One way I like to compose is by thinking of a story and then re-imagining said story in sounds.
I often assign a concrete character to each instrument, telling the story through their role in the music, through their interactions – be it symbiosis or conflict.
Naturally, the key to a good piece is music that is pleasant to listen to, so I do allow myself to stray from the assigned roles when the music requires it, yet more often than not – it is far from necessary.
Now, I do not intend for the audience to understand my story; that would be impossible with instrumental music, and there are better mediums for that. On the contrary, what I wish for the audience is to hear their own story through my music, to find a truth lying within them, rather than submit to my own truth.
Nevertheless, it is my firm belief that if I had a comprehensive story in my mind while writing the music, any attentive listener will be able to draw his own story from the sounds.
On the contrary, if I did not have a comprehensive story, or if I did not convey it diligently enough – the listener will get confused and understand nothing.
As an example, I’d like to tell you about my latest completed piece: Op.09 – Two Tigers on One Mountain.
The idea comes from Rob Minkoff’s film “The Forbidden Kingdom” starring Jackie Chan and Jet Li.
*** SPOILER ALERT ***
In The Forbidden Kingdom, Jason – a teenage American obsessed with Kung Fu movies – finds himself in medieval China, having to fight an immortal demigod, having no Kung Fu.
Luckily, Lu Yan, portrayed by Jackie Chan, finds him and starts teaching him Kung Fu.
A few moments later, Jason meets The Monkey King, portrayed by Jet Li, who starts teaching him Kung Fu as well.
Lu Yan discovers this, confronts The Monkey King and yells: “He’s my student, not yours! Two tigers cannot live on the same mountain. Two masters cannot teach the same student!”.
Of course, later on, both teach Jason quite successfully, helping him defeat the evil demigod.
*** END SPOILER ALERT ***
So the piece is called “Two Tigers on One Mountain”.
The above quote appears on the header page, the next page dedicates the piece to two of my own masters: Rivka Golani and Ruth Schultz.
It is written for the viola and clarinet, where the instruments are both two tigers fighting over a single mountain and two masters fighting over the attention of a student. Each one has their own character: the viola is a dominant tiger, king of the mountain, fearless and bold; it is a firm teacher, principled and hard on the student; the clarinet is agile and sneaky, prowling in the dark and attacking from the bushes; it teaches the student elegance and delicacy, softly and freely.
When both meet, they interact violently, first fighting over the mountain – the student’s attention. Then they enter a dialogue, sometimes arguing, sometimes repeating each other’s points, rarely agreeing, being in unison. Eventually, they join each other in harmony.
Once all of the above is settled – the music writes itself.
I’ve been able to complete notating the piece in less than a month, since the story precisely dictates which notes I should write.