John Zorn essay

John Zorn was a breath of fresh air last Monday night. I particularly enjoyed his various maxims and quotes. John spoke about how a division between composer and performer has recently become more prevalent and why this turns from centuries of the composer/performer tradition. His thoughts on this was a wake-up call to me as I spend nearly all of my time programming notes into the computer and then editing them with a mouse. It makes me think a lot about how the computer has affected music-making in the 21st-century. It is true that composers and music producers are able to create excellent sounding pieces rapidly, but it comes with its downsides. Zorn did not speak in particular about the negative effects of using a computer or DAW to make music, but it got me thinking about my own music making process (if anyone has any further pros and cons, I would love to hear your thoughts). Generally when writing inside the computer one has almost infinite control over a sound (which can be a positive or negative depending on who you talk to), however, this control reduces the importance of craft. It could be argued that it is no longer necessary to know proper orchestration deeply as one can simply raise and lower virtual instruments to create artificial balance. Even more, when one is able to control every little nuance it can eliminate the magic of music making and improvisation with other people. I mostly write these things in order to rebuke myself and get back to playing and performing with others.

Furthermore, another thing I enjoyed that John said was an anecdote he told between him and one of his composer friends. His friend said he wasn’t able to write without a commission. I am undecided whether this is a bad or good thing. It would be nice to be divinely inspired 100% of the time and write whatever came to you, however for me, I need to have some external inspiration to get my wheels spinning. It is true that if you only are composing for commissions or because someone needs music and you only compose in order to fulfill that need are you really a composer? It is two schools of thought; on one hand is the composer that treats his art as a craft, similar to how a carpenter approaches building chairs. A carpenter may be able to carve beautiful art with a chainsaw, but if no one buys it, it is unlikely that carpenter will be able to rely on that for very long. Conversely, if someone needs a table and chairs (though it might not be the most artistically satisfying creation), the carpenter is able to provide. I know I am biased because I approach this thought as a film composer. Part of me loves music artistically, but another part of me understands the utility of music and I’m averagely talented in writing useful music. I would like to work on passion projects, but after writing so much music for others, I lack the motivation to write for myself. I think Zorn is living the dream: writing the music he wants to write, with the players he wants, in the space he wants, with the audience he wants. There is a lot more I would like to write as Zorn was full of wisdom and got me thinking, but I would like to get everyone else’s thoughts.

What do you think about the importance of being a performer just as much as you are a composer?

How do you balance writing for others and writing for yourself?