Composing motivation?

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pianoman26011993
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:39 am

Post by pianoman26011993 » Thu Aug 12, 2010 5:49 am

Does anyone else find this?
I love playing stuff on the piano and plan out whole compositions on it, but I find when I go to write it down on Sibelius, what I played on the piano never sounds the same, It will often sound square and boring or will sound like something completely different, sometimes I like what I hear, but its not what i wanted. I always start of with heaps of motivation but it disappears when I actually try to write it down.

This is sucking at the moment, because I need three compositions for my University interview in two months..!!


Sebasian
Posts: 1476
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 5:46 pm

Post by Sebasian » Thu Aug 12, 2010 10:08 am

pianoman26011993 wrote: . . what I played on the piano never sounds the same . . .
There are several possible reasons:

1. You're not notating correctly what you played.
There's no real cure for this except, maybe, recording your playing and comparing it very carefully with the computer-performed version. Or become more talented :D .

2. The life has gone out of the piece because it's being played too perfectly by the computer
There's a lot you can do in Sibelius to make the playback more lifelike. It can be tedious, but subtle changes in tempo (available as Create > Record Live Tempo in Sibelius 6) and articulation (using Live Playback settings in the Playback pane of the Properties Window) can make a tremendous difference. Or you could use sequencer software to make a 'performance' out of your Sibelius score — some people find this easier.

3. You aren't listening in the same way.
Have you tried recording your playing? Even a simple audio recording will enable you listen with fresh ears (when your brain is not involved with playing). You can even 'record' into Sibelius via Flexitime if you have a MIDI keyboard, though it can be a difficult process and many people find this easier with sequencer software.

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