Five Ways to Improve Your Music

Composer Samuel Andreyev presents Five Pitfalls in Musical Composition - and how you can avoid them.
[00:57] 1. Optimize Your Workflow
[03:47] 2. Don’t Neglect the ‘Principle of Movement’
[07:35] 3. Attend to the ‘Middle Ground’
[09:38] 4. Learn to Focus Your Ideas
[13:05] 5. Keep Your Ambitions in Check
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Post-production: Arkadiusz Buchala

[@samuel_andreyev]

What do you struggle with most in your music? Let me know below, I’m always looking for things to talk about in my next videos.

[@tylers9006]

Too many ideas, not understanding how ideas can fit together or develop, writing what I can write (not necessarily what I want to write), writing idiomatically for my instrument/ensemble (especially as someone inspired by new complexity, I find that finding opportunities can be tough and sometimes I just feel like I can’t adapt my interests as a composer to the needs of the performer), figuring out how to achieve the sound I have in my head, how form works (especially in contemporary/new music), how to give a motif/melody/texture meaning, how to create an expectation (to either fulfill or break the expectation), how to have notation be inservice of me (and my musical ideas) rather than my music being in service of notation. As a 18y composer whose been composing for roughly 2 years seriously now, those questions are in my head 24/7

[@splashmagnetism5923]

More than anything it's probably form that gives me the most trouble. Occasionally I can come up with musical ideas that I think are alright, but quite often I lose interest in these ideas altogether when I fail to find a place for them, or when I can't find a direction for them to move towards. I'd love to hear what you think about how you go about finding form when composing. So many unknowns when you're also looking for material. Sometimes it's really really hard to see where the piece might want to go (probably because there are so many possibilities) and it's difficult to pick a path to follow if none particularly jumps out. Thanks for the insights in this video!

[@fstover5208]

My main struggle is with reluctant musicians who don't want to bother with post neoclassical composers. They're more interested in world music, being socially aware and minimalism. A few of my numbers: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onK1o6yNmrNmqrs kzbin.info/www/bejne/eGWQdXqtgJeZbNE kzbin.info/www/bejne/e2jbqpVrh9SUm9k Thanks for responding.

[@manyirons]

Overcoming my fear of starting (or fear of not being able to finish).

[@Molkentin]

I keep writing Melodies that come across as corny and melodramatic, how could I make it more interesting but still sincere?

[@fstover5208]

Good advice for newbies. Me, I'm 70, have composed since my teens. My goal has always been to push myself into 'prolificity.' Sheer volume of work resolves many issues such as sense of movement, what to do next, etc. But you have to put in the time, OFTEN, like several times a week. To get there you need to be a disciplinarian, light a fire under yourself, and compose fearlessly. And during it all, review what you've done a thousand times continuing to forge ahead. Add a pinch of self-delusion for inspiration because it's a mistake to wait to be inspired. On excess ambition, don't try to be Berlioz on steroids. Formal education is fine but guarantees nothing. And what is your motivation? If it's to compose for a living, you MUST be very well connected. If you're not well connected you'll be composing in a bubble like me, and there are very few people living outside of academia and pop culture who can maintain that very long. Have mentors, living and dead muses. Keep your expectations to a minimum and get used to being ignored.

[@eensio]

The idea of composing has changed very much. I am also 70s and studied music but only amateur musician and composer. The virtual possibilities to publish composition in social media is behind this change. I agree with you that the psychologic background to the composing is important. The professional composer needs more and more social and technical skills outside composing itself.

[@DeflatingAtheism]

I don’t call myself a composer, I call myself a hobbyist with lofty ambitions for my music and modest expectations for myself. Most of the great composers honestly strike me as superhuman in the volume and scale of their output, there is no recognizable human dynamic in the prolificness of Bach or Mahler, but the humanity of their works in the particular is something I feel I’ve achieved in fleeting moments. I take inspiration from composers like Varese and Webern, whose entire oeuvre can be placed on a few CDs, and whose “biggest” pieces are often their smallest. It would be senseless for me to write symphonies and operas even if I had the wherewithal to do so, as it would amount to pouring my efforts down a well (I can imagine AI in a few years spitting out simulated orchestral recordings of every cobwebbed score at the Library of Congress, giving many neglected composers a new lease on life.) If one of my pieces strikes the heart of a solo performer, however, they’ll become its advocate from within a world of professional musicians I stand outside of.

[@Mike-rw2nh]

As an amateur who started piano at 3 years old (side note: my piano teacher played piano in silent movie theatres and was once bombed out by a Zeppelin in WW1), this advice is golden. Thank you.

[@danb2622]

@fstover5208. Exactly. Volume is critical. Alan Belkin put it once in one of his videos: "Quantity counts." I think he said this in reference to counterpoint exercises, but I think the same applies in any aspect of composing. Quantity of practice helps you become ever more familiar with your material and allows you to expand your abilities. I've been able to establish a routine now where I can get about two hours of composing in every day, seven days a week. In August I began working on a new piece for full orchestra. I was aiming for it to be just three or three and half minutes long. I completed it about a week ago - it's over 45 minutes long! I got some real momentum early on and had a section that was about eight minutes long that I was really happy with. So I just stuck with it. Yes, it meanders all over the place like hell. Frankly it sounds like a movie soundtrack. By early November I had about a dozen or so additional fleshed-out sketches that I was happy with and then faced the challenge of connecting them into a seamless sequence. That was not easy, and some transitions are not very good I'm afraid. This is where Samuel's points about the principle of movement come in. Maintaining a convincing trajectory in a piece is probably the most challenging aspect of composing for me. Where's it all going? How does it get there? What's the pay-off for the listener? Would a listener want to experience the emotional ride again? Those are the really big questions IMO. Regardless, now that I have 450 bars of original material, I can take any section, extract it and elaborate it into its own piece. That's the joy I find in composing - I can do whatever the hell I want!

[@ggo2000]

this might be the best comment i’ve ever read on youtube

[@brianballinger100]

My typical problem is using too many ideas instead of developing one or two ideas. My recent way of dealing with this problem has been to adopt a minimalist approach to one or two ideas (lots of repetition), so now my struggle becomes how to manipulate those repetitions in such a way that there is sufficient movement to the piece.

[@Jose-gq9bt]

This Channel is unique.

[@zan77460]

I don't compose music. But, I find Mr. Andreyev to be extremely insightful and sincere about creating music. I appreciate him for his sharing greatly.

[@johnzielinski9951]

Everybody works differently, but my style of writing consists of sketching out pieces in very general terms, then rewriting them, sometimes several times, with added layers of complexity. It never bothers me that an initial inspiration might be mundane, as it will get reworked many times. The process is akin to a sculptor throwing together big blobs of clay and gradually adding detail.

[@samuel_andreyev]

I find that kind of approach can work very well indeed.

[@pierredutilleux9550]

Elliott Carter was fond of sketching too. The Library of Congress has 7,500 pages of his sketches for just a single piece, the Piano Concerto. He did 4,000 pages of sketches for the Double Concerto and 1,500 pages for the Variations for Orchestra.

[@doricdream498]

That part about the middle ground and the drama of the music is EXACTLY what I struggle with! Thank you so much for that advice, I will definitely get to work on viewing things on the middle ground.

[@alexyuwen]

Bernstein, in the opening chapter of "The Joy of Music", places Beethoven's genius not in his handling of the elements of music but in "the inexplicable ability to know what the next note has to be." I think that's a long-winded way of expressing the principle of movement, which is what I was screaming in my head the whole chapter having just watched this video. I loved the Bach C major Prelude example too! So true.

[@Whatismusic123]

that's funny because beethoven tends to be really terrible at that in his later works. you should instead look at scriabin as someone who has "the inexplicable ability to know what the next note has to be."

[@ChipsAplentyBand]

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024 to you, Samuel! -Don C. (a 67 year old composer of music written in older tonal styles), Mishawaka, IN

[@javiermondii]

Great tips. I have been a composer myself for several years and recently became a music teacher. No doubts the mistakes you point out are the most common ones.

[@jonasvalfridsson]

Solid advice, it's obvious that you are a experienced composition teacher. It would be interesting to see your own workflow as example if you are willing to share. I have more or less worked full-time as a composer since my master degree in 2008, and my biggest challenge is that I tend to be too brief or quick when I develop my musical material. In a way that was the style I was thought (focus on the essential thing and cut out the pladder), but I usually force myself nowdays to let the music take more time nowadays.

[@AdamTorkelson]

This is excellent advice. In Copland's book "What to Listen For in Music" he briefly discussed what he called "The Long Line" which is exactly what you are talking about. A good bit of advice for this flow and inevitability is to write the piece out of order, such as if you know you are writing a climax in the piece, then write the climax first, the starting point second, and the glue last.

[@jacksonelmore6227]

I went on a mad spree composing last night til 3:00, I spent all day transcribing Bill Conti’s Going The Distance and then I chugged a Reign and redid all the counterpoint to include Beethoven 9 motifs and Dixie and I had a hell of a time I have been playing with the Rocky music and the Eroica theme to represent the meme of Donald Trump I feel like I’m writing the 3rd testament of the well-tempered klavier, but I’m creating a contrapuntal musical Bible based on Dixie I’m 1500 measures in I’ve done hundreds of variations on Dixie and Truth, but I’m transcending the clichè of it with sheer will I’m going to call it “Symphony of the Forgiveness of Northern Aggression” or “symphony of the second coming of Christ” or “symphony of the atonement with the father” or “symphony of the Logos” or “chivalrous symphony” I’m going to dedicate it to my player grandpa Pete Jackson for always being an old soul optimist

[@effyiew7318]

Switch to decaf.

[@FreakieFan]

Your thoughts on Principles of Movements seem very interesting, and you seem to list various examples. I'd love to see a more expanded video on that specific topic where you explain each principle in more detail with perhaps musical examples?

[@danb2622]

I second this!

[@vladrileynavilys]

+1

[@davidhowe6905]

I'm not a real musician; but have occasionally written pieces for pleasure (mostly mine!). Your advice about the principle of movement echoes that of a judge's (very kind and constructive) response to a piece I entered into a music competition in the '70s in my teens; which has stayed with me ever since.

[@samuelwnovak]

Related to your last point about excessive ambition, I once heard Thomas Goss describe this phenomenon of composers starting projects beyond their level of ability (and specifically all the struggles of self-doubt/perfectionism/procrastination/etc. that tend to result from biting off more than one can chew yet) as “Symphonitis.” I can’t quite remember because it was years ago now but his hypothetical example was a fledgling composer with only a few works under their belt trying to write their magnum opus Beethovinian symphony for a Mahler-sized orchestra before they could write a decent piece for a much more modest subset of that orchestra, hence the name. That funny little witticism has stuck with me and I think about it every time I start a new piece and whether it’s really within my grasp or if I need to temper my ambition.

[@avaonalee]

Very helpful, thank you so much!!!

[@slkchao]

Great thought process 👏

[@sergimegiascustodio5080]

Amazing video! Congrats :)

[@ierikopj]

Appreciate this video indeed Samuel Andreyev. Thank you, I needed this at this point of my composition development. Thanks again.

[@Dovith]

This is gold.

[@Brian-sh5ne]

This is really helpful! I'll be referring back to this video

[@MeditativeHandle]

Last year my movement became musical. I started to imagine composing music as I walked. I'd go out and do my meditative walks to everything from trap to classical. I found myself unable to locate any parallels in the realms of sports or physical training. Some schools of thought like Yoga speak out against dance then proceed to discuss things like rhythm, alignment, and engagement without ever putting them back together. I found what I was looking for through musicians.

[@phillipemery572]

Extremely helpful. I have struggled for years on many of these counts, and the advice here is very direct and useful.

[@maxjohn6012]

Thank you *so much* for this! I've been teaching myself for a couple of years and this kind of advice is so incredibly hard to come by, and extremely valuable. There are a million videos on pretty much every technical aspect one could think of, but hardly anything on the process of composition itself.

[@Historyisnotwas]

Samuel- excellent advice and insight. Can you expand more on setting up a proper place/environment to compose? Also, your handwritten images look exquisite! What physical equipment pen, pencil and staff paper ( brand) do you use? What software do you use? Can you reccomend some books on composition?

[@JacobMotlMedia]

I've spent a good amount of time this year exploring and discovering my own process of composing music - the "vehicle" that gets me from idea to execution both efficiently and effectively. What I've found in doing so is a careful, organized return to the fundamentals of music: how to create a structured melody, the importance of rhythm, and the function of harmony. This video touches on two key points that affirm the next steps I need to take, which are keeping a consistent working schedule over longer periods of time and considering the trajectory of my works (individual pieces and as a whole body).

[@nimagachpaz]

Thank you so much Mr.Andreyev for your videos and this channel. as someone who is still learning about composing and trying to find my own way, this helps me a lot. thank you 🙏

[@samuel_andreyev]

So happy to hear that. Keep going!

[@jenssieckmann]

Very intersting video, thanks for that. I'm a hobbyist composer, producting mostly orchestral music in the style of filmscores since the pandemic. Compared to my initial goals I came quite far without musical education and a firm understanding of music theory. I especially dwelled on the last point "Keep your ambitions in check" and thinking about small projects and lessons, focusing on just one thing (melody, harmony, rhythm and so on). I always wanted to do that but as soon as I started I thought: "this is so unproductive" and rather began a whole new piece.

[@DietervonBraun1973]

This is very good advice. I wished some of the textbooks on compostion I had acces to in my younger years would have had the self awareness to deal with these absolute essential topics. I tried to find it in different sources. First I tried the retorica angle (Quintilian) and the semiotics angle (Tagg). Later I discovered that this subject in modern literature studies is called : 'Text Linguistics'. But Maybe you can not just translate the logic of language and storytelling into musical storytelling. The middleground problem was also my conclusion. although most books on compostion seem to suggest that motific development is the essence of forward flow, I had to conclude that this is only foreground (embelishments on the surface), they do not really move a piece into a certain direction. And Form on the other hand is background. No book ever mentioned middleground. I think the art of harmonic progressions is essential to the middleground, although I am not sure how atonal music can reach the same sense of directional flow (Maybe by analogy with tonal flow ?). It might be possible to make a logical list of progressions based on their psycholical quality : simple, complex, slow, fast (harmonic tempo), goal oriented (direct or with detours), drifting away, return, static, affirmative, im frage stellend etc. The essence of composition is how phrases relate to each other.

[@chrismusic4613]

Great video. Very helpful. I would like to see more like this. How to take what you discuss here and put into practice. The trajectory and middle ground is where I struggle. I am happy with my initial ideas but struggle making them "go somewhere" Thanks.

[@samuel_andreyev]

I’m thinking I will do a series like this. Thanks for your feedback.

[@robertwisden7202]

When I hit that 'where now?' wall I usually buy a new library. 😑 'All the gear, no idea' as the English say. These rules will save me money. Thanks Samuel.

[@kendallburks]

You’re a wonderful teacher, thank you! Another way to look at that last issue, is not to check your ambition, but rather to check your realism with regard to the immense complexity of the task. Be ambitious by all means, but recognize that true ambition includes the humility to recognize your own weaknesses and the sheer amount of effort and quality time is required to improve them. Thinking the task is easier than it is isn’t ambitious, it’s naive. There’s an amazing Bill Evans interview on KZbin where he talks about this, and the importance of “truth” and “accuracy”. Changed my life when I saw that roughly 10 years ago. Just my perspective. Thanks again for the video!

[@samuel_andreyev]

Thanks for the Bill Evans note!

[@rubenmolino1480]

excelent ¡¡

[@nathanturczan]

I'm thinking of your points #3 and #4, Wasn't this the criticism of Tchaikovsky's piano concerto #1 when it was first premiered, that there were too many unconnected new ideas and not enough development of material?

[@jerichowood]

I like your idea of working within your means. I recently wrote a short solo for oboe (on my KZbin channel) and the challenge enabled me to sustain a melody for a minute!

[@danb2622]

That's a beautiful piece, Jericho!

[@jerichowood]

Thank you @@danb2622

[@fajomojo]

Samuel thank you for this. After bringing my first symphony to, at least in terms of minutes, 7/10ths completion, I decided to go back and watch this video, kinda to check the mental boxes. I think I have everything covered, creating strong segues between each section-- but the changes --and ideas a long with them are vast. I believe I move into five different keys, with the introductory motif recurring 4 times. The problem is that I absolutely love it, but it goes many places that all seem cohesive to me. But I suspect most willing listeners will be exhausted. I'm wondering if you have pointers or references on symphonic works (this one is going to end up being about25 minutes) that do this, change keys many time mostly not as just some modulation but as a shift in mood and rhythm. Thanks

[@djurozivkovic5848]

I have recently finished piece working 12-18 hours every day for a few weeks. The last two days I worked 38 hours without break. And it was productive, very intensive beautiful experience. So yes, it is possible, if you know how and what you are composing.

[@AdamTorkelson]

Samuel, I wanted to ask your opinion about the Bach WTC Prelude 1, from Book I you mentioned. Do you think the piece contains legitimate canons or are they coincidences? Let me bring them to your attention. Starting in bar 1, let's say the C in the left hand is voice 1, the E in the right hand is voice 2, the G is voice 3, etc. etc.... The canon would be between voice 4 (the C in the RH) which is the lead and the following voice is one bar later...it is voice 3 (the A in the RH). It is a mirror canon. The C goes to D in bar 2, then stays on D in bar 3, then back to C in bar 4, then to E in bar 5...the following voice is A in bar 2, then G in bar 3, then stays on G in bar 4, then back to A in bar 5, then F# in bar 6. That is a 6 bar mirror canon, exact. I will just tell you the bar numbers for the other canons and you can find them yourself...measure 8 through 15: lead voice is the G in the right hand in bar 8, the following voice is the D in the RH in bar 10. This is another mirror canon. The next canon is measure 16 through 21. The lead voice is the F in the LH in bar 16, the following voice is the G in bar 18 in the RH. It is another mirror canon. The next canon is measure 22 through 27. The lead voice is the Eb in bar 22 in the RH bar 22, the following voice is the B in bar 24 in the RH. Another mirror canon. The last canon is from measure 29 through 32. The lead is the C in the RH bar 29, the following voice is the F in the RH in bar 30. A regular canon. Please let me know your thoughts on this.

[@simongross3122]

Great video, thank you. I'm slightly disappointed that your shirt more resembles a spreadsheet than a grand staff. 🙂

[@samuel_andreyev]

It’s a Feldman-style graph piece

[@simongross3122]

@@samuel_andreyev 😀

[@WizardOfArc]

Strasbourg is beautiful town

[@Daniels_Rose-3.7]

I attribute my presence here to Dr. Jordan Peterson. I find your content exceptionally brilliant and notably underrated. Wishing you the best of luck; your videos have truly transformed the way I perceive music as a student. Thank you.

[@etc.-1912]

Been watching your videos trying to learn stuff. You probably get asked this a lot, but do you review compositions? I'm working on a piano concerto. It's short. Like 5 min. (Right now, at least) 😁😁😁 Just wanted your opinion on whether I should lighten my orchestration or if the MIDI is just making things muddy. If not, that's ok. Just thought I'd ask.

[@samuel_andreyev]

I do. Send me an email for rates.

[@Todzuum]

I struggle with controlling harmony to make coherent complete ideas. I know how to use harmony and all the rules but it feels like I just kinda do the let’s try this chord after the other chord, I wonder if their is a way of thinking that helps.

[@samuel_andreyev]

You have to think farther ahead. Chords link up to take us somewhere. Consider the end point: where do you want to end up?

[@Todzuum]

@@samuel_andreyev can you give an example of what you mean , do you mean an end by a specific cadence ?

[@vladrileynavilys]

Im guessing an end could be anything you decide is a sort of end, so cadence, note, final chord, specific timeframe

[@chrismusic4613]

​@@samuel_andreyev Do you mean the end point of the current section or the end point is the beginning of the next section? I struggle with this as well. Thank-you.

[@adude9882]

The only two things holding me back as an artist are lack of talent and lack of inspiration.

[@Todzuum]

Never depend on inspiration it almost never comes for anyone.

[@samuel_andreyev]

Very true

[@arcanonove]

I find both possible excuses, or self sabotaging strategies.

[@gonzoengineering4894]

There's a simple 3 step solution to both 1 practice 2 practice 3 practice

[@danb2622]

Cinematographer Brad Rushing has some solid advice (you can find this on YT someplace): "You don't have to believe in yourself, you just have to do the work." If you don't "feel inspired," work on composing anyway. Schoenberg writes somewhere in Style and Idea: "If I don't feel like composing, I compose counterpoint." This has helped me immeasurably. Write a short line for clarinet, for example, and then another line for bassoon or horn. Meld with it. One will ask: Am I talented? I assume I'm not very talented - so now that question is behind me and I can move forward. Do I want to compose? That's the important question. And yes, I do like nothing else! Talent or not, nothing's going to stop me from composing. Does it sound crappy? It surely might. Then come back and fix it. Sometimes just a little tweaking can rescue a passage and make it sound better. Sketch, then burnish.

[@jojoestoy]

Do you let your students compose in the tonal medium too?

[@samuel_andreyev]

I don’t ‘let’ my students do things, I am not their boss. We engage in a process of conversation and targeted exercises so that they can get as close as possible to their visions.

[@jojoestoy]

@@samuel_andreyev What if their vision involves tonal music? Would you permit them to compose in a tonal medium? Does modern music not include tonal music? Does modern music always have to be atonal and/or experimental? Everything has been done by the Viennese second school as well as the likes of Xenakis or Ligeti. Why can't the composers of today creating something "new" using the tonal medium? Are the composers of today just hiding under the guise of atonality to hide their incompetence in composing using the tonal medium?

[@jonj1163]

I would argue Bach, Prelude 1 has a very solid chord progression. A lot of people give it flack, but maybe gave a beer, chill out, and use your ears.

[@DeflatingAtheism]

I have heard someone describe it as exactly the sort of figures at exactly the tempo you would play them when you’re tuning a harpsichord. Or, “well tuning”, as the case may be.

[@manolitosanchez]

Properly clickbaity title for once, thank you! 😂

[@pianoredux7516]

Too many generalities unillustrated by concrete examples.

[@JorgeMoscardi]

Roald Dahl-ish mouth.

[@兄さん]

"It is customary now to learn chords ahead of counterpoint, which means, ahead of the sequences of notes by which chords are formed. Berlioz simply sets down the chords and fills in the interstices as best he can." - Chopin just learn schenkerian theory for fucks sake. these metacognition-heavy watered down half-assed approaches won't help anyone. there's a reason music became so uninspired after the high classical and romantic periods, and it has to do with the fact that no-one learns the stile antico any more, it's all just harmony, harmony, chords, harmony. you can't do without counterpoint and thoroughbass. it's not a coincidence that all the greats learnt through these means.

[@samuel_andreyev]

Fux and Bach formed the basis of my technique.

[@johnryskamp2943]

This guy is hopelessly out of touch with contemporary music. How silly.

[@jonathanwoodvincent]

not at all. if you're assuming that there is some particular route that one must follow in order to be in touch with contemporary music, then I'd say it is you who is working with an outdated paradigm

[@gonzoengineering4894]

Has contemporary music abandoned the concepts of reproducable workflow, attention to detail, coherent presentation, and realistic goals? What ideas in this video seem out of touch to you?

[@Doctee81]

These are some really valuable ideas to which I repeatedly find myself returning. Many thanks @samuel_andreyev for the concise reminder ❤

[@EdoFrenkel]

I'd be curious to know how score study fits in within one's compositional development, in your view @samuel_andreyev

[@samuel_andreyev]

Hi Edo! It was hugely important for the first 15 years or so. I find myself doing it less lately and concentrating more on listening. But both approaches have their merits, and they complement each other.

[@EdoFrenkel]

That's interesting! When you say 'listening' I assume you mean as opposed to analyzing a score? Is there a distinction, in your opinion, between analyzing a piece with and without a score? Just curious as score study remains hugely important to me, though perhaps making a living as a performer necessarily changes the context of that study a bit.. Anyway, just wondering if you wouldn't mind elaborating on that a bit.

[@samuel_andreyev]

@EdoFrenkel you can analyse a piece without a score. You can even analyse your own experience of listening to a piece - as is done in phenomenological analysis. The potential issue with score analysis, and even more so with sketch analysis, is that you can easily become fascinated by structures that have no basis in perception.

[@chrismusic4613]

Absolutely amazing Video thank you. The middle ground is what kills me along with having too many new ideas without finishing older ideas. Please post more videos like this. They are very helpful.