching allows you to develop raw materials for a new work, and can be very useful for finding sources of inspiration. Additionally you may discover a great new compositional idea that is foreign to the work you are composing, and become tempted to toss it in simply because you like it. The plan will serve as a guide on wether  to include the idea into the composition or capture in the sketchbook for later use . Which brings us to chapter 2

Getting to the core of your idea:  If you are the CEO of Southwest Airlines, and you know that the core of your business is to be the cheapest airline your decision making process now becomes a whole lot easier. If someone comes to you and says “I think we should offer caesar salads on our flights. We did market research and people like caesar salads.”  Knowing that the core idea of your business is to be the lowest cost airline and when faced with a tempting decision (to add an item that would add 6 dollars to every plane ticket) the correct answer becomes painfully obvious. NO CEASAR SALADS. I think there is something to be said about this for music composition. What is the core idea of your piece ? Is it melody, texture, harmony? In general compositions that focus on fewer ideas and explores them thoroughly are often more successful than compositions that have many ideas less fully developed.

I am very excited to share with you that one of my arrangements for composer Victoria Bond will be performed at Alice Tully hall in Lincoln Center on Monday May 7th.

The original piece was for piano flute and violin, and needed to be expanded to include Pipa, Erhu, Dizi, and Chinese percussion. A learning curve for me to be sure. However the reports from the musicians have all been very positive and for me to have one of my works performed in Lincoln Center is a real honor.

Wishing you much musical inspiration this week

Doug

Last week I read an article in the New York TImes on musical motives and  it’s connection with our own human DNA

New York Times article on musical DNA.

This has inspired me to think about the ways we can take a small thread of music and weave an entire world out of it

I find it can be  very useful to have a set of techniques I can apply to my own motives to help realize their full potential.

Lets take a set of pitches and I will call this my motive. Below is a list of 10 compositional devices you can use to transform your motive. Next week we will look at another 10

Original

This week I came across a really nice set of “Masterclass” videos done by the members of the London Symphony Orchestra. While of course working with a performer is the

optimal way to collaborate, I believe these videos are a great resource. Some of the valuable lessons are:

• You can see the physicality of playing the instruments.
• You gain an insight  into the musical decision making
• A greater understanding of what each instrument does well, common phrasing, and  what types of musical lines the musicians will have practiced and become familiar with.

Here are just a few:

Tip of the week

When writing fast passages of music, one very effective way to make the music much easier to play for the player, while fooling the listener, is to use the orchestration technique  “dovetailing.” What is dovetailing ? Essentially it is the swapping and overlapping  of musical lines between 2 instruments. Let’s take a look at figure one. This could be played be played by one instrument, but may be very difficult or simply slow down the recording/rehearsal session for the player to practice the part. The solution is to divide and to conquer.  Lets look at the following example. Say we have a line like this:

While it must be said that there is not ONE process for how to create a piece, the following is a guideline I use:

Step 1
Keep an idea notebook, and take it with you wherever you go. This means writing ideas while you are in a coffee shop, during quiet moments of the day, etc. At this stage I often include sources of inspiration that fall outside of music. Some examples could be philosophy, works of art, books, films and so on.

Step 2:
Have a sketch book of manuscripts. Listen to works of other composers (if appropriate to your piece) with scores (if possible) and gather ideas. Then create little motives and ideas. Do this all on pencil and paper.

Don’t go near the computer (* this does not apply to electronic/electro-acoustic type pieces ). Go through all the technical craft ways ofdeveloping a piece inversion, retrograde etc and go through a list of compositional parameters and create your “frame work”. I often use graphs to sketch out pre-compositional ideas.

Step 3 : Rough draft.

Create a rough draft on your computer to give better notation. Does not have to be in its form as of yet. But now we are starting to get specific about our ideas. Start thinking about the nuances of the piece. Things like articulation, dynamic phrases, fingerings and instrumental techniques.

Step 4 : Complete structure. Refinement will still be needed. If possible leave the piece for a while. Take a break

Step 5: Have other composers look over you work. Also look at each of the parts individually. Do they make sense ? Have a player/friend who plays the instrument(s) you are writing for play through them and offer suggestions.

Step 6: Go back to the computer and create you final version. When creating our final version once we feel the “piece” is completed we need to be as meticulous as possible in our editing. Remember there is no such thing as a “Little mistake”. There are only mistakes. I use a three time rule for editing my pieces. The three time rule is

Scan once on all rhythms ,
Then just notes
Finally just dynamics and articulations.
Always print up the score and look it over with a hard copy in your hands. Never proof off of the computer screen. Additionally check to ensure all tempo markings are correct, See where you can put in Courtesy cues. Put in courtesy Accidentals. Arrange the parts to reflect the pulse of the music.The aim of the game is perfection. The more professionally presented the work is the more care and dedication a performer will take in learning the piece, which will hopefully result in a successful performance the touches and moves your intended audience.

In Karate they say that once you have been given your black belt it does not mean that you have mastered anything. Rather it simply means that you have done enough exercises that you can actually begin to learn what Karate is really about. I think this is a nice metaphor to think about growing as a composer. One of the great benefits of music is that the possibilities are as endless as one’s own curiosity is. This means that while is it is inevitable that I will grow old, if I continue to devote myself to this craft I will never grow bored. That fact alone is both priceless and worth the labor of love that is required to undertake a life of music composition. Prominent in my mind, and most composers mind, is “how do I make it” as a composer. What is often meant foremost with this question is how to be able to earn enough finically from my music that I am able to devote my time to music, and derive a income suitable for living off of. Often times being a composer of “Art” music excludes one from this equation. From my studies of composers whose careers I deeply admire I have deducted 3 common traits from their vastly different paths.

1. Be proactive:don’t wait for someone to call you.Pick up the phone,meet performers, get involved in the musical community.

2. Something unexpected happened as a result of being “out there”: Often composers spoke of how one collaboration lead to either a commission or a referral that lead them to a more prestigious performance.

3. Go where you are wanted: Some places just have more possibilities than others.

I have three spots currently (as of March 2012) available for one-on one study. My studio is ideally located in the heart of Manhattan, just 2 blocks away from Carnegie Hall.
Contact me to reserve your spot.

Concert video of my composition “Turbulence.”
Thank you Sarina Zhang and Hui Xu for your outstanding performance. Unbelievable they learned this in 2 or 3 days. Also thank you to Sam Adler for programming the work.

How to begin

Last weekend I had a wonderful musical experience. I received a note from Sam Adler, who is head of composition at Juilliard, that one of my compositions was being performed in a concert on Super Bowl Sunday at The Juilliard School. Without me having to do any rehearsing I simply showed up and listened as the stunning young virtuoso Cellist Sarina Zhang played my piece to near perfection. After the concert Cellist YuJeong Lee who was in the audience and a concerto soloist came up to me proclaiming how much she liked it, and what a copy so she could play it. The piece has now been performed in Berlin, Ann Arbor Michigan, and New York City.
Hopefully it will be played many more times.

However I assure you this was not the case 8 months ago when I began to write the piece. I recall endless hours starring at a blank page. Starring at my ceiling. Reading a book instead of writing. Cleaning my apartment instead of writing. Not being able to sleep because I thought I was a lousy composer who “totally sucks”

This week I have been reflecting on how if I listened to any of those “Siren Calls” to the point of not completing the work on time (Only had 2 weeks), and at high level of detail, then I would have robbed myself of the inspiring concert experience I just had.

With this is mind I have written some ideas I use for getting the creative process going.

How do you actually start:

One of the biggest things you have to overcome is the desire to procrastinate. In fact some composers have an addiction to needing the point when the pressure of the deadline overwhelms their tendency to procrastinate. Some thrive on this and cannot write without the pressure, while others can clamp up. Often times it is our inner demons (I’m not good enough, I don’t have any ideas etc.) that keeps us from getting to work rather than general laziness. The common downside to procrastinating is it can lead to letting mistakes go by, due to inadequate time editing and checking for errors.

Here are some things I do to trick myself to just begin.

Try to verbalize what you want to do. Sing. Record yourself singing. Record yourself improvising for 10 minutes at the piano (or your instrument). The goal is nothing other than to complete the 10 minutes of sitting and playing. Letting the music flow through you. Flow is a practice or rather a muscle .tTe more in shape it is the more ideas just appear. When I have writers block for language (as opposed to music) I use the same technique. I grab a hand recorder and just start talking. I do this as I find the paper can stay blank much longer

Keep a journal: A great book for my own Creativity was “The Artist Way” by Julia Cameron. From this book I spent 10 weeks of writing 3 pages a day in my journal. I had never kept a journal prior to this time, and found it a revelation to my art work. There is something magical about writing down my thoughts. I found myself thinking in new and resourceful ways. Additionally at this time I was just starting out with my first job as a music teacher (1998) I was still unsure on how I would make a living as a musician and keeping a journal became a therapeutic outlet and gave me a heightened sense of optimism and trusting the journey.

Meditate on a regular basis

Develop a cookbook: I don’t mean we should all become Martha Stuart. I remember hearing a quote “Good Writers read a lot”. That always stuck with me. Often times our creativity is founded on drawing and synthesizing from different sources and when it becomes filtered through our own psyche it transforms into something we connect with. Great composers all had a tremendous knowledge of works. In fact I recommend you write out by hand some of your favorite music passages. By writing down on paper you will get new ideas, or they will be even stringer in your sub-conscience

Turn something old into something new: Why not rework an compositional idea that you have used int the past and rework it in new ways. Often we can get so hung up on “the notes”. In fact sometimes by coming back and reworking with a fresh new approach I can develop the idea to a higher degree of development. It is said a composition is never finished, it is simply abandoned.

Time: They say 90% of success is just showing up. A common trap for myself is wanting long period of uninterrupted time to write before I begin, or telling myself “I have no time”. What works for me is to tell myself spend just 15 minutes on “XYX”. Once I have spent 15 minutes writing I often naturally want to keep on writing, and soon before I know it 90 minutes may have gone by. This is just like having the disciple to go to the gym. If you say “I only need to spend 5 minutes on the bench press then no matter what I will feel good about myself.” Well once you show up and do the 5 minutes you will want to keep on going.

I know I am inspired to take on writing a music everyday this week. I hope you will do the same, and that you find much joy and inspiration in your writing.

If you would like to have a copy of the score I mentioned above it can be downloaded for free by clicking here. FULL SCORE

Wishing you a wonderful week of musical inspiration