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Tips on Writing Music

Category: Music —

Some ideas and advice to enhance your music writing experience:

Write the Lyrics For Your Song

Many musicians write their own melodies as well as the lyrics. If you already have lyrics, consider them when writing your melody. Some questions to ask yourself before composing the music are: What words do I want to focus on? Are there note lengths or timing that will accommodate certain words better than others will?

Consider the following line: I DROVE my CAR down the HIGHWAY. The emphasized words DROVE, CAR and HIGHWAY give the listener an idea of what is going on, even if these are the only words they hear. On the other hand, if you sing the same line but emphasize different words: I drove MY car DOWN THE highway. The listener might have no idea what you’re singing about.

You can emphasize words with a louder note, changing the note itself, a longer note or including a rest before or after the note. Experiment with your song and see what sounds the best.

Listen to and Learn from Other Composers

There is something to be learned from every single musician or band out there. Listen to how your favorite musicians construct their songs—examine the style, the tone, how different instruments work together and so on and so forth. You can implement many of the same ideas into your own music or even take some of their riffs and tweak them to fit your style. This is a great way to come up with new melodies.

Use Music Composition Software

Music composition software can be a musician’s best friend. These programs aid in the writing process by organizing your work and allow you to see what you’re playing. Quality software packages provide features including a metronome to keep beat, playback, so you can listen to what you’ve composed, input, so you can hook your instrument or microphone directly to your computer and notate a song you play or sing and tons of editing tools so you can easily compose a riff.

Look for Musical Inspiration

Before writing a piece of music, it’s critical to feed your mind inspiration. Inspiration comes from all around us: our emotions, relationships, nature, people and experiences—some songs are even about surreal situations. A big part of finding inspiration is putting yourself in situations that rouse inspiration and then recognize it when it comes.

We all have different people come into our lives; relationships have always been hot topic for songwriters. To generate other ideas get out of the house, go somewhere, and do something. This could even be something as simple as walking in the park or down the street. You’ll be amazed where inspiration can be found.

Have Fun

You first started writing music because you love music. If you’re not enjoying composing music, then do something else for a while. People tend to do what they love best.

There is no Wrong Answer in Music Composition

Writing music is one of those things you can do and never make a mistake. Some melodies are catchier than others are, and everyone will write some bad stanzas. It’s all right; that’s why we have revisions. Remember this while writing music: it will make you feel better and help you avoid writer’s block.

Define Your Music Composition Goal

Are you writing music for yourself or for other people? This alone will totally change the tone and style of your music. If you are writing for yourself, you have more freedom to write what and how you want.

In contrast, if you are writing for other people, it is a good idea to identify your target audience and write music they will enjoy.

Seek Advice and Opinions

People are always willing to give advice and opinions; take their comments into consideration when writing music. Give your music to family members and friends to get their opinion of your songs. Though people close to you may be biased, their comments are still valuable.

Do Something Different

It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and all of your songs begin to sound the same. Even if you’ve found a great combination of notes or a catchy beat, changing it can be good and help you grow as a composer.

An easy way to try something new is pick up an instrument you haven’t played before. Sometimes you find yourself playing the same old keys or strumming the same chords on your guitar. A different instrument can lead you to melodies you may not have thought of otherwise.

Practice, Practice and More Practice

There is no substitute for hard work and practice—it is the only formula that will guarantee you will become a better songwriter.

Music Elements

Category: Music —

Music and its elements were taken up by man from sounds in nature, like the chirping of birds or blowing of the wind. The different types of elements of music that were found in nature were put together to create music.

The elements of music are as follows:

Form
Timbre
Melody
Texture
Dynamics
Harmony
Rhythm

Form/Musical Form: Form is the element that refers to the style or genre of music. The form, or more appropriately, the musical form is determined on the basis of the harmonic language, rhythm that is used, lyrics, instruments, etc. Many a times, the form is also determined by the geographical area, or the historical era, to which it belongs, for example, Indian classical music. As the name suggests, Indian classical music originated in India during ancient times. It was developed in ancient India on the basis of the flow of sounds that appeared in nature. Sometimes the format of lyrics is also used to classify the form of music. For example: a ballad is a narrative poem. The famous song ‘Nothing Else Matters’ by rock band, Metallica, is often classified as a ballad, because of its narrative lyrics.

Timbre: Timbre is a rather abstract concept that involves the differentiation and identification of the notations, which are played on different instruments at the same time. For example a bass guitar and a lead guitar are always played together with the same notation, however, a groove or a singular notation is played on the bass guitar, whereas, a chord is played on the lead guitar. The differentiation between the sounds of these notations is commonly termed as Timbre. It is also often defined as a distinctive and complex note.

Melody: A melody is often defined as a set of linear notations in the form of tunes, vocals, or even chords or grooves. A melody essentially forms the basic framework of any song. It must be noted that melody is often divided into different phrases. The specialty of a melody is that it can be written down with the help of staff and quote notations. For example, most of the rock songs can be divided into parts like the verse and chorus. It is said to be the horizontal aspect of music.

Texture: Many musicians consider texture to be the heart and soul of music. A texture is a set or pattern of rhythms and notations played together. It is often termed as a progression. A common texture is made up of harmony, tempo and rhythm. Some of the common textures are monophonic (where only one melodic voice is used) or polyphonic (where multiple and independent voices are used). A micropolyphony is a modern texture that was first composed by the famous Austrian composer, György Ligeti.

Dynamics: The volume of the notation is known as the dynamics of the music. Nowadays, due to technical advancements in music, instruments like the electric guitar have electronic controls for volume. However, while playing the traditional instruments, musicians had to control the volume manually while playing the notations. The term dynamics is more valid and applicable for written notations. For example, a ‘p’ (in lower case) stands for a piano notation that is to be played softly.

Harmony: The term harmony refers to the different notations played at different pitches, but in the same scale, and is used to make chords. Harmony is often referred to as harmonics in modern music. It said to be the vertical aspect of music. Harmony involves finding notes that sound harmonic to each other i.e. notations in same scale. According to composer Arnold Whitall, “It was not that counterpoint was supplanted by harmony (Bach’s tonal counterpoint is surely no less polyphonic than Palestrina’s modal writing) but that an older type both of counterpoint and of vertical technique was succeeded by a newer type. And harmony comprises not only the (‘vertical’) structure of chords but also their (‘horizontal’) movement. Like music as a whole, harmony is a process.” Harmony is a factor that makes complex but beautiful textures in music. It also a form of innovation and experimentation.

Rhythm: A rhythm is a set of sequential, synchronized and uniform beats and notations. The concept of a ‘pulse’ or a repetitive beat is a very important element of rhythm. The concepts of texture and rhythm, when put together, form the concept of a ‘bar’. A bar is a set of rhythm, which is accompanied by specific notations played in a uniform tempo.

All these elements, when put together form the magical art of music. Music is a form of universal communication. It is very difficult to describe, write or define each and every element of music. In reality, it is to be heard, observed on the instrument, and felt by the heart.

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