Composing Music in the Twenty-First Century

Author(s)

Michael D. MauldinFollow

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

If what we write is too predictable, we lose the audience. If it’s too unpredictable, we lose the audience. Part of a composer's prime directive (but his playful joy too) is to constantly search for a balance between "same and different."

Description

Brief discussion of balance between predictability and surprise in new music

Language

English

Publisher

M. Mauldin

Keywords

predictability, surprise, aesthetic balance, contemporary music, music composition

Document Type

Text

Comments

The close of the AMERICAN MUSIC TEACHER article mentioned in the main text:

As to the future of the process of composition, let me quote from an interview with Paul Hindemith in ETUDE (reprinted in THE BOOK OF MODERN COMPOSERS, edited by David Ewen and published by Alfred A. Knopf):

Social changes, politics, and war may affect the composer's life, as they did the lives of every master from Palestrina to the present day. But just as the spring continues to flow and the trees and flowers throughout the world continue to bloom, so more and more will music continue to be created, despite philosophies, ideologies, isms, airplanes, submarines, and a world of strife.

Recommended Citation

Mauldin, Michael D.. "Composing Music in the Twenty-First Century." (2017). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nm_composer_archive/655