Do you still write music?

by **BelfastsLittlesHobo** Thu Mar 18, 2010 3:51 pm

Shaz wrote:
philipchevron wrote:
Heather wrote:I end up sitting at my computer not having a clue what to write, or writing something completely boring.
.

Meh! Just write. The subconscious, which is at least one of your tools, works in strange ways. For this reason, nothing you write should ever be graded "boring". It's just part of a process, like a sculptor has to chip away at the outer edges of the block of stone or marble before she gets to the part which will be useful to the final shape of the piece. Best advice I ever got was "Just show up at the page".

I write something every day. It might be rubbish that gets scrapped later, but actually getting something down is part of the discipline. Mind you, I never throw anything away . . . I have a Word document marked 'dump' and I cut and paste rejected material in there. It might come in useful later.

What I probably enjoy most is the editing process where I can knock the first draft into shape.

I liked the quote from a novelist friend who once said briskly: "I can't afford to have writer's block."

I find this interesting. Most of my ideas our shaped as I write. Searching for a muse can at times be fruitless.

by **Shaz** Wed Feb 24, 2010 10:21 am

philipchevron wrote:
Heather wrote:I end up sitting at my computer not having a clue what to write, or writing something completely boring.
.

Meh! Just write. The subconscious, which is at least one of your tools, works in strange ways. For this reason, nothing you write should ever be graded "boring". It's just part of a process, like a sculptor has to chip away at the outer edges of the block of stone or marble before she gets to the part which will be useful to the final shape of the piece. Best advice I ever got was "Just show up at the page".

I write something every day. It might be rubbish that gets scrapped later, but actually getting something down is part of the discipline. Mind you, I never throw anything away . . . I have a Word document marked 'dump' and I cut and paste rejected material in there. It might come in useful later.

What I probably enjoy most is the editing process where I can knock the first draft into shape.

I liked the quote from a novelist friend who once said briskly: "I can't afford to have writer's block."

by **philipchevron** Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:50 pm

Heather wrote:I end up sitting at my computer not having a clue what to write, or writing something completely boring.
.

Meh! Just write. The subconscious, which is at least one of your tools, works in strange ways. For this reason, nothing you write should ever be graded "boring". It's just part of a process, like a sculptor has to chip away at the outer edges of the block of stone or marble before she gets to the part which will be useful to the final shape of the piece. Best advice I ever got was "Just show up at the page".

by **Shaz** Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:49 pm

I write for a living, and I never go anywhere without a writing journal and/or notebook! I went to the theatre a while ago with a friend, who's a playwright. Never mind small-talk -- she spent the time before the curtain rose and then most of the interval scribbling in her journal!

by **Heather** Tue Feb 23, 2010 7:12 pm

philipchevron wrote:I have always found long leisurely walks to be the best source of "inspiration", both lyrically and musically. I believe that under controlled conditions, scientists have been able to prove there is a link. Something cardiovascular, no doubt.

I find this very interesting as they mentioned on my playwrights course that going for a walk was a good way to get inspiration. However everytime I plan to go for a walk, the weather takes a turn for the worse and I end up sitting at my computer not having a clue what to write, or writing something completely boring.

Another suggestion was to take a small notebook round with you everywhere you go to jot ideas down as and when they come.

Looking forward to hearing more about the musical theatre work that you're going to be doing, please keep us posted.

by **KathleenwithaK** Tue Feb 23, 2010 4:02 pm

Yes Philip! Excellent description of how I work as well.

" You have to be prepared to just stop what you're doing and go to it, whenever the muse delivers."

I have to carry a small book around, scribbling when necessary. Must look a bit crazy at times...

by **philipchevron** Tue Feb 23, 2010 11:06 am

FAY wrote:Do you write at a piano, midi keyboard, on an acoustic guitar, etc? Furthermore, do you write music in a quite, rented studio, an abandoned warehouse, on the edge of your unmade bed, etc?

Please, paint us a picture...

All of the above. Minus the abandoned warehouse, possibly. You have to be prepared to just stop what you're doing and go to it, whenever the muse delivers. After many months of fruitless experimentation, I finally got the counterpoint line I needed for a piece of music while I was walking in Manhattan. I had to duck into the nearest doorway and scribble it down on the first piece of paper that came to hand. Afterwards I looked up at the building I had ducked into and noted with some satisfaction that I had just written part of the music at Carnegie Hall. However, I do believe strongly that you don't get the moment of inspiration unless you've also done the many months of fruitless experimentation. Otherwise, how would you know it was any good when it arrived? That said, I have always found long leisurely walks to be the best source of "inspiration", both lyrically and musically. I believe that under controlled conditions, scientists have been able to prove there is a link. Something cardiovascular, no doubt.

by **DzM** Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:05 am

FAY wrote:Please, paint us a picture...

Or, recognizing that painting may not be your thing ... maybe you could tell us all about it in the form of song? Nothing too assuming. Something with a basic A B A B C C A B C verse structure?

Yep. I'm a funny guy.

by **FAY** Tue Feb 23, 2010 3:42 am

Do you write at a piano, midi keyboard, on an acoustic guitar, etc? Furthermore, do you write music in a quite, rented studio, an abandoned warehouse, on the edge of your unmade bed, etc?

Please, paint us a picture...

by **philipchevron** Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:52 pm

fluke wrote:
philipchevron wrote:Making the music fit for public consumption or marketing is another matter. But it is true that the bulk of my music in recent years has been expressly written for the stage

It's a pity I never did hear any of that music.. Would love to get a better idea of it.

I am booked to do some more music-theatre work this Fall, which I'm really looking forward to.

by **fluke** Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:02 am

philipchevron wrote:Making the music fit for public consumption or marketing is another matter. But it is true that the bulk of my music in recent years has been expressly written for the stage

It's a pity I never did hear any of that music.. Would love to get a better idea of it.

by **FAY** Sun Feb 21, 2010 4:18 am

Thank you! That is the answer I was looking for.

by **philipchevron** Sat Feb 20, 2010 1:50 pm

FAY wrote:Hi Philip-

Long time, no (music) talk.

Do you still write music?

If so- how, what, where, and why?

All my life, for as long as I can remember, I have constantly been in the 'condition' of receiving, processing, translating and expelling music, ie writing. It's a 24/7 condition but acting upon the imperative to periodically formulate the results into 'songs' is something I have always tried to avoid until it becomes more difficult not to do so than to do so. Sometimes that is governed by 'deadlines', artificial or real, sometimes it is not.

So the short answer is yes. Making the music fit for public consumption or marketing is another matter. But it is true that the bulk of my music in recent years has been expressly written for the stage, the exception being the seven songs I wrote for the Radiators' Trouble Pilgrim album 4 or 5 years ago.

by **FAY** Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:24 am

Fair 'nuff. I take that back then, Low D. Still, would love to hear from the man himself....

by **Low D** Sat Feb 20, 2010 4:21 am

Just being a bit of a wanker, me. I'd remembered reading something about Philip doing the score for a play with puppets. Hold on, google will tell us....ok, it's from '04:

"I'm dong whatever comes up basically, at the moment that seems to be mainly theatre. I have just done the Quare Fellow with Cathy Burke, which has been the best fun I have had in years. I recently did a play called 'Songs In Her Suitcase' which is about the woman who was my mentor when I was very young, Agnes Bernelle. She is the one who got me started in this business. I worked for her as an apprentice doing everything really, from painting the scenery to being her musical director, all the jobs in the theatre. She died about four years ago and lived an extraordinary life. This play tells the story of her life through puppets; she sees the puppet show in action, which is supposedly telling her life story, so she decides to inhabit the puppets so she can tell the story more accurately. "

http://www.shanemacgowan.com/articles/chevroninterview.shtml

Do you still write music?

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