CarlosGamboa

I do not have video for the work I am re-notating for the professors; that's up to them if they want to give that to me. I have video coverage of the song cycle from my senior recital and my professor has video coverage of the opera I got performed in his archives. x.x; I have audio files for all the works I mentioned.

All of the above works have been performed.

Ugh, applying for graduate school can be such a major drag. Try your hardest to find any friends that can play any instrument even remotely well for pieces that are solo, trio, etc. something small. Those shouldn't be as bad for getting recordings and if they're your friends then I'm sure they'll understand your scenario. Plus you said you took all of those music classes, so try to find the classmates that you befriended and know play instruments. :) BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY SCORE PREPARATION IS EVERYTHING. The faculty will definitely NOT listen to every second you write but they will make judgments based on score preparation alone. Every single slip in your scores is a super minus point. x.x It sounds dumb, but I can see the purpose behind it. I would prioritize great score presentation over getting the recording. Even then, if you do get recordings, I would make sure the performers look at it as much as possible for any errors and that you fix those ASAP. I think you should be okay with MIDI preparation as you want to do film scoring and stuff. As far as orchestral, you could prolly get away with MIDI too. I did when I applied to UCLA (which I didn't get in but that's a different story ^_^;) and other professors in other schools were like, "Oh man, yeah don't worry about it we've ALL been there!" so don't worry too much about larger pieces. Good luck!

Hey YC! I am currently in the process of looking up publishers for voice and opera music and I have no idea where to start as I have never really sought after publishers before. I know there are certain publishers that can get music out there better than others depending on the genre (like, some specialize in band and others specialize in jazz, etc.) and I would like to know which are the best ones that can get voice music out there. Also, I need to know so that way I know how I can format the scores I plan to send in. To be more specific about which pieces I am hoping to get published, this summer a couple of professors asked me if I would be willing to fix and re-notate the score to an opera that they had composed earlier and then send it in to a publisher so it can be on the market. The opera is based on Native American history and so publishing companies that appreciate history would be some of the top choices that I am looking at as well. As far as my own music, I want to send in my "Ramblings of a Social Network" piece (which is here on YC) and possibly a one-act opera I composed called 'Mother, Please' (not on YC but I can fix that =p). Thank you in advance for letting me know of any publishers! If you need anymore details on what I'm looking for than I'm more than happy to respond! :) Best, Carlos Gamboa

Formal training is a valid aspect of becoming a better composer in my opinion. I am assuming that by formal training the question is asking if one should study in a university or under a professor. I just graduated from college and I don't think I would have been able to advance as far if I didn't have a professor pointing me in composition directions I might have otherwise ignored. When I started off, I was writing simply melodic tunes and convinced that I would only write Broadway music. This led me to be sort of close minded to any type of music that wasn't Sondheim or anything related to what's on Broadway in NY. However, my first semester I was pushed to listen to the basics of the basics (like Chopin and at the same time exploring modern music) and attend all the concerts that went on at my university. However, if I had not have had formal training, I would not have chosen to expand my brain in terms of what's out there. It was then when I could apply what I was learning into my own music. Lastly, any questions I have ever had regarding writing for instruments was easily answered instead of having to delve into a thousand books and websites to find the answer. That's not laziness, it's time efficiency with the addition of hearing personal experience writing for said instruments. My personal experience aside, I think composition professors have the potential to make or break a student. I've heard students say they lost their passion, but then when I listen to their music I see no growth or no willing to grow. That's not to say what they are doing is bad, but instead that it grows stale and all sounds the same. What if Chopin wrote 20 piano mazurkas that all had the same emotion and same theme? I am sure everyone would think he's a joke. This is what formal training does - it gives you options and expands your mind. However, if a professor isn't working for you, then you should simply switch or take the solo route; there's no real true answer on how to get better at composing or what is 'necessary' to become a proficient composer, but the number one thing that I feel is necessary is being open-minded which would make formal training a much more rewarding process. That's just my two cents. Also, style is a largely overrated aspect that I really learned I did not want to use when defining my own music. If my music sounds romantic, atonal, impressionistic, stupid-onal, etc. then that's up to the opinion of the listener. I write what I feel is vital to represent the music as music, not as something that suits a generalized genre. I understand why each specific style is important for history's sake, but I think professors want to tell their students that they should not be thinking 'style' when they write. I think every style is acceptable, but to be able to write in each style in order to mold a composer's own skillset is a skill that truly defines a composer's voice from someone who "wants to be a romantic composer."

I loved singing Debussy's "Rondeau" when I took voice lessons. It was fun and extremely challenging! :)

I feel like criticism is an important part of developing. Even if it's blatantly insulting, there has to be a reason that it was given that way. However, yeah, there's pretty stupid stuff like "lol you need more technique" without ANY explanation to how you could get that. =p Sarcasm is also a terrible device in trying to get someone to see your point of view in a straightforward manner.

From my own personal experience, be as consistent with the accidentals as possible. It's so frustrating getting used to an interval only to see it respelled a measure later. Think about if you were singing it -- would you rather see a minor third or an augmented 2nd? And if you choose the latter, what is your really good reason for choosing that? ;) Keep it as simple and singer friendly as possible -- it'll pay off when you hear a smoother product from their vocal folds. :D

I think one of the biggest lessons you can learn is that not every instrument has to play all the time. I mean, there are those jokes about how the bass drum only has one note after a quadrillion rests, but that's because that's the only time the composer felt the bass drum was needed. The beauty about writing for an orchestra is that you can use as much sound or as little sound as possible, and the most you can put that accessibility to use the more you can really create an effective sound. Sometimes all you need is a bassoon solo accompanied by glockenspiel, or to contrast the entire brass section echoed by the strings and woodwinds. Orchestra = flexibility! A composer once told me that they knew an orchestra piece was amazing because they saw so much white on the page instead of a bunch of clusters of notes in each instrument line. Good luck! I can leave more advice in the future. :)