It's been a long time since anything completely original was written, musically. Certain key figures in music history have been credited with founding or being the primary developers of a new style. But even they built on the work of those who came before. This is the time-honored tradition - you pay homage to those who came before by building on their work and taking the music in a new direction. Pick out something that you do differently, make it your musical signature and don't forget that "lone wolves" have a hard time making it in the field of music or, for that matter, in general. Contradictorially, as so many things are in this world, many of the "lone wolves" have been championed after their passing. Why? The work they produced was of a much higher quality because they spent more time working on music than they did socializing and trying to get ahead by networking - which was an unheard of concept in those days. Unfortunately, today, with the planned decay of popular musical styles into paganism and the lowest of the low, the most popular styles are dance music and rhythmic vocals that have little musical content. The art music system is set up for the social and for those who know how to give and receive. A new composer needs the support and approval from a mentor composer (who is probably also a professor or private teacher) to open doors for his/her work to be performed and published.

Stylistic and philosophical change becoming the history of music happened over a very long time. That is, until the late 19th and early 20 century, when movements began to tear down and destroy all that had come before. As soon as music began to gradually drift away from the anchor of classical melodic structure, harmony and form, the decline of western music began.

Later, in the 20th century, movements and styles from anti-music to rock and roll and rap tried to put an end to the great music of the masters in art and popular culture. Recent revivals of what has come to be referred to as "classical" music in concerts, film scores and commercials, the resurgence of pop music from the '60's and '70's and the revisiting of swing and jazz standards prove the staying power of music that is well-crafted and appealing to the ear.

The incorporation of "quotes" and/or variations on earlier or current musical works is common practice; Examples abound throughout music history. Writing completely original new music is a virtual impossibility. After studying all published and unpublished musical scores/sheet music and after hearing performances and recordings of all the music ever written, I might be able to create a completely original composition, but that is doubtful. It would be hard on the ears as it probably wouldn't sound well. Looking back at the enormous volume of work comprising music history, the ability to shape songs and musical works that the listener perceives as original is in itself a process requiring a good ear and an abundance of talent. The best a composer of today can hope for is to achieve a pleasing aural tapestry, woven from the best of what has come before, guided by his or her own musical personality, embossed with their own musical signature.

On a weekend afternoon, in the middle of an FM radio broadcast of the Robert Schumann Cello Concerto, a melodic phrase was heard that sounded to be an exact match of intervals and rhythm from a melodic phrase in a song from a popular Broadway musical. No doubt who wrote the music first. Perhaps, Schumann heard a similar phrase in someone else's music and perhaps the modern quotation of it was simply coincidence. Preceeding the writing of a large choral work in a neo-ancient/early music style, a study was done of the Church modes and Gregorian chant in several reference works with no score study. Some time later, after completion of the composition, the composer heard a work by an early music composer and both composers shared the same birth year 5 centuries apart. In that work is a passage that sounded very similar to a passage in the work of the present day composer who had no prior knowledge of that early work or of the composer.

Oftimes, works by the same composer can be compared to ripples on a lake caused by raindrops falling from the same storm; One storm, different raindrops falling at different places in space and time, yet the ripples share similarities. Throughout this commentary, references are made to influences or reflected styles. What is meant is that similar musical materials (tonal, rhythmic, formal, stylistic, etc.) appear to be in use that may or may not have been on the mind of the writer when a particular work was composed or arranged. A musical influence can be subconscious as well as intentional.


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