Ok, so I think I composed a brand new tune. I like it, but how can I be absolutely sure it's mine and not something I heard on the radio or heard in a movie? I'm sure many of you have had the same thought. Is there a way to find out?
"I'm sure many of you have had the same thought" - Yeah, definitely heard that one before
a) If it is a trad tune, write it down in ABC notation, and use one of several methods of tune search
b) Play it to other people, and see if they recognize it (joining in doesn't count)
c) Keep the tune to yourself, in which case it is most definitely your own!
d) You can never be absolutely sure a tune is totally original, but can often be quite certain that it is not.
Any tune you compose is going to be influenced by what you've heard, either recently or in the past.
There are often little similarities to other tunes that crop up here and there - its no big deal!
I couldn´t agree more with dennis regan: where is the problem ? you can, of course, create problems artificially (just witness the endless threads about `session etiquette´). The way you´re putting together all the different pieces and scraps of music you´ve ever heard - consciously or subconsciously plus one riff/one phrase or the other: THIS is your original sound, and this holds true for fiddling, blues harping, whatever...
I agree with Dennis Regan, too. I mean, there's probably milions of different tunes and songs, and, since there's only so much you can do with a chromatic scale, there's bound to be some similarities.
I was very surprised last week when I tried out the new tune, Cranbury Hornpipe, because the first 3-4 bars sounds almost exactly like a tune I wrote 23 years ago! It felt weird to see "my tune" in print like that, but it''s no big deal.
It's far worse when some bloody third-rate telly comedian comes out with a joke that you'd made up years before. Happened to me once. True to form, the joke has completely gone out of my head. Sorry.
If you sat down and consciously worked out what note sequences, phrases, etc, you wanted to use throughout the tune, you can be confident it is 'yours'. If the tune 'just came to you' the chances are that it's not. If, however, you put a lot of work into polishing the tune to your satisfaction after it 'came to you', then it is yours anyway.
If you immerse yourself in a particular style or genre of music you'll start thinking in it, and that will influence any musical ideas you come up with - not copying, necessarily, but you'll be using the musical language you've been absorbing. This is probably why I've never liked playing to a session directly after an orchestral rehearsal or concert - it takes a couple of hours, or even a good night's sleep, to get the orchestral stuff out of my head.
"It's far worse when some bloody third-rate telly comedian comes out with a joke that you'd made up years before. Happened to me once. True to form, the joke has completely gone out of my head"
is it original?
is it original?
Ok, so I think I composed a brand new tune. I like it, but how can I be absolutely sure it's mine and not something I heard on the radio or heard in a movie? I'm sure many of you have had the same thought. Is there a way to find out?
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by crfiddler
Re: is it original?
You can try typing part of it into folktunefinder.com and seeing if anything similar comes up.
Paul McCartney apparently never believed that he hadn't accidentally copied 'Yesterday' from someone...
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by Joe Wass
Re: is it original?
"I'm sure many of you have had the same thought" - Yeah, definitely heard that one before
a) If it is a trad tune, write it down in ABC notation, and use one of several methods of tune search
b) Play it to other people, and see if they recognize it (joining in doesn't count)
c) Keep the tune to yourself, in which case it is most definitely your own!
d) You can never be absolutely sure a tune is totally original, but can often be quite certain that it is not.
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by Rick Payman
Re: is it original?
Same thing happened to me a week or so ago except I wasn't trying to write anything:
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/21116
I still need a name for the tune so if there are any suggestions let me know.
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by No Cause For Alarm
Re: is it original?
Any tune you compose is going to be influenced by what you've heard, either recently or in the past.
There are often little similarities to other tunes that crop up here and there - its no big deal!
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by Dennis Regan
Re: is it original?
I couldn´t agree more with dennis regan: where is the problem ? you can, of course, create problems artificially (just witness the endless threads about `session etiquette´). The way you´re putting together all the different pieces and scraps of music you´ve ever heard - consciously or subconsciously plus one riff/one phrase or the other: THIS is your original sound, and this holds true for fiddling, blues harping, whatever...
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by alexweger
Re: is it original?
I agree with Dennis Regan, too. I mean, there's probably milions of different tunes and songs, and, since there's only so much you can do with a chromatic scale, there's bound to be some similarities.
I was very surprised last week when I tried out the new tune, Cranbury Hornpipe, because the first 3-4 bars sounds almost exactly like a tune I wrote 23 years ago! It felt weird to see "my tune" in print like that, but it''s no big deal.
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by Quarter Irish
Re: is it original?
It's far worse when some bloody third-rate telly comedian comes out with a joke that you'd made up years before. Happened to me once. True to form, the joke has completely gone out of my head. Sorry.
# Posted on April 4th 2009 by Steve Shaw
Re: is it original?
If you sat down and consciously worked out what note sequences, phrases, etc, you wanted to use throughout the tune, you can be confident it is 'yours'. If the tune 'just came to you' the chances are that it's not. If, however, you put a lot of work into polishing the tune to your satisfaction after it 'came to you', then it is yours anyway.
# Posted on April 5th 2009 by gam
Re: is it original?
If you immerse yourself in a particular style or genre of music you'll start thinking in it, and that will influence any musical ideas you come up with - not copying, necessarily, but you'll be using the musical language you've been absorbing. This is probably why I've never liked playing to a session directly after an orchestral rehearsal or concert - it takes a couple of hours, or even a good night's sleep, to get the orchestral stuff out of my head.
# Posted on April 5th 2009 by lazyhound
Re: is it original?
"playing in" - not "playing to"
# Posted on April 5th 2009 by lazyhound
Re: is it original?
"It's far worse when some bloody third-rate telly comedian comes out with a joke that you'd made up years before. Happened to me once. True to form, the joke has completely gone out of my head"
Ha ha ha - now that's funny!
# Posted on April 5th 2009 by Rick Payman