The art of composition, like that of listening, can be approached on various levels.
One may give critical attention to formal elements, for example, or focus on technique and expression with regard to such things as subtlety and intensity; it is also valuable to simply engage a work with an open mind and become absorbed in it emotionally and perceptually.
Some pieces of music lend themselves to contemplation and reflection, while many are successful as purely escapist fare.
Like written language, recorded sound defies the limits of time and space; this neither confers virtue nor value to a work, but expands the context in which these may ultimately be determined.
One may give critical attention to formal elements, for example, or focus on technique and expression with regard to such things as subtlety and intensity; it is also valuable to simply engage a work with an open mind and become absorbed in it emotionally and perceptually.
Some pieces of music lend themselves to contemplation and reflection, while many are successful as purely escapist fare.
Like written language, recorded sound defies the limits of time and space; this neither confers virtue nor value to a work, but expands the context in which these may ultimately be determined.
