French composer Louis-Nicolas Clérambault composing at the keyboard

A composer is a person who creates musical art, usually in the medium of notation which is then interpreted and performed by musicians. Louis-Nicolas Clérambault was a French Musician, born and died in Paris (December 19 1676 - October 26 1749 best known as an Organist and Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. See also Modern musical symbols Music notation or musical notation is any system which represents aurally perceived Music through the use A performance, in Performing arts, generally comprises an event in which one group of people (the performer or performers behave in a particular way for another group of people

The level of distinction between composers and other musicians also varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music. Copyright is a legal concept enacted by Governments, giving the creator of an original work of authorship Exclusive rights to control its distribution usually for For example, in the development of European music, the function of composing music initially had no greater importance than the function of performing music. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music The preservation of individual compositions received little attention, and musicians generally had no qualms about modifying compositions for performance. Over time, however, the written notation of the composer has come to be treated as strict instructions, from which performers should not deviate without good reason. Performers do, however, play the music and interpret it in a way that is all their own. In fact, in the concerto form, the soloist would often compose and perform a cadenza as a way to express their individual interpretation of the piece. The term Concerto (plural concertos or concerti) usually refers to a three part musical work in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an Orchestra In Music, a cadenza (Italian for cadence) is generically an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists usually

More recently, scorewriter programs have become available, allowing composers to typeset music without the need of an engraver. A scorewriter, or music notation program, is Software used to automate the task of writing and engraving Sheet music.

The term "composer" is often used specifically to mean a composer in the Western tradition of classical music. In popular and folk music, the composer is typically called a songwriter (since the music generally takes the form of a song). Popular music is Music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more Folk music can have a number of different meanings including Traditional music: The original meaning of the term "folk music" was synonymous A songwriter is someone who writes the Lyrics to songs the Musical composition (chords or Melody to songs or both A song is a Musical composition. Songs contain vocal parts that are performed 'sung' and generally feature Words ( Lyrics) commonly followed

See also

• Music engraving
• List of composers
• Film score

External links

• Composers at the Open Directory Project
• Women composers at the Open Directory Project
• Composer societies at the Open Directory Project
• Composers and arrangers at the Open Directory Project