J. Anthony Allen explains when composers actually need music history: scoring a 1600s England film requires knowing period counterpoint and lutes, while a video game jumping between medieval fantasy and 1920s jazz demands understanding each era's conventions. It's not essential, but it helps you make informed choices about style and authenticity.
What about music history? This is always a really interesting one, because a lot of people don't think about music history when they're thinking about things that they need to know to be a composer. And I would say that a lot of the time, music history is maybe something you don't need. But there are cases where knowing your way around music history can be really important. Here's an example. Say you get a job to write the score for a movie, and that movie takes place in, you know, 1600s England. Right. You might want to know your way around counterpoint and things that are happening at that time, musical things that are common for that period. Right. You might need to know how to write for a lute, that they're even using instruments called lutes or lyres. So knowing a little bit about the history can help you decide what instruments you're going to use, how you're going to use them, and what were some of the common things that people were doing in that music at the time. Another example would be what if you're working on a video game? What if you're working on a video game and it's some time traveler. They're jumping from the year 3000 on Mars. Maybe music history is not going to help you a whole bunch there. But then they jump back and they're, you know, fighting dragons, and you want the music to sound like it's going back there. Then they jump forward and they're in, you know, 1920s big band jazz era. You need to know the instruments and how to write in that style. So knowing music history actually can be really valuable when it comes to working in film and video games and even just when you're writing on your own. If you want to give the impression of a certain era, certain period of time with your music, knowing your way around music history can actually be quite valuable. So consider that it isn't on the top of my list in terms of things you should study in order to be a composer. However, it is good to know it is valuable. I do have a few music history classes here you could check out. I'd encourage you to check those out. They were really fun to make. So, you know, take them for a spin, see what you think. Okay, so consider music history.
