To Compose Music by Hand, or Compose by Computer? That is the Question
Recently I have been writing a lot more music by hand and I have noticed something drastic. The music is better. Now, this is my opinion, others may not think so, but none the less, my opinion is what really matters to me at this point. So I am going to try and explain why I think it is better.
The Process of Composing Music
I have written a little bit about the process of composing music, but I feel now is a good time to expand a little more. What goes on when you sit down to compose? Well for me, it can begin in several different ways.
- Forcing myself to compose, when I am tired and don’t feel like it. This way of course is the least ideal, but can lead to some breakthroughs with your composing. The reason is, you end up just composing quite a bit more than you would otherwise. You can also push aside notions of grandeur and tackle “problems” you are wrestling with. Not metaphysical, psycho problems, although maybe… more like, theoretical problems, like how to modulate here or there.
- Inspiration. This is always the best, as you get an idea, or hear something in your head that you just have to write down. Inspiration seems to come from the strangest places.
- Wanting to compose something, but not having any inspiration. This is probably what happens most of the time. You know you want to compose something, but you don’t really know what. You just sit down at the piano, or grab your instrument and just noodle. This is what I am going to examine further.
Staring at a Blank Page of Music Staff Paper
This is a situation I think most of us have been in. I would go so far as to say, probably even Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner…. Bartok… (I am out of B’s). Well, you get the point. Everyone has this moment. What is the best thing that you can do.
Just Start Writing
Sounds easy. Well, actually, it is. See you have to start putting something, anything down on the page. Once you get over the hurdle of just noodling and actually start writing, you are half way there.
So Which One? Hand or Computer?
Okay, here we go. The winner is… it depends (Disappointment throughout the crowd). If you want to be more creative, hands down, it’s… hands. If you are going for speed, and you are composing for a commission or arranging for a large ensemble that you cannot play every instrument for at the same time, then probably computer. But, and here is the big but, in most cases you should start off composing by hand.
Why Composing By Hand is Better
I am probably not going to have everyone agree with me on this, but composing by hand improves creativity. In an article titled, How Handwriting Trains the Brain, on the Wall Street Journal Website, several observations have been made about the benefits of writing by hand versus computer. I believe these can be just as easily translated to composing. Its like any other language that you write.
- A study was conducted asking adults to differentiate between new characters (things like music, mandarin, and chemistry) and their mirror images. One group had written them out by hand previously and another had typed them on a computer. The group that wrote out by hand, they had a better memory of the symbols correct orientation, meaning they had more memory engagement.
- Another study showed that sequential finger movements, that kind that are used in writing by hand, versus typing, which produces the entire letter with one stroke, “activated massive regions involved in thinking, language and working memory—the system for temporarily storing and managing information.”
- A third study showed that children “wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard.”
One more thing to add. If you are learning to compose, the absolute best way to do “composing exercises” is by hand. As stated earlier, you will have better memory of what you have done, and in turn, the concepts of composing will become firmly cemented.
All of this adds up to more brain power gets recruited when you write by hand. And more brain power equals more creativity.
I want to know what you think. What process do you have for composing?
After composing with Finale for several years, I decided to give handwriting a shot. I found very quickly that my ear wasn’t as good as I had thought, which is strange because I feel comfortable composing quality pieces on my computer.
It’s actually very difficult to compose without the aid of the computer playing back for you, but it is a beneficial exercise.
I love writing syncopated jazz charts and have gone back to writing by hand ! I find it faster than Sibelius where I was forced to use midi step input. Sibelius also offers midi real time however unless you have perfect time whilst playing you spend all your time correcting note values ! Thanks for your input on the hand / creativity connection !
Don’t overlook typing in the notation in sibelius with the qwerty keyboard. That is actually how it was originally designed and can be very fast. But I like writing by hand as well.
I love the content of your website. I have composed music and conducted a small group of performers for a short film.
Thanks.
My name is Anton, I am a high school senior who is recording his first piano album. I just started playing piano last year and I’m already writing music, how do i copyright my music?
Anton, you already own the copyright. Enforcing is the problem. I am not an expert so I would recommend starting with these resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright
https://www.copyright.gov/
I have been singing for 47 years now. I have also been writing songs for quite some time, but I’m new to composing as odd as that seems. Recently I found out that I am missing my corpus callosum a very important 10cm piece of brain. I have always had problems with memorizing anyting and I’ve had many problems learning many things in my life and now with that new finding via MRI, I know why. Do you have any suggestions for people with brain anomalies to successfully retain information on composition? My dream in life and my goal for myself is to produce a spiritual songbook of 500 songs. I’m not very far into that goal as yet and theory in college is a real struggle for me. I am a music Major in college now at the age of 50 after sun traumatic life events.
Elizabeth, that is an interesting question. I am not sure exactly what will help, other than thinking of your compositions as small building blocks that can be easily referenced and combined. I would also think, working in notation software or a DAW would be helpful, as you can hear back your music as you go.
Absolutely! As a film composer, I find it very useful to sit at my piano and write on paper. Helps to get more personal with the characters i’m writing about on an emotional level. I actually just ended up publishing a manuscript pad to help aid myself and other composers who write on paper. It has space for written cue notes for MOTIF sketching.
Interesting idea. I struggled with this when I was younger and software wasn’t what it is now. The great advantage I found with the computer is that I’m not limited by my poor hand/eye coordination. The biggest weakness with the computer was my inability to visualize the form beyond the little window of the computer screen. Now I keep the big ideas on a notepad. I use really easy software to jot down ideas.
Hello Jon, this is a very interesting website and thank you for putting it together. I am on the board of a nonprofit called JazzMN, Inc. We support a 17 piece big band orchestra and this fall we’ll be starting our 19th season. One of our concerts this season is called “The commission project”. The orchestra will be playing works by leading jazz composers that have been written just for the JazzMN Orchestra. The photo above caught my interest and I would like to use it in promoting this show. Please let me know if I can purchase the photo and also tell me who took the picture so I can give appropriate credit.
Thank you,
Terry Jaffoni
I am pretty sure this is just a stock image that I bought from 123rf.com, so I don’t have the rights to grant use on other sites.
Really interesting article .. I’m just starting out in composing , trying to score my ideas to paper initially ( I agree it’s definitely quick to sketch out on paper!) but what software /set up would you recommend to use on the computer? What do you use? I’ve played around alittle with sibelus in the past . Thanks
Ultimately, you don’t want the software to get in your way. So whatever software you use, make sure you read the manual.
Personally, I like to use a mix of writing by hand, and using tools like Sibelius and Digital Performer. But any notation software, and DAW will work.
Once the learning curve of writing with a pen/stylus on a tablet, i.e., Staffpad on a Surface Pro or Notion on an iPad is satisfied, would composing in this way have the same benefits as physical pen and paper?
I think staffpad would give most of the benefits of composing by hand, but I think it’s also about the flexibility of paper vs a computer. You have a lot more options on how you write stuff with paper.
I’ve been debating this in my own mind for years now…I have tried both ways and find that having a strong program like Finale makes it so much easier to see the big picture, change things and orchestrate. I mean, it’s tough to know if something will sound better in the flutes or clarinets or violins (etc…) using pen and paper as opposed to in Finale which gives instant feedback. But then the other side of me says the greatest pieces ever written (Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, etc…) were done using pen and paper. Not quite sure what to think but certainly having the feedback of Finale for a fairly close simulation of what it will sound like is really helpful, even right from the start of a composition.
I personally enjoy sketching on paper, and then fully realizing on the computer.
You’re absolutely right! Writing by hand improves your musicianship as it forces the composer to think about the rhythm, make mistakes in the process, correct these mistakes and improve. May I also point out that you must get your ‘butt’ kicked by getting tired, so you can improve? I would say so…
You’re correct with composing by hand on paper being better. It actually is faster than composing by computer. This seems to happen since on paper one can use ones own type of shorthand notation which can’t so easily be done using a program. For instance there’s the “repeat sign” or using a slash to designate some type of arpeggio. If I’m sketching out the harmonic layout of a piece it’s easier as sometimes there are various branching options. There have been times where I actually cut and taped parts of the music to be inserted!
Now, once a piece is sketched out on paper it’s very easy to input it into a music composition editor.
Thanks for a great website.
You know, its funny you commented on this one, because I wrote it a while ago, but I have been thinking more about it recently. The more I compose, the more my process evolves. I have found, that I can definitely get my ideas down quicker by hand in the initial stages, but having the ability to then transfer that to computer, get instant feedback, and being able to make changes with the overall piece has really helps to enhance my creativity. Especially when it comes to changing the mood of already written music, by changing things like the accompaniment, or orchestration, but keeping the original form, melody and harmony.
Thanks.