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#1
26-06-2007, 09:53 PM
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| Who influences you? If you're a composer, are you influenced by one or more existing/earlier composers? Has your influence persisted or changed as you develop your style? Many young composers start by emulating a style or composer they like. How did you start? Did you set out determined to be different or learn along with the music you like? Just interested to hear what everyone has to say! cheers, reith.  |
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#2
26-06-2007, 10:03 PM
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| Re: Who influences you? hmmm... interesting subject. I do believe that now (30 years old) I have a voice of my own a bit. Maybe not completely, and of course other people can see my influences on my works, that I miss. But not to every work... I do remember that I was trying to "emmulate" a composer (Stravinksy actually) on an earlier work of mine, as I really love the way he orchestrates, but other than that I'm not sure I'm consciously following a composer or something. Especially on my PhD, where I consciously try to AVOID being compaired (pastiche)... |
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#3
28-06-2007, 12:49 AM
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| Re: Who influences you? Influences, huh? Well, I'm deeply influenced by Beethoven, but I tend to listen to a lot of newer composers as well. My favorite composer would have to be Steven Reineke because of the way he is able to create music that speaks to everyone. If you get the time to listen to his work, I would recommend:
C. Winston  |
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#4
28-06-2007, 05:07 PM
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| Re: Who influences you? 
They don't really investigate the composer's entire output. So to me it's more likely a style, or a genre, or even a specific type of work. For me, I never tried to write like an individual composer (and I learned soon on that so many composers do so many different things that again you'd only be being influenced by one type of that composer's work, not the composer per se). However, certainly things composers have done, philosophical concepts, and so on have influenced me. But for me, it's more - here's something someone did. Then, if I find it interesting, I see if I can use it to my advantage. Sometimes it's specific - like, hey, I want to try an octatonic scale. Later, people say it emulates Stravinsky - but they themselves are just making a broad generalization (Stravinsky liked Octatonic scales so, it of course sounds reminiscent of Strav). Those two little guitar pieces I just posted - I was playing through some of my guitar repretoire - which has a lot of short little preludes/etudes. I guess I was in that frame of mind because once I started the more "etude-y" one, I figured out "hey, this is a sort of modernized version of these other works I've been playing". So the influence there could have been largely subconsious until I realized what was going on, and then that was good enough for me. So I wasn't really influenced by a composer, or even a style, but maybe rather a type of work that I'd personally experienced. Does that make sense? So to me, I find influence everywhere, and I incorporate them in various ways. I tend to like placing restrictions on myself (like notice how those two little pieces are both either minor or major triads, and they're restricted to one shape on the upper three strings) and trying to "work my way out" and see if I can come up with something interesting - otherwise it seems that there are so many influences out there one gets information overload and can't decide on which way to go! Maybe that's not influence, but inspiration (not of the divine sort)? Best, Steve |
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#5
17-07-2007, 02:19 PM
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| Re: Who influences you? Some interesting points here. I seem to have developed some sort of style though these things are never absolute. I'm easily influenced by the symbolists and a couple of other composers so I have to avoid them like the plague if I'm in sight of composing. Difficult, because I listen to something and half a day later I get an 'inspiration' which I know is tied up with it. This leads to some weird listening habits...no - strategies might be a better word. I have to clean the aural slate before a composing session!  |
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#6
19-07-2007, 04:14 AM
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| Re: Who influences you?
I for one have been influenced by earlier composers and it shows in my works today. I have tried to understand the philoshopy of the composers whose music I admired instead of trying to sound like them. Many influneces of mine have both persisted and changed as I developed as a composer. I started by trying to emulate the styles of all the composers I admired at the same time while trying to let my unique inhibitions come forth. I was also very influenced by the music I was surrounded by. As a composer influenced by the various musical forms, I tried to understand the music for its strengths and weaknesses. Through my years of personal study as well as conservatory training, I took in what I saw as potentially useful to my personal philosophy towards music and discarded what I understood as not useful to my aim and philosophy. No matter the elements of influence that I may include in my musical palette, I strive to be different even in the realm of very tonal music. I believe being influenced as a composer is like a child being influenced by people and situations in his/her life. We often take the good and the bad from people we emulate while growing into our own person. Eventually, we shed some of those influences and sometimes we keep them and they morph into something all our own. I'll stop here lest I complete a novel!  |
