How to Compose Music: [1] General Points
March 12th, 2009
| Categories: Composing
| Tags: composition, emotion, foundation, general points, how to compose, improvise, Music, practice, sing, structure
Alright, time to get to business. I’m going to write a series of articles on how to compose music. Now I am in no way an expert on this nor am I fully qualified to teach such a topic, but I will do my best to share my experiences and hope that it’ll help you on your own quest (i.e. read at your own risk).
The first topic will be a collection of points on how to get started. They may or may not apply to every piece you write, but at least it’s something.
- So you want to compose. Why? Were you inspired by a muse? Did you simply want to try it out for fun? Or are you writing for a movie or video game? This may be understated, but knowing the reason behind your need/wish to compose goes a long way towards helping you make it happen. For instance, if I were in the movie business and I had to write a ninja theme, I’d conjure up images of something dramatic and exciting while at the same time consider how the music would synchronize with what’s happening in the scene. On the other hand, if I messed up and needed my girlfriend to forgive me, I’d probably want to write something more sweet and romantic*. The point is that you should know what it is you’re writing.
- It helps if you have a foundation in music theory (i.e. rudiments, harmony, etc.). This is not entirely essential, as there are some talented composers out there without this background. But I still highly recommend that you have the basics down, as it can make your life much easier and because it can prevent you from making mistakes (e.g. doubling the third in some chords often sounds bad). At the very least it can help you to understand why certain notes you’ve used work well together. Otherwise, just experiment until it sounds right (how it sounds is of course the most important thing above all). Then again, if you’re advanced enough, you can break all the rules you want.
- Even if your piece is intended to be purely absolute as opposed to being program music, there should be a story. By story, I mean that there should be a beginning, middle, and end. And by beginning, middle, and end, I mean that your composition should sound like it’s going somewhere. Each note must logically go onto the next one, and each section should smoothly lead into the next one (i.e. the sequence of notes and sections should fit well together). Unless your desire is to make your piece sound aleatoric, you need to know the direction and flow of the music. As a result, I stress the importance of figuring out the general structure and outline before you even begin composing. A simple example would be: Intro – Verse 1 – Chorus 1 – Verse 2 – Chorus 2 – Coda. Even if your piece is intended to be some kind of Fantasy in Db, it doesn’t mean you should wing absolutely everything (unless you’re great at improvisation).
- The best compositions are often those with emotional content that you can connect with. So when you are writing your own music, identify what it is you’re feeling and try to express that. If you do your job well, your listeners will hear what you’re trying to say and will enjoy it that much more.
- Once you know what sort of music you want to compose, try to figure out how you’re going to pull off the ideas in your head. Let’s go back to the ninja theme. If you want it to be fast and exciting, will you need a good beat? Then does that mean you’ll need some drums? If you’re using drums, would they go well with some electric guitars? Or rather, if you’re writing about ninjas, should you go the more traditional route and use oriental instruments (erhu? zither?)? What time signature do you want to use? What about the key signature? Carefully consider the technical details of the piece and try to figure out how it’ll be performed later on. This all goes back to my very first point.
- Improvise as much as you can. It’ll help you to improve. There’s also less stress of actually composing something since you’re just having fun (and I certainly hope you find it fun to compose). Who knows, you might stumble upon an idea that you like. By the way, record all your ideas; you might need them later on.
- Study any piece (not composed by you) that you are interested in. Analyze what you like about it or what you didn’t like, and determine what makes it work. I also recommend that you sing along to it (or play along if you really hate to sing). While singing along (sing out loud for best results!), improvise your own counterpoint. This in my opinion is a good exercise in melody-writing and instrumentation, because you can hear for yourself if it sounds good or not. I find that singing in general is great for composing, as most of my favourite/best melodies were those that I stumbled upon while randomly singing out loud without a care in the world.
- It’s up to you whether you want to compose the melody first or the chord progression first. I prefer doing both at the same time, because to me they depend on each other. You can’t really have one without the other. Find out which method works best for you.
- Keep working on your craft, keep composing, and keep getting people to constructively criticize your music.
- Sometimes, simplicity is best.
*She has just informed me that she wouldn’t fall for my ruse.
My little footnotes to the articles:
1. Yes, you need to know what you’re writing. A lot of the times, knowing what you’re writing isn’t only knowing the vague idea of how you want it to sound like. As a composer, you need to know that you have an audience and potential performers. You need to know what your intended audience likes and how technically challenging the piece is going to be if it is getting performed. But of course, ultimately, you are the one to set the standards. Be consistent with what you want to do though, if you change your mind too many times, it’s not going to turn out great.
2. I urge you to learn theory. People call it useless and too scientific, but these rules are made for a reason. If you follow these guidelines, your piece is guaranteed to be audience-friendly (note the fact that I avoided using the word ‘good’, because goodness is a subjective thing).
3. Agreed. Use form. This is something that defines you from an intelligent composer to a less intelligent composer. Writing music is like writing an essay, you need to keep your ideas elegant and relative to each other. If you start rambling on and on, no one is going to know what you’re talking about.
4. Not *always* true. Emotion is perhaps a key element to music, but not necessarily the drive for it. Music has to be purposeful, but not always emotional. This is usually a harder concept for new composers to understand, since the two concepts seem to be similar. Basically, what I am saying is that music does not necessarily have to be based upon the feelings. Music could be dry. In other words, instead of writing a piece on how emotions are portrayed in a certain painting, you can be literal and write music that is aurally representative of the painting.
5. Agreed again. Jot notes, plan, doodle, scribble, scratch the chalkboard… You should always try making up a plan before you start writing. I know, some are going to complain that it’s too technical and conformist or whatever… No, it is not going to hinder your creativity, because you have all the rights to change as you go on writing.
6. Yes. Improvisation is good. Know this: Don’t be afraid to scrap ideas that sound good in the moment; it might not turn out that great in the end.
7. I wouldn’t say ‘study’, but listen. Music is sound, thus hearing what you like and what you want to imitate is the best way to improving your compositions. That said, it doesn’t mean that you should copy what you hear. Look for your own voice, look for how you can improve the style.
8. That’s right. When you’re set to write, start with either melodic elements or harmonic elements. They are the flesh and bones of your piece. But let me reiterate: keep these elements consistent and relative throughout the piece.
9. Yes. You write music to be heard, not to be put in the closet. Show it.
10. Note: ‘sometimes’. ;P