"The real issue is not when you get your voice...but how you get rid of it" - Philip Glass

[Niah2]

Hello everyone,

I'm paraphrasing Philip Glass here, but this caught my attention. I'm not sure if get what he is saying in the second part since, finding my own voice in music has been a life long concern and I can't see any benefit in trying to get rid of it.
Perhaps more experienced composers can elucidate on that.

Hope to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks



(I was unsure where to post this on the forum, but if any moderator feels there is more appropriate section to post this feel free to move the thread.)

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[Gene Pool]

It's nothing but conjecture on my part, but he may have started to feel ”typecast” at some point in his career, thinking that his minimalist approach may have run its course, and wanted a wider palette of expression.

Most composers maintain their brand for their whole career and expand on it throughout. Stravinsky, on the other hand, changed his approach every so often. It irritated him over the decades when some people kept wanting him to do another Firebird, but he regarded his musical life as an exploration and didn't want to repeat himself. Wagner didn't change his overall approach much (except harmonically), but he highly customized it to the musical drama at hand, so that each one was particularly unique and none is like another. No one's gonna confuse The Flying Dutchman with Tristan...

I think a composer has no choice but to do what (s)he feels compelled to do. My belief is that your subconscious knows your strengths and will lead you accordingly.

 

[Niah2]

Thank you for replying Gene.

I really think you are on the money here and if there was any doubts I found this video last night where Philip Glass elaborates a bit more on what he said on the video earlier.



It certainly makes sense for now, as an artist you will always strive for something new.

Thank you

 

[Michael Stibor]

Your "voice" can mean many things. It can be little motifs or transitions that you come back to often, or it can be a particular chord voicing that you use frequently that identifies the listener as being written by you. Just like our physical voices, some voices are more distinct than others. But you definitely have your own.

The problem with having an identifiable sound (or voice if you will) is that once you have it, it's hard to shake people's perception of who you are. Anything that you write that isn't immediately identifiable as being 'you' will be perceived as being insincere. Glass, for example, is known for his slightly avant garde minimalist approach. What if he suddenly came out with an acoustic quartet album? Very hard to break out of the mold.

Personally, the reason I got into the 'film score' genre is that it's expected that you'd be a chameleon. You can write an orchestral score for one project and a rock score the next. If I have a voice, I'm sure it still shines through. But I never put much thought into it. I'm proud of the fact that I can convincingly write in almost any style (hopefully anyway!) and not be pegged down as being just this type of musician or that type of composer.