how much music have you writen in your lifetime?

I was just remembering what I've writen in my 30 years of life, and did realise that it (seem) is a lot of music! Then I wondered, what other people have writen in their lifetime... Things that can be considered serious of course, not a 5 year old melody right?

So in my case (30 years old)

I have (still do... somewhere I believe) 2 90 minute tapes.

around 20 greek songs (recorded, not just in my mind)

around 10-12 scores before going to do the Masters in music

11 scores from the MMus

4 scores from my PhD (thus far)

around 4 hours of music for computer games over the past 2 years

music for 2 documentaries (but shot 10-15 minutes each)

music for 2 theatricals (around 1 hour total).

And...

that's it.

Interesting thread,

So far my compositional output consists of:

- Music for Jazz Orchestra: perhaps 10 significant works

- Music for Improvisational Large Ensemble: more recent stuff, about 4 completed works; graphical scores etc.

- Small Ensemble (four/five horns + rhythm): only about 4 or 5 pieces. Not a format I work with often.

- Lead sheets (tunes): not very many, 6 or 7; I'm not really a tune writer - not that into 'standards'.

- Other: one string quartet (never played).

It's actually a pretty dismal list - not very substantial, and certainly a fact that will change VERY soon.

...

- Horn Concerto (~23-24 minutes)

- a miniature for flute, English horn, violin, and viola (~2 mins)

- unfinished Piano Quartet (~15-16 mins in two completed movements; 3rd movement will be about 8 mins)

- about 20 mins worth of other miscellaneous unfinished projects

Even including all the little snippets of unfinished pieces, what I've written in my lifetime barely reaches an hour. But then my goals are pretty modest... I'm hoping to eventually reach Op. 20 at some point.

I've never written any music simply because I was never educated in the syntax of the musical language.

I have written tons of lyrics to songs and I've imagined the music to go with them in my mind. But I never knew how to right it down. I'm only just now trying to learn how to write down the musical language.

I think an ability to write score and an ability to imagine music are two entirely differnet things. It's really no differnet from speech. There are people who can't read or write, yet they have very deep and profound thoughts and can articulate them well via spoken language. Unfortunately when it comes to committing them to paper they simple don't know how to write it out.

This is how I feel about music. I feel like I already have a sense of the actual music. What I don't know how to do is write it out symbolically. But I'm trying to learn that now (at 58 years old!)

So in direct answer to your question, I haven't actually written much of anything yet. But hopefully that will soon change. :thumbsup:

Not a huge amount. In all, perhaps 50 minutes.

Some miniatures for solo piano or the odd ensemble when I started composing. (all crap)

A string serenade. Perhaps 1:48, mega crap.

A single movement clarinet quartet. On my computer somewhere. I still like it.

A requiem I never got around to completing.

A couple shortish Nocturnes, around 4 minutes each.

A Rhapsody for orchestra, major crapola, about 2:30.

A little piano quintet. Single movement, about 1:30.

A really old horn concerto. Written over the summer last year.

Miscellanous attempts at bravura.

All of the above were consequently burned.

An orchestral suite. 4 movements. Perhaps 10 minutes.

A suite for 2 pianos.

A suite for piano and violin, perhaps my only work to ever be performed.

A tiny little toccata. Written for a rather virtuosic friend.

And maybe a quadrillion attempts at other pieces that I never really finished:

3 waltzes

2 piano concerti

Some stuff for piano and oboe,

A couple string quartets etc. Most of them near completion. But I'm lazy.

Not loads.

- "Piano Lessons" - Piano sonata

- "60 Second Blues" - a fast Blues piece

- "Where The Raindrops" - Serialism piece

- "Percussion Concussion" - Minimalist piece

- "How To Play The Cello", "Vile In (Without Drums)" - String Quartets.

- "Timpani Dance", "Dementia Praedox", "Rage" - Would all go under "Chamber" music, not really major pieces though.

My only major works:

"Voyage" - 5 Movement Symphony (I know a symphony consists of 4 movements normally, but it sounds better than the Voyage Suite), telling the story of an exploration into a frozen wasteland. Running time: 25 minutes.

"7 Sins" (in progress) - a 7-movement suite, each piece designed to portray the characteristics of one of the cardinal sins. Greed, Gluttony, Envy and Lust are done; Pride, Anger and Sloth yet to be finished. I'll post one of these up once it's been tweaked because it's my favourite work yet. Running time (so far): 21 minutes.

Nothing.

Loads of unfinished stuff, but still, nothing.

Hhhhm, I guess I have written quite a lot in the past 7 years of being a composer:

2 String Quartets (30')

Cello Rhapsody (8')

Violin Concerto (25')

The Chamber (22')

Piano Album (40')

Selection of Chamber Music (c. 50')

Lamentation for Orchestra (7')

Incidental music ('20')

Probably a few other bits and bobs as well but that is what I have achieved in 7 years of composition.

Good, bad?

Good. That's quite a bit of finished music compared to quite a few others. Your chamber music is about as long as all of my music put together. Even for seven years, that's still quite a bit done.

Hmmmmmmm, about 45 songs intended for videogames. The average length is about 2 minutes lnog (Not counting loops). So about a hour and a half worth of video game music in the last 5 months. Is that good?

That's an interesting thread;

-a dozen rock songs...

- a classical guitar duet (3')

- A concerto for el. guitar and orchestra (30' but very immature)

- 'My hand on thy breast...oh, such poetry', a bleak OST for an imaginary movie (15')

- 'RUN21514', a pretty decent rock opera, with a libretto and all (45')

- 'The demonic Alb with the rake' OST, which I have posted here (15')

- 'Adagio for Eva', single movement piano trio, also posted here (flute, violoncello and piano) (5')

- 'Apostasis' contemporary ballet music for piano quintet and soprano, in three movements (10')

- 'Zonnymi' contemporary ballet/theatre music for piano trio in 4 movements, completed today! (10')

For 10 years of composing, that's not a lot...

A whole load of unfinished/incomplete compositions!

Judging only by the length of all my comps and arrangements, selected all together in WMP, it's over five hours of stuff. I won't bother listing the kinds of things I've done because they're so crazy and most of them are bad anyway. That amounts to about 117 comps and arrangements. Not all of them are full-fledged works (some are just jingles or transcriptions) so I'd say over a hundred. This summer makes three years for me.

Edit: I should mention that I hardly ever leave a work unfinished, because I hardly ever think to myself "Wow, this is so terrible that I need to quit and save myself some trouble". That is to say, I've hardly ever written anything that I thought wasn't representative of my skill level at the time. Right now I have about... five of those things that I've put aside for a while and will probably not finish.

3) 4 movement symphonic pieces ( about 25 minutes each)

3) 4 movement string quartets (20 -25 min each) one is 5 movements

3) wind quintets ( 7-10 min each)

1) string quintet (w/piano about 8 min)

2) piano concertos (15 minutes in 3 movements and 25 minutes in 5 movements)

3) piano sonatas (12 minutes each. 1 is about 8 minutes)

1) 4 hands for piano (10 minutes I think)

1) piano, flute and clarinet( 8min)

1) piano and violin (6 minutes)

1) cello and flute(8 minutes)

1) piano and flute ( 7 minutes)

1) piano. flute and cello (13 min)

6) symphonic pieces ( 6-8 minutes each)

12-15 piano pieces from 2 minutes to 6 minutes

30-40 improvised piano pieces

plus a few hours of stuff I have given up on or am letting mature with age.

Now I am working on a piece for organ, another symphonic piece, a wind quintet, and a string quartet(always writing one of those)

I did all this in the last year and a half while going to college full time (I get straight A's) and working as a teacher on my days off. It just goes to show, I have no life.

I also have composed many blues songs for guitar that I have never written down.

3) 4 movement string quartets (20 -25 min each) one is 5 movements

...:):huh::stoicjedi:

...:toothygrin::):stoicjedi:

What do you expect for 2 o'clock in the morning? I'm lucky I spelled all the words correctly.

Hmmmmmmm, about 45 songs intended for videogames. The average length is about 2 minutes lnog (Not counting loops). So about a hour and a half worth of video game music in the last 5 months. Is that good?

Crap, forgot to mention that I have over 60 unfinished song ideas just lying around, doing nothing. Easily equaling a hour or two in length if you bothered to listen to them all. Also have quite a few rock/metal songs (both finished and unfinished) lying around. I don't usually count these as it takes very little talent to actually compose a rock/metal song, but if we are talking about ALL the music we have ever written in our lifetimes, then I guess that is another 3 hours right. Still, not very impressive but since I have been composing for only about a year or so, not bad.

I have not written a whole heck of a lot of anything. I always get depressed by the fact that I have a barrier between my ability to think and hear (in my head) great music and my ability to write great music. If I do not like the way it is going or cannot seem to be able to convey the idea that is in my head, then I get fed up and never finish the piece. It is like a stalemate. I have several ideas that I have started, but they are not going anywhere anytime soon.

Oh well. So much for that. If I was better at notating exactly what I want to then maybe I would actually have a resume to show for it. Maybe.

alot, more then i can remember

Not enough :)

I'd say I've composed probably three or four hours of music over the past six months, which marks my most prolific period to date.

Prior to that, it was probably an hour every six months.

Total running time, probably 12 hours?

Fugue in C 0:42

Prelude in G# Minor 1:01

2001 Early 1 10:56

2001 Early 2 18:06

2001 Late 1:01

2002 april 11 31:37

2002 Early 18:20

2002 Gentlest Fire cassette 7:29

2002 Joy to the World 1:07

2002 Keyboard & Guitar Improv 4:03

2002 November 16 cassette 47:28

2002 October 12 thru 17 cassette 1:33:25

2002 October 8 thru 14 cassette 1:33:25

2002 piano sketches 48:34

2002 Prelude & Waltz in G# Minor 1:57

2002 We Three Kings 1:35

2003 August 11 12 cassette 1:02:13

2003 August 13 thru 17 cassette 1:02:07

2003 August 18 thru 22 cassette 1:02:18

2003 August 23 24 29 cassette 1:02:10

2003 August 5 thru 6 cassette 1:02:20

2003 August 8 11 cassette 1:02:11

2003 cas September 3 4 7 cassette 1:02:11

2003 december 25 5:13

2003 Early June cassette 1:02:15

2003 July 1 thru 4 cassette 1:01:58

2003 July 24 25 30:57

2003 July 24 thru 28 cassette 1:02:19

2003 july 27 14:16

2003 July 31 thru Aug 4 cassette 1:02:13

2003 July 9 thru 22 cassette 1:02:07

2003 June 13 thru 29 2003 cassette 1:02:14

2003 June 6 cassette 1:02:21

2003 March 14 cassette 1:02:09

2003 March 4 thru 6 cassette 1:02:12

2003 May 15 thru 18 cassette 1:02:18

2003 May 21 thru 26 cassette 1:02:19

2003 May 27 28 cassette 1:02:13

2003 november 25 22:11

2003 october 01 1 16:29

2003 october 01 2 29:17

2003 october 02 12:09

2003 october 05 6:31

2003 october 08 20:13

2003 october 11 20:14

2003 october 21 22:52

2003 october 24 21:43

2003 September 09 10 cassette 1:02:14

2003 September 19 23 27 28 30 cassette 1:02:22

2004 april 05 1 22:43

2004 april 05 2 4:20

2004 april 10 7:31

2004 april 12 16:11

2004 april 14 23:54

2004 april 15 22:19

2004 april 16 49:39

2004 april 17 6:15

2004 april 18 3:15

2004 april 19 4:32

2004 april 25 14:47

2004 august 25 15:28

2004 august 26 1 17:13

2004 august 26 2 5:50

2004 august 26 3 13:25

2004 august 27 5:38

2004 august 29 21:51

2004 december 09 24:11

2004 december 27 25:08

2004 december 28 16:41

2004 january 02 3:38

2004 january 06 17:59

2004 january 07 5:35

2004 january 17 19:32

2004 january 20 12:55

2004 january 24 34:44

2004 june 10 15:34

2004 june 11 28:28

2004 june 5 15:04

2004 march 03 1 8:50

2004 march 03 2 4:55

2004 may 18 18:54

2004 november 27 29:06

2004 november 28 14:58

2004 september 01 9:00

2005 april 18 22:56

2005 april 19 21:45

2005 april 20 1 22:48

2005 april 20 2 15:38

2005 april 21 30:05

2005 april 22 30:29

2005 august 04 15:49

2005 august 06 26:48

2005 august 08 35:16

2005 august 09 24:48

2005 august 15 30:14

2005 august 16 27:20

2005 february 19 1 46:34

2005 february 19 2 46:35

2005 july 13 1 3:06

2005 july 13 2 9:52

2005 july 13 20:01

2005 july 14 6:19

2005 july 17 1 17:02

2005 july 17 2 18:02

2005 july 18 16:55

2005 july 26 20:54

2005 june 07 11:03

2005 june 09 16:03

2005 june 10 9:24

2005 june 13 14:03

2005 june 15 1 13:22

2005 june 15 2 27:12

2005 june 17 6:44

2005 june 20 22:40

2005 june 23 16:55

2005 march 05 1 20:32

2005 march 05 2 12:02

2005 march 06 17:24

2005 march 07 1 22:16

2005 march 07 2 15:59

2005 march 07 3 30:35

2005 march 07 4 31:43

2005 march 07 5 10:17

2005 may 08 1 21:52

2005 may 08 2 14:51

2005 may 09 1 17:43

2005 may 09 2 7:19

2005 may 10 1 30:55

2005 may 10 2 9:17

2005 may 11 14:46

2005 may 15 36:02

2005 may 16 19:17

2005 may 17 40:02

2005 may 19 22:08

2005 may 22 9:09

2005 october 16 14:53

2005 october 20 17:32

2005 october 30 1 13:39

2005 october 30 2 5:35

2005 october 30 3 11:06

2005 september 15 11:58

2005 september 28 21:13

2005 september 29 23:32

2006 December 4 20:01

2006 December 9 26:12

2006 january 07 22:32

2006 january 15 23:28

2006 january 27 2 7:52

2006 january 27 28:30

2006 january 28 25:02

2006 june 18 part 1 20:04

2006 june 18 part 2 6:58

2006 june 18 part 3 2:40

2006 march 04 12:30

2006 march 15 2 8:50

2006 march 15 20:59

2006 march X 1:02

2006 may 21 15:37

2006 may 23 21:39

2006 October 01 Suite No. 2 'Battle of Dragons' 2:47

2006 October 01 Suite No. 2 'March of Victory' 2:21

2006 October 01 Suite No. 2 'Rainbow Sonatina' 9:00

2006 October 10 21:57

2006 October 24 21:24

2006 October 26 16:53

2006 October 28 17:56

2006 October 29 26:51

2006 september 06 26:29

2006 september 09 intro 10:00

2006 september 09 suite 1 2:00

2006 september 09 suite 2 2:18

2006 september 09 suite 3 1:30

2006 september 09 suite 4 2:18

2006 september 09 suite 5 1:38

2006 september 09 suite 6 1:54

2006 september 16 18:40

2006 September 23 Laurie Phone Impromptu 6:02

2006 September 23 18:01

2006 September 27 10:02

2006 September 30 31:49

2006 late 4:39

2007 january 09 11:31

2007 January 19 mono uptempo 8:12

2007 January 18 3:29

2007 January 20 4:57

2007 January X 3:04

2007 February 04 2:57

2007 February 05 6:00

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Harpsichord No. 2 0:57

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 1 2:41

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 2 2:23

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Harpsichord No. 1 1:16

2007 February 10 Prelude for Harpsichord 0:29

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 3 1:03

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 4 1:02

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 5 1:18

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 6 0:55

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Harpsichord No. 3 0:33

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 7 1:34

2007 February 10 Improvisation for Clavichord No. 8 1:19

2007 February 10 Bach Prelude #2 in 2:00

2007 February 25 6:07

2007 February 26 12:30

2007 January 27 01 2:38

2007 January 27 02 9:52

2007 January 27 03 3:50

2007 January 27 04 2:53

2007 February 27 2:14

2007 March 05 4:45

2007 February 07 13:06

2007 March 09 5:06

2007 March 17 6:37

2007 March 19 2:05

2007 March 21 6:55

2007 March 29 1:41

2007 April 01 2:49

2007 April 03 2:34

2007 April 03 02 6:10

2007 April 05 4:46

2007 April 05 02 8:38

2007 April 14 4:01

2007 April 15 5:50

2007 April 16 1:31

2007 April 19 2:55

2007 April 22 01 5:51

2007 April 22 02 1:08

2007 April 22 03 2:57

2007 April 28 3:36

2007 April 28 02 0:57

2007 April 28 03 4:22

2007 April 29 5:29

2007 May 08 1:41

2007 May 05 3:16

2007 May 09 4:59

2006 December 6 21:19

2007 May 16 01 2:41

2007 May 16 02 8:03

2007 May 18 6:20

2007 May 19 02 3:59

2007 May 19 03 4:45

2007 May 20 8:48

2007 May 22 2:11

2007 May 24 5:20

2007 May 25 10:33

2007 May 26 10:43

2007 May 29 3:59

2007 May 29 02 6:25

2007 May 30 4:17

2007 June 03 14:30

2007 June 13 4:11

2007 June 15 0:46

2007 June 21 6:29

2007 June 26 9:01

2007 July 02 11:54

2007 June 28 9:26

2007 July 10 8:03

2007 May 19 9:44

2001 august 3 8:29

2007 July 22 10:31

2007 July 23 7:28

2007 July 25 11:06

2007 July 26 11:44

That's actually a pretty small fraction of what I've written, as a lot of it has gone unrecorded. As you can see, I suck at titles.

Below is my list. This only represents the last 9 or 10 years. (Since I started composing seriously.) The '*' indicates a work performed in a public venue (concert hall, theatre, church). The '+' indicates a work commissioned.

Op. 1 Funeral March (piano and orchestra)*

Op. 2 No. 1 Accidental Waltz (piano solo)*

No. 2 Minuet in B Quadruple Flat Major (piano solo)*

No. 3 Yesterday

:thumbsup:

Gotta love the penis swinging contests.

Gotta love the penis swinging contests.

:stoicjedi: ... hehe

35 min in about 4 months.