Deconstruction, Catalogues, and Recipes: Methods By Which I Absorb New Musical Influences
- ethantoavs
- Sep 23
- 4 min read
As a composer, I am always looking to learn new things and absorb new influences. While listening to lots of music is incredibly beneficial on its own, I sometimes want to develop a deeper understanding of a particular mood, style, or influence. In this pursuit, I have discovered some fascinating methods with which to understand these influences and integrate them into my vernacular.
Interesting Methods of Understanding
In his book, Making Music - 74 Creative Strategies For Electronic Music Producers, composer and music educator Dennis DeSantis shared a method of analysis that he calls a "catalogue of attributes." It is a form of analysis that involves taking a piece of music whose style you want to better understand and emulate, and using it as a framework. To do this, you listen to that piece as many times as necessary, and break it down into its individual elements and layers, such as melody, rhythm, harmony, melody, form, and timbre. Thus, you can write down a "catalogue" of these attributes. Once that is done, set aside the piece you analyzed, and use this "catalogue" as a framework for composing a new piece. [1]
Composer and music educator Philip Johnston has a collection of information products which he calls "orchestration recipes." In this, he presents various styles of orchestration through the metaphor of a recipe. In this, individual instruments of the orchestra are the "ingredients," and the "instructions" explain how to create the orchestration using those instruments. He also has another collection of products that he calls "spices," which focus on specific harmonic styles and techniques. In essence, instruments are "ingredients," harmonies are "spices," and "recipes" allow you to combine all of these together to form a variety of orchestration techniques. [2]
My Own Method of Analysis
In my own practice, I have combined these two ideas into my own system of analysis and frameworks - which I have chosen to call "musical recipes," because I really like that metaphor. I take the "catalogue of attributes" idea by analyzing a piece and breaking it down into its fundamental components. I then take the "recipe" idea by listing these components as "ingredients," and creating a set of broad "instructions" that can be replicated in different contexts.
A musical recipe will focus on one of the following musical elements: Orchestration, Form, Harmony, Rhythm, or Sound Design. I have each recipe focus on only *one* element at a time, to give direction to my analysis and to make the act of analysis more manageable. Each recipe will also usually only focus on a single section or phrase of a particular piece - again, to make the act of analysis more manageable.
To create a recipe, I undergo the following process:
Identify the piece or style from which I want to take influence.
Listen to that piece many times, and locate a score if able.
Identify which musical element I want to analyze.
Take a section or phrase that is interesting to me, and break it down into its most fundamental components.
Create a list of those components.
Write out a set of instructions that allows me to use those components as a framework in any context.
Given the limited scope of these analyses, these recipes tend to be quite brief:
Using an app called "Obsidian," I am able to assign metadata to each one of these recipes. This metadata includes things like genre, emotion, the work I analyzed, the composer of that work, and the film score from which that work came (if applicable). This allows me to browse through all of my created recipes almost like it is a database, and quickly search for specific genres, emotions, etc.
Why Make These Frameworks?
Creating these frameworks allows you to develop a deeper understanding of an influence that might not be possible with traditional analysis. Analysis can only help develop your skills if you actually put that analysis into practice. Creating these "recipes" that can used as frameworks in many different contexts is an effective way in doing this. Additionally, creating these frameworks allows you to emulate other music without fearing that you are plagiarizing or ripping off your influences.
Even better, these frameworks can even be helpful in dealing with writer's block. Unsure how to continue a piece? Take a recipe, use that, and then tweak it to match your piece! You can even combine it with my 7 Musical Writing Prompts Involving Random Number Generation. The possibilities are endless!
Works Cited
DeSantis, Dennis. “Creative Strategies for Electronic Music Producers.” makingmusic.ableton.com, n.d. https://makingmusic.ableton.com/.
Johnston, Philip. “Orchestration Recipes: 7 Minute Tour for DAW Composers.” YouTube, October 25, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5iPBaZqG7Q.
About The Author
I am Ethan Toavs, and my music is all about exploring new worlds! I specialize in combining cinematic styles with influences from a variety of cultures, and employing unorthodox methods of composing. I have a master's degree in Contemporary Media & Film Composition from the Eastman School of Music, and a bachelor's degree in Music from Coastal Carolina University. If you are a filmmaker or other creator who wants music that breathes life into the worlds of your characters and stories, then please reach out to me.
Have thoughts on this blog post? Feel free to chat with me about it in my Discord server!