Despite their simplicity, text scores never yield the same result twice, and in many respects have become an artform unto themselves. And they can be used to encourage collaborators to step beyond their perceived roles and have fun with experimentation and play. They can be used within a group to start an improvisation or a collaboration. They can be used as a solo music-making tool, to break through creative blocks and to generate new ideas. If you’d prefer to get your hands dirty right away, you can dive into a collection of text scores from the workshop, all shared on the day by Loop attendees.Īcross the decades, artists have shown that the possibilities offered by text scores are endless.

These scores simply convey an idea that the composer would like the performers to think about, or perhaps an action they would like the performers to follow. Text scores can be any type of instruction, concept, action, or idea for a musical piece that is written down in words. Here you can find Shenfeld’s overview of the history of text scores, as well as some ideas for how to use them in your own practice. During Shenfeld’s workshop, Loop attendees were invited to write their own text scores, then share and perform them. At Loop Create 2022, composer, performer and educator Maya Shenfeld joined us to share the liberating experience of using text scores when writing and performing music. Luckily, there are tools that can break us out of this mindset, and help us rediscover joy, spontaneity and inspiration in the creative process, especially when collaborating with other music makers. We can find ourselves gripped by the fear of making a ‘wrong’ move, musically, creatively, or even relationally, as a composer, a performer or a producer. For our creative processes, these supposed norms can be more of a hindrance than a help. Whether you’re an electronic producer, a pop musician or a classical composer, you likely have at some point found yourself feeling hemmed in by the impression that there are some intangible rules that music-makers must follow. We might feel that we should try and fit into a certain role that to be a producer we must meet others’ expectations or that the performer is this and the composer that, and the audience is neither of these things.

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