Out of curiosity:

I have this idea in my head that people are writing music and it just happens.

I often get so fed up with a part of my pieces that I just chop them out and rewrite a whole section and it sounds much better.

Do you usually just write your pieces top to bottom with minimal changes (more than just a note here and there) after the fact, or do you edit them a lot? I just ask because it seems like some people write stuff so quickly that I don't know whether I'm compulsive, amateurish, or average.

Well, my pace is glacial even by comparison to yours... but I'm obsessive about revising. I'll keep on revising a piece for a year or more after I declare it "finished".

I pretty much write from top to bottom in a stream. Always have. Revisions are relatively rare. Sometimes I will find that something doesn't work and I'll revise it slightly, but it's quite rare that I hack whole sections out or do extensive re-writes. I'd sooner scrap it altogether, or set the material aside for use somewhere else; my "Sundry Dances" suite is made up almost entirely of old ideas I either couldn't make work previously or didn't know what to do with. I also don't usually add anything once the piece/movement is framed.

There are a few notable exceptions - I added the middle section to the 2nd movement of my 3rd symphony as an afterthought after I'd finished the last movement, though I'd been considering it for some time.

I do quite a bit of hacking with my pieces. Usually it has to do with me not having a clear idea of where I want the piece to go. I have a GENERAL idea but I won't know it note perfect.

That being said, I have written pieces from top to bottom in one sitting. Dark Pines Under Water and Around The Fire, After the Dance were both written like that.

Never satisfied. I see music as living entities that will always be subject to change.

That being said, I have written pieces from top to bottom in one sitting. Dark Pines Under Water and Around The Fire, After the Dance were both written like that.

Dark Pines Under Water does sound like it was written in a continuous stream. I'm still very much enamoured of that piece.

...or set the material aside for use somewhere else;

Yes indeed - I have several sheets of paper I send to the "dog pound," a ratty folder I have for unwanted ideas or sections that could potentially be put to death, but may be reconsidered for later use.

How long? It depends on the complexity of the composition.

I hack as well. I often get alot of musical ideas that I put down on paper, without thought to form, for example - and a B section may last 4X as long as an A section, where before it was more complimentary spacially. However, this sometimes works to advantage if I can connect it (by number of measures and harmonically) to a previous section of music - which gives the peice more breadth and not so rigidly to a preconcieved form. However, writing this way means counting measures and plenty of revision of the musical material. It's easier to write with a structure already in mind.

Dark Pines Under Water does sound like it was written in a continuous stream. I'm still very much enamoured of that piece.

Gee golly gosh Mr. Graham sir. I gotta admit I'm flattered you didn't completely forget about it!

I'm going to UBC this fall and since it's THE opera school in Canada I'm going to try and inflict that piece on some unsuspecting soprano.

Fingers crossed...

For the most part, I just write the next thing. I don't usually have to do a lot of revisions, though I am thinking of going back to some of my first pieces ever and revising/improving them... it's amazing that even though on the whole some of my first music wasn't that good, but they have a lot of potential. But as for during the writing process, if something's not working out, before I write it down I take it to the piano and figure it all out... I didn't used to use the piano to compose, and I still don't rely a lot on it, but its a useful tool :mellow:.

WEll, I kind of write from begining to end and I hardly revise. But it turns out being really random and when I post it here it turns out severely NEEDING revision.

I write in a stream. That's usually why my music isn't structured well... I give the notes free reign and most of the time I feel as if I'm taking dictation.

Do you usually just write your pieces top to bottom with minimal changes (more than just a note here and there) after the fact, or do you edit them a lot?

I used to take FOREVER. Part of the problem was my inability to work on more than one project at a time. I'd have to get one finished before moving on to the next. Which may have worked, if I wasn't so friggin slow. My writing was derived from the Brookmeyer/Gil Evans/Maria Schenider approach, more orchestral and textural and I was trying to cram too much into it - too dense harmonically/rhythmically/everything. The other part of the problem was the computer....and the fact that I used it. It lets you put stuff in you don't hear...

SO

I have recently totally revamped my concept. Composing for jazz orchestra, my writing has become a lot simpler, leaving a lot of freedom for spontaneous interaction and creativity.

I try now to coax the music from the musicians, instead of trying to force it through them.

This has been a greatly liberating breakthrough for me, culminating in a complete chart finished (!) in 2 days.

I've come to the realization that (generally) the musicians I have performing my music are extremely talented and creative individuals, so trust them to make it happen. I prefer now to steer and prompt, and let it happen, music more inspired by Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Carla Bley.

Also, I've dumped the computer - using Finale solely as a notation tool, rather than compositional.

...

Well...I hope this is slightly on topic. Your methods and aproach to writing will change as you develop and evolve. You'll write things now you'll hate in 5 years, and love again in 10. You'll switch from writing on piano to doing it all in your head, and then to computer. Everyone has different techniques for getting it out...find the one that works for you, and don't worry if, in 3 years, you don't like it anymore...

Some guys write it, it's perfect...static. Others (Slide Hampton) only use a particular arrangement once. Perform the chart, throw it out, a constant state of change .... organic.