Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with composition

Classical composers who sang instead of played instruments?

mediareport — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:56:33 -0800

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!

Source of these quotes about photographic composition?

jgwong — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 14:29:53 -0800

Help me find the source of these quotes about photographic composition. Quotes:

1. "It is design and arrangement that makes pictures, regardless of subject"
2. "The novice snaps his camera carelessly at nature. The artist seeks to arrange it."

I think these two come from the same source, which I cannot find. Searching with Google returns the second one, as a quote too. I e-mailed the person who quoted it without an answer (yet). I shared these quotes with a friend, that's why I have them. I had to transcribe them because they were on a PDF or scanned JPGs.

Short passages of particularly strong or weak nonfiction prose?

cymru_j — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:04:34 -0800

In search of short passages of especially strong or weak nonfiction prose! I’m hoping to build a composition class around short examples of effective and in effective writing. I'm thinking of passages of about 1-6 sentences.

We'll look at excerpted passages as a class and analyze what makes them more or less effective. Maybe we'll even try rewriting them in various ways to note the effect.

Passages from well-loved (or well-hated) prose stylists are very welcome, but bonus points for writing whose quality seems surprising or out of context, i.e. poor writing where one might expect strong (from a respected magazine, author, columnist) or good prose that pops up in off-beat venues (blogs, advertising copy, tabloids, etc.).

Any comments on why said prose is effective or ineffective are also welcome.

Thanks very much, guys!

How many units of Ableton Live sold annually?

SilentSalamander — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 07:36:18 -0800

Marke research: how can I find out how many units of Ableton Live music software have been sold annually? My colleagues and I are trying to create a startup that develops software that allows people to compose and perform music in a new way. We are currently trying to evaluate whether there is a real busienss opportunity, and it is really stumbling us up, because, frankly, none of us has done anything like this before. Our main competitor is very likely Ableton Live, and the best ways we have thought of trying to understand market demand and growth is to directly ask our competitors, and also to ask suppliers about how many units of our competitors' software they have sold. Unfortunately, both have turned out to not be fruitful.

Does anyone have any idea how we might be able to estimate market size and growth for this software package and for the composition/live performance industry as a whole?

Thanks.

What are the best personal essays about technology?

Tesseractive — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:02:26 -0800

What are some great examples of personal, non-fiction essay writing about technology, to be used in a freshman writing class with a tech theme? I have many interesting readings to use that are about technology, other people using technology, academic research on writing and technology, or technical writing.

However, I want to assign them a "technology autobiography" essay, and would like to include examples of essayistic explorations of the presence or absence of technology in an author's life. An extremely broad definition of tech is fine--what is important is that I have examples of good writing for my students to emulate.

(Non-fiction writing only, please, the class isn't really about discussing literature and is not in an English department.)

Online writing system?

cymru_j — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 13:50:49 -0800

Online systems for writing teachers? I am a college writing instructor, and I've been asked to preview the following system for possible adoption in my classroom: http://www.mycomplab.com/newtour/index.html.

This is new turf for me, and I'm not sure what to think.

The benefit of the system is its inclusiveness; it's a one-stop shop for students' writing needs: grammar help, online paper submission and more. It also seems to be a potential boon for instructors, since it allows them to provide feedback on student work efficiently.

That said, my concern is that it might be unwise to adopt something so monolithic. If the system breaks down, the entire course effectively grinds to a halt.

Then again, I don't want to be resistant to electronic resources. Though I do use Blackboard, it's only one aspect of the course, and I'm wary of going all electronic (unless, of course, the system is superb).

Questions:
- Have you used this or a similar system?
- How does this particular system look to you?
- I'll be meeting with a rep who'll demo the system. What kinds of questions should I ask at that meeting?

Thanks in advance!

Best jump-in-and-go software for n00b composer on a Mac?

hincandenza — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:49:42 -0800

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] I ran this question by songsmith extraordinaire cortex and the Music Talk group, and figured- what the heck, lets ask the teeming hordes one last time before I run out and spend $500+.

I've been wanting to start doing some composition again. Often I'll just improvise some random stuff on my (real) piano, and occasionally think "Ooh, that sounds nice!", and then my brain will start looping that, building up, adding in parts. I can't really control that- it just plays without me being able to stop it, but it gets too many instruments coming in to really manage currently. I'd like to take the ideas in my head and get them out in a way that lets me build up the layers quickly while I can remember and control them, and then tinker/edit as needed.

My basic needs as noted in the main question are:

Relatively easy learning curve to at least start crafting music
Notation interface, among others
Good quality sound fonts for fake instruments
Good post-processing when I mature my skillset, to refine and polish the sound to be passably good for MeMu posting

I currently have a Mac Pro 8-way with tons of RAM and a Kurzweil PC-88 with a midi-to-USB connector. I don't like the built-in sounds (the keyboard's probably 10 years old, but sturdy, weighted, full-size) so it'd be strictly a far quicker interface for playing than clicking on a score sheet with my mouse. For what it matters, the type of music I'd be writing would vary highly. It might be some classical or Michael Nyman repetitive bullshit nonsense using chamber instruments one day, and a Muse-inspired sonic wall the next.

From my asking of cortex and then the Music Talk group, it sounds like Logic Studio/Pro is the clear winner at present, largely because of it's notation interface along with competitive editing/sound manipulation features. A notation interface would at least initially be my preferred way of creating music, although with the option to then used to make decent sound adjustments/mixing/spatial creation so that the music doesn't sound like crap (I mean, beyond of course my not-a-lent-assclown compositions being teh suck).

I'm all ready to run down the street to the Apple store on my lunch break and buy Logic Studio- unless someone has an even better suggestion- but my concerns are this:

1) The reviews by users on Apple's own site suggest that Logic 8 (which is still 32-bit) is sluggish, buggy, and not well supported by Apple like previous release. People seem to prefer Logic 7!

2) How does it sound, really? I mean, I won't be a cortex inputting yukele strumming from an actual instrument; everything I use- guitar, bass, violin, piano, drums- will be entirely in software starting from MIDI. My only previous experience with MIDI years ago is "it sounds like total shit". I'm hoping the technology has improved significantly, if not perfectly. :)

How was Merriweather Post Pavilion made?

invitapriore — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:30:32 -0800

Electronic music production. How, for example, were the sounds on Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion made? This is a pretty short question, but I'm wondering what sorts of programs, instruments, techniques, etc. are used to make sounds like one can hear on that album. Is it possible with a MIDI controller and a program like Natural Instrument's Reaktor to do similar things?

Long line composition

MattMangels — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:38:01 -0800

I'm looking for information on the so-called "long line" method of composition. I was reading a book about Stephen Sondheim's music (incidentally he turns 79 years old today), and he kept mentioning something about "the long line" in his compositions that holds them together. Google has very little information about this, and none of my music teachers (including a guy who has a Master's degree in Music Composition) seem to know about it either. So I'm querying the hive mind.

Mac me a music machine

Hali — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:52:06 -0800

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. I'd be grateful for any pointers to beginningers guides, resources, software, hardware, etc that will get the two pieces of gear currently sitting in the family room to make beautiful music together. Or horrible music. As long as they can do it together.

How do I get harmony in my ear?

invitapriore — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:21:20 -0800

How do I get harmony in my ears? I like to compose, and I've always been a very uninhibited melody maker. I can very easily get a key, a scale, or a progression in mind, and then sit back, close my eyes, and eventually come out with a melody I really like just by listening to my mind's ear. I can't do the same thing when I want to come up with a sequence of harmonies, though, either as its own thing or as an accompaniment to a melody. I have to rely on theory knowledge and engage in a trial-and-error process to find what I want to do. Sometimes I can hear harmonies under a melody I think up, but I have a hard time identifying them easily.

I guess my question boils down to two things:
1. How can I get myself to be able to generate harmonies as easily as I do melodies?
2. What ear training can I do to be able to hear less common chords? III-VI-II-V-I is a really easy progression to catch by virtue of being so ubiquitous, but I often get lost in novel progressions until a cadence happens.

How to compose myself into an argument?

Sova — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 14:49:08 -0800

Recommendations for books that teach argument composition? I'm a first year undergrad in the social sciences, and have just completed my initial round of essays and exams. While writing these I realised that I don't know how to compose proper arguments. I missed out on a lot of schooling in the past, and so didn't pick up this skill at any point. My writing is not terrible, but it's clearly failing to express what I know, what I think, and do so in any academic kind of way. I find writing essays or exam answers to be throwing enough information into the pot to reach the word count and don't know how to go beyond that.

I would like recommendations for books that will help me to compose written arguments, and preferably give some insight into how to decompose the arguments of others. I have heard of The Crafts of Research, but don't know if this would suit my needs because I'm not doing research. I'm more or less okay at doing the reading for essays, and having original ideas, I just need to know how to order that thoughtfully.

Thanks in advance!

What current rhet/comp issues are you into?

hpliferaft — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:04:45 -0800

Describe some current issues in English Rhetoric and/or Composition that are interesting to you. I'm a part-time composition instructor who's been out of grad school for a few years. I'm looking for research ideas with some currency in the field.

Also, an overlapping question: what noteworthy works have you read or written about the rhetoric or composition of new media lately?

Salvaging freshman comp?

puckish — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:03:36 -0800

Help me to not suck at teaching! (focus on analytic reading) I'm halfway through my first semester teaching freshman comp. I'm great at one on one workshops, talking through essays, giving feedback. What I'm not so good at is getting them to be excited about the reading. Enthusiasm might be a bit much -- but you know, curiosity? Interest? They're bright kids, but sometimes they look at me as if I'm in the process of slowly driving a stake through the heart.

What I'm mostly concerned about:

1. Basic participation -- getting people to actually DO THE READINGS, so that they can actually talk meaningfully about the texts. Short of mandatory participation (which I think kind of defeats the point), what's the best way to get the level of participation that *is actually mandatory* for good discussion?

2. Making class discussion meaningful-- What happens when they want to talk about how this relates to the movie they saw last weekend?

3. Gauging how much I should actually care about this?

I'm really interested in hearing from other people who have concrete improvement stories -- I've got lots of examples of "great teachers I've had" that I can draw on, but that doesn't really help in figuring out how to replicate this yourself, you know?

What you might need to know:

1. The class is structured around 3 essays, in which they gradually integrate more sources into their essays, and develop their own arguments based on the texts we're reading. The texts are a mix of popular (New Yorker) style criticism and more concrete academic work - Susan Sontag, Anthony Appiah, etc. Strong emphasis on "current affairs"

2. Most of the problems (in class and in papers) have to do with analytic reading -- getting them to sit through, parse, and then use arguments from other texts. In other words, writing is not strictly the problem (though I'm mining this post and this post for advice)

3. Not surprisingly, nobody likes this class. Including the grad students who have to teach it. We try to suppress this as much as possible, but it's pretty much a given that by the second week, they've figured this out. This, I understand, is a problem.

Thanks in advance!

Command-line video quandry

Alterscape — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:23:32 -0800

I have two synchronized 720x480 miniDV files. I have OS X 10.5.5. I want to render them side-by-side into a single webcast-resolution widescreen video (eventual target: Vimeo), preferably in a way that can be scripted/automated (so a command-line tool would be great). Right now, I actually edit the two streams in Final Cut Studio, switching between one or the other. However, I need to change the format and rig up some solution that someone who is not a FCP editor can execute repeatedly. Also, we don't have another license of FCP, so something that can work with FCE or a F/OSS tool is preferable. I'm not super-picky about whether the output is 640x230, (2x the width of the input files, scaled down to web-resolution) or regular 16:9 widescreen with black bands along the top or bottom, so long as the solution is easy, automated, etc. I regularly work with ffmpeg but as far as I know that tool won't do this. The files are about 60 minutes in duration, but I don't think this should affect what can be done. Thoughts?

How to fill 70 minutes of in-class writing time?

toomuchkatherine — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:08:17 -0800

Help a freshman comp teacher out! I need a fun writing exercise to fill 70 minutes of class time. I'm teaching freshman comp. The students are not stellar but they're all right, though most of them hate writing (and see it as drudgerous and formulaic). The three main assignments I have to give them this semester include a process essay (basically a how-to article), a short research paper, and an essay on a novel. We also have a textbook but they seem to hate it, and I can't say that I blame them much.

Tomorrow we have a fairly free day; on the syllabus I inherited, it just says "in-class writing exercise." Actually it says "timed writing exercise." Either way, I need to fill 70 minutes of class time with writing, or writing and group work...and I'd like to make it fun, because we haven't been having enough fun in class lately, and I think that anything I can get them to do to enjoy writing and use it to explore their thoughts and feelings will be useful.

Any comp-teacher ideas?

Recommendations for freeware PC music composition software?

inbetweener — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 02:02:34 -0800

Soundtrackers and music composition software - OctaMED for today? Back in the day I used to mess around on my Commodore Amiga composing tracks using OctaMED.

Haven't used anything like it since I got my first PC back in 1995 but I'm quite keen to start playing around with music again...

I'm sure music composition software has moved on leaps and bounds in the last 13 years, and I wondered if anyone has any recommendations for freeware that serves the same purpose for today's PC?

Thanks!

Wring music? How hard can it be?

grumblebee — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:33:27 -0800

Can I learn to create melodies? I love music, but I can't play an instrument. I can't read music. I don't understand the first thing about music theory. Though my life contains plenty of music listening, I've always been sad that it doesn't contain any music making.

I know that music-making is a hard thing to take up, especially for a middle-aged guy, but I have an impulse to make it even harder for myself: I want to compose. While -- in my wildest dreams -- I'd like to compose symphonies, I know that's not even close to realistic. I'd be overjoyed if I could gain the skill to compose "simple" melodies. Not for fame and fortune -- just to amuse myself and to learn a little about what it's like to "be on the inside" of music.

My guess is that even this is a pipe dream. Is it? One thing I've always wondered is whether people who come up with songs had melodic ideas before they ever learned about the mechanics of music -- just like someone might make up a story without knowing anything about the mechanics of writing. I certainly know of plenty of people, like The Beatles and Charlie Chaplin, who had melodic ideas without knowing how to read music. But what about people who have never even played an instrument?

I've never had an original song pop into my head -- or even a snippet of melody. Even if I learned how to read music and play an instrument, is there any reason to believe I'd be able to write music? I understand that to write music WELL, you have to be gifted. But is it more binary than that? Do you either have it or you don't? Can you become a music creator -- even just a so-so one -- by learning some mechanics?

(By the way, I know there are all sorts of looping programs out there. I've played with them. They don't interest me. I want to create original melodies. I don't want to mix a bunch of riffs and beats together.)

So have any of you ever go from having zero musical ideas to having some musical ideas? If so, what brought you from point A to point B?

Filmmaker training, online?

pseudostrabismus — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:59:19 -0800

Suggest online or DVD resources for a new filmmaker to learn about lenses, film formats, shot composition, camera moves, dialogue staging, and other aspects of cinematography & directing? I'd like to get good at directing film, and learning how to do this using books seems old-fashioned.

I want so see examples of shots using different lenses, film formats, compositions, camera moves, camera angles, etc. I've read Film Directing Shot-by-Shot, which is pretty good, but I think that seeing this stuff as a moving visual would be even better.

Is there a website with video tutorials? Or a DVD course somewhere out there?
Other resources I should think about? And I'm open to more book suggestions, too.

Thanks in advance!

Please Help Me Create Stick Figure Servants To Do My Bidding

misha — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:33:20 -0800

I'm lusting after Pivot Stickfigure Animator 2.2. The problem is, I have a Mac and it's for Windows. Assume that I am a novice at all things tech-related:

a) Is there another program I don't know about that I can use on the Mac to do stick-figure animation? Anything under $100 is potentially doable, I guess, but cheaper is definitely better. (Flash is hugely expensive and I hate to invest that much and then find out it is not for me.)

b) Alternatively, Is there some emulator or tool that will allow me to run Pivot on my Mac? If so, um, how do I do that?

What is the perfect 25-track mix-cd of mostly-modern classical music?

beelerspace — Sat, 05 Jan 2008 08:06:57 -0800

If you were to give someone a 25-track crash course on classical music (a "mix-cd/playlist"), what compositions would you include? Such an anthology should of course have some historical context from, say Baroque and Romantic periods, but it'd be more helpful for me if it leaned towards modern composition and gave some idea of where classical music is progressing. Assume the listener (me?) has already taken an entry level college musical education class and therefore has heard the "classics" from classical music.

What are soundalike songs in commercials and TV called?

anildash — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 15:02:31 -0800

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. I'm interested in how people who produce commercials or TV shows ask artists to create these soundalikes. Bonus points if you've actually been involved in such a thing.

Encouragement and support for the young composer

grahamwell — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 13:15:00 -0800

Where to find encouragement and support for a young composer? My nephew is a talented musician and has taken to composing classical music ("in a period style"). He uses Sibelius among other tools and for this program there is something of an on-line community, but it is apparently hyper-critical and positively snarky. He's looking for something better.

Are there supportive communities out there which would offer help, useful critical input and encouragement for a young composer?

Can you identify this guitar piece?

amusem — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:56:41 -0800

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)? Here's where I heard it:
http://www.dailymotion.com/commented/search/judo/video/xot3s_pawel-nastula-judo

Something tells me it could have been made by a metal band... I find it borderline grandiloquent...!

Anyway, I enjoy it very much. Thank you.

Ba di duhm dum, da di da da

tmcw — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 12:45:18 -0800

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? I know that the 5 were essentially a combination of Motown and bubblegum pop, and that 'I Want You Back' and some of their other hits were written by The Corporation. I'm there interested in the music theory / general idea / themes of motown and anything related. Especially the guitar work in the aforementioned song - how that is formed and composed, generally?

Thanks!