Musical composition

Like all Art, the music is a creation being based on certain techniques to communicate the esthetic ambitions of the type-setter (see the two directions of the word Art). The musical composition then indicates the stage which directly precedes the existence by the musical work; it is connected with an unconscious but learned control. It remains dependant on the diagrams which our culture and our history bequeath us, memory of listening, memory of the training of the cognitive structures which are familiar for us. But the composition reaches the art of creation especially when it exceeds the assimilation, seeks confrontation, is opposed to the law to create the amazing one. The theories (induced or created in fact) there thus play a big role, but can completely be conceived a posteriori , rising from a musicologic reflection on work created. Creation ex nihilo , abrupt, the Happening , is still forms of musical composition.

Definitions

Until the beginning of the 20th century, the musical composition merged with “art to compose of the pleasant airs” and to conform them to the rules of the counterpoint and the Harmonie. To learn the composition then supposed a minimal knowledge of the theory and Organologie. Art to write passed by the transposition on visual aids (the partition) of what the type-setter sought to express with sounds. The system of transcription (or Musical theory) was used to produce a partition by noting with more close the parameters height, intensity and duration that the interpreter will have with responsibility of recreate. Of this transcription a complexification of the musical Forme could emerge.

The compositionnelle technique was then given there in advance (Orchestration, musical theory, harmony, notation). The musical stamp took an importance only with the treaties of orchestration of the 19th century and this research extended to musical instruments and/or objects from the everyday life integrated in a creative research (revolver appeared at Fauré, typewriter at Leroy Anderson).

Since then, the development of the concept of musical work integrated the composition in this creative process, which is carried out as much by a direct work on the Its musical as by a search for stamps and an arrangement of those. The recording then the sound Synthesis (direct or indirect), amplified the tools of the musical composition. The compositionnelles theories, to work out certain new processes, must thus exceed the Empirisme our immediate feelings and count longer-term sights. One cannot assimilate the composition any more, with the comprehension of his mechanisms. The artistic criteria of creation cannot emerge from a study of general outlines. The analysis can only release from the criteria solidified in work, and not the whole of the process which led in this realization.

Practical

It goes without saying, as Kant underlined it, that null rule could not create the work of Article.

" Les fine art is not possible that as productions of the genius. This reveals that the genius is a talent which consists in producing it for what one could not give of given rule: it is not an aptitude for anything which could be learned according to an unspecified rule; consequently, its first characteristic must be the originalité; " Kant (Emmanuel), Critic of the faculty of juger, § 46.

Musical creation, in an identical way, adopts theoretical strategies (generic) which reflect the history and evolve/move inside even of each creation: nothing fixed in the composition; these strategies are intended to impel the change, the movement, starting from collective bases.

Theories and systems

During centuries, the rules and the systems especially made it possible to the type-setters to create a processual semantics: not so much a music which would make display of Procédure S benoîtement applied, but strategy of the change put at the day order, the composition like determination of the phases of this change, in fact, the result of what one names today a process compositionnel. This concept of process directly supplanted the other concepts of structuring of the music: the example more striking in our eyes is that of the Concrete music. The concrete music treated musical objects, but these sound objects, architectonic elements, did not manage to define a structure. Only the composition could provide him this character " musical" , and to allow joinings of magnetic bands and the concrete musics/acousmatic to reach the statute of work.

The written rules (or theory), sometimes presented like constraints by the treaties, are, makes some for the type-setter beginning, an invaluable help to avoid certain flatnesses or heavinesses. The traditional rules prohibited the formation of fifths or consecutive octaves between two parts. The transmission of this know-how is the relation professor object - raises similar to a relation Master-disciple

Creation and knowledge

The musical composition, like any form of artistic creation, postulates a nonconsidered translation of a universe which exceeds the significant level which opens to us with the Connaissance. She thus claims a reflection on the cogency of the relations between various forms of: Its musical, sound material on the one hand (its, instrument, stamp,…, but also virtual creations of spaces or auditive illusions), creation of the work on the other hand. Knowledge in these fields not ceasing evolving/moving, they makes it possible to the type-setters to consider the new shapes of apprehension of the sound world, stage towards a musical rebuilding.

In the second time, this apprehended material, the musical composition focus on certain strong points of the musical structure, in a staff management: how can “function” the work for a listener? Psychological S, creators and, recently, data processing specialists tried to propagate common reflections through specialized institutions in the musical Informatique. Its ground occupies all at the same time the local level of material and the total level of the structuring of work.

The inspiration, as in other arts, makes it possible to create of the nine, to release the new one from the absent one. The imaginary one of the type-setter extends to all the fields: in the forms, the sound effects, the instrumentation, etc, any audacity which will make work more attractive, will allow to attract the listener to surprise it; the form, by its recalls of reasons allows to structure hearing, the melody by its unicity makes plausible creation etc

Contemporary creation

The Modern music knew to work out, starting from the knowledge brought by the musical Acoustics modern, of new models of representation. She thus played for example of Phénomène S limits between fusion and integration to found new mobilities, syntactic articulations giving access widened sound textures. These models allow a functional reception, where the listener allots to sound aggregates a place in the structuring of work. From a duality objects/structure, one thus passed in the Sixties to a duality material/process. The construction of work is carried out by emergence of complexity, as the construction of the universe took place per units of increasing complication. Knowledge with the representation, and model with creation, the creative phases of this construction are often worked out in complicity with the technique (instrumental invoice, electroacoustic technology, musical Informatique,…).

Orders

It rather frequently arrives that one asks a musician to compose “on request”, for an occasion, and/or with a source of already found inspiration (ex: some operas with the imposed booklet, majority of religious works of Bach,…). The composition, however, by its membership of the movement of artistic creation, could not be caused. The symphonies of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from 5 to 35, with rare exceptions, unknown of the public and are played little, because the young man, while writing with sustained rhythm on order, produced pieces in which the specialists judge that there is nothing to reproach as for the purely technical quality of these pieces, but whose musical skill and the inspiration are quite lower than that of the rich person hours of creation (the famous last symphonies, from 35 to 41).

Remarks

Yann Tiersen wrote some of its works without relationship with the film the Fabulous Destiny of Amélie Poulain and was contacted whereas turning had already started. John Williams wrote all the topics of Harry Potter without approaching turnings; these are works that he had written but not created (see below) and that he chose to use when he was contacted by the team of first film.

By semantic slip, the word indicates sometimes the musical work itself, but it is a confusion because she is only the outline: musical work would not exist without the interpreter. work without interpreter is a lifeless body (anonymous).

the creation of a musical work (and not of the music) does not indicate its composition, but its first interpretation as a public. Indeed, it is only at this moment that creation passes from the statute of composition to that of work.

See too

Handy guide of musical composition

Internal bonds

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