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In 2023, I ran a Listening Group session with OCA students, focused on electronic music. There was quite a lot of enthusiasm for the ideas we discussed and, consequently, I have decided to write a series of blog posts exploring the history, techniques, and aesthetics of this beautiful and bewildering type of music.
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I want people to post about their musical lives, about composition, there works, about the nuts and bolts. I encourage people to think of themselves as part of music history. To take documentation seriously.
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The creative process and the editorial process are completely different things. When you are creating things, encourage the editorial part of your brain to take a nap, so you can work fearlessly, with no inhibitions. Then, when it is time to edit what you have done, make amendments, and focus on the detail, wake the editorial part of your brain back up.
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Before beginning one of your compositions, it is useful to think carefully about the instrument(s) you are writing for. The sound, character, or register of an instrument should have an impact on your composition; for example, a solo tuba piece is likely to be quite different to a work for violin.
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Due to COVID-19, and the necessary lockdown, I have had a large number of concerts postponed or cancelled. I decided it was important (for my career and my sanity!) to stay as creative as possible, and so I begun looking for opportunities to have my music played by others.
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When students write essays they often avoid planning; they launch into their assignment without a solid idea of how the assignment will end and what it will say. When students do this, they often think they are saving time but this is a false economy, temporally speaking. Planning properly saves time and makes the writing process less intimidating.
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