kathrynturyna.com Blog

On Being A Composer

August 5th, 2011

I think that a lot of people think that being a composer/writer/painter/poet etc, always means that you always have to be divinely or otherwise inspired in order to create. That is just not the truth. Sometimes it works that way. Sometimes the muse does come a knockin’ so to speak, but often it just comes down to hard work.
There are times when I can’t think of a note to say, and I just have to sit and start writing – almost like brainstorming. It can be as mundane as waking up, going into the studio, and saying, ‘Today, I will, from ‘X’ hour, to ‘Y’ hour, work on music,’ and then using your craft, what you know about how music goes together, to put things down on paper/in the computer. Other days, I just get a melody in my head, start singing and can’t stop. That’s when I grab hold of my digital recorder and catch the inspiration before it goes away. (I have heard stories of famous songs being written that way – of people waking up in the middle of the night, stumbling around for their recorder, knowing that if they don’t get it down on tape straight away, the music will get away from the them.)
My latest piece has come together both ways. Part of it has just sprung up out of the air and begged to be written down, and then…there are the pieces in between. The filling in the gaps that just don’t fill in so easily – well, not as easily as I imagined. That’s where I go back to my schooling and the endless hours I spent at University honing my craft and studying the works of other composers.
Ultimately, at the end of the day, the decisions are up to me. Sometimes that can be really fun and exciting, while other times it can be daunting, especially when there are so many different twists and turns a piece can take. The best thing to do is, to borrow an old advertising phrase, ‘Just do it!’ Notes can always be altered, added, subtracted, phrases built up or knocked down, and the eraser (digital or real) is there for a reason. Try not to be too hasty, however, to get rid of what you have written. I find that a day or two away from a project can allow one to have a different perspective on the music. Oh, and always, always turn that recorder on if you think you have a good idea or two. Sometimes it helps to go back to it to hear what you had in mind originally. It’s amazing how far away you can get from your original idea after brain storming and transposing/altering melody lines and rhythms.
My final advice: Never give up, keep it real, keep trying, and if you’re ever truly stuck, a) go back to your craft, your roots and ask yourself – what is normally possible here with this sequence b) go take a walk, get some exercise, read a book, go meditate, etc for even just 5 minutes – take a break and you might come back with a different perspective on the problem at hand.

PS: Remember, sometimes you will write the end of the piece before the beginning, and that is ok. Sometimes, the middle will come out first. Sometimes, you will even find yourself coming up with an idea for a completely different piece in the middle of writing a work. Trust me, write the idea down and file it in a safe place for later on. When you are done your current piece, go back to it. It’s amazing how many pieces can get written that way.

Entry Filed under: Music