Composer/Sound Designer
http://pippamurphy.com
Facebook @pippamurphymusic
Twitter @pippamurph
What was your first musical memory?
Singing Away in a Manger solo at my mum’s choir concert.
What was your route into composing?
A competition at secondary school to write a carol.
Which composer do you wish you could have met – or could meet if they are still alive?
Debussy
What would you ask them?
How he organised his palette of colour and sound.
What do you wish you’d known about composing when you were 18 years old?
To be as prolific as you can.
What music do you like to listen to – that’s not work related?
A massive eclectic mix: Kathryn Joseph, Radiohead, Nick Cave, Lau, Nils Frahm.
If you weren’t a musician, what might you have become?
A detective/forensic scientist
What do you like to do when you’re not composing?
Walk in the countryside with no-one about.
Where do you get inspiration from?
Images, books, listening, nature
What do you do when you’re stuck in a compositional rut?
Go for a walk and work on something else
What are the most useful aspects of musical theory to understand/learn/help composition?
Listening skills. Orchestration.
What are your 5 top tips for young composers?
- Write lots and distil the good seeds
- Listen and listen to lots of different music
- Be bold, be yourself, be confident
- Don’t worry about what people think
- Imagine things in your head and diddle your ideas into a recording device
