Wedding Music for Composers/New Music Performers

I have an idea about a new market segment that I bet most composers (and new music performers) have not thought to tap (or maybe you have, maybe I'm just late to the party): WEDDING MUSIC. I know, it sounds crazy, but hear me out. I actually think it might not be a terrible idea.

Here is the scene: You are a composer (and/or someone who performs new music a lot). You are getting married. You realize you need to think about music for the ceremony. Suddenly, you have a panic attack: "I'm a composer! Everyone is going to expect me to have SUPER AWESOME MUSIC AT THIS WEDDING!!!" Or at least that's what I did. You're probably all wondering why I didn't just write a ton of new music for my own wedding, since that would have (probably) been the most meaningful music to have- but wedding planning can be very stressful. Add to that the stress of writing the music for your own wedding- clearly whatever you write has to be absolutely perfect and meaningful, while still being "you"- and maybe you can understand why I didn't go down that path. I know people who do, and I admire them. But for those of us who decide we can't write our own music but still want something a little more true to us than Pachelbel's Canon (no matter how lovely a piece it is), what do we do?

What Makes Good Music?

When we initially started this blog, we aimed to discuss, among other things, what exactly constitutes "good music." This idea has always seemed highly elusive to me, perhaps because what I think of as "good music" is itself elusive.

Really fantastic music doesn't fit a recipe or mold, and although it often meets certain expectations and most likely feels inevitable, it also surprises its audience with freshness. The day after the concert, usually you can still hear "good music" in your head--not because it's repetitive or catchy necessarily, but because the sounds have left a tangible impression. This is my best effort at offering some sort of definitive classification. Perhaps its vagueness is appropriate, as the definition can be applicable to all kinds of music, not just "art music."

Stereotype Threat: As Applied to Music

Every time I read articles about the gender disparity in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math), I immediately apply everything I'm reading to music, particularly our little field of composition. This story from NPR about "stereotype threat" seemed very relevant to me and I couldn't help thinking it goes on in music all the time. The gist of it is that when women think about the stereotype of women not being as good as men in the STEM fields (or composition), they actually sound less competent when talking about their work because they're using brainpower worrying about the stereotype. But you should read (or listen to) the full article to get the whole (very interesting) explanation about the study. The conclusion of the scientists who conducted the study: "In order to boost the numbers of women who choose to go into those fields, you have to boost the number of women who are in those fields."

The Ethical Elephant

During my junior year of college, one of the full-time faculty members sat all four(!) music majors down and advised us about the future. Of course, we were all nervous about our prospects for continuing on, finding a job, making a living (unfortunately finding a job is not synonymous with making a living), etc. His advice certainly did not mitigate this fear. Instead, he warned, "Don't go to grad school unless you absolutely have to. It's just not worth it. It's a lot of money and it's almost impossible to get a professorship these days." I remember that at the time, in my youthful innocence and idealism, I felt slightly resentful of this comment. What did he mean there weren't jobs?! Surely if I worked really hard and wrote good music I would be able to get a job somewhere!

Looking back, I'm impressed that my professor was actually willing to talk about something that so many others in academia tend to avoid. I now realize exactly what motivated my professor to give this speech and I'm much more appreciative of his honesty and integrity. What motivated him was a deep sense of moral obligation--not to his field, but to his students. The academic job market is pretty brutal (especially in this economy) and in many ways his assessment of the situation is accurate. Occasionally you will hear someone refer to the academic job market as a Ponzi scheme. To be fair, this is an exaggeration and an oversimplification. Many graduate students do know what they are getting into (in terms of student loans, job prospects, etc.). Many are happy just to further their education in the hope that they will be able to make it work one way or another, and graduate schools should not be blamed for accepting these students. That said, the number of graduating doctoral students far outstrips the number of available academic teaching jobs. It is a shame to see so many individuals--individuals who may be unaware of all of the details--leaving school potentially with mountains of debt and few financial opportunities.

Keeping the Programming Fresh: NOI's "New Lights"

Last week, I attended the National Orchestral Institute's "New Lights" concert at the University of Maryland. The concert featured works by Bach, Cage, Pärt, and Moravec, as well as improvisational interludes—improvisations that were performed both by the performers and by the audience members. The concert was seamless with each piece fading into the next and ran for a manageable 45-minute stretch. It was, without a doubt, one of the most effective ways of freshening up programming that I've witnessed in a long time.

Orchestra Readings as Antithetical to Risk-Taking

Too often we tend to play it safe when we compose. Sometimes we do this accidentally--we may have discovered several techniques or strategies that we know will "work" and we rely on these while expanding our ideas somewhat conservatively. Alexandra Gardner recently wrote an excellent article for NewMusicBox in which she called on all of us to be willing to take greater risks and to accept greater challenges, with the idea that our compositional skills will grow in leaps and bounds if we do so.

I absolutely agree with the importance of risk-taking--it is, I think, one of the most necessary aspects of compositional education and growth. Sometimes I worry, however, that our institutions, ensembles, and pedagogical tactics operate in ways that are actually antithetical to risk-taking.

Summer Hiatus

We just wanted to write a quick note letting you all know that we are going on a bit of a blogging hiatus this summer. Both Sarah and I have had a lot going on in our respective lives recently and have been somewhat overwhelmed with deadlines, projects, life events, etc. We may post from time to time over the summer, but we want to apologize in advance for the infrequent nature of the posts. We will be back soon with some new posts! Enjoy your summer!

Best wishes,

Sarah & Natalie