What is composition in general, what are the differences and common features of various types of composition?

     What is composition? Composition is making creative choices. It is a responsibility to infuse your life experience, and who you are as a person into your work. It is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. For example, in the best musical compositions, one can hear the composer's personal history, their struggles, and their angst in their musical phrasing. Often personal history can help categorize certain periods of history or certain geographical regions. 

   Composition is also taking advantage of yourself and your surroundings. To produce your best work, one must know how and when they do their best thinking. One must manipulate your world to be most conducive to your creative process. Composition also requires technical mastery. You can't just slap some paint on a canvas, notes on a page, or random shots in a movie without any technical knowhow or skill. It takes dedication and practice to be able to create work you can be proud of. 

   there are many different mediums to use for composition, as well as different techniques and skills required for each. A symphony is different from a painting, which is different from a poem. Each work needs different abilities and talents. However a lot of the creative processes and necessities are the same. Many parallels run between the mediums. 

   I included a few of my favorite compositions. The first is the second movement of Prokofiev's Symphony no 5. Performed by the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted by Young Chil Lee. The second is Touch of Grey, written and performed by the Grateful Dead. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfLYNw_XgMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TVqMMeq74c