Questions about how others on here compose their music

[Babaluma]

I had a few questions I wanted to ask the other players on here re their composing that I thought I may get interesting responses to.

Do you come up with tunes as intellectual ideas, for example based on a particular scale or are they emotion based, like a musical portrait of a friend?

Can music created as an exercise still have emotional appeal?

Do you feel it matters if you share your music or not? Do you get satisfaction just from doing it.

How do you progress with your writing to seek new inspiration?

Do you look to transcend or preserve a tradition? (not a dig at traditional forms, I was not sure how to phase this but I am sure you get what I mean!)

Are you more focused on composing or advancing as an improviser?

Please note I may not immediately reply to answers due to hectic work but I will read and appreciate all replies

[James W]

Do you come up with tunes as intellectual ideas, for example based on a particular scale or are they emotion based, like a musical portrait of a friend?

Bit of a false dichotomy, in my experience. I come up with things that sound good, and experiment with them - which may or may not involve analysing them with what I know to develop it, as well as simply improvising to discover something I might not have done had I just relied on the analysis. So for me these are the two approaches, both valid: 1) systematic application of for want of a better word 'theory' and 2) improvisation - letting my hands wander and indeed wonder in a kind of 'what if I went here' way.

Can music created as an exercise still have emotional appeal?

Sure. The emotional appeal resides in the listeners' mind.

Do you feel it matters if you share your music or not? Do you get satisfaction just from doing it.

If I think it's good enough, I'll share it.

How do you progress with your writing to seek new inspiration?

Learn and study more music.

Do you look to transcend or preserve a tradition? (not a dig at traditional forms, I was not sure how to phase this but I am sure you get what I mean!)

My gut reaction would be that preserving a tradition is kind of inimical to what I want to do or indeed do (however incredibly modest). However, everything comes from somewhere, so I guess I want to preserve the tendencies of music of the past that I admire, in a way that - rather than facilely copying them - acknowledges that they themselves were trying to do something different at the time.

Are you more focused on composing or advancing as an improviser?

I studied composition at uni, but I am very much more focused on improv these days.

[Jim Soloway]

I generally start with a single chordal idea that intrigues me and build out from there in whatever direction that the spirit takes me. The music generally dictates the emotional direction rather than the other way around.

I believe that all music can have an emotional impact regardless of the source of the inspiration.

I like to share my music if it's reached a point where I believe in it.

Most of what I write (but not all) tends to fall into somewhat recognizable musical traditions. I find that there is a different sense of satisfaction when I wrote something that "feels like a standard".

These days I am much more focused on composing than improvising but the compositions then allow me the freedom to improvise within that framework.

[pauln]

Do you come up with tunes as intellectual ideas, for example based on a particular scale or are they emotion based, like a musical portrait of a friend?

Ideas are emotion.

Can music created as an exercise still have emotional appeal?

Yes, sometimes no.

Do you feel it matters if you share your music or not? Do you get satisfaction just from doing it.

Nothing beats performance.

How do you progress with your writing to seek new inspiration?

Inspiration seeks me.

Do you look to transcend or preserve a tradition? (not a dig at traditional forms, I was not sure how to phase this but I am sure you get what I mean!)

Transcendance is traditional.

Are you more focused on composing or advancing as an improviser?

Improvisation is composing.

[Gilpy]

I have written and recorded over 100 songs and had a few covered by other artists. Never a great success, but I have received some royalty checks and had some national airplay. (quite a while ago!) I should add that I've written relatively few jazz tunes. Mostly rock, country and R&B/funk.

I view writing as a necessary part of my overall job of being a musician. I write when I need songs, though sometimes they happen by accident. Whenever I get a musical idea I record it. I have many, most never get used. But I think it's important to just fool around and see what happens and keep the good ideas.

Writing good music is hard. You must be critical of your own work, reject cliche's, be prepared to discard something cool if it isn't working for that particular song. Having a deep reservoir of musical knowledge is a must, and the only way to get that is by listening to a lot of music in every style.

When it comes to lyrics, it's OK to use personal experience but ask yourself: "is this going to be interesting to anybody besides me?" Never try to cram the literal facts of your story into a song. Play with the facts to make a better song. Don't try to be clever. It wears thin after one listen.

So, to sum up, inspiration is a must but is only the start of a song. It takes skill, knowledge and practice. And most music is meant to be shared. Why bother to go through the formal process of writing a song if you're not going to share it?

[PatrickJazzGuitar]

I had a few questions I wanted to ask the other players on here re their composing that I thought I may get interesting responses to.

Do you come up with tunes as intellectual ideas, for example based on a particular scale or are they emotion based, like a musical portrait of a friend?

Can music created as an exercise still have emotional appeal?

Do you feel it matters if you share your music or not? Do you get satisfaction just from doing it.

How do you progress with your writing to seek new inspiration?

Do you look to transcend or preserve a tradition? (not a dig at traditional forms, I was not sure how to phase this but I am sure you get what I mean!)

Are you more focused on composing or advancing as an improviser?

Please note I may not immediately reply to answers due to hectic work but I will read and appreciate all replies

I write what I like, which are basically brazilian jazz and vintage jazz styles.

I compose only when inspired and I don't get inspired that often. On one occasion, a melody came to me in my sleep, and I woke up and remembered it, went to my guitar to nail it down. Usually, the melody and chords just erupt in me, organically. I don't really craft. I write lyrics either simultaneously ore later. But rarely do lyrics first. I mostly write using a piano, but sometimes a guitar. I'm a songwriter, mostly, and my styles are traditionally.

[ragman1]

I don't compose as much as I used to. Generally it starts with an idea, like writing a tune using, say, only the Locrian mode (because it's the hardest).

Then I wrote a chord progression using Bm7b5 as the tonic and started to solo on it. Afterwards, the first effort I heard that seemed decent became the melody, repeated at the end. Slick trick but I'm not good at original melodies.

Another idea was using the 9 of minor chords as the main sound. That was quite popular here. Written in 2017!

It would be nice to wake up like Paul McCartney did and hear Yesterday in my head! Hasn't happened yet :-)

[Babaluma]

Interesting replies, thanks all!

[emanresu]

1.Do you come up with tunes as intellectual ideas, for example based on a particular scale or are they emotion based, like a musical portrait of a friend?

2.Can music created as an exercise still have emotional appeal?

3.Do you feel it matters if you share your music or not? Do you get satisfaction just from doing it.

4.How do you progress with your writing to seek new inspiration?

5.Do you look to transcend or preserve a tradition? (not a dig at traditional forms, I was not sure how to phase this but I am sure you get what I mean!)

6.Are you more focused on composing or advancing as an improviser?

1.never. never ever intellectual
2.yes
3.I share and present sometimes. The moment of sharing is exciting but since no one gives me money instead "nice!", sharing has no practical value.
4.forget about the thing completely, be fresh and good spirited. well rested. not in a hangover. get back to it when feeling good. <--- none of that forced and premeditated - that would be crap.
5.just see what happens.
6.improviser

[rpjazzguitar]

I almost always start with a melodic phrase I like. Then, I try to empty my mind and imagine that the song is telling me where it wants to go. I write it in Musescore as I go along

After I'm done, I find the harmony, which was probably in the back of my mind.

At that point, I take the chart to a rehearsal or jam and adjust it as needed, usually tweaks of melody, harmony or hits.