Composition Demos

I don’t play sequenced compositional demos for my students.

Honestly, I don’t much listen to notation output for assessment purposes anymore. I’d rather audiate the score or hear it through my own fingers at the piano.

I do appreciate it when composers send them to me – it’s a great way to get a first impression of the score without relying on my reading chops.

But for a related reason, I don’t often play them for my students before they start learning a brand new piece.

Sequencer outputs, unless they’re really, really good, are a poor substitute for the real thing. It works for me, as for any composer or conductor, because I can fill in the gaps in my brain. I can hear the choir even when it’s just a MIDI piano output. I can imagine the musicality of phrases even when they are robotic when played back.

But my students often can’t. So I have to create an interaction with the piece for them that will not cloud their first impression with less-than-ideal music playback.