Jonathan Bailey Holland and My Composition Process

Jonathan Bailey Holland and My Composition Process

I thoroughly enjoyed Jonathan Bailey Holland’s presentation on April 22nd. His presentation initially caught my ear when he spoke about his introduction to music through his father’s record collection. I know that I and many others were introduced to music through their parents’ unique musical interests. Not only was I introduced to music that way, but I also gained my ideas and processes on how to write and orchestrate music through those musical experiences growing up. 

Holland spoke next about sometimes, when composing, feeling burdened to write in some of the styles or conventions of the music he already knew or grew up on. In response to that, he spoke to the importance of writing music in response and relation to the things we know or feel passionate about. He posited that otherwise, audiences wouldn’t want to listen or relate to our music. I related to each of those sentiments on a deep level as a composer. It was refreshing to hear another,  more established composer speak on them. 

Next, Holland played videos and recordings of a few of his works. I especially enjoyed Synchrony and Equality for their use of dissonance and polytonality to embody difficult and gripping human emotions. As a film composer I try to utilize these techniques in my own music, but often don’t quite portray delicate emotions as well and as intricately as Holland did with these pieces. 

In Equality, he seemed to use rhythms and orchestrations to personify the grand and epic nature of what was being read by the narrator. The piece conveyed the importance of the concept of equality and the journey towards it in our world very well. I think it would be clear to listeners that the journey to equality is not an easy one, but it is a necessary, correct, and satisfying one. 

In Synchrony, Holland once again used dissonance to portray emotions of distress and sadness. He also used open chords to portray hope and strength when the concepts appeared in the accompanying audio clips. During my cue, I realized that what Holland has accomplished with his works is similar to what film composers do, which is to communicate specific emotions and messages to listeners and audience members. As composers, this is often our task when commissioned, but it can also be one of our goals when composing in general. Making our music mean something, no matter what the meaning, can be very fulfilling for not only us but the people who experience what we have composed.

All of this raises a few questions: Should we only write music about things we are deeply passionate about? Should we embrace and include topics we are not necessarily interested in in our music in order to keep creating or make a living? And finally, what should our thoughts be on using certain tonalities or techniques when composing in relation to harsh, complex, or delicate emotions? 

Holland’s talk was very enlightening for my composition process and my semester as a whole.