How do you determine a structure for your music?

Well obviously there are all t he usual binary and turnary forms etc but how do you go about detmining a pleasing form for a more contemporary piece of music?

I'm not talking about Stockhausen-type music, but how do you find/determine a pleasing form for your music without just using standard forms?

Just wondering how you approach this?

Thanks,

Chris

I used to not write with form in mind, but I find people don't find it interesting or pleasing at all.

First of all, the reason these forms have become standardized is because they work well. So you don't need to fear or shun them. What they all have in common is some form of repetition. Any time you present a new musical idea, it takes a while to digest it. So you introduce a theme, mess around with it a bit, maybe bring in some new material, but eventually revisit your original idea in some form. That original theme, having been followed by something different, is now presented in a new context, and the audience can connect with it. They will subconsciously think: "Oh yes, I remember that, I get it now." The familiarity makes the music more accessible, regardless of how "out there" it is.

So I don't think you need to worry about any strict formal arrangement. Just give us the opportunity to become reacquainted with your ideas periodically--possibly in a new setting or context--and see what develops over the course of the piece.

Ternary always.

Listen to some Joan Tower and Jennifer Higdon; especially the latter's chamber work. That's a good place to start looking for freeforms...i think everyone has their own sense of structure, but listening to Tower and Higdon might give you some ideas.

I don't think you should fear traditional forms. But I don't think you need to embrace them, either, unless that is your goal. I come from a jazz/rock background, and my heroes were always the artists who created their own songforms, from the Beatles to Frank Zappa. A great role model, if you can get into his work, was Joe Zawinul, the leader of the group Weather Report. Even when he tried to be more 'accessible' (the album Heavy Weather is a good starting point), he turned forms on their ear.

It might sound like a cliche to some of the younger folk here, but at 53 I have been writing based on how I feel for almost a decade and loving it. I know its effective to recycle themes, but I do it when I feel like it and I pass on it other times. Works for me! :)