What is the secret behind becoming a great composer?
1. Destroy large amounts of perfectly good manuscript paper (or, nowadays, fill gigabytes of memory with your compositions) 2. Hear as much of your music played by other people as you possibly can. Bribe them if necessary with whatever it takes. 3. Listen to as much music as you can with critical ears (which means having your aural skills down…but that’s part of your education as a composer.) Listen to bad music too, and figure out what makes it bad. When you really love something, try to figure out why you love it. 4. Have interesting life experiences. 5. Take your music seriously, and yourself not seriously at all. This all makes great composerdom possible, not certain.
