Composers Forum is a daily web log that allows invited contemporary composers to share their thoughts and ideas on any topic that interests them--from the ethereal, like how new music gets created, music history, theory, performance, other composers, alive or dead, to the mundane, like getting works played and recorded and the joys of teaching. If you're a professional composer and would like to participate, send us an e-mail.

Regular Contributors


Adrienne Albert
Beth Anderson
Larry Bell
Galen H. Brown
Cary Boyce
Roger Bourland
Corey Dargel
Lawrence Dillon
Daniel Gilliam
Peter Gordon
Rodney Lister
Ian Moss
Tom Myron
Frank J. Oteri
Carlos R. Rivera
David Salvage
Stefano Savi Scarponi
Alex Shapiro
Naomi Stephan
David Toub
Judith Lang Zaimont

Composer Blogs@ Sequenza21.com

Lawrence Dillon
Elodie Lauten
Anthony Cornicello
Everette Minchew
Tom Myron
Alan Theisen
Corey Dargel

Latest Posts

RE: Are Teachers Important?
Lawrence Dillon

Are Teachers Important?
Jerry Bowles

What's Important?
Cary Boyce

follow-up
David Toub

What is important? Future ears decide.
Beth Anderson

who's important?
David Toub

Re: Canon Versus Repertory
Lawrence Dillon

Canon versus Repertory
Jerry Bowles

influence
Lawrence Dillon

"To Meet This Urgent Need": follow-up
Larry Thomas Bell

Beepsnort Lisa Hirsch

Record companies, artists and publicists are invited to submit CDs to be considered for review. Send to: Jerry Bowles, Editor, Sequenza 21, 340 W. 57th Street, 12B, New York, NY 10019

Archives
01/02/2005 - 01/09/2005 01/09/2005 - 01/16/2005 01/16/2005 - 01/23/2005 01/23/2005 - 01/30/2005 01/30/2005 - 02/06/2005 02/06/2005 - 02/13/2005 02/13/2005 - 02/20/2005 02/20/2005 - 02/27/2005 02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005 03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005 03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005 03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005 03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005 04/03/2005 - 04/10/2005 04/10/2005 - 04/17/2005 04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005 04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 05/08/2005 05/08/2005 - 05/15/2005 05/15/2005 - 05/22/2005 05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005 05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005 06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005 06/12/2005 - 06/19/2005 06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005 06/26/2005 - 07/03/2005 07/03/2005 - 07/10/2005 07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005 07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005 07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005 07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005 08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005 08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005 08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005 08/28/2005 - 09/04/2005 09/04/2005 - 09/11/2005 09/11/2005 - 09/18/2005 09/18/2005 - 09/25/2005 09/25/2005 - 10/02/2005 10/02/2005 - 10/09/2005 10/09/2005 - 10/16/2005 10/16/2005 - 10/23/2005 10/23/2005 - 10/30/2005 10/30/2005 - 11/06/2005 11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005 11/13/2005 - 11/20/2005 11/20/2005 - 11/27/2005 11/27/2005 - 12/04/2005 12/04/2005 - 12/11/2005 12/11/2005 - 12/18/2005 12/18/2005 - 12/25/2005 12/25/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 01/08/2006 01/08/2006 - 01/15/2006 01/15/2006 - 01/22/2006 01/22/2006 - 01/29/2006 01/29/2006 - 02/05/2006 02/05/2006 - 02/12/2006 02/19/2006 - 02/26/2006 02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006 03/05/2006 - 03/12/2006 03/12/2006 - 03/19/2006 03/19/2006 - 03/26/2006 03/26/2006 - 04/02/2006 04/02/2006 - 04/09/2006 04/09/2006 - 04/16/2006 04/16/2006 - 04/23/2006 04/23/2006 - 04/30/2006 04/30/2006 - 05/07/2006 05/07/2006 - 05/14/2006 05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006 05/21/2006 - 05/28/2006 05/28/2006 - 06/04/2006 06/04/2006 - 06/11/2006 06/11/2006 - 06/18/2006 06/18/2006 - 06/25/2006 06/25/2006 - 07/02/2006 07/02/2006 - 07/09/2006 07/09/2006 - 07/16/2006 07/16/2006 - 07/23/2006 07/23/2006 - 07/30/2006 08/06/2006 - 08/13/2006 08/13/2006 - 08/20/2006 08/20/2006 - 08/27/2006 08/27/2006 - 09/03/2006 10/29/2006 - 11/05/2006 12/31/2006 - 01/07/2007 04/08/2007 - 04/15/2007

Powered by Blogger
Saturday, January 22, 2005
re: are teachers important?

I've been told by a Canadian colleague that teaching is the highest form of learning. I'm heavily involved in Web-based education, although not at all in the area of music/composition. That said, I probably learned considerably more from listening to a lot of different music and studying the scores on my own time than I ever did with my composition teacher at Juilliard's Pre-College division in the late 70's. Not that there was anything objectionable about my teacher; he was a very nice guy in fact. But I'm just not sure that one can successfully teach composition. How does one teach composition anyway, other than providing some additional dimensions on basic music theory and counterpoint? Eventually, I got comfortable doing my own thing, and just stopped showing up to lessons altogether. My teacher was probably just as happy, since at that time I had found my voice, and I'm sure I probably frustrated him at times.

To paraphrase the (probably apocryphal) anecdote about Gershwin and Stravinsky, why be an inferior version of one's teacher when one can be a first-rate version of oneself? There are just some things that can't really be taught, in my opinion. You can't teach someone past childhood to have common sense and compassion. I can teach a monkey how to do surgery, but I can't teach the monkey good clinical judgment, so the monkey will forever be a terrible surgeon. Similarly, one can teach the "mechanics" of composition to anyone, but one cannot teach how to be creative. Thus, I don't think anyone can really, in all honesty, teach someone how to compose.
posted by David Toub 8:54 PM


 


Search WWWSearch www.sequenza21.com