Any suggestion for quick memory sketches?

[weslldeckers]

Hello all. Situation from my painting activities:
when I get an idea for a painting, I just quickly draw it on a piece of paper. usually it's only about the form of the image, the lines which make the painting. Things as colors, size and technique I usually leave for the time when I actually START painting (unless it is an essential aspect for that particular form/composition for the canvas), usually over a year later.

Q: I use the 'quick-draws' as reminders, as memo's. For preventing me forgetting about them totally. So far, I have searched for an equivalent for my music, but have never gotten further than writing words like (dark synth opening, echoing percussion, voice fragments - backwards, speed changes, use motif-X and Y (I always give a name to various motives)...

Anyone using a form of the 'quick-draws' I use for painting?
Many thanks!


PS: I like the analogy between painting and composing music.

[Dom]

I just write the ideas down in a sketchbook, on maybe 2 staves, perhaps some chords too, and perhaps which instruments/sections play what.

I do that with practically everyting I write, because you can then just focus on the core idea, before getting involved with technology, sounds, orchestration etc.

Dom

[gugliel]

I do the same as Dom, though on loose manuscript paper. Now have 5 filing cabinets worth ... sometimes hard to find things, but periodically I do a great filing marathon and get all the partial projects somewhat identified.

As a painter, you know the value of drawing -- as a composer, you'd want a similar facility with what we call 'sketching', writing down on paper enough of the musical material to remind yourself later what it meant. Sometimes a texture, a few chords, a melody, a rhythm, even just an instrumental combination -- and a word or so about what compositional project it arose from. Sometimes a rush of an entire movement or section in skeleton form.

[hermitage59]

A pile of spiral bound manuscript books once every two or three months.
2 or 4 staves at a time, depends on the idea.
Jot down whatever comes to mind, and write the instrument over the line, depending on what the sound in my head tells me.
Currently using 5 staves, TTBBB, working out russian style of low chords in the top of the Bass Stave, and why they fit so well. Funny thing is, this pattern TTBBB works well for Beethoven too. Will have to look at a correlation between the two. Hmmmmm.....
(The National Music Library here in Moscow is massive, absolutely chock a block with really interesting scores and reference materials, and about 15 minutes on the Metro. And yes, a lot of it is in English, French and German as well.)

Advantage is,
There are several ideas in each book (usually the 50 page variety) and many times some of those ideas seem to come together in whole, and in turn create new ideas. I find it a lot more creative to study more than one idea at a time, and it seems to give birth to many new directions.

Onto 12 stave condensed score format if the idea 'feels' compelling enough to take forward, then plan out onto full score.

Oh, the other important bits of equipment?

A 100 pencil box, with several erasers, and a handful of pencil sharpeners.

And if you think this slow and drawn out, try it for a while, you'd be surprised how much you get done in a fairly short time.
I've tinkered directly into computer, but i've often had 'sound pictures' away from the box and the required electricity, and this way more stuff gets recorded for now or the future.

As a further aside to this, it's a really interesting exercise to take two or three seemingly unrelated ideas written down, and try and fit them together, in counterpoint etc.
The practise alone improves composition and orchestration more than most books can teach, (My opinion) and generates new ideas in turn.

And there's always writing materials next to the radio or stereo, ready to jot down that interesting chord progression, modulation, or melodic line, for study and further knowledge.


Regards to you all,

Alex.

[magates]

I don't ever do this because I tend to write things down like everyone else here in sketch book. But I know a lot people really find singing their ideas into a tape recorder really helps.