Gerry Bassermann’s Composer’s Forum Series

Forums were part of my musical training, and those experiences have stayed with me and informed my music and teaching. I’m really happy to share them. The information ranges from understanding music theory and history to partnering with electronic music devices and software, working your way through a creative void, and much more. 

The articles reveal ways to construct a compelling musical piece, a natural-sounding song, or a well-built guitar solo, for example. There is no dogma and no advice, per se. I offer ideas to consider and options to try. It’s important to find your own way, not someone else’s, and to find the balance where you can consider an audience’s headspace while satisfying your own integral artistic core. 

University graduate sessions in which student composers audition and debate each other’s work are the inspiration for “Composer’s Forum.” The column discusses topics such as playing techniques and phrasing, a composer’s intention and actual result, and psychological time versus real time. They consider the dynamics of musical energy and the power of managing expectations whether delivered or denied. There’s no limit to these discussions. When it’s your music being reviewed, do they get it or not?

–Gerry Bassermann