What is the hardest type of music to make? - Page 2

Seerix · 11-12-2007, 11:40 AM

So in other words, I need to put my slide rule away when I compose...dammit I thought I was on to something

mriparian · 11-12-2007, 03:33 PM

Personally, I would find the hardest music to make would be the classical symphony. Especially if you want something to sound good and to evoke certain emotions.

Satchmo8101 · 11-12-2007, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mriparian

Personally, I would find the hardest music to make would be the classical symphony. Especially if you want something to sound good and to evoke certain emotions.

I have mentioned this in one way or another before, but....

Composing a full Symphony while FREAKIN' DEAF....

As in, DA KING's 9th,

KLEINKIND

Satchmo8101 · 11-12-2007, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panbient

anytime i read anything about the 'complexity' of creating music i always remember an old jimmy page interview i read years ago. as the discussion wore on the interviewer asked page about his method for writing 'complex' riffs and arrangements for zep's tunes (this was in the mid 90s when more than 4 power chords per song could have been classified as prog).

either way page laughed his ass off and explained that regardless of how complicated it was for other people to play his parts, he never went out of his way to make something complicated. he just played the music he heard in his head in a way that was comfortable for him. he had an affinity for playing in that style so he went with it, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered playing the way he did.

jonas hellborg reiterates the same idea in a recent bass player interview while discussing crazy tempos and rhythms with his amalgamation of styles. it's not a matter of thinking about the complexity of the numbers while playing the music but just playing the music at that point the pace and punctuation become a natural reaction to the force of the music rather than a predetermined array of notes.

I take it you're limiting this to Rock....because there have been many composers in Classical who went out of their way to make pieces complex....in most cases to show off their overwhelming skilz on a particular instrument.

Satchmo8101 · 11-12-2007, 04:53 PM

I always enjoy breaking this out.....

from George Crumb's Makrokosmos

mriparian · 11-12-2007, 04:55 PM

I always like listening to people play Moto Perpetuo.

Ceta Aios · 11-12-2007, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panbient

page laughed his ass off and explained that regardless of how complicated it was for other people to play his parts, he never went out of his way to make something complicated. he just played the music he heard in his head in a way that was comfortable for him. he had an affinity for playing in that style so he went with it, otherwise he wouldn't have bothered playing the way he did.

This reminds me an interview with Bill Bruford I read recently:

Moderm Drummer: Today we have popular drummers with incredible technique, but sometimes they don’t even play in a band. In Yes, King Crimson, and later in your band Bruford, it seemed that the chops were there to serve the creative ideas behind the music.

Bill Bruford: This is a hidden problem in the drum community. It’s a kind of taboo subject. There are these over-qualified, hyper-kinetic, and hyper-athletic guys, and the nearest music they can have to accommodate this violent physical skill is thrash metal or something. That’s okay, but it’s as if that music has to be built around the style of the musicians. It should be the other way. You hear the music in your mind first and then you find the technique to play it. Muir taught me that you exist to serve the music, the music does not exist to serve you. Until you can hear the music in which your drumming is applicable, why get started? Why would you acquire the fastest snare drum roll in the west for the hell of it? I’d rather read a good book."

panbient · 11-12-2007, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Satchmo8101

I take it you're limiting this to Rock....because there have been many composers in Classical who went out of their way to make pieces complex....in most cases to show off their overwhelming skilz on a particular instrument.

not really limiting it to rock. it's not that i was saying that people didn't compose for complexity just that i tend to fall more into page's line of thinking. where the issue of complexity is for everyone else besides the composer. like you said, it's a way to show off skilz. not unlike the super shred guitar wank fests we currently have.

i guess it's just that the concept of complexity in music runs counter to my view on creating music. i can't really see how people who would sit there stroking their chins and thinking about making their music as complex as possible, simply for the sake of being complex, aren't just jerking off their egos hardcore.

Satchmo8101 · 11-12-2007, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by panbient

not really limiting it to rock. it's not that i was saying that people didn't compose for complexity just that i tend to fall more into page's line of thinking. where the issue of complexity is for everyone else besides the composer. like you said, it's a way to show off skilz. not unlike the super shred guitar wank fests we currently have.

i guess it's just that the concept of complexity in music runs counter to my view on creating music. i can't really see how people who would sit there stroking their chins and thinking about making their music as complex as possible, simply for the sake of being complex, aren't just jerking off their egos hardcore.

But unlike the wankers of today....they were able to still make great music in the process.

Perfect example which you would know would be Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3.

Satchmo8101 · 11-12-2007, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mriparian

I always like listening to people play Moto Perpetuo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPRWshWq9E4

It should be pointed out that Paganini improvised a good deal of what he played and what is written down is the outline of the compositions.