The theory of music composition is a system of ideas that is much influenced by musical style and perception. I teach my students that theory follows practice; theory consists of generalizations and principles which have been, and still are, deduced from the practice of composers. I try to help students understand why certain rules of voice-leading and counterpoint evolved, and how these rules relate to three major considerations: stylistic and cultural biases; the way the mind and ear perceive sound; and the physical properties of the tones themselves. I believe that the comprehensive study of harmony, counterpoint, form, orchestration, notation and music/recording technologies are essential to the development of a mature craft and that choosing a career in composition entails a commitment to these sub-disciplines. But it is also true that theory does not predict how music will be composed, nor is the purpose of theory to suggest how music ought to be written. Natural talent, coupled with intensive study and the gaining of new skills, is the best partnership for happiness and success in the arts. Music, like language, is dynamic, creative and progressive when it is open to new influences and when it finds a healthy balance between innovation and tradition. What keeps music alive isn't avoidance of the many different kinds of music in the world, but rather a commitment to discovery and excellence.
I help my students to understand that music theory is not the actual craft of composing music, but rather a necessary foundation, like the scaffolding that will eventually be torn down but serves a useful and necessary purpose in the construction of a new building. Theoretical studies help a composer to become at least partially objective and rational toward his own work. However, I believe it is neither necessary or possible to be completely objective towards composition because, as physicist Paul Davies has remarked, "...one man's irrationality is another person's creativity".
Craft is the evolution of the composer’s insights into the nature of music as well as the development of the composer’s own technical standards. Techniques and approach to composition are a somewhat objective process as well as a highly developed subjective sense of what is true, good and beautiful. I teach my students that eventually they are going to have to learn to wholly trust in their own judgment of what sounds good and what does not, and that their craft is as much an expression of their passion to write music as it is an expression of their natural talent and efforts made through study. I think the most difficult part of a composer’s craft is form. Only after gaining a certain mastery and understanding of counterpoint, harmony and orchestration can a composer begin to struggle with the complex task of creating musical structures that satisfy often contradictory artistic demands. Hopefully, as the composer’s career unfolds, he is raising his own standards as to what he wants his music to express and develops the tools to realize this expression. The tools of the composer reside in the imagination, the intellect and the emotional center, and by their nature are quite subtle. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to actually teach craft directly. It is possible, however, to influence, inspire, and help the student become a fair-minded, but supportive critic of his own work. Craft is the place where originality does or does not exist, and the further developed the composer’s craft the more likely there will be something original in the work. Craft depends on a solid theoretical knowledge, but must go beyond that. Craft entails an intimate knowledge of the composition the composer is working on; a knowledge of its structure, motives, phrases, harmonic content and progressions, variations, development, cadences, sections and intervallic content. Additionally, there are many metric, rhythmic and temporal concerns that need to be addressed in composition. Orchestration, texture and layering require a deep sensitivity to harmony and to the infinite variety of harmonics that results from combining instruments whether they be acoustic or electronic. Even when the composer is conscious of these elements, there is still nevertheless much that is unconscious in regard to the choices the composer makes and why these choices are made.
Unlike the scientist who must verify his results with criteria in the objective world, the artist can only verify his results with his deepest subjective ideals and expressive goals. In summary, it is the composer's innate musical intuition which is at the source of the thousands of compositional decisions he will make and it is the embracing of intuition which ensures that personal expression will evolve.
The 20th century, having come to its close, arguably has seen perhaps as much aesthetic conflict and stylistic diversity of any century in the history of western art music. The development of new technologies such as sound recordings, film, television, world-wide publishing and travel to almost any part of the planet, has allowed composers to be influenced by music they would have never heard just 100 years earlier. This exposure to a variety of compositional styles requires the composer to be open and unprejudiced to new and strange music, but at the same time requires the utmost in artistic discrimination and commitment to excellence. To be influenced by a certain style and then to actually make that style a part of one's own individual technique is not an easy task, and it is likely that only a few composers actually succeed in achieving a high degree of originality, even if successful in the commercial or academic worlds.
Aesthetics involve meaning and sensibility. Music is a language of emotion, but music is not only a language of emotion but equally a language of patterns, textures, proportions and tonal relationships. The patterns inherent in a great piece of music, to my mind, are metaphorically suggestive of patterns existing on many levels of reality and point to an inherent order that permeates nature and cosmos. The composer infuses meaning into the composition and the listener experiences this meaning--if the process is successful. The compositions that have most influenced me are those pieces which seem to be impregnated with great purpose, with ideas that seem to exist on many level at once, ideas which appear to satisfy the paradox of being unique and yet inevitable. Good music transcend notions of originality because there is always something of the past in all artistic works. And yet to write honest, living music the music must introduce new techniques, new timbres, and new ways of thinking about composition. This is true more in art music than in folk music, where time-honored methods of expression are usually valued over experimentation. But lack of experimentation doesn't necessarily mean lack of authenticity or expression.
When I was studying composition for my Bachelor of Music in Theory-Composition degree, one of the difficulties I encountered was that numerous composers and teachers of composition believed that serial music was the only "serious" music of the 20th century. I understood their excitement about this modern development, but was often skeptical of their music, often clever but rarely profound. These same people insisted that students utilize dodecaphonic techniques, which I half-heartedly embraced. What wasn't acceptable to me was that these teachers wanted us (their students) to completely abandon tonal music, while I believed, and still believe, that tonal craft is absolutely essential. Serial music had become the "politically correct" music. This seemed completely wrong, yet it took me 22 years to understand the nature of the problem. When Arnold Schoenberg invented his 12-tone system, he was already a 45 year-old artist who had mastered writing in the tonal medium. This is a far cry from the young, inexperienced composer who learns 12-tone techniques without having a clue how to create an original and well-crafted piece of music in the tonal idiom. But this is exactly what the professors wanted and expected from students. Are dodecaphonic and set theories so "advanced" in comparison to earlier theories of composition, that they ought to replace earlier music theories, or are they an extension of musical knowledge and the modern composer's task becomes to understand the relationship between tonal and atonal theories? Over a thousand years of musical insights have found their way into the theory of music. This theory resulted from studying many compositions by the best composers over many centuries. What many composers did in the middle of the 20th century was artificially narrow the practice of modern classical composition into Schoenberg's 12-tone method exclusively and the disastrous result was that the "rules" of dodecaphony became seemingly more important than the compositions themselves! A certain aesthetic discrimination had been lost, while far too many embittered composers blamed the audience for not "understanding" their music. Thankfully, those days are well behind us now and composers feel much freer to draw upon whatever traditions they so choose, and innovate from that point forward toward the future of music.
I believe in drawing from many schools of thought in order to create a music which is vital, modern, eclectic and honest. Beethoven remarked that music is a bridge between the intellectual and the sensual. It takes generosity of spirit to communicate through music and this generosity results from the composer's humanity and hunger to communicate ideas.
Traditionally, production values involved the level of skill by which composers’ intentions are realized in performance. This has been, until now, mostly out of the composer’s hands unless he is playing solo or with other musicians, or conducting an ensemble with sufficient rehearsal time. New technologies now allow the composer to think more like a painter or a novelist—in both mediums the creator completes the creative process and offers it to the world. No further interpretation is necessary other than that of the viewer of the painting or the mind of the reader. A composer can proceed to create a finished recording utilizing computers, software, audio equipment, samplers and synthesizers to create a finished work that requires no realization by a large group of musicians. To be involved in this new medium, a composer must evolve a new set of skills in addition to the traditional skills required of composers. These skills involve MIDI sequencing, audio wave editing, mixing, mastering, signal processing and synthesizer technique. In the pop music world, the greater emphasis is on the interpretation of music, music creation is usually limited to short-form vocal music. In the classical music world, the division of labor between the creator and interpreter of music is clearly delineated with nearly no overlap at all. In the world of electronic music, the musician has the option to pursue composition to high levels of originality and complexity; but also has the responsibility to bring those ideas to life through interpretation. Phrasing, gesture, articulation, and dynamics are as important in electronic music as they are in the acoustic world. What the conductor does in live performance can also be done in mixing when making recordings in the studio. The composer, rather than notating highly detailed scores complete with instructions regarding phrasing, articulation, dynamics and numerous other directions to the players, can program the MIDI sequencer accordingly. The uniting of the composition and interpretation of music is, in my opinion, one of the most satisfying approaches to music-making, as both the creative and interpretive aspects can be given equal weight, hence contributing to the development of a well-rounded, mature musician.
It is my belief that composers today are fortunate to be able to work with these new music technologies. Making music with electrons is no less natural, nor less effective, than making music with wood, metal, bone, animal gut or other materials. After all, electromagnetism is one of the basic forces of the universe; it is all around us and within us. The technology is relatively new but high art will eventually come forth from this new medium just as artistic genius of the past was inspired with the assistance of previously revolutionary technologies.
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If you have any further questions, or want to know about my rates, or the books I use when teaching, please email me at jerry@jerrygerber.com
Jerry Gerber
San Francisco
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