Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | RSS | More
Episode 7 of the Art of Composing Podcast. In this episode, we look at creativity – what it is, how to find it, and how to explore your creative boundaries.
What is in this episode:
- What is creativity?
- The two kinds of artist and what it means for your creative endeavors.
- A six step process of creativity.
Support the Podcast!
Click Here to go to Jon’s Patreon page, and support the podcast!
http://patreon.com/artofcomposing
Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:
Identify Your Artistic Type
- Do you plan your compositions before hand, or do you just start writing or playing on your instrument? Do you make sketches?
- When do you make your most important compositional decisions?
- Do you have clear compositional goals when you sit down to compose?
- Do you have a clear idea of what the finished composition will be like?
- When do you stop composing, or decide a work is complete?
6 Step Process of Creativity
- Exhibiting the open question.
- Identifying the semiotic context.
- Finding the questions critical sign or concept in the semiotic context.
- Identifying the concepts walls.
- Opening the walls and displaying its new perspective.
- Evaluating the extended walls.
Creativity requires that you dig deep into your own mind and answer these kinds of questions. Deep reflection is the only way to truly grow.
Transcript coming soon!
Did you forget to write transcript it have been 5 years?
Man your “soon” are too long
Hi John,
I was wondering if is possible to write a popular song, with the Sonata Allegro form? Know of any music examples I could listen to? The genre being jazz, funk or fusion.. sorry if this is a lame question.
Thanks
Sunnie
It most certainly can be used in any genre. I know that Weezer used it to write a progressive rock tune called “Dreamin”. The important thing to remember is that sonata form is less about the actual structure of the piece, and more about a set of techniques that allow your music to logically interact with temporality. It is these techniques that allow you to make your music feel like it is a beginning, a middle, or an end.
https://youtu.be/a4FaSx5ZSwE
Thanks John. I don’t know if you know of composers that have written a sonata allegro form for just voices?
Thanks
Sunnie
Not off the top of my head, but some searching in google will probably point you in the right direction.
BOOYAH!! A podcast and a new composing academy the same week! October has never started better 😀
By the way, do you think strong knowledge in form is important for composers for media?
For example someone scoring for video games or films, do we have much to gain from examining forms like sontata?
Since we do not have the freedom to control exatcly where the score is going, rather picture and player action determinate this, advanced form method might seem abit unrelevant?
Super pumped for the new academy course!
Thanks
Simon, glad you are pumped for the Academy.
I have seen discussions on this before, and personally I do think form is important for scoring, but not in the way that most people would think at first. Obviously, “the movie is the form” is the obvious answer that is quoted by many people. But there are different levels of form – interthematic and intrathematic. Intrathematic has to do with the inner workings of form – how small ideas come together to create a feeling of temporality, like beginning, middle, and end, and how those work within a theme.
Interthematic is the larger level, and is what most people think of when they talk about form. This is the stuff like expositions, developments, and recapitulations, that go into sonata form, and other large forms. These larger forms are obviously good to know for your own composing, but generally get overridden by the form of the film, or game.
But the understanding of how music shapes time, and how you can develop small ideas into large ones – which are two of the main ingredients in composing – those skills can really be finely honed by composing using classical forms.
It’s funny you ask this question, because I was thinking about this topic as my next podcast episode. I think this confirms it.
Thanks for your answer Jon! I would really appreciate a podcast regarding this topic.
And yes, one could argue that form becomes even “more” important since we need to have superb control in order to time it with the picture and be able to transition from scene to scene, while giving each scene a complete meaning and at the same time incorporate thematic events(of course this is dependent on the style & genre).
“I think that a good composer for film must have a complete knowledge of composition and orchestration techniques, but also a wide knowledge of musical styles and languages.” – Ennio Morricone
Congratulations to the successful start of the academy by the way. Keep up the good work!
Thanks. I’ll look at doing a podcast on form soon.