Originality

I often find myself writing music that sounds just like something I'd just heard/performed. When had our district band, I met and performed Quincy Hilliard, whose music is very intense and packed with syncopation. For the next few weeks, I was writing music that (you guessed it) was very intense and full of syncopation! Then came yet another weekend band that had a lot of slow pieces, mainly Ticheli's "An American Elegy". I had the trumpet solo in this, which made it stick in my head even more. So I trashed the intense piece and began a slow, sad piece. As you can probably tell, this makes it very hard to stay on focus with a project, or not to trash it. So, how do you guys stay original? And, more importantly, how did you find your voice as a composer?

The whole creation myth is about copying (adam and Eve from God's Image, Darwin' s fact about how we are prior versions adapted to altered circumstances to create something seemingly knew, stars born from the detrius of collapse old stars and galactic dust). Give up on originality. It is far more interesting to hear a warped copy or assimilation of one or more styles than a conscious attempt to escape all predecessors and peers.

Everyone's voice is partly their own, with influx and influence from others. I'm strongly influenced by composers like Stravinsky and Sibelius. How do I do it? Well, you need to work at it for a long time. Open your ears to all sorts of music and cultures, and you'll morph together your own style which will be "similar but different". Don't think you need to be different from everyone. You don't. Just don't copy them to the note!

Give up on originality. It is far more interesting to hear a warped copy or assimilation of one or more styles than a conscious attempt to escape all predecessors and peers.

Everyone's voice is partly their own, with influx and influence from others. (...) Don't think you need to be different from everyone. You don't. Just don't copy them to the note!

Absolutely agreed with both.

As I've stated quite a few times before, I think "originality" by itself is an overrated concept, especially in art. In my opinion, it's authenticity what a composer should strive for - find a way to communicate your thoughts while staying true to yourself. Enrich yourself by studying a diversity of styles - but don't allow anyone to tell you that you must compose in a given style just "because it's what must be done in these days" or "because it's the way it has been done for the last three centuries". There's no point in looking for "originality" by itself - don't worry about being different from others, but instead in saying what you really want to say, and there will eventually be a point where your voice will not be mistaken.

...Expose yourself to many, many different styles.

Ta daa!!!

If you look at the most famous composers, they often didn't start out immediately with a STRONG sense of their own voice. It was there but it was masked in other peoples ideas. Look at early Beethoven for example.

I think originality is best achieved naturally and organically over a long period of time by closely imitating the greatest composers. What amazes me is how one piece can be very similar to another, yet bring about totally different feelings. I wouldn't worry about originality. Copying good composers is the best thing you could probably do. Just keep listening to a lot of music and a lot of different composers.

I have to agree with Kefienzel on this one. The seeds of originality are planted by close observation, study, and emulation of other's work. For instance, myself, I am extremely in love with Mozart's music. My earliest works imitated him highly. Eventually, I found myself moving in a different direction - and am still heading in that direction.

these statements are beautiful! I agree with them all!

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"because it's what must be done in these days"

As i'm working to mount my 12 musiciens orchestra, one of the main problems I find is to "motivate" both musicians and collaborators about the authenticity of this music...

What do you mean by 'authenticity' ? How does this 'authenticity' affect how musicians are willing to work on the project?

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@robinjessome : The musicians I work with are nor that conscious that the most important thing in our band is that it's the only one in the town that'll play this kind of music, and being authentic is one of the most important values for it...

Then you're hiring the wrong musicians. ;)

Either way, I'm still not clear on "what is authentic" ... do you mean music/musicians that are "honest" towards the music? If the players aren't giving the appropriate energy/emotion, I can see how that would be a problem... I just don't get what elements make for an 'authentic' performance.

first of all, you're playing great pieces! I'm a big fan of Tichelli. That aside, originality isn't something you need to worry about right now, just listen to music and be inspired, and write music. As long as it is your music you're writing, then originality will come with it. I like to think of myself as a combination of John Mackey and Frank Tichelli, but I'm also starting to see that I'm building my own personal style due to the massive amount of music I've been listening to lately (all completely random of each other, for example, I have in ONE playlist, Steve Riech, Debussy, Shonberg, Mahler, Stravinsky, Copland, Ives, John Mackey, Frank Tichelli, Erick Whitacre, and Shostakovich)

first of all, you're playing great pieces! I'm a big fan of Tichelli. That aside, originality isn't something you need to worry about right now, just listen to music and be inspired, and write music. As long as it is your music you're writing, then originality will come with it. I like to think of myself as a combination of John Mackey and Frank Tichelli, but I'm also starting to see that I'm building my own personal style due to the massive amount of music I've been listening to lately (all completely random of each other, for example, I have in ONE playlist, Steve Riech, Debussy, Shonberg, Mahler, Stravinsky, Copland, Ives, John Mackey, Frank Tichelli, Erick Whitacre, and Shostakovich)

Yay, another band geek!! I tend to drift towards minimalism most of the time, so maybe that is just a bit of my 'voice' beginning to come out :P If you're a fan of Mackey, I would recommend some of Hilliard's stuff. Listen to "The Day the Clowns Cried", I had a great time playing it and he is a really cool guy.

yay! another minimalist! XD I'm not kidding! and I'm googling Hilliard right now!

If you want to be sure that you wrote something "original", maybe personal would be a better word, then spend a lot of time on the phase where you edit all the small things. Sometimes also big things. As long as you make a lot of conscious decision, you should end up with something personal. Thinking like this is how I've accepted the fact that I suddenly recognize a melody in a piece of mine from some psx game I loved, or something like that.

If you want to be sure that you wrote something "original", maybe personal would be a better word, then spend a lot of time on the phase where you edit all the small things. Sometimes also big things. As long as you make a lot of conscious decision, you should end up with something personal. Thinking like this is how I've accepted the fact that I suddenly recognize a melody in a piece of mine from some psx game I loved, or something like that.

That happened to me when I first started writing! I ending up stealing a John Williams lick without even knowing it :toothygrin: :jedi: