Is "Referencing" Another Piece Of Music Okay?

[BassGod]

So I've been composing this tapping thing, my second original piece. It starts in G major, and moves into its relative minor key, E. I was writing the ending, when I got the idea to use the opening of Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" in my piece (to those of you who don't recognize the name, I guarantee you that you'd know the song if you heard it).

The original song is in G major, so I thought it sounded cool to change the chord progression to E minor, changing the feel from happy and upbeat to meloncholy. It currently takes up fifteen to twenty seconds of the piece, which is about three to four minutes long.

So even though it's an original piece, is refrencing a classical work okay? Or would it just evoke accusations of plaigarism?

Graeme

[drwhiteguy]

People will say lots of things, regardless of what you play. If it feels right, then do it. Some will understand what your going for, some won't. Who cares what everyone thinks. Including myself.

[WJGreer]

I'm no entertainment law attorney, but I do know that what you are describing (it's called quoting), as long as it would be seen by a reasonable person as referential and not as being held up as your own composition, is normal.

Obviously, many of us gig on weekends playing entire songs that were written and recorded by other bands. I'm pretty sure we sometimes forget to mention that we aren't the original artist. I once saw Ian Moore find his way into an old U2 song ("Bad", maybe) in the middle of one of his own tunes, and it was the coolest thing ever.

If, on the other hand, you plan to record it, release it, and make money from its sale, you should probably consult with an expert and damn well credit Mr. Mozart in the liner notes.

[dukerutledge]

It would be quoting, like stated before, but to avoid plagarism you would deffinately want to say something about it if you ever record and release it. If you didn't then you have nothing to lose, but respect. There are no copyrights on mozarts work.

[dukerutledge]

by the by I'd like to hear this piece when its done.

[vic_6]

meshell ndegeocello uses a lot of samples from speeches and recorded interviews, especially in cookie. everyone and everything she used is found in the cd inlay. i'm sure it's okay as long as you don't take all the credit.

oh and yeah,i'd like to hear this too when you're done

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm no lawyer, but as someone who listens to music, I say: go for it! Sounds inspired.

[Corwin]

Mozart has been dead for a couple of centuries, which means that his work has finally passed into the public domain. Legally, you can do with it as you will and you don't even need to mention his name. If your concern is your own songwriting royalties, I am, though not a lawyer, entirely certain you will retain copyright on your original composition. Beyond that, a unique arrangement of an existing piece can also be copyrighted.

If you're just worried that people might think you're "ripping off" Mozart, go ahead and mention his name in the title or in the liner notes or whatever.

Of course, in the jazz world, people quote from all kinds of tunes in their solos all the time. Nobody seems to worry about it much.

[BassGod]

Alright thanks for all the responses. It's really not royalties I'm worried about, or any sort of legal matter. It's more an issue of whether it would be seen as a total rip off, or what I intend it to be, a sort of tribute to a composer who has had quite an influence one me. So I've decided to keep it in there.

I'm hoping to record the thing soon, so I'll post it here. But just some forewarning: my tapping isn't really flashy and technical, the emphasis is more on melodies that are just simple and catchy, with not so much emphasis on showy stuff (because quite frankly, I suck ).

Graeme

[The Lurker]

Depends on how it's done, really. Lots of the old classical guys quoted each other a lot-- heck, look at Dvorak's New World Symphony, he threw in everything but the kitchen sink. These days the copyright climate and the general attitude toward that sort of thing is a bit different, though-- to throw in a bit of Beethoven or Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the middle of a jazz song is considered showmanship and a crowd-pleaser (I used to do Good King Wenceslas, myself) but in the context of a composition that's a bit different.

[Bruce Lindfield]

Pop musicians have been ripping off Classical composers for decades!!

Manfred Mann - Joybringer - Holst's Planets
Barry Manilow - Rachmaninov
ELO/Chuck Berry - Beethoven
Nutrocker = Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker

etc. etc.

Given time I'm sure I could think of many more!

[a00nick]

a LOT of metal bands cover parts of classical songs. And example is Children of Bodem. They do it all the time.