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Questions for Young Composers

 

What do you think is most necessary for your progress/evolution as a composer? How do you think about craft?

What do you consider to be "aesthetic development"?

When is praise meaningful and when is it not? When is criticism useful and when is it not?

Do you get frustrated with composition? How do you deal with it?

Do you think that some styles and genres are more conducive to advancing music than others?

How much weight do you place on the opinions/approval of others? When you compose something you know is good, does that make you less vulnerable/susceptible to the opinions of others?

If you had the time and energy to compose anything you wanted, without too much concern for money, success, honor, awards or personal/material issues, what would you compose?

Do you find that with diverse and broad musical influences (which is the norm these days) it's a challenge to integrate and evolve these influences into your own style? Do you think that the more complex the art and the more influences it contains, the more necessary for a clear and authentic style to fuse and integrate these diverse elements into form? How do you define style?

What is the relationship, for you, between free improvisation and composition?

What is the difference between having a craft and having a voice? 


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