Understanding electronic music composing.

[Forgotten]

There’s a lot to be said for just picking out a melody by ear (for a start it gets you there a lot quicker), but I think there’s this misconception here that there are magic formulas that can be learned that will make you a talented composer once you have mastered them. It is ONE route to composing, but as history has shown us, there are many who don’t know the first thing about theory but are competent tunesmiths.

[jancivil]

I’ve seen this for enough years... I detect a desire for avoidance strategies, it’s easy to read and look at videos, but picking stuff off of records is painful and it’s all you and your perseverance. Let’s be real, the chance one hasn’t the gift is damned high.

I don’t have that outstanding a gift, I worked what I had because of desire. The world where one gets the notion, if I can just go right to a piano roll graphical interface/there must be tips and tricks for this on the internet results in a larger problem there is no prescription for... So, reality check? Guess not, it isn’t coddling enough...

[Hink]

I dont see the gift myself being about talent, for me the gift is about passion

[jancivil]

I would never think to assert one in exclusion of the other. One could well have the outstanding gift for melody, or like absolute pitch and waste it because it can be taken for granted and the energy wanes or doesn’t remain.

[jancivil]

The converse, call it a tin ear, I don’t know if that has a cure or not.
I don’t imagine the case that one has no hope is impossible, though.
I developed an ear for pitch at a fine level out of next-to-nothing, but that’s just individual. I don’t know about another person, and to care to to an appreciable extent is not everyday.

[jancivil]

As the stories have it, Salieri had the passion but knew he hadn’t the gift God granted Mozart...

kind of more a curse in that case

[Forgotten]

As the stories have it, Salieri had the passion but knew he hadn’t the gift God granted Mozart...

kind of more a curse in that case

Isn’t that more the Shaffer version than the historical version? I though little or nothing of Salieri’s work has survived, yet he was held in high esteem as a composer in his time.

[Hink]

I'm sorry Jan, my post was too short to get this from (my bad)...I dont disagree with what you are saying I just use the word gift much differently than others. Many things didn't come easy to me either and tbh I took bad advice as well too often as a youngster which meant backpedaling. I dont relate the word gift to ability, aptitude, skill and it rather turns me off to hear it used as it is because of what you said, it wasn't gifted to you you earned it, you worked for it and to make it sound like...well...you get my point, I wouldn't call you gifted because honestly I have more respect for you than that. You are talented and you have tremendous skills that were not some gift but a product of your passion, tat is the gift imho.

The gift for me is I have chose a passion that has brought me such joy over many decades, brought me through rough times, helped me celebrate my victories and shaped 60 years of life (or given it a very odd soundtrack )...the gift of music is the gift of a passion that allows me to express myself in a very personal manner.

Please forgive my interpretation as it is not the norm, but it has worked for me for decades.

[jancivil]

I see. No worries. Some things came to me more easily, I had slight advantages. One is the appropriate temperament to work at the thing. Raw talent might not out.

[jancivil]

As the stories have it, Salieri had the passion but knew he hadn’t the gift God granted Mozart...

kind of more a curse in that case

Isn’t that more the Shaffer version than the historical version? I though little or nothing of Salieri’s work has survived, yet he was held in high esteem as a composer in his time.

Yeah. Mozart and his dad felt Salieri killed work opportunities, which is part of a resentment of the prevalence of Italians in Austrian music at the time.

[jancivil]

I appreciate the generous words, Mr Hink. Personally I consider myself to have largely failed.

[Hink]

I hear yah, but then I try looking at it this way...without the internet how many people would you know who stayed this true to their passion despite not achieving all their goals? Jan, you and I both can say this, we're both in our 7th decade of musicianship and pursuit of our passion...that's success

[Ghost Snake]

How long do you think people with real interest should stick to the original question, for the sake of f**k
What was the question? Was there a music theory question? What’s your answer?
Do you have anything or does it suit you to just be a dick?

Well no need to get that personal.... It's just that I can't understand what this thread is about. That's it. I'm sure what you're writing is golden, no doubt, and I'm grateful that people like you share their knowledge for free.

But isn't Schenkerian analysis a bit OVERKILL for an Electronic Music (the OP talked about 'Melodic Techno', of course his ideas are very confused... ) thread ? I'm just sayin'....

[jancivil]

But isn't Schenkerian analysis a bit OVERKILL for an Electronic Music (the OP talked about 'Melodic Techno', of course his ideas are very confused... ) thread ? I'm just sayin'....

and

unsure what expectations one would have for pg 10 re this “question”

So, go on and continue to try and police the on-topicness or not of it all, I’m not worried about it. Just sayin’

[jancivil]

I never studied Schenkerian Analysis, It was a thing at Eastman when I was at CCM, but it was not at CCM.