Steve about his composing process

One of the followers of this Steve Morse fansite, David Knorr, sent in a question for Steve about his composing proces. This seemed like an interesting one, so we passed it on to Steve, and he was kind enough to provide a reply.

Question: “How do you approach musical form in your composing process? I’m referring to motifs, phrases, phrase-group patterns, sections, movements… Your instrumental music seems to go beyond just using vocal song forms, e.g. intro > verse > chorus, etc. Thanks for any insight!”

Answer: “I start with something that is memorable to me, actually, I have lots of ideas, and I visit them from time to time. Then, if I can imagine a melody, or another part to follow it, then I will work on it, then record it so that I don’t forget.  Then, over time, I decide if it’s still interesting to me, and then dig in and start experimenting.  I spend a lot of time trying different countermelodies and voicings, then try to leave it for a day or two.  When I come back to listen to the ideas, if I still like it, then it’s going to get recorded at least as a demo. “