Terrence Wong
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What other advices do you have for beginner composers?
I believe many people like asking the question, ‘What is the process of musical composition like?’ I would personally say that it varies from composer to composer, but for me a successful work is dependant on how the composer chooses to develop a musical idea.
One just has to look at the opening section of the world famous Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 ‘Fate’ to get an idea on how a composer can develop a seemingly small musical idea of ‘da-da-da-daaaa!’ into a full movement. The musical idea doesn’t have to be complex; it can be as simple as two to three notes and yet the piece might turn out to be artistically complex and/or pleasing to the ear in the end simply because the composer has the skill AND the passion to develop the idea further. In the end the work is something that is born out of the composer’s own heart and soul, having forged a relationship with each other throughout the period of composition, be it one day or a few years.
Terrence & Renowned Composor Yasuhide Ito
For beginning composers…I would give a few pieces of advice.
1. When in doubt, ask.
If you don’t know anything from the range of the instrument you’re writing for to the special effects that different mutes and accessories can give you, just ask someone who’s more experienced. “He who does not ask will not receive”, and always try to learn as much as you can from seniors, your band conductors…basically anyone who has advice to give!
2. Harmony isn’t everything.
Many an amateur composer will spend 90% of his time thinking about what chords are going to fit into the piece…don’t! Inspect some other works that you and your friends have played before and you’ll realise that what makes the piece singable and hummable would be none other than the melody (or a melodic fragment).
It’s more important to concentrate on writing a good melody first…and that would definitely involve other musical elements such as rhythm, dynamics and more. Try to look at the music score more horizontally than vertically…and when in doubt…refer to point number one!
3. Listen to your heart!
I know this point sounds pretty corny, but it’s true. Let others guide you, advise you…but in the end, that piece of work is still going to be yours, and it needs to have your personal voice in it. If someone insists that you change something in your score…do consider his kindly advice but if you don’t want to change it in the end, it’s really your own choice.
Professor Charles Hoag, a visiting professor from the University of Kansas, told me once to ‘always listen to the Jiminy Cricket on your shoulder’. Of course, also don’t go all the way to the other extreme and be stubborn about everything on your score and end up with a composition that is uniquely yours…but cannot be called a proper piece of music!
4. Keep the end result in mind.
Know what you want in your piece. Even if you are writing it from beginning to the end or beginning from the middle of the piece, know (at least roughly) what the piece is going to turn out to be. And also keep in mind that the end result of the score should be the music itself, not how fanciful the score looks or how devilishly difficult the piece is!
5. Don’t be afraid to erase…or press the ‘delete’ button!
If you find that there’s a section in the piece that glares at you every time you open the file or take out those sheets of manuscript…then erase or delete it! Don’t be afraid to take out what you don’t want in the piece just because you spent a lot of time and effort to write that section in. Have courage…write and re-write until you yourself are satisfied with the piece, and don’t declare the work complete until that happens. That being said, never give up!
6. Last but not least…listen to as much music as you can!
Go out, listen to all kinds of music, including those that you are unfamiliar with and those that you think you might not even like! The more music you listen to, the more acquainted you get with music of that genre, and the more ideas you get! Just don’t copy them straight out of other composer’s scores.
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