A few points on improvisation, and on blues and jazz.

Improv. It's been said by witnesses that Beethoven could improvise for hours on end. We can only guess at how many other great western composers had similar abilities. Also, let's not forget that Indian classical music performance combines highly complex, strict structural and syntactical rules with artistic extemporisation. And today, French church organists are expected to be able to extemporise during divine services as well as in secular concerts. A couple of examples of the latter:-

Olivier Messiaen - Improv in church organ concert

Olivier Latry - Organ improv on a submitted theme, during a seminar at Notre Dame University, USA

Is the ability and talent to extemporise - at least on piano - strictly necessary for western orchestral composers? I'd say not. But surely it is of great benefit here and there, now and then, when composing. At the very least, who will deny that switching one's head into the extempore mentality is a very effective antidote to the dreaded "paralysis-by-analysis" syndrome? And of course, the more familiar that one is with theory as well as craft, the more extensive, elaborate and complex one's improvisations are - potentially - able to be.

That said, I seriously doubt if anyone can rightly refute that deliberated, analytically-founded composition is able, more often than not, to exceed in terms of richness and depth of complexity, what extemporisation on its own can produce. I suspect the ideal is a profound marriage of both abilities.

Blues. I subscribe to the theory that the genre of Blues was a originally a discovery made by a few black slaves in the Americas when first encountering and using the European guitar tuned to Equal Temperament. My own analysis showed that uniquely in ET there is a very close proximity (approx. 2 cents) to the 17th partial (the angst-riddled and highly discomfiting "blue" note), and also to the 19th partial (an exquisitely beautiful yet somewhat 'veiled' and hence deeply wistful minor 3rd); neither of which are available in any of the historically mainstream intonation schemas. Furthermore, blues musicians finding that the "blues scale" is amenable to modal usage is surely a significant discovery and innovation in the history of music.

However, as proved time and again, especially by the "Boston Pop Orchestra" surge in the '70s, and by the many "pomp rock" attempts to use symphonic orchestras or ensembles to accompany rock bands, orchestras typically don't intone the two crucial ET blues notes correctly in ET. Instead, it seems most orchestral musicians tend to play in their usual and "more proper" orchestral intonation. Hence we have yet to see a great marriage of orchestra and rock band. Not having done any measurements on this (I just can't find any motivation to do so) I can only surmise that talented blues musicians who use orchestral instruments have learned to intone the two crucial notes of the blues scale according to ET.

Jazz. Never been my cup of tea, so I can't speak much on this. However, it is apparent that as a popular music genre, a good deal of perfidious repurposing of modern music theory (and some older theory - e.g. liberalisation of modal usage) has gone into the jazz genre as we know it, and which I applaud.

But alas, it's hard to get away from the view that blues and jazz genres have both done their dash now. I find it sad and often somewhat annoying when attempts are made either to resurrect these genres without any significant innovations, or, worse, to carry on obliviously as if these genres are still current and widely welcomed among general audiences. But in contrast, both John Barry and John Williams have dug into their jazz backgrounds and popped a few jazz constructs here and there into their great and much loved compositions for film, with superb effect. "Gentlemen of taste", as ever, show us the way.

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Completely agreed with your view of Modern concert music, William. The period of so-called High Modernity (early 20th century) degenerated into an awful kind of 'senile dementia' (well the modern era was already 5 centuries old by that time!), as personified perhaps in the faux-music atrocities perpetrated by Karlheinz Stockhausen. And yet today, that which some are pleased to call "postmodernism" really isn't; it's just even more high-modernist claptrap but with the 'dementia' somewhat cloaked by the cultural equivalent of anti-dementia meds, Lol.

That said, as with perhaps many if not most failed attempts at cultural innovation, some bits and pieces of the novelties of high-modernist ("newspeak") atonalism do seem to have percolated into the more stable and long-term strata of music idioms and vernaculars of today, and look set to stay with us for who knows how long. Just as our spoken languages very slowly adopt worthy novelties along the way, somewhat as in a Shakespearean sea change.

Take heart, William. As I watched the latest concert by Berliner Phil, I noticed a surprisingly large proportion of younger people in the audience. And what about the giant open air classical music concerts in Germany and Austria where most of the audiences certainly aren't old fogeys? Are the days and influence of "snowbird" and "blue-rinse" concert audiences at last fading away perhaps?

FedericoAsc, Anand, William, Macker: How is everybody? Long time no read...

I love inspired popular music (according to my taste of course), and I would rather spend hours listening to countless such tracks than spending the same amount of time listening to run of the mill art-music - especially those endless, uninspired, muddy, bloated "romantic" chimeras by third raters. Or worse, the insect cum factory noise imitations of the run of the mill experimentalists. Ugh!! I say this just to clarify that I do not consider art-music to be the only good music.

Now,

What does talent have to do with music theory? Nothing! Let's not conflate them. Talent, you are either born with or you are not. And if you are, with how much? Same goes for capacity for original thought. There is no substitute for those, and they demarcate the Elysian fields of the masters from those of the journeymen by barbed wire.

However, lack of talent and original thought can, and is habitually screened by craft. The more craft that is thrown into a composition, the more opaque that screen becomes. This craft can be acquired to a good degree by hard work in the disciplines of composition, which also include theory and instrumentation. Craft alone has not, and will never yield a masterpiece, but it can certainly yield something pleasant (and professional!) to listen to, if form and length do not exceed the limits of the -by definition- mediocre material.

On the other hand, what good can be reaped by talent alone, bereft of any craft, in music for traditional forces? How can you write for instruments about which you know little and expect masterworks? How could you begin to combine them effectively? Maybe you could in popular music (all genres), as band members and producers will fill in the huge gaps left by an inspired, but otherwise bare tune. However, this would be a collaborative effort that has little in common with the output of the art-music composer who has to determine all details in a score on his own.

Why did I learn music theory? Because I wanted to? No, it was imposed on me early on, and thank God it was! Craft is the vessel upon which ideas can sail the turbulent and inclement seas of music history and competition. The more knowledge and facility increase, the safer and farther the journey in deeper, maybe uncharted, and hence more enthralling waters. As an audience, wouldn't you rather engross yourself into the oceanic periplus of an experienced mariner, rather than drown yourself over the computer-assisted infantilisms of an ignoramus on the shore?

In the greatest of cases, you cannot tell where ideas end and craft begins, for they are intertwined; for craft itself is enriched and advanced. 

I hope that people don't think the greats composed with textbooks open on the table for reference... Everything I mention only applies to beginners to intermediates. The more one knows the less one thinks about it. Craft becomes ingrained and part of the subconscious. Often, innovation disregards knowledge, but this act is conscious. Nobody would find pleasure in composition if for every chord they voiced they would have to rifle through a manual for justification (except for those who write with crosswords). Everything becomes as automatic as driving a car does. How many times have I travelled a couple of kilometres lost in thought without realising I stopped for lights, made turns, etc.? I am an experienced driver however with well over a million kilometres under my belt. I couldn't do this at 17. I am therefore saying that not only does craft not impede one's flow of ideas, it contrarily precipitates and opens the right vistas for the development of these ideas.

Amassing knowledge and cultivating taste are so important, vital in fact, to composition. I am sorry I cannot remember who said this, I only heard it a few days ago, but in essence he said, "It was easy to consider myself a perfectionist in the past. The bar was that low."

I am addressing not the forum members I named at the start of this post, but anyone reading this that is interested in improving their compositional calibre: Whatever time you spend watching whatever vloggers, spend listening to the masterworks of the last 200 years or so, following the scores where you can. You will not become a composer by watching so-called "Tips" on YouTube! Stop listening to so much film music. Immerse yourself in the truly inspired, superbly crafted works of the real masters.

Given enough time, your bar will eventually rise.

I don't mean this to sound arrogant. There are so many musicians -and not- that know a lot more repertoire than I do, and better. I too keep augmenting my skills and knowledge, practically daily.

Errikos, that's one hell of a good post.

Thank you Mike. I don't even know whether it is worthwhile posting all this, whether it makes a difference to anyone's musical life. 

Errikos, please do not start doubting the worthiness of your posts here! If they help even one reader break through clouded thoughts or want of clear self-direction, and who perhaps then goes on to write truly wonderful music, then your words here are pure gold - no matter that due credit is rarely if ever forthcoming in such cases.

I packed up researching modern philosophy many years ago, mainly because it's all so heavily strewn with fool's gold. The time and effort involved in digging through the glistering crap in the hope of finding the odd nugget of real gold here and there were just not worthwhile. But given that truth is Champagne for me, I'm delighted by the quality and quantity of my favourite tipple on offer here, and you're one of the top purveyors!

(And I bloody well hope you get properly serious about also writing literature for profit, sooner rather than later.)

Macker: Thank you for the much appreciated hyperbole. Incidentally, I cannot even imagine how people get degrees in philosophy these days, but if it is anything like what happens with music...

I am also touched you remembered my recent proclivity to writing I mentioned scantily some time ago. Since it is a collection of short stories I am penning together, perhaps you'd care to glance at one or two, once they are finished...

Errikos, I'd be happy to do that for you. Glad to hear you're advancing on that front.

When you eventually have a couple of stories ready, PM me an email address and I'll email you back.

Errikos,

what a great post indeed.

As always everything you said makes perfect sense. 

When it comes to craft I always think of a chair. Will I ever venture out to make a chair on my own not knowing anything about it? Maybe I am a genius to whom chair making comes naturally. A simple as a chair looks, if I stick four pieces of wood and a bunch of planks with no matter how much care and effort, the product will be miserable and may not even be stable. On the other hand, maybe a short course on carpentry can allow me to construct a chair on which someone can sit down without falling, although it wont be as comfortable as a chair made by a carpenter with lifelong professional experience. 

In the same way one can learn the basics of music (given some basic musical aptitude, ear) to write a piece with  form, even though it may not turn out to be masterpiece, it will still "stand" on its own. And boy is it glaringly obvious when a person has not learnt their craft.

And there are these geniuses who have some kind of innate musical ability that cannot be taught. But you correctly pointed out that even that is no excuse for not learning craft.

And then there is a third kind of artist who both has the craft and the genius. 

When I listen to a Haydn symphony, it is like looking at a chair made by a lifelong professional...all the elements are there and it is stable and complete in form. There is a satisfaction inherent in hearing that structure. But with Mozart there is the additional element of spark. I can live with Haydn's music for a long time as the form is so satisfying:)

Anand

Anand: Thank you, I'm glad you found the post valuable. 

Even a musical genius absolutely needs craft for art-music for there are many aspects and parameters that have nothing to do with inspiration and talent. It's exactly like being a genius in physics. Even if you have the best and most original ideas, how exactly are you going to document them if you are unfamiliar with the relevant symbology?.. Let alone the fact that you have to know what the great physicists before you have achieved. How are you going to learn that? By watching Feynman interviews on YouTube?... Even Wagner, the most self-taught and perhaps the most original of the 4-5 greatest musical geniuses, had all the craft preceding him before inventing his own.

Do you need such craft in order to compose 30-second septic trailers and 2-minute ostinato cues? Of course not. You can do that with "inspiration" patches. Can one call himself an orchestral composer with these particular skills? One can call themselves anything.

And we can laugh to our hearts' content.

Errikos, thank you for your contribution. Not only I agree with what you said, I'm even more extreme.

Namely this thing of genius, child prodigies, innate talent... It's just an old, romantic fantasy with no scientific ground. And even if the innate genius of humanity as whole does exist - at the end we're not flies - surely is not musical, since music is an arbitrary, relatively recent invention of humanity, that played no role in human evolution. It's like saying that Michael Jordan had the innate genius for basketball. No, man :-D

I also met enough world-class scientists, being a mathematician, to observe that no scientific genius exists either. There exist dedication, training, perseverance, passion for understanding things logically, great education, and all those things together, like in sport, bring one to the top of the mountain. Never heard of a single person that had purported "genius" in science and mathematics that hadn't obsessively trained himself to develop his skills. What you need to succeed is personality traits that lead you to work obsessively and intensively toward a single goal. Not many people are fueled by such a strong fire, and not many of those people benefit from world-class, well-thought education. 

And all these great composers as well where just people with a well functioning brain, who worked hardly and smartly to educate themselves or being educated in their craft.

Errikos, it appears your inbox is full.

Apologies. I have deleted a few messages, it should be working now.

Well said agitato

I couldn't agree more!