David Dean Mendoza

Composers always get asked by the average person, “Why don’t you write for the movies?  Then you can make money.”  I keep trying to explain to these people that would be like asking a poet like Maya Angelou to write a restaurant menu, or an artist like Picasso to design a company logo.  Not only is it not what they want to do, it is a complete waste of time and energy.  Great artists like these did not get into their fields with the motivation of money; they got into it because they wanted to either (1.) Express the inexpressible by discovering new ideas in themselves, (2.) contribute to their fields of art, (3.) or become famous by being great artists. (sort of and ego trip) It is the most frustrating idea to explain in our super capitalistic society that for the most part does not appreciate or support art of any kind, especially in the realm of education. 

On the other hand, I would say that most composers are open to the idea of writing for movies, commercials, or, what have you.  Some may view it as a means of quick money so that they can concentrate on whatever project they are working on.  Others may take the approach that composition of any kind will help them grow as an artist, no matter how clichéd or banal an exercise it is. 

I personally look at it both ways.  Writing a few minutes of commercial music will not hurt me artistically because my influences, tendencies, and motivation has always remained the same since I was sixteen years old.  In my opinion, most classically trained composers feel theurge to explore, and this tendency alone does not make their art suitable for commercial purposes.  It makes it suitable for the composer, like-minded musicians, and perhaps an enlightened audience.  Sure expressive sonic exploration can happen in commercial music, and surely there are opportunities to be creative.  For this reason I feel that composers should be introduced to the craft of commercial music, if anything to be more well rounded. 

Most importantly, we cannot forget why composers got into composing in the first place.  They get into the field by having listened to the great works of the past, and loving that feeling of being transported into another dimension both sonically,emotionally, and mentally.  So if they never got hooked on this addictive drug of art music in the first place,then they should probably go into writing the disposable music our consumer driven society and become financially stable.   

But as I said before, writing utilitarian, practical music can be an exercise in writing directly,succinctly, accessibly, and yes creatively.  Keep in mind; a great composer will probably never fully grow as an artist by writing this kind of music.  On the contrary, if a composer is on hard times, like Shostakovich was, then it will provide good money.  Just remember that like Shostakovich, composers should always return back to their art. 

The problem with the general public when it comes to this misunderstanding of the commercial vs. the artistic is that they do not see any value in classical art music, whereas, they see lots of value in commercia lmusic.  This is especially the case in the United States, although it must be said that there are a great number of opportunities for composers in the United States that do not exist elsewhere,and regional difference can be vast. For example the difference in opportunities can be great for a given composer living in Florida versus New York verses Minnesota.  Recently though, music education programs have been cut in many parts of the United States contributing to this ignorant misunderstanding. But this is another connecting issue to be discussed later.  The composer is often misunderstood because his/her art is created often using notation that the general public cannot read, and existis in a temporal space.  Because of this mysterisous art, that is non-visual, it's hard to appreaciate without having expericened it.  As our general population through lack of music education become ignorant to this art, how will the sound artist be viewed the years ahead?  Will it be a citizin of value?