TurquoiseB wrote: > --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>>> I'm not sure how any >>>> composer could write any music down without first >>>> hearing it in his/her head, any more than a writer >>>> writes without first hearing the words in his/her >>>> head. ... >>>> >>> Just like writers have different ways of writing so >>> do musicians have different ways of composing. >>> >> Yeah, what he said. Just FYI, writers who have to >> hear the words in their head before writing them >> down are the counterpart of "mouth readers" when >> reading. Slows you down and is definitely not >> necessary, except maybe for poetry and to get a >> strong feel for dialogue. Sometimes the process >> is concept --> language, without an intervening >> stop at speech. >> >> I know, I know...somebody's going to come running >> in and say something like, "...also without a stop >> at thinking," which is possible, but not my point. :-) >> I'm just making the point that the idea of the usual >> progression as concept --> "hearing" it in your >> head --> paper is not always true. Many writers >> skip the middle step entirely. >> > > Just because this subject interests me, here's a > followup. I would bet that programmers can identify > with what I'm saying. You read a spec and get the > concept of the thing that has to be expressed in > code, and the code just comes out. I would bet that > most programmers don't pause to put the code that > they're writing into audible words and sound them > out in their head. Right, programmers? > > With me it starts with an idea for something I would like to write and of course on the contract side a project someone wants me to do. In both case it is more like solving a puzzle. And I often do a lot of meditation on the problem *away* from the computer. And usually the final solution varies quite a bit from the one originally conceived. The code writing part is like writing music and there is a nice flow but the more anal programmers hate that I don't write enough comments though I use a *self referential* code style that reads like English so it doesn't need so much commenting. Sometimes though I just write a bunch of comments for structure and then fill in the code.
I'm also a "fly by the seat of my pants" programmer as I learned that was the most productive way to work. Don't invest a lot of time in learning the API fully before you start, just use the reference docs and look at examples. The programmers I managed who didn't do this were slow in getting their projects done and their code no less prone to bugs. > Well, it's the same thing when programming English, > or any other language. Once you have the syntax > down, you can go straight from concept to descrip- > tion of that concept on paper, without ever hear- > ing the sounds in one's head. I would imagine the > same thing is true for mathematicians who have the > syntax of math down pat, and for physicists who have > the syntax of physics down pat. Sounding things out > in one's head is an unnecessary step that can slow > down (and sometimes stifle) the process of creation. > > For dialogue, I agree that it's essential. Otherwise, > you wind up writing dialogue that sounds like it > was written by David Mamet. :-) As an aside one of the areas where people get pissed at me in public discussions is if they turn to music and learning music. I was raised in a musical family, sang as soon as I could talk, wrote and arranged music at age 8. When I speak of how easy learning music can be people think I'm condescending. But I think they just have a chip on their shoulder because they found learning music tough and gave up. Music teachers are much better now because the last 40 years we have spent a lot of time finding the different angles you can use to make learning to play an instrument easy and rewarding. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
