Your musical place in the realm of music

I write music because I have to. There's just something in me that just won't rest until I've written something... I don't particularly care what my music does; it's just my music.

Well, my native style has always been the Baroque. Like many composers on this site, Bach fugues and organ music and such grabbed my attention early on and I began amateurishly seeking to imitate Bach. It was soon my dream to master the Bach-style perfectly.

But there was always a certain quality in some passages of his music... aside from the virtuosity and magnitude, which I always enjoyed, there were some passages here and there, lasting usually for a brief few seconds, that I decided harbored the most beautiful quality music could ever attain.

I'm still not sure what exactly spoke to me so clearly in only a few pieces of Bach's enormous output, but my careful search led me to learn one of my favorite devices that actually belonged to the previous century... a harmonic progression involving nonfunctionally harmonized descending semitones.... which was quite popular in the generation immediately preceding Bach's. In fact, in all of Bach's music, he only consistently uses this in the fugue of his g-minor harpsichord toccata, I think.

Well, oddly enough that progression changed my musical future forever. I can't explain why at that time such a simple musical idea sounded so mystical, so powerful... It was the seventeenth century calling :). And after buying some scores and hearing some music, I found in a composer I had never previously heard before, Buxtehude, everything I had ever dreamed music should be. In a way I must have secretly been disappointed by Bach... or at least, Bach's style tended to only display tantalizing hints at the modality and chromaticism I enjoy the most.

And while I understand that this music is not for everyone (far too many modern performers and composers dismiss the Renaissance and early Baroque as primitive or undeveloped), I have grown to enjoy the music of the 16th and 17th centuries. And it displays tremendous variety! Many on this site (though certainly not most) seem to think Baroque music all sounds like the Well-Tempered Clavier; in fact, I find the styles of these periods as diverse and different as say Schoenberg from Mozart. And this has given me a better perspective on how to develop a unique and personal Baroque style.

Truthfully my hopes for the future are fairly exotic. For a while a school of Renaissance composers developed who advocated various systems of microtonal music. As a harpsichordist myself, I dream of one day commissioning the construction of an enharmonic harpsichord (i.e. with 19 or maybe even 31 notes per octave, some modern builders have successfully attempted them) and beginning where those composers' styles left off, creating something bizarre and new, mixing microtonal theory and the Renaissance conception of consonance with my favorite styles of 17th century North and South Germany, mixing in the exotic and experimental rhythms of 17th century Spain. Something like a Vincentino-Gesualdo-Frescobaldi-Froberger-Buxtuhude-Cabanilles mix, as odd as this must seem to those of you reading this far.

And while this may not appeal to anyone else (I am studying performance rather than composition for a reason!), this is as of now my dream. I expect it will change in the future quite a lot. But I like the idea... blending all of my favorite styles and making something very new, something very alien to Bach and modern Baroque stereotypes.

:P That said, in the meanwhile I am just attempting to master various historical styles individually before I try too hard at creating my own. But I keep all my ideas in mind.

I write music because I have to. There's just something in me that just won't rest until I've written something... I don't particularly care what my music does; it's just my music.

You sound like Dai Fujikura, although I bet your music doesn't sound like his :P

"In my music, there is no "message" or "statement". I just try to hunt the notes which I really want to experience as one of the audience of my work." [D.F.]

I write music because I have to. There's just something in me that just won't rest until I've written something...

Then what differentiates what you do as a composer from what the heroin addict does as a junkie?

;)

I compose because I can, and I live in a small city where I don't know any other kids who compose. So it makes me feel special.

I would be happy if I ever make money from my compositions. Not necessarily a living.

I would be happier if I wrote something really popular, that people recognized me for.

My dream is to write something epic which becomes a staple of music history. Something like Wagner's Ring, but not as incestuous :)

I don't think either of us have a problem with your humanistic goal to ''unite everyone'' (though it humours me slightly), but this... is no way to behave in the subjective (also known as real) sphere. Shame on you! :angry: In the subjective world your goals make you nothing but a conquistador of people's perception.

Methinks there's no such thing as ''universal'' music. Only religious humanists like yourself think so. :innocent: :P

Keep your shame. I'm a "conquistador" of nothing. What I said is, if everyone saw things the way I do (which is based on fundamental moral principles and logical thinking), we would have less malice, more tolerance and basically get along better. NOT that people should bow to me because I'm superior - or that there is some kind of music that everyone will enjoy, for that matter. While that just can't be true, you can't ignore that there's a great deal of discrimination just within the music world, and I simply want to mitigate that.

Is this completely realistic? Of course not. Hence the being a "dream". I have nothing but good intentions for the world, and seeing how so many do not even have that, is it any wonder? I would appreciate it if you didn't insult my aspirations, Anders. :)

i want to create the music i create :)

Then what differentiates what you do as a composer from what the heroin addict does as a junkie?

;)

Composing is cheaper and legal.

Composing is cheaper and legal.

well if you use cracked programs then it is illegal :cool:

Then what differentiates the heroin junkie from the guy that needs a cup of tea or coffee to get through the day? ;)

By drinking a cup of tea you don't see a car like an elephant, nor does it carry any dangers towards other members of the community or is possible to get HIV through it. You are also less likely to pay 200 bucks for every gram of tea, and you don't need to go to a detox center to get de-addicted from tea. Tea is natural, doesn't inquire artificial methods of injection other than just drinking it, and has many benefits in terms of health, plus by drinking tea you don't increase your chances of getting braindead. Tea doesn't affect your reflexes, and it doesn't make your body less effective and less strong than it normally would be.

Other than that, tea is also legal and found in most shops around you :)

Have you actually done drugs? If not, what makes you think you are in a position to speak about it?

Then what differentiates the heroin junkie from the guy that needs a cup of tea or coffee to get through the day? ;)

To clarify, it seemed to me you stated that you compose just because it satisfies some kind of ''instatiable craving''; being without man-made music gives you abstinence and lack of composition is lack of life, right?

This is why I made the junkie comparison. You may argue that the comparison is void because composition doesnt have any harmful side-effects, but I disagree- remember what John Cage said (OMG EWWW John Cage)

If you develop an ear for sounds that are musical it is like developing an ego. You begin to refuse sounds that are not musical and that way cut yourself off from a good deal of experience.

I'm not denouncing composition at all, and certainly don't think it's the same as drug use.. I compose every day.. but maybe composers should go out and listen to some birdsong (not Messiaen) once in a while? (and yes, I know this entire paragraph is a digression)

ktnxbay

I suppose there are people out there that feel a drive to writing/composing/creating something. Brahms, for instance, wanted in his early childhood only to write music. It's not quite an "insatiable craving" so much as it is a need to be creative and imaginative. It seems more of a mindset or character.

Have you actually done drugs? If not, what makes you think you are in a position to speak about it?

Have you ever been to war? What makes you think you are in a position to talk about it? Have you ever been a president? What makes you think you are in a position to talk about a president's actions? Have you ever been in the moon? What makes you think you are in a position to talk about the moon? Have you ever written a novel? What makes you think you are in a position to talk about a novel? (you get my point).

Now,

By drinking a cup of tea you don't see a car like an elephant...

Ok, heroin isn't a hallucinogen but I just wrote this for fun, not specifically for heroin, as I also guess that Violinist01 didn't particularly want to compare a composer to a heroin junkie, but to any junkie.

...nor does it carry any dangers towards other members of the community...

Since you're not in your right state of mind when you do drugs, you may as well hurt many people and not realise it. OR you may hurt other people in your quest for heroin or money for heroin, once you're addicted to it.

... or is possible to get HIV through it.

Thank God I don't have to have experienced that in order to say it... You may as well want to check this link, although I think it's pretty obvious that if many people use the same needle to inject heroin there is a high possibility that if one of them has HIV, it may spread among the rest of the people who use the same needle.

You are also less likely to pay 200 bucks for every gram of tea...

Well, in Greece, a gram of purple haze costs some 10 euros, as far as I know, so I guess if you wanted to get heroin it would cost much much more, and "200 bucks" was an exaggeration to how much more expensive heroin is with respect to tea.

... and you don't need to go to a detox center to get de-addicted from tea.

If you take a look at the article I linked to before, you'll see that heroin is one of the most addictive drugs. Again, I don't need to have been addicted to heroin in the past to say that, since it's statistically/physiologically supported.

Tea is natural, ...

Heroin is semi-synthetic and is basically a modern innovation and drug (medical or recreational), as opposed to tea which is natural and people have been drinking tea for a few thousand years.

... doesn't inquire artificial methods of injection other than just drinking it...

You either inject, or smoke heroin, both of which are quite artificial ways of getting substances inside your body (well, you may argue that "breathing" is not artificial, but smoking is artificial - our lungs are made to breathe earth's troposphere not heroin).

... and has many benefits in terms of health...

Again, you may want to check this and this link.

...plus by drinking tea you don't increase your chances of getting braindead.

Again, I wish I didn't need to experience that in order to talk about it, because well, I wouldn't be able to talk about it if I was braindead (which means that even people who HAVE done heroin can't talk about that, because if they had experienced being braindead, they wouldn't be able to talk about it). Some of the severe side-effects of heroin include seizures, falling into coma, and even death. That may account for my saying that it might kill you (as opposed to tea, where there is no such thing as "overdose" - I mean, there is, as you can also have an overdose with vitamins and die from it; nothing is good for you in too large quantities after all, not eve oxygen or vitamins.

Tea doesn't affect your reflexes, and it doesn't make your body less effective and less strong than it normally would be.

Ok, I think I agreed that heroin is not a hallucinogen in the beginning of the post, but what is heroin really? It is a pain-killer (thus reduces the efficiency of the nerve system), and causes drowsiness (thus relaxing you to a degree where you body can't function properly or to its full potential) and it may cause ataxia, which is a neurological problem consisting of incoordination of muscle movement (from the Greek word "ataxia" which means "no order"). So these are actually some of the symptoms you get by doing heroin and you don't get by drinking tea.

Other than that, tea is also legal and found in most shops around you.

As opposed to heroin which is characterised as a Class A drug (although it may be used for medical purposes - rarely and with prescriptions and under controlled situations), and is thus illegal (you can get quite a few years in prison if you are caught selling heroin without a license). You also have to find a drug-dealer to get heroin (please don't ask me to try and persuade you that tea is both legal and found in shops near you..).

but I disagree- remember what John Cage said (OMG EWWW John Cage) [/quote

Anyway, you mention a John Cage quote, but you don't mention which quote. Would you mind actually giving us the quote, because Cage has said many many things, and I can't think of anything he's said that matches that comparison (or the statement that composition may have side-effects).

Take care! :)

The quote is inside the box.

You're so boring, Juji. For me, when someone cites arbitrary facts the information goes into one ear and out the other. You talk a lot, but as far as I'm concerned, you don't really say anything. Why not tell a story instead, to get across what you're trying to say? (then again, you can't, because you haven't really experienced it) I read your posts and all I see is ''blah this is that blah blah this is that''. It's like i'm listening to my nazi authoritarian uncle.

Anyway, I shouldn't have posted anything in the first place. It was not in my place to criticize how people express themselves. :happy: *phases out of thread to allow juji to get the final word in a final gargantuan boring reply capped off by a snide remark*

Anders:

Did you have a bad day or something?

Because honestly, you are telling me off for talking about heroin without having done heroin, which means you don't seem to know those "arbitrary facts" about heroin that people can say without having done heroin, and now you're telling me off because I actually mentioned one by one these "arbitrary facts" which people who haven't done heroin don't know (although they do, as I showed in my previous post), but you do.

What's more, you are largely contradicting yourself, as in one post you say that I can't talk about heroin since I haven't done any, and now you go on and say that I can't say a story if I haven't experienced it. Way to go, Anders, now you can tell me off again because I just highlighted that these two posts contradict themselves, but everyone can notice that, right? Well, not you, apparently. :blink:

I am deeply sorry if you have a Nazi authoritarian uncle, but in any case, you should try and do less heroin, because it's not a good example to other people (especially young people) saying (or at least, implying) that you've done heroin, because you might think it's fine doing heroin, but it's still illegal and dangerous for your health.

In any case, that last comment is a very immature way of making the other person seem more stupid in a conversation (or make you look smarter). It's like diving in a pool and then saying "whoever dives last is stupid". Well, here's my version of it: if you reply to this post, it'll show how immature you are to continue a silly argue like this, and if you don't reply, you'll show how arrogant you are and how superior to me you feel and thus deny to reply. :O

Have a nice day.

Have you actually done drugs? If not, what makes you think you are in a position to speak about it?

Talk about logic fallacies.

dreams are great. I think it takes some 3 to 4 years before the dreamer evolves to a creator. That is when he can create anything he dreams of.

I will not share mine :-).

my goal in life is to direct every major work i possibly can.

Top o the list:

Mozart's Requiem

My musical goal is to make music that is so compelling that everybody would seek it and willingly (take note of the term "willingly") renumerate my effort, no matter how obscure or rare it is. Hahaha! :evil:

Kidding aside, as much as what I'm about to say is cliche, it is enough that I could express myself through music and have an audience listening.

P.S. In one way or another, some jokes are half meant (refer to first paragraph):laugh: