Dealing with the Ups and Downs of Being a Composer
 |
Several weeks ago, I received two rejection letters on the same day for composing opportunities for which I had applied. While rejection is a normal part of any composer’s existence, and is normally something I’m able to shrug off, the piling on of bad news in the same day got to me a bit. I began to wonder how other composers dealt with this constant ebb and flow of a little good news and a whole bunch of bad news. An informal survey revealed some interesting results.
Several composers talked about having low expectations when entering contests or performance opportunities. With this approach, they were pleasantly surprised when receiving the news that they had won or had their work selected for a performance. One composer had a heart-wrenching story of being homeless for ten weeks. Given that perspective, he finds having a piece rejected as the least of his worries.
Others discussed the idea of balance in their lives; where being a composer is but one part of their entire existence as a teacher, parent, husband, performer and an active member of their community. The benefits of a balanced approach include multiple sources of good news. Then, the composer just needs to focus on the good news and not the bad. For example, today I was rejected from a competition but so what, I had a great afternoon playing with son.
| Don't look to composing to provide the satisfaction in your life. Make sure you have other things which give you satisfaction. -- Joan Tower |
The successful composer Joan Tower echoes these sentiments when she provides the following advice to young composers. “Don't look to composing to provide the sense of satisfaction in your life. It will always be frustrating. Make sure you have other things in your life which give you satisfaction.”
Some fascinating statistics emerged from the survey as well. One composer noted that he wins about one competition a year and submits about one application per week. Another discussed winning two or three competitions out of the 33 he had entered thus far. Though a small sample, these testimonials suggest a paltry success rate of 2-9% for competitions.
Why bother entering then? Several composers highlighted the marketing benefits of entering competitions or submitting to conferences. They felt that getting their name in front of other musicians they did not know provided them with valuable exposure. One composer even said, “I’ve gotten a variety of performances over the years, from losing competitions.”
And it is a bit like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play. Keeping the odds in mind and keeping expectations in check with those odds seems to be a successful approach.
Finally, numerous composers said it was good to remind oneself that we do not compose to win awards; we compose because we have to. We have an innate desire to create, and that process of creating and completing something is satisfying all by itself.
Amen to that!
ShareThis
Ralph; Your closing comment is absolutely right on! We compose because that's what we do. I've been composing for over fifty years and have never entered a competition or submitted my work for judging and selection. I earned a living doing something else and composed in my "spare" time. Today, I am retired and compose full time and still don't enter competitions. I have a website where I present my music, among other things, for free download. In the year that I've had my website up, I've cultivated a pretty good following from around the planet. I found an audience for my work and that's where I get my satisfaction. Never confuse the political and social aspects of competitions for some sort of legitimate evaluation of your work. If you believe your work is good and those close to you agree, that's satisfaction enough. Joan Tower is wrong unless you equate satisfaction with earning a decent living composing. Then she's right and you're in for a big disappointment. But if we all felt like that, we'd all be doing something else. I have done other things in my life including a career in corporate America. But nothing else compares to the total satisfaction and the feeling of being alive than writing music. Always be thankful you have that ability and never doubt yourself, even when you don't make it in a competition you've entered. All the best to you and I look forward to hearing some of your work.
Bob "Prov" Paolinelli
Reply to this
Hey Bro! Ditto to your final statement. One thing I know about you is that you compose because you have to. And the little I have done and dabbled in, it comes at me like a need, one that needs to get out and expressed. A couple were focused on an event but the others poured out of my heart, and they burned in there until they were out.
Reply to this
Your comments are greatly helpful, but I must add that those of us who can't even afford to bind a score to enter a competition have nothing to worry about concerning the odds of winning!
Reply to this
I think the point you make about balance as "where being a composer is but one part of their entire existence as a teacher, parent, husband, performer and an active member of their community. The benefits of a balanced approach include multiple sources of good news. Then, the composer just needs to focus on the good news and not the bad. For example, today I was rejected from a competition but so what, I had a great afternoon playing with son." I think you are so right. Balance. It's hard to achieve.
Reply to this