Jack Jarrett’s Notion Music Blog - Composition, Conducting, and Musicology

In this age of computers, many musicians find it possible to create music by using sequencers or other digital technology, instead of notation.  So why bother going to the trouble of learning notation at all?  Is it just a relic of the past, no longer relevant in the modern musical world?  The answer depends on what your goals may be.


If you want to create music for live ensembles of more than a few people, notation is absolutely necessary to communicate your musical intentions clearly and efficiently.  Orchestras, choirs and bands, including jazz “big bands,” all depend on notated music in order to perform accurately, with a minimum of wasted rehearsal time.  That’s a very practical reason for using notation.


But there is another reason that may not be so obvious at first thought.  When we listen to music, what actually comes to our ears is a complex, continuously changing sound containing many frequencies at different amplitudes, often with subtle differences in the binaural information arriving at each ear.  Our ears then break that conglomeration of sound down into discrete pitches, tone colors, noises and ambiance.  Our brain, in turn, transforms these elements into recognizable musical instruments generating lines (melodies), harmonies, rhythms, dynamics and foreground/background textures.  Our emotions then respond to these elements – to the rise and fall of melody, the pulsation of rhythm, the “pull” of harmony, etc.  What we recognize as music are precisely those melodies, harmonies and rhythms, not the frequencies and amplitudes from which they are derived.


When we look at a sound wave in a software sound-editing program, we are seeing a visual representation of frequencies and amplitudes.  One would be hard pressed to pick out the lead instrument, or recognize the melody it is playing, in such a visual image.  When we look at the “bar graph” of a sequencer program, we are seeing pitches displayed proportionately by duration.  In either case, we are looking at a representation of one particular rendition, or recording, of a piece of music.


When we look at a musical score, however, we are seeing the actual elements we respond to while listening to music – instrumental lines, melodies, harmonies, rhythms, dynamics and textures.  Rather than frequencies, amplitudes and discrete pitches, we are looking at the real components of musical experience.  By providing a clear view of what we are creating, notation allows us to adjust, refine and tweak our music for maximum effect.


Just as with any language, mastery of notation is best gained through direct feedback.  NOTION software not only lets you hear exactly what you write while you are writing it, it also lets you quickly and easily adjust the score until it sounds exactly the way you want.

LOGIC, INTUITION, and HEARING

Many composers, especially those in academia, take pride in being able to write without audibly hearing what they write.  Presumably, they have developed their “inner hearing” to such an extent that they can conjure up the sound of their work internally, and therefore have no need to hear an audible rendition.  On the other hand, no less a composer than Stravinsky said in his Autobiography: “I do compose at the piano and I do not regret it.  I go further; I think that it is a thousand times better to compose in direct contact with the physical medium of sound than to work in the abstract medium produced by one’s imagination.”


Of course, by “direct contact” Stravinsky meant only the piano. Because NOTION did not exist in his day, the piano was the only available instrument that allowed melody, counterpoint and harmony to be created directly under one’s fingers.  It is certainly no accident that virtually all the great composers have been pianists, many of them outstanding virtuosi.


There are two opposing aspects to the art of composition.  One is the problem of creating the large-scale dramatic shape, or evolutionary movement, of the musical work.  The other is the working out of such details as voice-leading, dynamics, instrumentation, registration, articulation, etc.  Both aspects are necessary to a well-written work.  It is the overall dramatic flow of the music to which the listener responds emotionally.  If the episodes, contrasts, timings, conflicts and resolutions are not satisfactory, the music will not satisfy, no matter how carefully the details are handled.  At the same time, it is the details that give clarity and vividness to the overall form.


The human mind is capable of both logical and intuitive thinking.  Logic is the conscious process of applying rules to a limited set of parameters, while intuition is our way of dealing with an unlimited number of parameters, many or most of which may be only subliminally apparent to the conscious mind.  The two ways of thinking may not always be in agreement.  For example, logic may tell us to assign a melody to the oboe because of its particular range and tone color, while intuition may tell us that the oboe has become bothersome at this point, due to previous overuse.


Just as a painter moves close to the canvas in order to make detailed strokes, then moves away to assess their overall impact on the painting, so must a composer be able to take on the role of a naïve listener, reacting to the overall flow intuitively, without preconceptions.  When a problem is felt, one must then revert to conscious problem-solving to solve what offends.  In this way, both conscious and unconscious thinking complement each other.  This method of working comes easily when using NOTION, since one can quickly move between designing and listening, while working with a full orchestral pallet.

Search for the Inner Musician

In each of us there are two musicians: an inner and an outer musician.

The outer musician is the performer, the one the public sees and hears. His skill is the ability to manipulate an instrument with dexterity, to play difficult passages with ease, to make music that impresses. Such skill is achieved through countless hours of practice, dedication to perfection, and an unfailing desire to be the very best.

The inner musician brings understanding, sensitivity, and interpretative intelligence to the performance. Without the insightful control of the inner musician, the outer musician may be little more than a display of prowess, which may impress, but fail to connect with the listener at a deep emotional level.

As educators we do a good job of developing the outer musician. We understand the techniques and practice routines that foster technical prowess. Developing the inner musician, however, requires reaching into that part of a student’s personality that listens, feels, and evaluates music from an emotional perspective. Ideally, this should be part of basic courses such as music theory, counterpoint and orchestration. But these courses, by nature, are forced to depend primarily on paper work, rather than creative experience with actual sound.