What is the point of writing music?

All I'm trying to say is that the public won't listen to music they don't understand. You need not look any further than your local orchestra's season to see what people will come to hear. If you want to have the public hear your stuff, you need to write for the public. They will enjoy and appreciate it. If you want to write to impress college professors and the "educated" people, you need to pay attention to what they want. If you deliver, they will enjoy and appreciate. It all comes down to knowing your audience. If you want to make a living composing or performing, you will have to please the greatest number of people, which are those who appreciate music without being trained in it.

This does not mean that you have to write short little 3 minute pop numbers or musical theatre shows (which have their merit), all you have to do is write for your audience. Study them and find out what they will stand for, they deserve this effort.

P.S. Bach enjoyed coffee. Beethoven made his coffe 60 beans to the cup. He even counted them out when he had time.

We're in agreement. ;)

(Brahms hated chicory in his coffee.) :laugh:

I myself am not a huge fan of Chicory in mine either. I've tried on several occasions but just can't get a taste for it.

Oh well!

All I'm trying to say is that the public won't listen to music they don't understand. You need not look any further than your local orchestra's season to see what people will come to hear. If you want to have the public hear your stuff, you need to write for the public. They will enjoy and appreciate it. If you want to write to impress college professors and the "educated" people, you need to pay attention to what they want. If you deliver, they will enjoy and appreciate. It all comes down to knowing your audience. If you want to make a living composing or performing, you will have to please the greatest number of people, which are those who appreciate music without being trained in it.

This does not mean that you have to write short little 3 minute pop numbers or musical theatre shows (which have their merit), all you have to do is write for your audience. Study them and find out what they will stand for, they deserve this effort.

P.S. Bach enjoyed coffee. Beethoven made his coffe 60 beans to the cup. He even counted them out when he had time.

[/rant on]

with that attitude, well, I'd recommend finding another line of work than composition.

if you were to only take the "audience's" taste into consideration, the question is then "yes, but WHICH audience?".

If I go to my nieces' highschool, I'd be writing Brittney Spears songs and rap.

If I hang with my sister and her group of friends I'd be doing rehashes of old jazz standards and sambas.

If I went with my own circle of friends, I'd be doing exactly what it is I AM doing.

Which audience decides? The noisiest one? The one with the most money? The largest one?

Art is expression. It is expression of many things, most of which are unique to the artist.

"Art" that is prepared for the masses is commercial art. It does NOT express the artist, and if so, only in a minimal way. It is meant to please the "lowest common denominator".

Is one better?

I don't know, and honestly I don't care.

Does one appeal to me more than the other?

Yes.

Waste less time on existential questions and more time creating music... it's better-spent time.

Will knowing "why" anyone creates art in any way help you be a better artist?

It's like people who waste away half their lives seeking "the meaning of life"... meanwhile, life passes them by, and they fail to understand that life HAS no meaning. It is something that is meant to be experienced, not explained.

Seek the meaning of YOUR life. Live it... that is the only way to give meaning to your life.

Create your art. That is the only way to give meaning to your art.

[/rant off]

Go Michel! WOOO!

Hey, that sounded a lot like our "discussion" the other day. :toothygrin:

Just do what is good and keep the sex in the fridge.

Music can broden or change your aspect on the world.

How many rap songs are there out there about drugs? i wonder how many people starting using drugs after hearing that song?

It can also change and influence your subconsciousness.

Classical music calms the mind down, we listen to it when we go to bed sometimes, while techno and electronica music will keep you awake, alert, like when you run on a treadmill, you might listen to this genre.

Music is a language. If you've ever listened to jazz, you would understand that. In jazz especially, soloist speak to each other through their instruments. it helps us to express ourselves.

We write music to express ourselves. If you jsut had an argument with your wife, or a friend, and your mad, you might write down music expressing your anger, something that is in FFFF or has alot of accents.

If you were sad, you might write something slow, soft, legato.

on the same note (no pun intended) we write music for saticfaction. We strive to be better at composing than we are now. When you write a song and put it on the internet, i.e. this site, we don't jsut say "this is my song." no, we say "this is my song, how do you like it?" and listen to the feedback in order to get better the next song we write.

although i'm in the middle of a thought, I will go on till like, 2 a.m. again writing my thoughts down..

oh well. that's my basic input.

-Smartyy!

Hi smartyy, welcome.

And just a forewarning, you'll probably get a lot of flak for what you just said. (But I'm not going to do it... since you're new and stuff.)

"Art is expression. It is expression of many things, most of which are unique to the artist."

Art is the expression of all life. Those who have mastered their art, have understood and figured out how to reduce all complex feelings to simple human experiences, ones that all people can relate to.

all valid points in this discussion, just wanted to say that even though people love the short 3min poppy songs on the radio, theres a reason why it dies out in 2 weeks. some of the music ive heard on here i will remember the rest of my life. lets all pat ourselves on the back for creating a real taste to music instead of the flavor of the week!:D

Music can broden or change your aspect on the world.

How many rap songs are there out there about drugs? i wonder how many people starting using drugs after hearing that song?

It can also change and influence your subconsciousness.

Classical music calms the mind down, we listen to it when we go to bed sometimes, while techno and electronica music will keep you awake, alert, like when you run on a treadmill, you might listen to this genre.

Music is a language. If you've ever listened to jazz, you would understand that. In jazz especially, soloist speak to each other through their instruments. it helps us to express ourselves.

We write music to express ourselves. If you jsut had an argument with your wife, or a friend, and your mad, you might write down music expressing your anger, something that is in FFFF or has alot of accents.

If you were sad, you might write something slow, soft, legato.

on the same note (no pun intended) we write music for saticfaction. We strive to be better at composing than we are now. When you write a song and put it on the internet, i.e. this site, we don't jsut say "this is my song." no, we say "this is my song, how do you like it?" and listen to the feedback in order to get better the next song we write.

although i'm in the middle of a thought, I will go on till like, 2 a.m. again writing my thoughts down..

oh well. that's my basic input.

-Smartyy!

I would actually dispute most of which you said.

People don't do drugs because they listen to rap. That's absolutely ridiculous. They do drugs because they want to. Some people who do drugs DO listen to rap but that doesn't mean the music makes them. What an insane suggestion.

I do drugs and there's a Stravinsky record on my turntable right now. Does Stravinsky make me do drugs?

Classical music does not necessarily calm my mind down. It pumps me up. You'd find a lot of people like me. In fact, a lot of people I've turned on to music of the classical and romantic era feel the same way. You can't listen to Der Holle Rache without feeling your pulse quicken.

The rest of this discussion I will save for tommorow. Early start and all.

Classical music calms the mind down...

-Smartyy!

I disagree with this. Not all classical music calms the mind. try listening to some atonal works, Carmina Burana, or may Piazolla's Libertango.(Just a few examples) See if it calms the mind or make you alert. ;)

Music is kind of like urinary incontinence. Whatever you may attempt to do about it, it will flow.

Is this taken from personal experience? It does seem useful to be able to piss out a sonata or two at varying times of the day.

;)

All I'm trying to say is that the public won't listen to music they don't understand. You need not look any further than your local orchestra's season to see what people will come to hear. If you want to have the public hear your stuff, you need to write for the public. They will enjoy and appreciate it. If you want to write to impress college professors and the "educated" people, you need to pay attention to what they want. If you deliver, they will enjoy and appreciate. It all comes down to knowing your audience. If you want to make a living composing or performing, you will have to please the greatest number of people, which are those who appreciate music without being trained in it.

This does not mean that you have to write short little 3 minute pop numbers or musical theatre shows (which have their merit), all you have to do is write for your audience. Study them and find out what they will stand for, they deserve this effort.

P.S. Bach enjoyed coffee. Beethoven made his coffe 60 beans to the cup. He even counted them out when he had time.

Why do you even bother. You should create music from your point off view. In some cases the music can be too 'modern' for the world, the music is ahead of it's time. Is that a bad think? NO! It could lead to your immortality; people might not appreciate it when you are alive but one sunny day people might just.

May I ask, what kinda of composer are you who just keeps in consideration what the audience wants? Yes, of course it is a good way to commercialize oneself, but really what more have you done? Just earned a crap load of money. A composer's best harvested fruit is not money; it is the fact that you put down a lot of time to create a piece and then let people experience it - that is the joy. That you have other people listen to it, of course it is nice to get pleasant feedback - but in the long run it will just give you soda water between your ears.

I say, create from your point of view. Music is subjective, there is almost not right or wrong.

I have never thought of writing for reputation and honor. What I have in my heart must come out; that is the reason why I compose.

Said by Beethoven. I could talk about this for ages, but I won't just yet.

I am someone who likes to hear new repertoire instead of getting perfect on popular pieces such as Ballade no 4 Chopin and others.

The way I do this is get on the piano and just improvise, to hear new kinds of sounds, to hear the sounds of music from composers I like.

It's mostly just for myself that I compose music. Someone said that if you want nice music then you just write it yourself. It may not sound good to others, but certainly to yourself and that's the point of composing.

What's the point? It's this one ----> .

Because I think it's rather funny.

Classical music does not necessarily calm my mind down. It pumps me up. You'd find a lot of people like me.

Actually, I become indignant when I go to a music store and see music I enjoy being marketed as "Music to Relax By". How insulting! Music is supposed to make you think and excite your brain, not serve as background noise!

There's nothing like a good symphony or two before bedtime, though. ;)

I can't sleep for at least four hours after listening to a good symphony ;)

Why I write music? Because it's fun. And I like to show off. AND I'm a cheapskate, so for gifts I just dedicate pieces to people.

but in all seriousness, I write music because it's how I express myself, and it makes me feel good.

last_life:

I compose for myself...i mean... i write songs the way i want it not the way people want it... it just so happens that i'm the type of person who doesn't care how people think of me... i write music to express what i feel... i want to listen to my own music and for me that's one way of showing what you've learned in music, the techniques; also showing what you think of things and what you've learned in life...

:)

What is the point of writing music? And furthermore, what is the point of music?

This has been something that I've been thinking a lot about recently, as I've been reconsidering the types of music that I write and the reasons why I write them. I often wonder how different my tastes in music would be if I knew nothing about theory or orchestration. As most people here know (I'm sure), the majority of the population (at least in America, I can't speak for other countries) enjoy rap music and rock music which is often fairly simple.

But is there any reason for music to be complex? If people enjoy simple music, then why right complex music that people may or may not enjoy? Often, it seems to me, that the only people who enjoy such music are people who are "musically educated" on some level, who are taught what to look for in the music.

I've been getting into a lot of more avant-garde type music these days; music that I'm sure many people don't even consider music. I wonder if I ACTUALLY enjoy it because of whatever emotions I get out of it or because I know of all the hidden complexities in the music. I also wonder if I'm just listening to it because it makes me feel all intellectual and pretentious.

So we composers usually write music for ourselves, no? Does anyone other than me think they might write completely different types of music if they didn't have so much outside influence (music training, the music we hear our lives etc). I mean, I might not have enjoyed dissonance at all if I hadn't been hearing 5 chords on the radio since I was born.

I'm not that great of a writer, so hopefully this all makes sense and isn't TOO rambling. So what do you think? Why do you write music?

THere are alot of different reasons composers write music - the foremost reason being that they have the habitual neuroticism of the "Artist" - a person who feels they have no personal significance themselves - continually trying to find "who they are", usually failing to find it and often being depressed. Thus, simply expressing their emotions is the reason for their existence.

Mozart, however, would be more of an "Opportunist" - a person who lives life to the fullest, and music is one of the many experiences that they MUST know and enjoy -- living in the moment. Once again this isn't an actual personality, but just a habitual neuroticism.

Other times, it may be an egocentric desire to "be the best" or show what they are made of - a need to be successful and something - in a musician this must be combined with some kind of experience or talent (as opposed to Wagner)

One of the most unusual for a musician, but easily seen in Wagner and is the desire to control others and the environment around them -- Wagner's allegorical, political and philosophical operas are probably the only obvious example of this in music, being an attempt to influence the world such that it may find salvation, as well as his actual political involvement. Not only that, music's form itself must be changed.

Although a huge mistake is to think that one person only exhibits one kind of neuroticism all their lives - rarely is one neutoricism dominant for an entire hour -- and there are an infinite amount of them, but these are the only obvious examples I can think of in composers.

I haven't looked at the posts in this thread, but I bet they are all testament to these neuroticisms.