What do you compose for?

Hi everyone,

Here's a question I've been pondering lately. Do you compose for the sake of expression of emotion or just for the sake of music as art? Lately, I've thought that music should tell some sort of story. Feeling pretty calm lately, I've been told that my music lacks soul/music as art. So I've been striving to tell a good story since I personally feel that music should express some sort of emotion. I'm just curious as to what other composers here on YC feel.

When I play/compose, I try to think of what story I'm trying to tell.

My new orchestral work is an attempt to describe my distraught feelings when I found that my brother is moving across the country to play in a band and it's very unlikely that I'll ever see him again. So I'm really more of an author than a composer. At least I try to be.

Do you compose for the sake of expression of emotion or just for the sake of music as art?

I compose for music as art. I like to create something interesting/beautiful/powerful, for the sole purpose that I'd like it to exist.

...

[off topic @ Alex: I sincerely hope you're exaggerating when you say it's 'unlikely I'll ever see [my brother] again' ...The country's big, but not that big.]

Wow, I dont know which way to take it.

As a vocalist, Im always trying to find what story my character is trying to convey.

When I listen to music Im always looking for the story. Why. Im always looking for what ther music is saying. I really do this with absolute music, and program music of course.

But when I compose, I guess im composing for art, for my history, like

robin said i want the world to have it. I want to share my musical ideas with the world.

I guess thats it...:)

What about just to get laid?

I agree entirely with Robin, I compose because I want to create something beautiful, and I suppose Tumababa isn't far from the truth aswell :P

Great question Kia,

I’m working on a piece right now that is definitely a story in music. It’s basically the life of a human. It’s in four movements. I call the piece “The Journey Home”, and the four movements are simply, Infancy, Adolescence, Maturity, and Senility. It covers the span from birth to death with all of life’s wonders and follies in between.

I’m only just now starting it. I might be dead before I finish it. (ha ha)

I have the whole piece sketched out in my head. There’s a major motif that begins and ends the piece and morphs into various forms all the way though it. I’m really excited about composing it, but I’m also pretty lame at music theory so this is going to be a major learning experience and may take me quite some time to complete.

However, like a movie, I think this piece will give birth to many individual pieces, and possible even songs, as it grows to completion. This could easily become my life’s work, especially since I’m already in my senility years.

I’ve always enjoy writing stories, and poetry. I wrote a few web stories based on people on other forums. If you like you can view them here:

Abracadabra Theater

I didn’t write the music for these stories. But I do write a lot of poetry and I would like to write music based on my poetry as well. I think I got into this stuff too late in life. Composing music is fun!

James

Hmmm...

A combination of the following:

A. Art. To create art, something beautfiul (or ugly), to say something to speak to someone without words.

B. something I like. What I miss hearing I write it. This is how I started, and this is how I largely keep up. "There isn't a score that does this and that... Let's make one!"

C. For money. I'm being paid to write music.

D. For competitions. Any serious composer, under the age of 3n take part in as many competitions as possible.

E. Because I have to! I can't help it. I have all this music, inside of me and need to get it out. I want to show it to the world. I'm an open book (don't you know that already? totally sociable in the internet and out of it)! I want people to know about me. I'm endless. I'm resentless! I'm pretty much everything there is to be!

Disclaimer: First part of "E" is true, second part is semi kidding semi true. Go figure now...

Great question Kia,

I

I compose for music as art. I like to create something interesting/beautiful/powerful, for the sole purpose that I'd like it to exist.

Absolutely.

Robin:

No I'm absolutely not exaggerating. They'll be on tour most of the time. In south american and Europe.

Robin:

No I'm absolutely not exaggerating. They'll be on tour most of the time. In south american and Europe.

For the rest of his natural life? I'd expect he'll be on tour most of...a year. If that. Few bands and fewer people can handle (or afford) touring for any length of time.

Relax...he'll come home. You'll go visit. It's a small world dude!

----------------

Meanwhile...back on topic.

I'm kind-of surprised so many people agree with me. I had expected many of you to feel that the conveyance of emotions and the telling of your 'story' to be the main intent....

Neat.

This is interesting; there's a lot more people who compose for art than I thought. I keep on reading that music should have some motif, but it's good to hear that music can exist just for the art itself.

I myself am a writer, and like to create cartoons and animations so the 'story' route seems natural. I don't remember doing any other form of art without the intent of telling a story. But I notice that others, like Robin have very beautiful picture galleries that stand for the art iteself. I wonder if there's some sort of connection between the type of art one creates, and the desire to create art, or tell a story in music.

I don't really feel that I compose to express myself at all, most people seem to say that they compose so that they can say things that "can't be said with words". It's good to know that other people just do it for the sake of art, I always felt like I was alone in not 'expressing myself through music'. :)

I suppose I also compose music for the sake of the art.

Even when a song or piece I listen to has a story, I can't often identify it. Don't ask me why, I'm just not good at that sort of thing. I can't even follow a play, let alone an opera, I'm just not good with stories like that. I thinks it is for that reason that my composition is based more on the artform than my self-expression.

I have never composed a work of music that illustrates a story, and when somebody tells me about how well I portrayed a story in a composition, even an improvisation, I'm speechless. The closest thing I've done in music to portraying real life is probably my never-ending composition, Depictions of Persons. In that work, I write music that depicts/illustrates the personality of persons that I either think have a strong persona, or I know them closely. Other than that, my music is written to be music, something listen to or relax to, or set your mind to, but not as a mental exercise on deriving storylines and hidden plot. That's how I think of my music.

For me, it's a combination of expressing myself (sometimes cropped because people don't understand :laugh:), painting a tapestry never before seen or imagined, to carry a message, to make the listener open his/her minds to new artistic panoramas (too much pop music, people need to use the creative side of their brain more) and... I'm surprised nobody has said this... helping people. Music is beautiful, and it can affect the emotions in so many ways, some positive and some negative, and some very powerful. I want to create music that will calm people when they are mad, excite them when they feel dull and soothe them when they are upset. Not all in one work, of course.

I personally don't see much point in making music just to make art. It can be written for enjoyment, ambience, emotional satisfaction or even something you go to on Friday nights to spend an evening... but I never write music simply because I can. By that logic I would go outside and run around my house until I collapse simply because I can. It carries no appeal to me.

For me, it's a combination of expressing myself (sometimes cropped because people don't understand :laugh:), painting a tapestry never before seen or imagined, to carry a message, to make the listener open his/her minds to new artistic panoramas (too much pop music, people need to use the creative side of their brain more) and... I'm surprised nobody has said this... helping people. Music is beautiful, and it can affect the emotions in so many ways, some positive and some negative, and some very powerful. I want to create music that will calm people when they are mad, excite them when they feel dull and soothe them when they are upset. Not all in one work, of course.

I personally don't see much point in making music just to make art. It can be written for enjoyment, ambience, emotional satisfaction or even something you go to on Friday nights to spend an evening... but I never write music simply because I can. By that logic I would go outside and run around my house until I collapse simply because I can. It carries no appeal to me.

I sneer at your idealistic, ''noble'' and lofty concepts. Retard. :w00t:

It carries no appeal to me.

Do you deny that amazing music has been written with that philosophy (or non-philosophy, if you will), though? I mean, just look at Mozart's entire body of work. (excluding the stage music, of course)

How do you define ''point'', by the way? Or did you mean ''usefulness''? Music has no point. (besides to provoke a reaction) It's completely pointless. It can't express anything!! How's that for a wake-up call?? :P:w00t:

You're right, actually.

Mhmm, that's why I said it.

Wow, what's with the intense triple posting Anders? Trying to overtake Tomas again?

Mark, you seem to see things in black and white. Try to see it in the context of my posting instead of just post count. I don't care about post count. My post sequence is an interesting glimpse into the way which I thought of my replies. (don't grope around inside my head, plz. tnx) If you check the archive, you'll see a lot of this kind of posting. It keeps the mind going and keeps it ''wired''....if you know what I mean.

It keeps the mind going and keeps it ''wired''....

:P

Mark, you seem to see things in black and white. Try to see it in the context of my posting instead of just post count. I don't care about post count. My post sequence is an interesting glimpse into the way which I thought of my replies. (don't grope around inside my head, plz. tnx) If you check the archive, you'll see a lot of this kind of posting. It keeps the mind going and keeps it ''wired''....if you know what I mean.

Very exciting. I approve.