Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» I wonder if composers always have melodies in their brains? A George Gershwin who created pop and RHAPSODY IN BLUE?
I expect bits and pieces of melody come to them out of the blue, or the aether, or wherever inspiration lives.
It may depend a lot on whether writing to commission, too. Music for a film for example, has to match the film's mood - I don't know if commissioned or not, but Felix Mendelssohn must have appreciated a similar point to have written his suite of incidental music for performances of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Beethoven liked to relax by going for walks in the countryside, but he would carry a notebook and pencil to jot down any melodic ideas that came to him.
I once heard Dave Gilmour on the radio, describing that distinctive four-note guitar figure starting Shine On Crazy Diamond - about Sid Barrett, which I had not known previously. He explained Pink Floyd were in the rehearsal studio, trying various musical ideas, and this was one, with a few experiments to find those particular notes so they sounded right together for the song.
One famous musical idea that did not come from the composer is the rising clarinet glissando starting Rhapsody In Blue - I gather it came from the clarinettist being a bit mischievous in an early rehearsal!
Thank you for your very thoughtful informative and helpful reply Durdle. I appreciate it. I am a sap for talent. I have none to speak of but I so admire those who do. I saw a very young girl be interviewed a few years ago. I think she writes symphonies and she said her head is always filled with melodies. My head often is too but they are the melodies of others. I love movies that are based on a real person. What we do is watch them on TCM (Turner Classic Movies...no advertising!) and then the next day I Google the person the movie was about just to see how close the movie was to the real life. My head is always overflowing with questions. So I keep asking them just to rid myself of them. I take no credit for them because I have no idea how they get there other than something within me that keeps trying to make sense of life. SIGH. I guess we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Happy Monday to thee and thine. STAY SAFE m'dear! :)
Durdle 