Are there well-known classical composers who aren't trained on a particular instrument? An acquaintance is a young singer who's interested in composition (mostly for voice), but in talking to him I get the sense that he feels a little inadequate compared to his fellow students who are accomplished on at least one instrument like piano or violin. Can you give me examples of classical composers whose work is respected but who weren't primarily instrumental players? Modern or otherwise. Thanks!
posted by mediareport on Dec 14, 2009 - 14 answers

Marke research: how can I find out how many units of Ableton Live music software have been sold annually? [more inside]
posted by SilentSalamander on Aug 25, 2009 - 8 answers

Looking for good composition software on Mac. No actual recorded tracks- it'd be all Kurzweil PC-88 inputted MIDI. Must-haves include fairly easy ability to just jump in and start composin', a music score notation interface, very realistic quality of the instruments (i.e., that my midi inputted keyboard can still sound like a darn good bass guitar), and decent ability to refine the sound quality. [more inside] [more inside]
posted by hincandenza on Jun 23, 2009 - 9 answers

Electronic music production. How, for example, were the sounds on Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion made? [more inside]
posted by invitapriore on Apr 13, 2009 - 15 answers

I'm looking for information on the so-called "long line" method of composition. [more inside]
posted by MattMangels on Mar 22, 2009 - 8 answers

A family friend recently gave my kids a first generation iMac G3 (the bondi blue one). We've got loads of PCs around the house, but this is our first Mac. We also have a Yamaha P-120 digital piano. The kids are away for Spring Break and I'd love to surprise them by connecting the two so they can compose, experiment and generally mess around with music on the computer. The problem? Despite strong geekish tendencies, I know nothing about macs, midi or music. And googling isn't leading to anything particularly helpful for someone who knows zero about this stuff. [more inside]
posted by Hali on Mar 17, 2009 - 8 answers

How do I get harmony in my ears? [more inside]
posted by invitapriore on Mar 12, 2009 - 10 answers

Soundtrackers and music composition software - OctaMED for today? [more inside]
posted by inbetweener on Aug 16, 2008 - 8 answers

Can I learn to create melodies? [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Jun 15, 2008 - 37 answers

If you were to give someone a 25-track crash course on classical music (a "mix-cd/playlist"), what compositions would you include? [more inside]
posted by beelerspace on Jan 5, 2008 - 13 answers

What's the term of art for songs that are written to sound very similar to well-known or current pop songs? For example, lots of commercials and TV shows use backing songs which are clearly meant to evoke (rip off?) a song you already know and might hear on the radio. [more inside]
posted by anildash on Nov 23, 2007 - 20 answers

Where to find encouragement and support for a young composer? [more inside]
posted by grahamwell on Aug 11, 2007 - 2 answers

Can anyone tell me the title of the guitar composition (some piano too) playing during this clip and the name of the composer (or musical group)? [more inside]
posted by amusem on Jul 13, 2007 - 4 answers

So I've become pretty obsessed with 'I Want You Back' - the Jackson 5 song. How do I play and write that kind of music? [more inside]
posted by tmcw on Jul 3, 2007 - 18 answers

In the summer of 2003, in Berlin, I heard a piece of music for two treble instruments and one bass instrument of the same family (or anyway closely related). In the performance I heard, these were, I think, two oboes and a bassoon—definitely everything involved was a reed instrument. It was a modern piece with lots of dissonant passages. Everything else about it I've completely forgotten. The composer may have been German but may not have been. Can't remember where I heard it. I certainly can't remember what its title was. But maybe one of you knows?
posted by kenko on Mar 3, 2007 - 9 answers

[New-Classical-Music Filter] What are your favorite pieces from the last few decades (or have you written anything) for solo trumpet, trombone, bass tbn, or tuba? Seeking scores and/or recordings to study (online availability would be a huge plus). Small-chamber works, other than brass quintet, would be great too. Asking because I haven't written for brass insts. except in orchestra/large-ensemble contexts, and I want to explore solo/chamber writing for them. Yes, I'll also get what I can from newmusicjukebox. Thanks!
posted by allterrainbrain on Nov 30, 2006 - 6 answers

What are some good portable music composition tools? I'm mostly looking for stuff that would work on a handheld electronic device, but anything that'd fit in a pocket or small bag is fair game. [more inside]
posted by weston on Oct 31, 2006 - 10 answers

I want to learn to play keyboard, a continuation of sorts of this question. When I say this, I mean a MIDI controller - for the sake of being a midi controller, not as a stepping stone to piano. My goal lies primarily in doing something creative musically (dare I say "compostition" at some point down the line) with software synths played live (by me, not a tracker). So the answers to that last question have sent me on my way theory wise, but how do I learn to actually, you know, move my fingers around? [more inside]
posted by phrontist on Aug 1, 2006 - 9 answers

So, what's the state of music production software in Linux? What are people using? [more inside]
posted by Jimbob on Jul 27, 2006 - 6 answers

Should I finally join ASCAP, despite my misgivings about copyright, the music-licensing industry, and certain practices by ASCAP and similar orgs? Yes, the cash would make a real difference for me, given the way ASCAP handles my genre and given my low income overall. [more inside]
posted by anonymous on Jul 18, 2006 - 4 answers

Is there a way to "quick copyright" a musical composition? [more inside]
posted by taz on Mar 16, 2005 - 8 answers

Copyright law questions; what is the minimum number of notes in a song/melody for it to by copyrighted? Is there anything stopping you from using a computer to generate all the possible combinations of melodies of that lenght and then using some ai (or people distributed over the internet), to filter out all the non-horrible and already existing ones, and then copyrighting the rest? Thereby owning almost all future music?
posted by Iax on Feb 12, 2005 - 27 answers

I've been playing around with the idea of using a genetic algorithm for automatic music composition, but I can't seem to find a decent introduction/reference on the subject -- the best I've seen is a few relatively high-level academic papers. Could anyone direct me to a good source, or even give a brief overview? Thanks! [more inside]
posted by Krrrlson on Apr 29, 2004 - 9 answers