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Compose Music
If you want to know how to compose music that will grasp the emotions and attentions of people, here are some starter tips.
Steps
Listen to other composers' music. Why? When you listen to other people's music, you can consciously and subconsciously learn techniques through instrument combination or rhythms that get the most out of each emotion.
Get motivated. Whether you have some fancy program or a simple piece of staff paper, motivation is what gets you on the right track. Composing can be excruciatingly irritating, so if your heart isn't truly in it, you won't get far.
Create a melody. This is the most important part in composing. Sit down in a quiet corner, and say to yourself, "I will think up a melody in 5 minutes!", then start humming random notes until a melody pops up. It's like an epiphany! Doesn't always work though. Make it generic, simple, and not too long. A melody's mood can be changed by what accompaniment is given. A great example is the Chronicles of Narnia Film Score. The same melody is present in 3 or 4 different songs. However, it brings happiness, war, and adventure with the different styles.
Create a rough draft. Just like a written composition in English class, music requires multiple revisions before the final pieces is ready. Build off your melody. The best thing here is imagination. It is your piece, so work with it.
Only change it if you truly don't like it that way.
Revise and complete: When writing a rough draft, you might be interested in getting it down as quickly as possible so you don't forget your music. Take your time. This way, you'll have less to edit when going through it again.
Don't forget about dynamics, expressions, or articulation. They are in the top fundamentals of composing (i.e. Staccato might make music light and bouncy).
Complete. Now's your time to relax and rewrite it. You've already done your rough draft and editing, so why not finish it.
Having trouble finishing off? Publish your music free at moture and get comments.
Tips
Know the sounds of each instrument used in your composition.
A quiet place to work usually helps because there are less distractions.
Know which instruments fit into the category of music (i.e. Woodwind Quintet ~ Horn, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Flute)
It would probably be best to start with something like a quintet. Work your way up to orchestral or big band. Even Mozart started with simple and small (i.e. duets) instrumentations.
After creating the melody, knowledge of accompaniment is essential. Some helpful things to look up for an accompaniment would be chord progressions and some modal scale knowledge. Remember that music theory was made so each musician wouldn't have to experiment as much when making music.
If you are trying to write music for a rock band or a nonclassical piece then this can still apply. Classical music chord progression is the same as rock.
Warnings
Keep to your original idea. Many times composers will make a mistake, think it works, and lose their whole train of thought.
Don't quit. This can be really frustrating but the rewards are far greater.
It is essential to make sure that you thought about transposition of instruments before making a final draft. It will sound completely horrible if there are seven instruments all in different keys playing in unison.
Things You'll Need
Imagination, staff paper AND/OR
Musical Notation Software
Steps
Listen to other composers' music. Why? When you listen to other people's music, you can consciously and subconsciously learn techniques through instrument combination or rhythms that get the most out of each emotion.
Get motivated. Whether you have some fancy program or a simple piece of staff paper, motivation is what gets you on the right track. Composing can be excruciatingly irritating, so if your heart isn't truly in it, you won't get far.
Create a melody. This is the most important part in composing. Sit down in a quiet corner, and say to yourself, "I will think up a melody in 5 minutes!", then start humming random notes until a melody pops up. It's like an epiphany! Doesn't always work though. Make it generic, simple, and not too long. A melody's mood can be changed by what accompaniment is given. A great example is the Chronicles of Narnia Film Score. The same melody is present in 3 or 4 different songs. However, it brings happiness, war, and adventure with the different styles.
Create a rough draft. Just like a written composition in English class, music requires multiple revisions before the final pieces is ready. Build off your melody. The best thing here is imagination. It is your piece, so work with it.
Only change it if you truly don't like it that way.
Revise and complete: When writing a rough draft, you might be interested in getting it down as quickly as possible so you don't forget your music. Take your time. This way, you'll have less to edit when going through it again.
Don't forget about dynamics, expressions, or articulation. They are in the top fundamentals of composing (i.e. Staccato might make music light and bouncy).
Complete. Now's your time to relax and rewrite it. You've already done your rough draft and editing, so why not finish it.
Having trouble finishing off? Publish your music free at moture and get comments.
Tips
Know the sounds of each instrument used in your composition.
A quiet place to work usually helps because there are less distractions.
Know which instruments fit into the category of music (i.e. Woodwind Quintet ~ Horn, Clarinet, Oboe, Bassoon, Flute)
It would probably be best to start with something like a quintet. Work your way up to orchestral or big band. Even Mozart started with simple and small (i.e. duets) instrumentations.
After creating the melody, knowledge of accompaniment is essential. Some helpful things to look up for an accompaniment would be chord progressions and some modal scale knowledge. Remember that music theory was made so each musician wouldn't have to experiment as much when making music.
If you are trying to write music for a rock band or a nonclassical piece then this can still apply. Classical music chord progression is the same as rock.
Warnings
Keep to your original idea. Many times composers will make a mistake, think it works, and lose their whole train of thought.
Don't quit. This can be really frustrating but the rewards are far greater.
It is essential to make sure that you thought about transposition of instruments before making a final draft. It will sound completely horrible if there are seven instruments all in different keys playing in unison.
Things You'll Need
Imagination, staff paper AND/OR
Musical Notation Software