(Original posted on April 9, 2002)
This is a book that can be called an anthem for aspiring composers. The author is active in fields such as musicals and opera and has been nominated for a Tony Award. Having been seasoned in such fields, the content is energetic and at times reveals a humor derived from a cynical perspective.
A key feature of the book is how it specifically discusses things that are important in the process of gaining experience in composition, especially in chapters like Chapter 5, “Finding Your Form,” all while weaving in poetic expressions.
For example, on how to approach musical form, the author states: “When you choose a form, you must be passionate about its central element—be it an instrument, a certain chord progression, an abstract sound, or a person or event to be commemorated or celebrated. Your form is defined by your desire to make the most impressive offering possible to this element. How can you speak most eloquently in musical terms for this element that you love? What is the most vivid sound painting you can extract from it? When you ask these questions, you are defining your form.”
Furthermore, in the opening chapter, she describes the nature of a composer with strong conviction and pride: “The passion to organize sound and the desire to own and shape it is a characteristic of all composers. And I believe most composers experience these urges very early in life. The unusual relationship to, and excitement about, sound is not a technique that is consciously decided upon and developed. It is given to the composer, and for him or her an event is a total opera of sound. The composer’s desire is not to act in it or tell about it, but to rule it, through instruments, harmonies, and rhythms, as its absolute monarch.”
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Now, for any given person, is the act of composition a “means” to “an end,” or is it an “end” in itself? And what about the balance between the two? These are questions that have likely crossed the mind of anyone who has been composing for a long time. For some, the communication with others during the process of creating music might be the goal itself. For others, the state of being lost in the act of creation might feel the most natural.
This book reveals that the author, herself a composer, has similarly struggled, made choices, and taken action. It is filled with the bittersweet experiences that come from choosing what you love as a profession. It is truly specific, and even candid.
I think this book is full of a kind of empathy that you can’t get from the autobiographies of deified composers of the past—one that feels life-sized and relatable. It will offer young people realistic stories, and experienced individuals will find resonance and new insights. The author’s stance of cherishing her encounters with sound itself may just remind us of that precious initial passion we once had.
Table of Contents for ‘Listening Out Loud: Becoming a Composer’
- Acknowledgments
- 1 The Beginning
- 2 Mentors and Teachers
- 3 Learning the Basics
- 4 Getting Professional
- 5 Finding Your Form
- 6 The Courage to Rewrite
- 7 Survival
- 8 Being a Woman Composer
- 9 Success and What Next
- Translator’s Afterword/Index
About the Author
Elizabeth Swados
The author is a currently active composer who mainly creates stage music for operas and musicals and has been nominated for the Tony Award several times. Also, as mentioned in this book, she teaches students at a university and practices unique educational methods, while also having published several children’s books lavishly illustrated with her own drawings. Her age is unknown, but in Japanese terms, she would be from the generation slightly after the Zenkyoto (student protest) generation of the late 1960s.(Quoted from this book)
