Hi I’m one of the composers within the workshop,
Just wondering what needs to be done for the 16th of February session if anything? Looking forward to completing my piece 🙂
With my percussion line, struggling to deduct whether to just let them improvise or be strict with what they play, can anyone give me their opinion please it’ll be very much appreciated 🙂
I tell all instrumentalist what is happening within my composition at each point for different ideas – my composition is about a robot.
Young Composers Project 
Hi. The plan for the 16th if mainly free time to compose and trying out ideas at the end. Some who are writing music with a double bass in mind will work with Sebastiano Dessanay hear things and make any changes needed. He will give a talk at the start as well.
That is a hard question and everyone might suggest something different! So I will just tell you my experience. It completely depends who you are writing for and if you can work with them to develop the improvisations so you get what you want. I don’t think leaving it completely free works so I would always have something that they can use (this may be text, rhythm, instruments, description of the sound). I used to notate out EVERYTHING! I tried in my first year at Uni to do semi-improvised music but I just couldn’t give away the control (maybe I am a control freak!!), so I avoided it. Now I am working with musicians who are still at school and I have to simplify my music so they can read it – this means the music is often semi-improvised but I work with them until I get the sound I want.
With percussion, percussionists don’t always read music and I think that they may be able to play something better than I could write as I am not a percussionist (especially if it is more of a rhythmic groove). If you notate everything they may be more involved in trying to get it all ‘correct’ instead of feeling the music and doing a good performance.
If it for Alevel they may want you to notate everything (booo!) – but what you could do is write some ideas down, work with the percussionist until you are happy, record what he is doing and get help to notate what he/she is playing (in the basic format) and then maybe add some text ‘ad lib.’ (which means to improvise/add bits to the music at your own liberty) or ’embellish’ or ‘use as basic template’ or something like that.
I hope that helps a little!
One comment from twitter to help answer your question:
“Depends on (a) experience of players and (b) how much of a control freak you are!”