When I was growing up, making my first passes at composition, I would compose as I felt inspired. I had probably 40 pieces cooking at the same time. Many of them had lovely melodies and interesting ideas. But, in the eight years between 12 and 20, I probably finished fewer than five works. I knew how to start pieces, but I didn’t know how to finish them. What brought me from only starting pieces to consistently finishing them was process.
The Process
Oscar Osicki from A Composer’s Journey was who clued me into this. He describes the five stages of composition:
1.) The Creative Phase
Here, I let ideas run freely without judgement.
2.) The Planning Phase
This is where I start thinking structurally: what belongs, what doesn’t, and the order of ideas.
3.) The Fleshing out Phase
In this stage, I intentionally explore musical variations, practical execution, and troubleshooting problems.
4.) The “Flying” Phase
At this point, I feel the piece gaining momentum toward the conclusion of the work.
5.) The Polishing Phase
At the end, I tweak details and smooth out transitions to make the piece cohere.
The Benefits
This process creates a map for my creative endeavors. Without this map, I tend to endlessly chase new ideas because the spark of inspiration feels so good. But what I found with this map is that the “flying” stage is just as satisfying as the creative phase and merits the extra effort to get there.
I wrote previously about the importance of showing up to your craft every day. The 10% at the beginning and the 10% toward the end feel exhilarating. But much of what I do in the middle feels hum-drum and ordinary. But that realization actually helps me move through the middle phases to my desired destination. The middle phases are where that discipline pays off.
It’s in the diurnal routine of showing up when you’re less ecstatic about your ideas that you feed your tender sparks into a fire that others will want to gather around. If you keep showing up, you’ll finish your projects, which will in turn feed into your drive to make more art. That’s the power of process.