I have listened to orchestras play Bach, Beethoven, Mozart and so forth.
For me I grew bored quickly. The music was played properly but I found it doldrum.
Then I heard music soundtracks.
John Williams, James Horner, Hans Zimmer and more.
I wonder if Bach, Mozart, and other composers altered the tempos and pitch of their original scores with each concert. Just to liven it up with the unexpected. Sped up here, slowed down there. To PULL the listener in one moment and PUSH them away the next.
Rick Beato has done numerous excellent interviews with musicians that the next generation might want to pay a close listen to. Below are YouTube links to his channel where you can hear him interviewing Hans Zimmer and Billy Joel:
I remember seeing a clip of a bunch of musicians playing what I’ll call Chaotic Jazz. They would just play up and down the scales or jump around and play a few notes along the scales. There didn’t seem to be any coherency and it irritated my ears. However, as I reflect, that’s a great way to find a bar or two of original music. Learn the smooth flow of notes but also play discord (a state of disharmony between notes) as Billy Joel mentions in his interview above. Don’t wreck your instrument but do go wild sometimes. Try unorthodox finger positions or breathing.
There’s also mood music. Are you or the character you’re representing angry, sad, bored, joyous? See what speed and note length each emotion brings out. Try talking. Higher octaves talking to lower octaves. Maybe the middle keys calm an argument between the two.
I did try this with the Steam Punk story: Books by Authors Who Never Existed
The idea was to create very short concept videos with music so that maybe one day they could be expanded into a full show:
Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works with the desired atmosphere of your lyrics, stories, or films. Sometimes playing what you don’t like leads you to play what you do.
Caedar Writing & Artwork 