(part 18 of 20)
Aesthetics
There are general principles of beauty and interest: proportion, grace, patterns, familiarity, surprise, etc. They can be subjective to a greater or lesser extent, based on personal taste and culture, but they can also be grounded more objectively in physics, nature, and our species’ evolution. While composing, aesthetics should always be kept in mind.
Constantly ask questions like:
Why place this melody here? Would it be more interesting elsewhere? Is part of this passage awkward? Is the harmony cohesive? Is this section too thin, too thick? Does this section lose momentum? Would a rhythmic break somewhere be nice? Is a particular spot less interesting or of lower quality? If so, why, and how might it be improved? Should this be cut completely, perhaps replaced with something different? Does anything stand out as being especially good? If so, why, and could it serve as a model to improve other parts of the music?
Don’t be afraid to make cuts. It can be difficult to cut out part of a composition after spending a lot of time and effort into writing it, but sometimes it’s for the best. A section might be fantastic, but perhaps it simply doesn’t fit the rest of the composition. Don’t think of it as throwing the material away; instead, transfer it to a notebook of ideas, saving it for another project.
Again, try to think objectively from the perspective of someone listening to the music for the first time. How they might perceive the music and better absorb and enjoy it? Tapping into and maintaining this frame of mind takes practice, but over time it will yield great results.
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Index
- Introduction
- Why Piano?
- Improvisation:
- Notation:
- Related Skills/Knowledge:
- Composition: