Couple of years ago, after one of my concerts, that consisted entirely of my music, I went to speak with an established composer, who was in the audience. We chatted for about five minutes, during which he told me that “we, composers, are alone”. I wasn’t hundred percent sure what he meant, but here is how I understand it now.
Since we, composers, create our own music, there is no one else who would know how it should go and no one who can give an advice. I sometimes tough times trying to figure out how to develop the material of a piece, but soon, the music itself starts telling me where it wants to go. Also during several stages of the writing process I send the r material to my friends – musicians, who comment and share their impression about the piece. But I never felt loneliness as such, or that there is no one in this world who could give me an advice.
Having a story, an event (no matter is it real or fiction) behind a piece is crucial for me. It breathes in the soul into the music. By playing traditional music in different groups, music of various tribes, music of the passed centuries – each time I noticed that it always had a story behind it and it TOLD a story. Now often we can hear a piece that is created relying only on mathematical calculations. In that case, maybe the creator of such a piece can experience a loneliness. But if you think about a story, try to put it into the sounds, tell that story to your friend (in words or in sounds) and see the reaction, then, you see how did it go: something was missing, something too much. Ask for the feedback and you might get new interesting insight. That person could tell what s/he missed in your story.
Story-telling unites people.