Sometimes as a musician you might get the thought: “what’s the point of creating or composing music if you never going to be a Beethoven or Mozart or even the Beatles?” You maybe even feel this if you compare this with someone else’s music you admire. The thing is, if you have a measure of talent you have something unique to say. Your music reflects the filter of your world; your perspective; you’re experience. Your music isn’t just a product of your history, it’s a product of history and culture.
Personally, I mainly write in a loose Neo-Classical style (mainly for the Piano) because I love the forms of that period. What I love about the classical period is the symmetry, balance and sonata form which enables music to become longer than the short 3 minutes of most pop songs today! However, when I write music, I’m not trying to write in a particular style. I’m not copying Mozart or Haydn but both those composers are part of my sonic language: having listened to the majority of their output over the years. Unlike them though, I am also influenced by the Beatles, Jazz and many other styles that are now available on Spotify! Indeed, we can listen to a breadth of music and styles that these composers could only have dream of.
Therefore, a composer doesn’t have to write complicated music to be a good composer. Musical quality is hard to define but most of know when we hear it. Music can be really simple and yet profound. It’s appreciating the style (which is a kind of language in itself).
Back to my main subject though, I believe that to write authentically your main motivation is because it’s in you. Even if no one else listened to it or purchased it, you would still compose. This doesn’t mean to say, you shouldn’t write music with the pleasure and appreciation of others in mind – because music is an art form. Its abstract communication.
How I like to think about it though, is no one else will ever create the music I’m writing! If I don’t write it, the world is missing out on a bit of beauty that I can add to the world!
