The act of composing, initially, is a solitary and introspective endeavor that arises from a MOTIF. This motif can be triggered by heartbreak, falling in love, or the simple sound of a drop falling… that is INSPIRATION. However, the “muse” does not always appear, and that’s why the musician must possess resources that allow them to continue creating when inspiration doesn’t knock on the door. And for that reason, we must master the musical language.

Musicians can never relax. We must continue to draw on our musical influences and explore new trends and emerging talents. Music is a constant flow, like the entire universe, where composers must understand the language that other composers developed in the past in order to create other new ones.

The act of composing

The composer must make use of the existing musical background, but also, they have to explore other forms of innovation in order to create… Their own language.

Music language, is a language of its own that should reflect not only their musical knowledge, but also personality, a particular view of life, and a way of thinking and feeling.

A language that makes you recognizable by your audience and, better yet, that the audience can feel identified with/connected to.

The more musical knowledge* the composer possesses, the greater their resources (theoretical and stylistic) when it comes to combining and creating better, higher quality and more original pieces of music.

Here lies the greatness of composing: by illuminating our language, we create a unique vision, a sound, or a personal style that the audience can recognize and identify with.

To better understand the evolution of musical language, I will now show you four small musical examples using “Happy Birthday”, a popular and global song. You can observe how it would sound in the style of Mozart, Beethoven, the impressionist musicians an my own, In other words, from centuries past to the present.

*I refer to theory of music, depth of knowledge of the great composers of the past and a broader range of influences.