Brahms gives tips on COMPOSITION

He was maybe just making the point that you will write many songs before you have a worthy one :P

Just using song as an example.

no, Brahms meant "lieder" (ie: art songs)

yes, it IS lost in translation.

not song = piece

at that time the lied was a very common musical form, easily performed and published. it was normal for a composer to have dozens, if not hundreds, of lieder in his catalogue (cf. Schubert).

Is this an actual Brahms' writing? Could I have a source for it or other sources where Brahms discusses composition?(I know this thread is old)

I found out it is supposed to be a compilation from the book Brahms and His World by Walter Frisch.

Thank you!

On 11/3/2006 at 6:22 PM, SHEKHAR said:

6. When you are composing a piece, your bass should be vibrant, not sleepy or lazy. Your harmonies should sing and not be weak.

7. Harmony should not only be the accompaniment of the piece, but help and allow the idea to develop, so to speak, to help it emerge clearly and powerfully.

8. In regular composition, and song writing, the determining role of the melody and of clearly perceived basses created in good counterpoint should be a must.

I don't know where but I've read of Brahms' insistence that the melody, harmony and bass should be a unity somewhere before.  I've kept that in mind throughout my growth as a composer and today I consider many more options to be acceptable when choosing a bass note than I ever have before.  Choosing a non-harmonic note for the bass can have a transformative effect upon the harmony and melody.  Choosing a 7th, 2nd, or 4th of the chord for the bass can be especially useful in certain places.