# Helping With Starting Off To Composing



## Metalheadwholovesclasical

I may sound like a total moron in this post, but oh well. haha

but I have been greatly interested into trying to compose music for myself. I have played violin and guitar for numerous years, so I have a very very basic idea on music theory. My questions are if there is anything I need to know when it comes to composing? Any tips? Any key components/rules I need to know? I am sure this question is too big to answer, so if you don't feel like explaining anything, perhaps posting a few sites or recommending a few books I should read and study could very much help me. Thank you in advance!


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## Mirror Image

This is a topic that is so vast, it's just mind-boggling.

Composing is one of the great joys of my life. You have to know how to read and write music before you can compose.

After you master reading and writing, then you can start focusing on composing.


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## PostMinimalist

Composing is like playing chess; it's easy to do but immensely difficult to do well. My only advice is: 'Don't give up!'. You may get disheartened by hearing your first attempts played by your freinds but you should take notes of what went well and what went badly and concentrate on eliminating the stuff that went badly and developing the stuff that went well. This sounds obvious but it's surprising how many composers continue to write their mistakes over and over and then wonder why their music doesn't sound as good as they hoped.
FC


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## Herzeleide

Metalheadwholovesclasical said:


> I may sound like a total moron in this post, but oh well. haha
> 
> but I have been greatly interested into trying to compose music for myself. I have played violin and guitar for numerous years, so I have a very very basic idea on music theory. My questions are if there is anything I need to know when it comes to composing? Any tips? Any key components/rules I need to know? I am sure this question is too big to answer, so if you don't feel like explaining anything, perhaps posting a few sites or recommending a few books I should read and study could very much help me. Thank you in advance!


Study these books, roughly in the order given:

Harmony and Voice Leading - Aldwell and Schachter.

Counterpoint in Composition - Salzer and Schachter.

Counterpoint - Kennan.

A Practical Approach to Sixteenth-Century Counterpoint - Gauldin.

A Practical Approach to Eighteenth-Century Counterpoint - Gauldin.

Forms in Tonal Music: An Introduction to Analysis - Green.

Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - Caplin.

Furthermore, I would suggest becoming very proficient in one instrument. The most useful instrument from the point of view of studying harmony and counterpoint is the piano. You will also find it very useful to develop your sight-singing abilities, even if your voice is not very good. Listen constantly to whoever your favourite classical composers are, and try to include a bit of Bach, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven in your listening, even if they're not your favourites.

Having mastered harmony and counterpoint, you'll be ready to try your hand at the much more difficult practice of contemporary composition. This is a huge area. All I can say is: listen to lots of modern and contemporary composers and then decide which ones you like, then purchase the scores of the pieces you like and study them. You could also try to find articles which may give you technical information on their compositional process.

Ah yes, and you'll need to know about instrumentation and orchestration. The books of Blatter, Adler and Kennan will provide most the information you'll need.


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## Scott Good

Hello,

Great, you want to compose! I'm telling you there is no sensation quite like hearing your notes on the page come to life.

To be honest, I think that the above reading suggestions, which are solid, are for a little later. Might I suggest to 2 ways to start gaining knowledge about composing.

Both come from the most important skill of the musician - having good ears!

1. Transcriptions: Why not take some of those metal tunes, and see if you can transcribe them by ear onto paper. Even better, try to do it without the aid of a guitar!

2. Improvisation: This is such a vast field, but I believe it is where creativity comes from - spontaneous music making. Piano is very good for this.

Start with 1 note - repeat it - try another note. Let the interval sit for a while. Get into the sound. Where does it want to go? What about rhythm? Explore without reservation. Spend lots of time letting each new idea settle before moving on.

Hippy trippy stuff like that leads to creative thought faster than any book will, in my opinion.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Scott


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## Kuntster

Hello, 
the above post is good. Ear training is essential. 
After that Counterpoint is the single most valuable skill you can learn in composition. The Kennan book from above is really good. 
Start practicing with little two voice pieces, then move to three, and practice with some canons. 
Finally there is the age old practice of Fugue. 

The Fugue represents all aspects of counterpoint so don't expect it to come over night. 
Good Luck


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## Scott Good

Kuntster said:


> The Fugue represents all aspects of counterpoint so don't expect it to come over night.
> Good Luck


Ha! I once had a young student who decided on a spur to write a fugue. It was terrible - I mean, that's cool, we are all on the path. But I just thought it was funny that he thought he was "doing it". I told him, give me 1 year of 16th century counterpoint, and then we can analyze the WTC over the next 3 years, and then, let's write some fugues!

Yes, tricky business.


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## emiellucifuge

Hi Metalhead, to be honest you do sound a bit of a retard but its ok, everyone has been at some point!

I think composition is a very rewartding area, your own pieces never sound good enough to you and when you get somethings that you really like its extremely rewarding.

I think a very modern but also slightly easy way to do it (may sound like crap) is to think of some programme and write motifs for everything, then just to piece them in where they belong and add nice harmonies transitions, and other ornaments etc..

otherwise if you want to start trying while your books are being shipped, get a nice structure, when you think of themes write them down, now the creative part is over - the rest is all systematic thinking.


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## danae

I think the main idea here is what kind of music you want to compose. All of the above posts assume that you are talking about music that requires that you can skilfully read and write western music notation. I suppose that's really the case but I don't assume it is without asking! 
So, if you want to compose something that contains sounds produced by musical instruments, and that will probably be performed by someone other than yourself then yes, you need to study theory in order to be able to convey your musical thoughts in a written form.
On the other hand, if you want to compose, for instance, electronic music, then I don't see how studying Kennan's 18th century counterpoint is going to add to your sound and musical quests!


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## Edward Elgar

Don't begin composition at the top left-hand corner of the page. Start developing a concept that could be born of musical or non-musical stimuli. Scetch motifs or harmonies and start assimilating a soundworld that is unique to you. When you feel confident, approach the terror that is the blank page (or notation software) and begin.


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## Kuntster

One good piece of advice Gunther Schuller told me:

"Get scores, as many scores as you possibly can and study them while listening."


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## Conservationist

Herzeleide said:


> Having mastered harmony and counterpoint, you'll be ready to try your hand at the much more difficult practice of contemporary composition. This is a huge area. All I can say is: listen to lots of modern and contemporary composers and then decide which ones you like, then purchase the scores of the pieces you like and study them. You could also try to find articles which may give you technical information on their compositional process.


I agree with everything you said EXCEPT the above.

Learn from the masters.

The contemporary stuff is transient music, like jazz, that focuses "outward in" trying to use theory to make itself profound, instead of using theory in service to artistic profundity.

That's why, like all things modern, people rave about its technical aspects but it courts few lasting converts because it's soulless trash.

IMHO


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## Metalheadwholovesclasical

Thank you everyone for your solid responses! I have been playing, listening, and studying music more first before I jump into it to get a good feel on classical. Everyone's responses have helped me so far, and I am feeling more confident with writing. I recently bought Finale, a composition software so I can start practicing (for anyone who uses it, how has it helped you?) 

But thank you once again everyone, I am taking all your suggestions and have been starting to get better, at least I feel. (Even though classical compostition takes forever to master)


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## SenorTearduct

Ive been composing for 4 months now (started with a symphony in April).. Ive written a symphony, a mass, 2 fugues (One is a fantasia tocatta and fugue in C Minor), 2 concertos, a canon, a waltz, a lullaby-waltz, A keyboard trio, a March, and 10 chamber pieces. I use Finale, and before I started writing classical I wrote 17 small pop pieces on piano and guitar. For me, I did not really look to deep into the classical theory other than the sonata form until I started my first Fugue, in which I used (what I will reccomend to you) The Harvard Dictionary Of Music. It is a complete ground level book that you can learn most all the basics from. When you start a piece I suggest you figure out your point of the work first, then study and write up a form, weather it is bianary ternary or abstract, choose the key, choose the tempo, then the time signiture, the instruments, then begin. As that may sound like a lot for a bigginer it may take only 20 mins.. and when you begin to excell, these decesions I have learned can be preformed within a matter of min. before begining.


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## SenorTearduct

And as I understand the first part of my statement might have come off a bit, arrogant or ignorant I urge anyone who is interested if you could take a look at my Tocatta and Fugue, as the very few reviws I have yet encountered are from my music tearchers for orcherstra and chorus and other classical enthuist in which I have yet encountered any good critism. You can find the thread at http://www.talkclassical.com/6163-finite-terra-need-reviews.html thank you


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