 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: blunderburtonpie
Date: 2004-11-28 18:02
has anyone ever written anything musical? does anyone know what age people generally start writing music? i've written some stuff, but none of it is long enough to actually be a song, the longest i have is a fan-fare, but unfortunately that's all brass...maybe i just have too much time on my hands, anyway if you've written anything post it so people can see (cuz i know i'm not the only one)!
blunderburtonpie@aol.com
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2004-11-28 18:39
I'm a composition major, so I write a great deal, and have had three of my pieces performed at university composers' guild concerts. I started writing just a couple years ago, around age 20 (well, started writing anything I'd call music). I'm finishing up a piece for clarinet choir at the moment.
Anyone can write music. People who study composition just get a lot more practice at it, and are forcibly exposed to more new ideas. I think every musician should try writing music at some time.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: psychotic lil clarinet girl (don't as
Date: 2004-11-28 18:46
well... I'm 15, and I composed something for piano... But I didn't write it down... It's not so long... And I have trouble with going from key to key, instead of just keeping it in one key, which is probably why I haven't made much progress on it... It's supposed to be in G minor... but oh wells... you're never too young to start composing, so go at it!
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Author: Jim E.
Date: 2004-11-29 04:21
60 Minutes tonight did a piece on a 12 year old who has already written 5 full legnth symphonies. Never too young to start I guess.
At 12 I had already written out several scales which come to think of it is pretty close to my total writing output!
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Author: jArius
Date: 2004-11-29 04:42
Well, sometimes I play around on my keyboard in minor keys, and I might even turn out something passable every once in a while, but it's all pretty vague and androgenous, so I wouldn't really call it composing.
Jeremy Bruins
Proud member of the too-much-time-on-my-hands club.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2004-11-29 07:16
Writing can be done in many ways and at many levels, and you can learn at any age.
One terrific development in the last 10 years is computer software that will print and store your scores, as well as playing back your piece to you. Even by trial-and-error, you can accomplish a lot.
Allen Cole
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Author: diz
Date: 2005-01-05 23:11
Mozart started (effectively) at 3, so you've probably got a lot of catching up to do.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: mkybrain
Date: 2005-01-06 00:00
says he started when he was 3 as well, in the 60 minutes article, though started at julliard when he was 10
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Author: Contra
Date: 2005-01-06 01:50
When I was in seventh grade, I started writing out short little melodies. In eight grade, we had to write a one page composition. I wish I still had it. I spent so much time and was so proud of it.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2005-01-06 07:18
Even prokofiev composed some very short pieces for piano. Just because something is short doesn't mean it's not as good.
I didn't hear the music from that 12 years old boy yet, but just because someone composed a symphony doesn't mean it's good.
Here is a cool story (imo) a teacher of mine (Slava Ganelin) told us. If you don't now who Slava Ganelin is you can search amazon and find many CDs by him. He plays mostly improvised music or free jazz.
He had a friend who was a very serious composer, even composed two concertos for every instrument in the orchestra, and was able to just walk, without a piano or anything, and compose. One time Slava improvised something on piano for about 10 minutes and recorded it. He played it for his serious composer friend, and his friend was amazed. He started asking how long has he been working on this piece, because it's so subtle. Slava then said he simply improvised it. His friend said no way and how could he improvise something like that. The conclusion is it doesn't matter what, how, where, when you make music. Only thing that matters is how it sounds in the end.
You said "I've written some stuff, but none of it is long enough to actually be a song", but who says you have to write "a song"?
In my opinion the most important things in composing are, to have an idea of what you want to do, and to be original. If you are not playing the music yourself, hope you have good players to perform it, that is a nice bonus.
I recently finished composing my first real piece. It has a written parts, improvised parts, and combination of both. If I ever record it (there is a good chance it will happen soon) I can let you hear it if interested.
Good luck.
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Author: clarinetist04
Date: 2005-01-07 05:34
To answer some of the questions posed in the topic question:
Most, and I am WAAAAY overgeneralizing, but most composers have their first experiences with composing between the ages of, I'd say, ten and fifteen. That was my experience and most of the composers that I have met said they started writing seriously around this time. Again, that is a very bad and broad overgeneralization (that kid, case in point).
Sure, anything you write is "music"! How does the saying go..."It's in the eye of the beholder." If the beholder is you, than I think its a golden enough reason to call it music...maybe even great music.
Considering that kid...I am a little cautious and caught aback by the article. I think it's a very interesting think that he has written five symphonies by age 12. That is a feat that only a few people have ever accomplished (Mozart, Haydn...I don't really know) and it may be interesting to hear one of them. It's one think to write a symphony that is in the style of the contemporary but quite another to write in a Beethoven-esque style. Those composers, Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, etc. are so highly regarded because (for one reason) they were the best at what they did and they ushered in new periods in music. By that, I mean that they had a major impact in how the styles developed and formed. When you think of classical you think of Beethoven...but why not Spontini, Wesley, or Viotti? Don't get me wrong, it's amazing for anyone to have written a symphony especially at age 12, but if he's hearing something that is basically a facsimile of a piece he has heard before, then maybe his validity is in question...the validity of the originality of the music. In adition, it's interesting to note that Prokofiev could write a piece in 25 minutes as well, without the aid of a light speed computer program writing it down and playing back for you.
Certainly though, this kid has talent.
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