Interview with Composer Mark Nowakowski

I interviewed Mark Nowakowski, who is a composer and teaches my music theory class.  The focus of the interview was how music writing programs have changed the way music is written and distributed.  In the first clip, Mark describes the advantages of using music writing programs, such as Noteflight.

In the second clip, Mark talks about how writing music with computer programs has changed the way it is shared.

Using music writing programs have obviously had a tremendous impact on the music writing process. As Mark says, "Essentially, you're speeding up the entire process...you hear instantly what you have." Mark also says, "It makes it a lot more fun...you get to hear your work as you go on, and that's something very contemporary." Writing music with a program allows you to hear your work while writing it for the first time in history. Music distribution has also been effected by music composition programs. Mark calls the change "a complete paradigm shift in the way that mp3s have changed recorded music distribution...it's faster and cheaper." Using composer Jennifer Higdon, who does all of her publishing in-house, as an example, Mark explains that selling music directly through online publishing yields higher profit for the musician. Music composition programs have significantly changed how music is written and distributed, both to the advantage of musicians.