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helps on composing

I know someone might have written a page on this already, but I don’t care, and I’m going to write down my way to compose from my own personal experience. (of composing/piano playing, 2 years worth) Here it is:

FOR THEMES IN GENERAL:

1) The chord/scale way; that is, using the notes of certain chords or scales, and making them match into a tune;

2) The improvisation way (or, as I call it, messing with the piano); just play around until something comes.

3) The beat way; create a beat first, and then put notes to the beats. (I only did this once, but it works well.)

4) The chord progression way; find a good order of chords, and then add a tune to it.

5) The random way; easiest with a music program, just put a bunch of notes down at random. (I did this once and in about 10 seconds had a good theme.)

6) The artist way; picture the voice of a modern song artist (pop, rock, etc.), and make it sing a song you’ve never heard before (without the words). I know it sounds funny, but I noticed that after some songs on the (car) radio, I can make the song go on in my head with different, additional notes.

7) The imagination way; to walk around outside in a garden (or anywhere) composing in your mind (like Beethoven!). This works for orchestral and piano themes both.  It can be a little difficult to get your imagination going, though.

FOR WHOLE COMPOSITIONS IN GENERAL:

1) The accumulation way; to gather up a bunch of small themes and stick them together.

2) The measure way; to get a theme and put down one measure at a time in to the real composition. This requires making up themes as you go. I am currently doing this with while working on a “Ballade in F minor” (my own opus)

3)  Save the writing of dynamics for last when writing, because it’s time consuming.

4) For piano pieces, remember that playing in octaves can have a fuller sound. For example, see moonlight sonata mov. 3, measures 25-32, etc.

FOR ORCHESTRAL PIECES IN GENERAL:

1) Follow the examples (the pieces) of different composers.  Look how each separate instrument is used; whether for accompaniment, or the main theme. For example, Tchaikovsky uses his brass instruments for loud, powerful themes, while Beethoven doesn’t.

I think that’s about it.  I hope it helps some of you, and I invite all of you to ask questions, add info, or criticize.

~Daniel Vallery

Re: helps on composing

Reply #1 –
Greetings all:

Thank you for the tips Daniel.

I wonder if anyone can help me with a
music-composing problem I have:

What is the 'form' of a 'through-composed'
piece of music?

I have grown tired of the A-B-A structure
and would like something more linear.
Something that takes a journey somewhere, but
does not end up back at the beginning. So, I am
interested in a 'one-way-trip' instead of the
usual 'round-trip.'

But what would the structure of something like
this be? The problem I have is in keeping the
piece coherent. I see that in the Bach
'Inventions' the coherence is maintained by the
use of a theme. But how did Bach decide when the
piece ends? So, what is the overall form of the
Inventions? Or, how does one prevent a through-
composed piece from spinning on forever?

Thank you for any insights.

Re: helps on composing

Reply #2 –
Actually, I have seen the term "through composed" to refer to music printed without repeats - even if passages are repeated. Thus, the sheet music read like a train track, even though it may be verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus. The reason is convenience, for those who easily get lost.

As for music that goes somewhere, listen to "Ma Vlast" and "Pictures at an Exhibition." For that matter, listen to any operatic score (possible exception of Wagner).

Re: helps on composing

Reply #3 –
My music dictionary ("my" as in owned by me, not written by me) defines Through-composed as follows.

<quote>

Through-composed.  This term, which is widely accepted as a translation of G. durchkomponiert, denotes songs in which new music is provided fro each stanza.  Its opposite is "strophic song," i.e., a song every stanza of which is sung to the same melody.  The latter method is frequently used for simple lyrics, while the former is preferred for simple lyrics, while the former is preferred for texts of a dramatic or narrative character in which the situation changes with every stanza as, e.g., in Shubert's "Erlkönig." Early examples of through-composed songs are the vers of the troubadours and the aria of the Baroque period.  In the 19th century F. Schubert and Carl Löwe were among the first to employ the through-composed style.  This has been universally accepted by recent composers (Debussy) for their lyrical songs.

<\quote>

I think there is a NWC file of "Erlkönig" in the scripto.

I have also heard the term used to describe a section of a operetta (musical, Singspiel) which consists of continuos sung material, with out intervening spoken passages.  A good example is the opening of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Gondoliers", or the finales of most of the G & S operettas.

Re: helps on composing

Reply #4 –
Greetings,

thank you Robert and Cyril for your input.
The examples you mentioned I would consider
'programmatic' pieces. I would guess that the
'program' helps determine the form for the
music - or at least it would be a guide for
where the music was going. I think that the
Bach Inventions are an example of what I am
wondering about: how did Bach determine when
a particular Invention would end? What makes
a particular section a part of the beginning,
middle, or end of the piece?

Thanks again for the insights.

Re: helps on composing

Reply #5 –
Come to think of it, my understanding of "through composed" (for choir hymns) is an elementary example of the definition graciously provided by Cyril. In many cases, different numbers of syllables per verse will result in slightly different melodies for each verse. If published with repeats, it is necessary to show involved notation, so that the rhythm can be linked to the words. But when through-composed, that is not necessary.

Can't help with the composition theory, though.