At 12:21 PM -0500 6/20/07, Rob Deemer wrote:
The request for new topics plus the fact that there's a Mythbusters marathon
going on got me thinking about confirming or busting a notation myth. I've
heard many composers state that composing/arranging on paper with pencil is
not only preferable but artistically "better" than composing directly into a
computer notation application.
What are your thoughts? Discuss.
My reaction is that it's an older generation insisting that everyone
has to do it the way they did it, just because that's the way they
did it. Happens all the time, in many different fields of which
music is only one. Very similar, in fact, to the fact that
generations of conductors who got their training as rehearsal
accompanists, coaches, and assistant conductors in European opera
houses insisted that to be a conductor you needed first to be a
concert pianist.
Admittedly I do much more arranging than composing, but I generally
work directly into the computer and haven't really used pencil and
paper for about 14 years. I guess that make it clear where I stand
on the question. If "artistically better" means giving more freedom
to your imagination, the tools shouldn't make any difference.
(Except for not being able to see the entire score page at once, of
course, which IS a problem.)
John
--
John & Susie Howell
Virginia Tech Department of Music
Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S.A 24061-0240
Vox (540) 231-8411 Fax (540) 231-5034
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://www.music.vt.edu/faculty/howell/howell.html
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