To What Extent Do You Think Your Compositions Reflect You As A Person?

I mean to what extent do you think there is a one-to-one correspondence between you as a person and your compositions? Thus, if you are a boring person, then your pieces would be boring. If you are immature and undeveloped as a person, then your pieces would be immature and undeveloped. And if you are a person who's exciting and bubbling with ideas, then your pieces would be exciting and bubbling with ideas. Do you think there is such a close (near one-to-one) correspondence between how one is as a person and how one's compositions sound, between how one is perceived as a person and how one's compositions are perceived by an audience? Or do you think, on the other hand, that there is no such close correspondence? That a composer of exciting pieces bubbling with novel ideas might well prove to be living a dull life and be a dull person in a personal encounter with them? That a socially or psychologically immature person could well produce mature masterpieces?

Rephrased in another way, do you think one's life and experience are reflected in one's music? What is the raw material of music? Is it one's life and one's experiences or is it purely musical ideas on the abstract level that might not have anything to do with one's life and oneself as a person? An example of the former (one's life and experiences being the raw material of music) that comes to my mind is Beethoven. An example of the latter (music not being related to one's life but being purely mental musical ideas on the abstract level) that comes to my mind is, roughly speaking, all music before Beethoven, especially Bach.

Rephrased in still another way, do you think you can write greater music than your greatness as a person? Or write music that is inferior to you as a person? Or do you feel that your music's greatness is necessarily a reflection of your greatness as a person and cannot be either greater or lesser than it?

I think the answers to this question are of paramount importance because it is depending on them that we will decide whether composition constitutes truly an action - in the sense of having a clear and distinct subject and object - or whether its nature transcends the clear division into subject and object. If the latter be the case, then composition would be more than a simple action or activity, but something in which the division between subject and object is blurred and an activity in which the person as a subject may be changed and transformed in the very act of composition.

One-to-one correspondence? Really? Are you forcing math terms to make yourself look smart or do you seriously think that makes sense?

And no, I don't think you can tell much about a composer looking at his or her compositions.

...I don't think you can tell much about a composer looking at his or her compositions.

I agree.

There is obviously a degree of personal self-expression in any composition. Only that music, as enigmatic and disguising as it is, can be understood by a listener in a totally different way. Therefore I couldn't describe a composer's personality out of his music alone.

Could anyone, for example, tell how notoriously untidy Beethoven was from his energetic, yet well-structured pieces? Or could anyone tell how shy or insecure Tchaikovsky was, when listening to The Sleeping Beauty? Is the chaotic Rite of Spring an accurate description of the methodic and neat Stravinsky? Does Percy Graigner's obsession with sex show up openly in his music? Knowing these personality traits might (or might not) help to a better understanding of their works - but it's almost impossible the other way around.

There is an obvious correlation between the music and its composer but there are severe limits. First of all, the quality of the music depends almost entirely on how much the composer has thought about his work and how experienced he is or is not. And a person's personality does determine what style he enjoys, how easily satisfied he becomes with his work etc etc.. but I don't believe it happens the way you put it, as in: an exciting person writes exciting music, a boring person writes boring music. Excitement and boredom in music depends on the composer's intention, yes, but also on his ability to follow through that intention (which takes years to nurture). The other problem with this is that there is no absolute of what exciting music is or should be. Aesthetics varies by time, place, and person.

What I'm also implying is that I don't believe in the romantic notion of the composer - the musician who lets his feelings run wild and these produce art. I think that's bs. The composer is both an artist and a craftsman and the division between the two is really superficial and academic.

Actually, whenever I write my songs, I usually just take inspirations from my day or what just happened that makes me think "Hey, this needs a song". but my songs always usually end up as random and as colorful as my personality, i'm not saying I'm that creative lol. it's just that the way I make the melody stick with the rhythm and the words fits my bizzare imaginations in magical, enchanted things. :)

In one of newer pieces (which I'll fix one day to put on here), I don't see a correlation between my personality and the music. However, I think you can tell I take the scriptures seriously.

Romanticism in music inextricably ties the music to its creator. Other periods not so much, but 19th Century (and modern) Romantic music clearly show this correlation.

Awh man, does that mean that your piece for the June competition will think far too highly of itself and annoy the crap out of everyone?

I'm pretty comfortable with saying that my music is a direct result of me personally. The things that you gravitate towards certainly show up, if abstractly; maybe not so much on the interests/personality side.

I think some things in a composition can be attributed to a composer's personality. Haydn liked practical jokes and, sure enough, there are plenty of those in his output ranging from the obvious to the very subtle. Bach's religiousity is evident in several features of his compositions, as is Bruckner's and Messian's, manifested in different forms. Puccini's liking for fine living is reflected in the luscious orchestration and expressive vocal writing in his opera. Composers who are also expert performers will demonstrate a particular approach to writing based on their ideas as a soloist. We can't attribute everything to a certain personality trait, indeed there are many aspects of composers' techniques that often seem to contradict their personal characters, but neither can we ignore it.

With regards to myself, I see several traits I am aware of in many of my compositions and in the process of writing them. A meticulous approach to some areas (orchestration, interpretative markings) is tempered by a tendancy to rush into an important moment too quickly and to have to go back and flesh out the approach to make it more effective. Another is my vital need for the parts to be interesting for everybody concerned. I can't stand anything cliched or predictable, and so I try never to write a boring, unimaginative, disposible or thoughtless passage for any of my performers. I think a certain intellectualism manifests itself in the amount of counterpoint I try and incorporate into a piece, and also that I like to end works quietly, so the listener is guided towards contemplation about what has been presented and not just made to acknowledge the end. This in turn is tempered by a need for drama and dramatic contrasts.

I think my music is influenced by my personality as well as other factors. I don't like music that's just drums and rhythm. The song's need to have a melody. My music reflects these characteristics. Also, since I tend to be a thoughtful and reflective person, my music has these qualities to it as well. Also, I'm sort of a perfectionist and this shows up in my music as well. I don't want to just create half-good songs; I want to create songs that are fully-finished and excellent sounding.

Good Day,

i just wanted to share mine.. i am very blessed that i have found this page anyway in few lines i can tell you my experienced. there are times in my life wherein just a moment, thoughts, ideas just came into my mind and i can't help it so i always write it in my notebook. sometimes the lines just reflect on people i met, my friends, family, even those happenings and tragedy on other peoples lives. my compositions reflect me on every word i write because that's me its real its what i see,heard and feel.

I think in general terms, I'm probably pretty easy to figure out. I do a lot of different things so my music is all over the place.

As with almost all such vague penumbral questions, the answer really is : it depends.

One one level, the answer is, trivially, yes. My composition tells you that I can take these particular notes and put them in this particular order. Sounds stupidly obvious.

But then comes the next issue: what does that fact imply? I like jazz harmony. Or I like chords. Or, I play the piano.

Beyond that, extrapolation gets very, very, impressionistic and imprecise. The fact that I like jazz harmony a lot might suggest I have played jazz somewhere, in a casual band, or in a bar. Or it might not. Does it imply that I am some kind of cool, laidback person? Probably not. Does my use of harmonic substitution mean that I am mildly schizophrenic? That's obviously a bit much.

So yes. It depends on what exactly you're looking for. (Complicated by the fact that music can sound very different from the processes used to create it. So serialism can sound random, but really demands careful construction. The Rite of Spring sounds like a glorious, throbbing mess (and on a literal level, it is just a motivic fantasy), but Stravinsky was incredibly careful in creating it.)

Some composers like to oppose their emotions by writing music. For example, when Beethoven was in the darkest of states, he often composed lively bright works- vice versa.

As a composer, it always put their life on it the things that sometimes happened to them whether romance, dreams etc. As a composer there should be a passion in composing a song so that listeners will get attach to it.

I think if you're a decent composer, your material should be a very intimate account of who you are as a person. You will probably never be able to tell what a composer's favorite color might be just by listening to their music, but you should get a strong idea of how they perceive the world around them.

For example, if you ask me to write a very heroic song, I will write something that bears witness to what I think heroism is. You'll probably hear music that will bounce back and forth between melancholy, audacity, and hopefulness because I think courage has to do with being bold enough to face your deepest fears. If you think bravery is fighting a whole bunch of thugs at once or something, you might write something that is forceful, strong, and a bit audacious as well.