Musical composition

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Scherzo in A flat by the Russian Romantic era composer Alexander Borodin (1833–
1887) Playⓘ

Jazz, rock and pop songwriters typically write out newly composed songs in a lead
sheet, which notates the melody, the chord progression and the tempo or style of
the song (e.g., "slow blues").

Jazz and rock genre musicians may memorize the melodies for a new song, which means
that they only need to provide a chord chart to guide improvising musicians. Playⓘ
Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music,[1] either
vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of
creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are
called composers. Composers of primarily songs are usually called songwriters; with
songs, the person who writes lyrics for a song is the lyricist. In many cultures,
including Western classical music, the act of composing typically includes the
creation of music notation, such as a sheet music "score", which is then performed
by the composer or by other musicians. In popular music and traditional music,
songwriting may involve the creation of a basic outline of the song, called the
lead sheet, which sets out the melody, lyrics and chord progression. In classical
music, orchestration (choosing the instruments of a large music ensemble such as an
orchestra which will play the different parts of music, such as the melody,
accompaniment, countermelody, bassline and so on) is typically done by the
composer, but in musical theatre and in pop music, songwriters may hire an arranger
to do the orchestration. In some cases, a pop or traditional songwriter may not use
written notation at all and instead compose the song in their mind and then play,
sing or record it from memory. In jazz and popular music, notable sound recordings
by influential performers are given the weight that written or printed scores play
in classical music.

Although a musical composition often uses musical notation and has a single author,
this is not always the case. A work of music can have multiple composers, which
often occurs in popular music when all members of a band collaborate to write a
song or in musical theatre, when one person writes the melodies, a second person
writes the lyrics and a third person orchestrates the songs.

A piece of music can also be composed with words, images or, since the 20th
century, with computer programs that explain or notate how the singer or musician
should create musical sounds. Examples range from 20th century avant-garde music
that uses graphic notation, to text compositions such as Karlheinz Stockhausen's
Aus den sieben Tagen, to computer programs that select sounds for musical pieces.
Music that makes heavy use of randomness and chance is called aleatoric music and
is associated with contemporary composers active in the 20th century, such as John
Cage, Morton Feldman and Witold Lutosławski. A more commonly known example of
chance-based, or indeterminate, music is the sound of wind chimes jingling in a
breeze. The study of composition has traditionally been dominated by examination of
methods and practice of Western classical music, but the definition of composition
is broad enough to include the creation of popular music and traditional music
songs and instrumental pieces, and to include spontaneously improvised works like
those of free jazz performers and African percussionists such as Ewe drummers.

In the 2000s, composition is considered to consist of the manipulation of each

aspect of music (harmony, melody, form, rhythm and timbre), according to Jean-
Benjamin de Laborde (1780, 2:12):

Composition consists in two things only. The first is the ordering and disposing of
several sounds...in such a manner that their succession pleases the ear. This is
what the Ancients called melody. The second is the rendering audible of two or more
simultaneous sounds in such a manner that their combination is pleasant. This is
what we call harmony and it alone merits the name of composition.[2]

Terminology
Since the invention of sound recording, a classical piece or popular song may exist
as a recording. If music is composed before being performed, music can be performed
from memory (the norm for instrumental soloists in concerto performances and
singers in opera shows and art song recitals), by reading written musical notation
(the norm in large ensembles, such as orchestras, concert bands and choirs), or
through a combination of both methods. For example, the principal cello player in
an orchestra may read most of the accompaniment parts in a symphony, where she is
playing tutti parts, but then memorize an exposed solo, in order to be able to
watch the conductor. Compositions comprise a huge variety of musical elements,
which vary widely from between genres and cultures. Popular music genres after
about 1960 make extensive use of electric and electronic instruments, such as
electric guitar and electric bass. Electric and electronic instruments are used in
contemporary classical music compositions and concerts, albeit to a lesser degree
than in popular music. Music from the Baroque music era (1600–1750), for example,
used only acoustic and mechanical instruments such as strings, brass, woodwinds,
timpani and keyboard instruments such as harpsichord and pipe organ. A 2000s-era
pop band may use an electric guitar played with electronic effects through a guitar
amplifier, a digital synthesizer keyboard and electronic drums.

Piece
Piece is a "general, non-technical term [that began to be] applied mainly to
instrumental compositions from the 17th century onwards....other than when they are
taken individually 'piece' and its equivalents are rarely used of movements in
sonatas or symphonies....composers have used all these terms [in their different
languages] frequently in compound forms [e.g. Klavierstück]....In vocal music...the
term is most frequently used for operatic ensembles..."[3]

As a musical form
Main article: Musical form
Composition techniques draw parallels from visual art's formal elements. Sometimes,
the entire form of a piece is through-composed, meaning that each part is
different, with no repetition of sections; other forms include strophic, rondo,
verse-chorus, and others. Some pieces are composed around a set scale, where the
compositional technique might be considered the usage of a particular scale. Others
are composed during performance (see improvisation), where a variety of techniques
are also sometimes used. Some are used from particular songs which are familiar.
[citation needed]

The scale for the notes used, including the mode and tonic note, is important in
tonal musical composition. Similarly, music of the Middle East employs compositions
that are rigidly based on a specific mode (maqam) often within improvisational
contexts, as does Indian classical music in both the Hindustani and the Carnatic
system.[4]

Methods
Computer methods
As technology has developed in the 20th and 21st century, new methods of music
composition have come about. EEG headsets have also been used to create music by
interpreting the brainwaves of musicians.[5] This method has been used for Project
Mindtunes,[6] which involved collaborating disabled musicians with DJ Fresh, and
also by artists Lisa Park and Masaki Batoh.

Structure
Main article: Musical form
Compositional instrumentation
Main articles: Instrumentation (music) and Arrangement (music)
The task of adapting a composition for different musical ensembles is called
arranging or orchestration, may be undertaken by the composer or separately by an
arranger based on the composer's core composition. Based on such factors,
composers, orchestrators, and arrangers must decide upon the instrumentation of the
original work. In the 2010s, the contemporary composer can virtually write for
almost any combination of instruments, ranging from a string section, wind and
brass sections used in a standard orchestras to electronic instruments such as
synthesizers. Some common group settings include music for full orchestra
(consisting of strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion), concert band (which
consists of larger sections and greater diversity of woodwind, brass, and
percussion instruments than are usually found in the orchestra), or a chamber group
(a small number of instruments, but at least two). The composer may also choose to
write for only one instrument, in which case this is called a solo. Solos may be
unaccompanied, as with works for solo piano or solo cello, or solos may be
accompanied by another instrument or by an ensemble.

Composers are not limited to writing only for instruments, they may also decide to
write for voice (including choral works, some symphonies, operas, and musicals).
Composers can also write for percussion instruments or electronic instruments.
Alternatively, as is the case with musique concrète, the composer can work with
many sounds often not associated with the creation of music, such as typewriters,
sirens, and so forth.[7] In Elizabeth Swados' Listening Out Loud, she explains how
a composer must know the full capabilities of each instrument and how they must
complement each other, not compete. She gives an example of how in an earlier
composition of hers, she had the tuba playing with the piccolo. This would clearly
drown the piccolo out. Each instrument chosen to be in a piece must have a reason
for being there that adds to what the composer is trying to convey within the work.
[8]

Arranging
Main article: Arrangement
Arranging is composition which employs prior material so as to comment upon it such
as in mash-ups and various contemporary classical works.[9]

Interpretation
Even when music is notated relatively precisely, as in Western classical music from
the 1750s onwards, there are many decisions that a performer or conductor has to
make, because notation does not specify all of the elements of musical performance.
The process of deciding how to perform music that has been previously composed and
notated is termed "interpretation". Different performers' or conductor's
interpretations of the same work of music can vary widely, in terms of the tempos
that are chosen and the playing or singing style or phrasing of the melodies.
Composers and songwriters who present their own music in a concert are interpreting
their songs, just as much as those who perform the music of others. The standard
body of choices and techniques present at a given time and a given place is
referred to as performance practice, whereas interpretation is generally used to
mean the individual choices of a performer.[citation needed]

Copyright and legal status

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Copyright is a government-granted monopoly which, for a limited time, gives a
composition's owner—such as a composer or a composer's employer, in the case of
work for hire—a set of exclusive rights to the composition, such as the exclusive
right to publish sheet music describing the composition and how it should be
performed. Copyright requires anyone else wanting to use the composition in the
same ways to obtain a license (permission) from the owner. In some jurisdictions,
the composer can assign copyright, in part, to another party. Often, composers who
are not doing business as publishing companies themselves will temporarily assign
their copyright interests to formal publishing companies, granting those companies
a license to control both the publication and the further licensing of the
composer's work. Contract law, not copyright law, governs these composer–publisher
contracts, which ordinarily involve an agreement on how profits from the
publisher's activities related to the work will be shared with the composer in the
form of royalties.

The scope of copyright in general is defined by various international treaties and

their implementations, which take the form of national statutes, and in common law
jurisdictions, case law. These agreements and corresponding body of law distinguish
between the rights applicable to sound recordings and the rights applicable to
compositions. For example, Beethoven's 9th Symphony is in the public domain, but in
most of the world, recordings of particular performances of that composition
usually are not. For copyright purposes, song lyrics and other performed words are
considered part of the composition, even though they may have different authors and
copyright owners than the non-lyrical elements. Many jurisdictions allow for
compulsory licensing of certain uses of compositions. For example, copyright law
may allow a record company to pay a modest fee to a copyright collective to which
the composer or publisher belongs, in exchange for the right to make and distribute
CDs containing a cover band's performance of the composer or publisher's
compositions. The license is "compulsory" because the copyright owner cannot refuse
or set terms for the license. Copyright collectives also typically manage the
licensing of public performances of compositions, whether by live musicians or by
transmitting sound recordings over radio or the Internet.

In the U.S.
Even though the first US copyright laws did not include musical compositions, they
were added as part of the Copyright Act of 1831. According to a circular issued by
the United States Copyright Office on Copyright Registration of Musical
Compositions and Sound Recordings, a musical composition is defined as "A musical
composition consists of music, including any accompanying words, and is normally
registered as a work of the performing arts. The author of a musical composition is
generally the composer, and the lyricists if any. A musical composition may be in
the form of a notated copy (for example sheet music) or in the form of a
phonorecord (for example cassette tape, LP, or CD). Sending a musical composition
in the form of a phonorecord does not necessarily mean that there is a claim to
copyright in the sound recording."[10]

In the UK
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 defines a musical work to mean "a work
consisting of music, exclusive of any words or action intended to be sung, spoken
or performed with the music."[11]

In India
In India The Copy Right Act, 1957 prevailed for original literary, dramatic,
musical and artistic work until the Copyright (Amendment) Act, 1984 was introduced.
Under the amended act, a new definition has been provided for musical work which
states "musical works means a work consisting of music and included any graphical
notation of such work but does not included any words or any action intended to be
sung, spoken or performed with the music."[12]

See also
Music portal
BCM Classification
Developing variation
Dickinson classification
MIDI composition
Music manuscript
Music publisher (popular music)
Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (RISM)
References
"Musical Composition". www.copyright.gov. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
Translation from Allen Forte, Tonal Harmony in Concept and Practice, third edition
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1979), p.1. ISBN 0-03-020756-8.
Tilmouth, Michael. 1980. "Piece". The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians,
first edition, 20 vols., edited by Stanley Sadie, Vol. 14: 735. London: Macmillan
Publishers; New York: Grove's Dictionaries. ISBN 1-56159-174-2.
Narayan, Shovana (1 January 2004). Indian Theatre And Dance Traditions. Harman
Publishing House. ISBN 9788186622612.
"Making Music With EEG Technology: Translate Brainwaves Into Sonic Soundscapes".
FAMEMAGAZINE. 19 May 2015. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015. Retrieved 5
June 2015.
DJ Fresh & Mindtunes: A track created only by the mind (Documentary), retrieved 5
June 2015
June 2020, Future Music03. "Everything you need to know about: Musique concrète".
MusicRadar. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
Swados, Elizabeth (1988). Listening Out Loud: Becoming a Composer (first ed.). New
York: Harper & Row. pp. 25–26. ISBN 0-06-015992-8. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
BaileyShea, Matt (2007), "Filleted Mignon: A New Recipe for Analysis and
Recomposition", Music Theory Online Volume 13, Number 4, December 2007.
"Copyright Registration of Musical Compositions and Sound Recordings. Circular
56A, number 56a.0509" (PDF). United States Copyright Office. Archived from the
original (PDF) on 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1988.
JATINDRA KUMAR DAS (1 May 2015). LAW OF COPYRIGHT. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. pp. 163–
64. ISBN 978-81-203-5090-8.
Sources
Laborde, Jean-Benjamin de. 1780. Essai sur la musique Ancienne et moderne, 4 vols.
Paris: Ph.D. Pierres & Eugène Onfroy.
Further reading
Sorce Keller, Marcello [it; de]. 1998. "Siamo tutti compositori. Alcune riflessioni
sulla distribuzione sociale del processo compositivo". Schweizer Jahrbuch für
Musikwissenschaft, Neue Folge 18:259–330.
Sorce Keller, Marcello. 2019 “Composition”, Janet Sturman (ed.) The SAGE
Encyclopedia of Music and Culture. Los Angeles: SAGE Reference, 2019, Vol. II, 618–
623.
External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Musical compositions.

How to Compose Music – artofcomposing.com
Composition Today – news, competitions, interviews and other resources for
composers.
Internet Concert Project: Album for the Young Student New Music – an online
performance and documentary feature from Bloomingdale School of Music (January
2010)
A Beginner's Guide to Composing – an online feature from Bloomingdale School of
Music (February 2008)
A Practical Guide to Musical Composition
ComposersNewPencil – Information, articles and music composition resources.
How to compose music
How to compose Music (Wikihow)
Répertoire International des Sources Musicales – online database to locations of
musical manuscripts from around the world
How to Compose for New Age Piano
Composing Music
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This page was last edited on 26 March 2024, at 12:18 (UTC).