I've seen a lot of discussion here recently about compositional tools and 
eep
theoretical techniques, and that's all well and good. However, It all seems
unimportant.
And I know that some of the more serious composers have been looking at the
recent discussion of MODs and thought something akin to "Amateurs" or "Kids
Stuff," but all in all we've strayed from the topic, to an extent.
The Basic core. All good music is manipulation. anything else, like Muzak, is
wallpaper.
A composer writes something to elicit a specific feeling, mood, or 
mosphere.
So, here's the big question- Who do you compose for? Is it for worldwide
distribution? A select group of friends? To blow away other musicians? Or is 
it
a masturbatory exercise? 
By defining your audience, you define your tools. If you're working for mass
appeal, chances are strict serialism and twelve tone aren't going to work 
ery
well, and it better have a melody. Musicians and Jazz audiences will get off 
on
artful uses of rhythm and chord changes, while Prog rock fans and people in
eastern Europe will want to hear changes in time and very very complex 
rhythmic
patterns.
And it seems that often is question doesn't get asked at all. Composers hide
behind the vast artistic umbrella of "Music Comp" and just write, when the
first question should be "Who is this for?"
Music is communication, first and foremost. How do you communicate, and with
whom?
Comments? Observations?
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