(part 6 of 20)
Computer Notation
In the age of notation software, it’s common for people wishing to compose to simply sit down at the computer, load up a blank score, and dive into writing. However, for all but very experienced composers, this is a mistake. The importance of composing at the piano can’t be stressed enough, particularly for those who have not attained Beethoven’s level of audiation. Composers need to create the same way painters play with lines and shades on paper, or colors and textures on canvas. The piano is the composer’s easel, their fingers the brush. The computer or manuscript paper is there simply to record the music–creating a guide to reproduce the composition.
It may seem obvious, but it’s worth emphasizing that unlike a painting, music isn’t tangible. Sheet music is not the equivalent of a finished painting. Viewing a finished painting is the equivalent of actually listening to music. Sheet music serves only as a means to realize the finished work of art–like a set of architectural blueprints for a performer to bring it to life.
A beginner sitting down at a computer away from an instrument to compose is like a seven-year-old loose in a chemistry lab. Well-intended parents might think this could lead their child to become a great scientist. Instead, the unsupervised child will play with beakers, acid, and burners (staves, notes, and midi playback). They won’t learn much about science, and they’ll likely get burned.
Computer notation is a godsend for composers. It not only allows for easy reproduction of legible sheet music, but it automates the process of making orchestral parts, and can dramatically speed up the notation process. However, for beginners it should only be used after the composition is complete. MuseScore is a free/open-source program useful for that purpose.
Beginners attempting to compose at the computer bypass the improvisation process, the heart of the creative process itself. At the computer, they tend to throw out notes, press play to hear how it sounds, drag the last note around a bit to hear how it sounds higher or lower, add some more notes, change the rhythm as an afterthought, and so on. While entering one note at a time, they are often ignoring the music that came before, or the music that might come next. They don’t see the big picture, and lose perspective of the full musical line as they proceed.
Until students can fully hear and understand complex music in their heads, they absolutely need the piano to give instant feedback as they experiment with various musical elements. In this way they imagine the music and play it simultaneously. The process is immediate–no delay, no disconnect. On the computer, altering one note–then listening to the last few bars, then altering the note again–is inefficient, ineffective, and creates bad habits. The student might as well compose by rolling dice, as improvisation and natural musical creativity aren’t being employed. (Ha, rolling dice… get it?)
The solution is simple: pencil and paper at the piano.
(Download and print large or small staff manuscript paper.)
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Index
- Introduction
- Why Piano?
- Improvisation:
- Notation:
- Related Skills/Knowledge:
- Composition: