Comments on: Music Composition Pedagogy 101

By: Music Theory Pedagogy 101 | Sam L. Richards

Music Theory Pedagogy 101 | Sam L. Richards — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:08:32 +0000

[...] follow up to my previous post titled Music Composition Pedagogy 101. Comments, criticism, corrections, suggestions, and overall beefs are more than welcome in the [...]

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:24:26 +0000

Makes sense. I guess to me the distinction is helpful and needn’t be (and shouldn’t be, as you are saying) one of importance.

In the perennial words of Mr. Dorsey, “DUDE WORD!”

By: Sam L. Richards

Sam L. Richards — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:32:15 +0000

I’ve learned that making a conceptual distinction between composition and pre-composition elicits an unnecessary degree of anxiety from me, as by making that very distinction it somehow makes the act of sitting down at a table with manuscript paper and writing notes more of a legitimate part of the process than any other part of the process, which I simply don’t believe. I personally find it helpful (and productive) to consider doodling in notebooks and doing artistic research (reading, listening, etc.) and actually writing out notes to be of equal importance. When I flatten the playing field like that I find that I don’t fear any part of the process more than any other, because none is more legitimate than any other. Is the activity itself different? Yes, but one’s approach to the activities should be identical, otherwise “pitch-’n'-rhythm” pencil pushing unnecessarily boils to the top as the most significant part of the process, which I not only find to be terribly pretentious, but also counterproductive.

By: Ben

Ben — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 00:12:51 +0000

Wonderful! Although I’d want you to clarify what you mean by “the notion of pre-compositional work is generally counterproductive.” If you mean that we shouldn’t make a rigid and judgmental distinction between productive composition and the activities that precede productive composition, then I completely agree (and I do believe that’s what you mean). However, many of the activities you mention, including brainstorming, reading, etc., are pre-composition to me insofar as I understand “composition” as being the actual process of construction of the musical structure/piece/artwork. Workers in hard hats with hammers, cranes lifting and placing steel beams, as opposed to an architect with a pencil and a vision…..both lead to the creation of a building, but I think it’s pedagogically helpful to make the distinction on at least SOME level – just not on a “notes and measures are progress, ideas are not progress” level. I think I see what you mean, though.

Next up, theory pedagogy 101!