Get to work.

You’ll never have enough technique. Get to work.

Go read David Moldawer’s post on his The Maven Game blog from a couple of weeks ago, “Putting Technique Before the Horse.” (See how many references the artists that he quotes make to Lichtenbergian Precepts! I counted at least TASK AVOIDANCE, ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS, SUCCESSIVE APPROXIMATION, plus shinyperfect in there somewhere.)

No, really, go read it.

The piece was particularly meaningful for me, leading off as it did with quote from composers. “You’ll never have enough technique.” Truer words were never spoken to/for/about me. I have no technique as a composer. My practical music theory is basic — very basic — and my formal music theory is nil.

Therefore my compositions are all work, sledge-hammering my way from measure to measure, from chord to chord. Mostly I come out okay, but only because I listen to the ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS relentlessly, GESTALTING my way through each pass, thinking “that chord is not right,” “that needs to be louder,” “maybe a trumpet?” the entire time — then going back and SUCCESSIVELY APPROXIMATING my way to the next pass. Technique don’t enter into it.

(If you’ve never seen the LYLES SCALE OF COMPOSITIONAL AGONY, go take a look.)

Want to see what a sledge hammer can do? Click here.

Is it worth it? That’s a question I have to answer pretty soon since I’m having to force my aged brain to learn one of two new music layout programs, neither of which has presented itself to me as intuitive. (What do you mean that if I want to ‘dot’ a note I have to go click on a separate tool????)

Of course it’s worth it. That dreadful realization of Charles Ives, that “the notes aren’t there any more,” hasn’t hit me yet. I want to sledge-hammer my way through a few more new pieces, even knowing that the chance of their being performed is a rounding error from zero.

I would encourage you to do the same. I will never have enough technique. Get to work.