Composing music as a beginner may seem overwhelming. With plenty of things to consider like lyrics, rhythm, harmony and melody—where do you start?
One benefit of traditional compositions is there are plenty of ways to start. However, there still are methods that will help beginners pick up fast.
One of these ways is by investing in music notation software.
Before you get your hands on music software, use these simple tips to get started:
Decide The Style
Find out which style you want to compose.
It could be jazz, rock or even classical. Consider the mood, instrumentation and tempo. Take note of a few tracks in your preferred genre. What sort of composition do they contain?
It could be a slow-moving melody or repeated notes. Write down the preliminary idea for your composition.
Identify The Form
Musical compositions are typically made of redundant or contrasting sections. How many sections will it have? How long will your first composition be? Stick with one of the standard forms for your first composition.
Create Ideas
Use the instruments to create initial riffs and record them. Also consider singing along short melodies. Do this for a good ten minutes. Remember that it doesn’t need to be flawless at this point.
The First Musical Design
Listen to your song; does any part strike an idea you could turn into a song? Are there any opening lines you could use? Your melody isn’t complex at this point. The melody idea you get is the first musical motif. Check if you can pen this down on your notation software. Next, modify the motif.
The Contrasting Section
All songs have a divergent section that develops interest in the melody by adding fresh material to the ear. Consider it a functional bridge between your music. To come up with the contrasting section, try to play the original motif and come up with a diverse rhythm. Will the melody transition by skips or steps?
Combining It Together
What you have now are a couple of contrasting sections of music which you need to arrange together. Do the sections resonate with your original idea? It is never too late to change things. Does the composition feel complete? Do you need to add in a bass line or a piano section? Try out different ideas till you have something you can call perfect!
To make the job considerably easier, try out our music maker software for PC. You can start off with a free demo to get a feel for Music Jotter, today!
