problem with finishing pieces?

I have been composing for about a year and I seem to have a problem with actually finishing my pieces. I think that maybe it could be just that im new to this whole thing and that I dont have enough experience yet, but im not sure. A lot of times i will get really inspired and start writing a piece nonstop for a day or two, but then Ill get a different idea and sort of lose interest in the first piece I was working on. This is like a never-ending thing that goes on for me. I never really finish any of my pieces. Is this normal for a young composer? should I be worried about it? should i go back and try to finish all of these pieces or just know that i learned from the process of working on them?

This happens to me constantly! It's like I wrote that whole post! I'm hoping this gets answered though, I'll check back in.

I have been composing for about a year and I seem to have a problem with actually finishing my pieces. I think that maybe it could be just that im new to this whole thing and that I dont have enough experience yet, but im not sure. A lot of times i will get really inspired and start writing a piece nonstop for a day or two, but then Ill get a different idea and sort of lose interest in the first piece I was working on. This is like a never-ending thing that goes on for me. I never really finish any of my pieces. Is this normal for a young composer? should I be worried about it? should i go back and try to finish all of these pieces or just know that i learned from the process of working on them?

While there's no rule saying that you only learn from fully finished pieces, I think it is worthwhile going through the whole process, because it is exactly this difficulty in composing that you will have to get accustomed to when you are writing, say, a commissioned work with a deadline. Having a nice idea is one thing, actually making it in a piece that works as a whole another. It is very natural to lose interest in a composition, or to get stuck. I believe temporarily getting stuck somewhere is a part of the composition process of almost all pieces of almost all composers. But ultimately, if you -do- manage to get a piece done it will probably make you feel a lot better than having dozens of half-finished pieces lying around. Completing a piece after lots of hard work is an awesome feeling!

So what can you do about it? It's hard to give a solution that will work for everybody. For me, only one thing seems to work reliably: Having a deadline. If I know I -have- to get the piece finished until a specific date that gives me the necessary incentive actually to endure the uncomfortable and hard passages of writing and to continue working even if I'd rather just quit and start something different. In the end, I'm usually glad I did.

But how can you have deadlines if you are only writing for yourself and don't have any commissions? Well, if you have some self-discipline it -might- work simply setting yourself a deadline anyways, but often that's not quite going to cut it. That's why I would look out for possible performers and possible concerts in which to present your pieces. It doesn't have to a set of world-class performers and it doesn't have to be a huge concert. But maybe you can arrange something with a music teacher whose students are giving a recital? Or maybe you could compose something as a birthday present of a friend or family member (and optimally arrange it to be played on the occasion)? Etc. Just try to think of something that may give you an actual reason to finish a piece until a certain date.

Oh, and I do have lots of unfinished pieces lying around as well. And often it can be perfectly fine to just let them rest in peace. You don't have to finish everything, but I'd try to set myself certain goals of at least finishing specific pieces.

I have been composing for about a year and I seem to have a problem with actually finishing my pieces. I think that maybe it could be just that im new to this whole thing and that I dont have enough experience yet, but im not sure. A lot of times i will get really inspired and start writing a piece nonstop for a day or two, but then Ill get a different idea and sort of lose interest in the first piece I was working on. This is like a never-ending thing that goes on for me. I never really finish any of my pieces. Is this normal for a young composer? should I be worried about it? should i go back and try to finish all of these pieces or just know that i learned from the process of working on them?

That is perfectly normal for a young composer to experience. To me, an unfinished piece teaches several things:

1. What reasons are there that the piece is unfinished?

2. Were the ideas to set in stone that they offered very little expansion or development?

3. Did you write yourself into an area that you can't transition from?

Those are just a few questions to ask yourself. When I've come to roadblocks in my pieces, I generally look at it and mull over HOW I got to that obstacle that prevented me from moving forward. Oftentimes, I'll go back and remove passages and then rework the material to where it is possible to go forward. Sometimes, a piece doesn't beckon to be 20 mins or 10 mins... but instead sits comfortable with me at 2 mins or 1 min. It all really depends on what you're working with, I think.

I Don't exactly "lose interest", but i have countless unfinished pieces lying around simply because i could not think of how to expand the idea i had. Usually i come up with ideas that I absolutely love, which is why i decide to write it in the first place... but i can never think of any way to expand it without it losing that amazing feeling that inspired me enough to write it down. After too long of not being able to come up with anything as good as the original idea, then interest starts to fade and the piece gets locked away in my archives. Sometimes they get brought back out many days/weeks/months later and are finally given justice, but a lot of times they are put back again. There are at least 4 pieces I have at the forefront of my composing that I am desperately trying to keep out of the unfinished archives... most have been started months ago.

Joining this site helped me start finishing pieces. A couple years ago, I'd be working some pieces in Logic, but I would never finish them. I think joining this site gave me an incentive to finish pieces because I could get feedback on them.

Peace on Earth,

-John

Great answers everybody, this helps a lot! I think I'm going to try and revamp melodies I have lying around into a different melody that would still fit as the next part of the piece, would that be a good idea? I also like the idea of giving myself deadlines.

Everybody is different. One thing that I do, not sure if everyone else does it, is I try to rework the material previously stated to form a new idea. Usually that involves breaking up the initial material into it's thematic constituents. If you work with say a full melodic idea, break it up into it's various parts. There is, in my more traditional works, intervalic relations that are similar step-wise within the initial theme. I will take those and 'variate' them either by altering the intervalic sequence itself OR inverting it, etc. It's really up to your imagination. If you want to take a new idea and add it to your work - the key thing there is to make sure the ideas are compatible with each other. The big thing about that is... if you get yourself in a rut again - you would be tempted to add yet another melody or idea to your mix... and then again.. and then again. Nothing wrong with that in some cases, but overall, its best to use less and achieve more than work with more and achieve less.

Yes, I need to work on using the same melody in two different sections - but not the exact same. Like you said, reworking and whatnot. I have tried incorporating all my melodies into one piece and it just loses you completely, even with some transitions.

I have hundreds of unfinished pieces. Then I come back to them after two years and finish them...

Hm - one thing to try is maybe to start from the end. Write yourself a finale, and then go from the beginning and fill in.

A ton of fine answers.

I finished pieces only when I had begun the composition class at Juilliard. Why? As Gardener said I had a DEADLINE! After having so many deadlines you learn to "finish" your pieces.

Also, hearing your work in first draft and then the final version for class teaches you how to finish pieces because you hear yourself. Much as a performer studies with a teacher and continue to go to other musicians to try out new repertoire with tiny audiences at first - say a salon of friends or setting up their own pre-recital.

Well composers should do the same. How you go about it depends on your motivation, temperament and skill level. YC is a great place for new composers or those who are coming back after a very long haitus. Just because you have a whole set of new ears to hear your work. You also learn simultaneously to be less and less defensive about a work and critical of the advice you get. To be honest, usually it takes a few weeks for some of the great critiques to sink in OR they play out in class- one example was my first string quintet where I set up by setting fewer barline so I could write longer forms - I would write a bar for 13/4, 10/4, 7/4 etc. It worked very well - I had myself the beginning of a wonderfully long piece piece. Unfortunately it took me a few weeks AFTER the final reading (in that version the meter fluctuated among 3/4, 4/4, 2/4 which was still a bear to play)and absorbing a simple comment of SSC about the role of time signature (hey that was a good discussion BTW, look it up ion the Archive ending Nov 9 and my lessons with SSC) to discover the meter was 5/4!

And guess what I never finished that piece but it is a great unfinished piece I hope to revisit one day. Also, look to your unfinished pieces to create new ones. The first piece I posted here, the Volcano for organ came from several sources - 1) an abandoned mass - the chorale tune that opens and serves as a cantus firmus of the piece is from this unfinished work 2) an assignment for cello and piano that just had too many ideas 3) and a first draft of an incomplete Trio for organ I wrote and showed to my organ teacher. Even then when I wrote the final version the performer had suggestions - one being to toss a middle section as it was too hard - and honestly I found it was incredibly overwritten anyway.

I have said this before but one of the best places to find performers and set a deadline:

a) your school

b) your local church

c) local amateur/professional performing musician groups - join one if you play or go to their recitals

d) at recitals - churches and community centers and community colleges offer free or low cost recitals to attend and meet performers.

Finally, if you are a bit too timid to do any of these things, using barlines or a series of chords as goalposts for a composition greatly helps you to finish a piece. I returned to this method of setting ridiculous time signature in my Movement for string quartet. I set the meter as 6/1 or multiples of it. In this case it worked quite well and I created a finished piece with a rather long melodic arch. My example shows this requires practice.

To be honest, I don't do half the things I just said as it takes much time. But even if you do a couple you will get results.

thanks for all the help and advice everyone. Ill be finishing pieces in no time :D