[Fmpro] Composer's sidelife out of film

[Joel Braverman]

I think if someone has properly mastered music without becoming  
narrow, then they can write all forms that they are familiar with if  
they are interested.  If all you have studied is classical, or pop  
then perhaps you are stuck with that. I think young people who grew  
up listening to rock and have studied classical composition are  
probably the best suited to be composers who can write contemporary  
orchestral music that has appeal for the general audience.  One of  
the best I've heard is Julia Wolfe - well, she  was young when I saw  
her, a serious Led Zeppelin fan - I met her and saw her work  
performed at the first Other Minds music festival in San Francisco  
back in 1993. Her piece "Early that summer" showed me that what  
dissonant atonal music really needs to be beautiful is: some rhythm.  
(probably needs some skill too!)

  - Joel


On May 13, 2008, at 9:14 PM, Mark Holden wrote:

>
> I'd tend to agree, Adrian. Igor Stravinski was a composer;
> Irving Berlin was a songwriter. Very different skill sets.
>
> However, once in a great while, we get a George Gershwin,
> or a Henry Mancini-- masters of both idioms. Of course,
> Gershwin and Mancini each collaborated with lyricists.
>
> Doing it all? That's Stephen Sondheim territory. Very,
> very rare.
>
> Thank goodness there's lots of ways to skin a cat!
>
> Mark Holden
>
> -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>
>>> If you're talking writing 'hit' song (i,e. with lyrics) a  
>>> composer can not
>>> necessarily do it well nor out do a song writer.
>
>>> Either CAN cross over into the other domain but, there is a  
>>> specialization
>>> to each and a mastery of one definitely does not denote a mastery  
>>> of the
>>> other.
>
> _AJ
>
>
>  My
>> gut reaction would be to say that any great composer should be  
>> able to
>> out-write a songwriter any day of the week, and I mean beat the  
>> songwriter
>> at his own game. But then the thought occurs to me, maybe there  
>> are some
>> aspects of popular song writing that are very specific, and even  
>> outside of
>> the general purview of even highly competent orchestral composers  
>> (but I
>> doubt it). - JohnB
>>
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