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Music Composition & Writing

Writing original music is a talent many admire. Composition refers to the form of the music written. Ask questions here about writing and composing music.

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How do you write a song step by step?

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Asked by Wiki User

Every songwriter is different, so I can only answer how I typically write a song:

First, I come up with a general idea of what the song is going to be about. I may even come up with a title at this point, I may not.

Then I'll let that idea rattle around in my head for a while, but I will not try to write a song around it. I can't force my creativity, whenever I've tried, the results have always been unsatisfactory.

Eventually a fragment of a melody or lyric, or sometimes both, will pop into my head, and I'll write it down. Then I'll work on expanding that fragment into a song. If I get stuck, I'll take a break from it and do something else, and eventually more fragments will enter my thoughts and I'll work them in.

Some songs can take days, weeks, sometimes even months to write, others come quickly. I once wrote a song called "I Wanna Be a Bad Guy" walking home from the train station. I had the basic idea for the song from something someone had posted on a message board the day before, and I had an introduction I had been toying with for some time before that, and I came up with the whole song in about as much time as it takes to sing it. I kept singing it to myself the rest of the way home so I wouldn't forget it.

As far as the form of the song, most contemporary songs in any genre follow this template, this is by no means the best or only way to write a song, but most songs will end up naturally taking this form:

Verse-Chorus-Verse-Chorus-Bridge-Chorus-Out

The choruses should all be basically the same, you might make a small lyrical tweak here or there, but if you think of most of your favorite songs, the first part you'll probably think of is the chorus, because it's typically repeated 2 or 3 times. I tend to think of the verses as describing the situation, and the choruses describing what I want to do about it.

Every once in a while I'll assemble a new song out of fragments of older, discarded songs. I'll take a melody from the verse of one song and combine it with a new chorus, or a chorus from another song, or some other combination of the above. So save everything you write.

I have to say I can't imagine trying to write a song without knowing how to play an instrument. I've even heard David Foster say to singers and songwriters, "If you don't play an instrument, learn one."

Music theory classes have been immensely helpful to my own songwriting in terms of harmonic and melodic structure. I was in a musical years ago written by someone who had failed music theory, it wasn't pretty (practically unsingable).

As with any artistic endeavor, there is no one right way to do it. What I have written here is what works for me, it may not work for you. I once heard another songwriter, when asked the same question, answer, "I wake up in the morning, make a pot of coffee, sit down at my piano and I write songs. That's my job."

I recommend checking out "Tunesmith" by Jimmy Webb, in which he describes his songwriting process. Your local library should have, or be able to get a copy.

What witty clever poems could be used for a music composition assignment?

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Asked by Wiki User

  1. "Melodies dance, notes swirl in the air, composing a tune beyond compare."
  2. "In a symphony of sound, the music speaks, weaving stories that make your heart peak."
  3. "Strings whisper, drums thunder, in harmony creating a world to ponder."

Where can you get the lyrics of the calabarzon march?

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Asked by Wiki User

Dito sa Timog Katagalugan

Sinilang ang bagong pangalan

Ang kaunlaran kay bilis at masagana

Lahat kami ay nagkakaisa

Sa mithiin ay sama-sama

Mabuhay ang CALABARZON

CALABARZON sa habang panahon

Interlude:

Lalawigang Rizal, Cavite

Laguna, Batangas, Quezon

at mga lungsod pa

Antipolo, San Pablo

Cavite, Laguna

Batangas, Calamba

Sta. Rosa, Tanauan at Lipa

Hey, Hey

Mga kawani ay tanging-tangi

Maglingkod ay laging gawi

Kaylan pa man sa Diyos ang aming lahi

Kabataan ay paunlarin

Ito ay unang layunin

Mabuhay ang CALABARZON

CALABARZON sa habang panahon

Mabuhay ang CALABARZON

CALABARZON sa habang panahon

Mabuhay!

How does music relate to writing?

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Asked by Wiki User

Really, writing music comes in many different ways, but what I think of as writing music would be creating a piece of music totally from thoughts and writing them.

What is a description of beethoven's 5th symphony?

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Asked by Wiki User

While there are a number of "Fifth Symphonies," by far the most well known is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. A symphony is a themed collection of pieces of music, composers didn't "name" them in the pop music sense but gave them titles according to the key in which they are written i.e. "Symphony in C", however once you have written more than one symphony in the same key it becomes necessary to number them, so a "fifth symphony" is the fifth symphony written by a composer.

Why do they set up the symphony orchestra that way?

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Asked by Wiki User

  • The music all comes from a certain place. If you had flutes in the left wing and saxophones in the back wing then it would sound weird because wherever your sitting the music will have different volumes. :)
  • lol this is true

What is the difference between a stave and a staff in music?

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Asked by EdnahSchwartz

They're the same thing it's just two different spellings, similar to the difference between the American "color" and British "colour." However, when you are using the plural of "staff" it would be staves and not staffs. I'm guessing that's where the term stave would have originated. They can be usedinterchangeably.

Who was the original singer of sweet child of mine?

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Asked by Wiki User

Guns and roses.. Person who plays guitar is called Slash (Saul Hudson - original name)

How do you play just the way you are by Bruno mars in flute with notes?

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Asked by Wiki User

It is on youtube; type in grenade flute cover and then you should see a yellow background video. In the description there is a link.

What Italian opera has the aria 'Nessun dorma'?

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Asked by Wiki User

Nessun Dorma, which means "none shall sleep," is from Puccini's Turandot.

How to remove 2004 sonata glove box?

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Asked by Wiki User

The 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee glovebox is secured with a retaining screws. There are four retaining screws on the top and for retaining screws on the bottom of the glovebox. Remove the retaining screws to remove the glovebox.

How does one get a record deal or job at a studio?

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Asked by PlugInThePartyLights

My advice is to go the independent route. Even if your ultimate goal is to get signed to a record label, pursuing independent means can help you get on record labels' radar, or at least make you more appealing as an artist. You'll at least have to write and record a few good songs as a demo if you want to get signed to a record deal. Do open mic shows, enter on & offline singing contests, network on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. In general, if you grind hard enough, someone will eventually take notice.

What songs best describe a teenager's life and experiences?

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Asked by Wiki User

The male and female experience through adolescence varies greatly;

"Innocence" by Our Lady Peace does well at balancing both male and female life experiences through the perspective of a teen.

For a more feminine analysis, one could try

"Less Than Perfect" by P!NK (aka Alicia Moore) or

"Stupid Girls"

A more masculine description could be found in

"Old School" by Hedley, or

"Teenagers" by My Chemical Romance

Caution: there is offence language contained within Teenagers, and Old School, as well as "****ing Perfect. Less Than Perfect is the Radio Version.

Who wrote summer overture?

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Asked by Wiki User

Never; W.A. Mozart did't composed any Summer Overture.

What is a music composition copyright?

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Asked by Wiki User

In music, composition is creating a new musical work, generally by recording it in music notation. People who practice composition are called composers. Compositional techniques are the methods used to create music. Useful skills in composition include writing musical notation, instrumentation, and handling musical ensembles (orchestration). Other skills include extended techniques such as improvisation, musical montage, preparing instruments, using non-traditional instruments, and other methods of sound production.

What is do re you so fa so la ti do?

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Asked by Wiki User

It is the C Ionian mode, which consists of the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C . It denotes a shift in tonality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Properties_of_musical_modes

This guy is partially right, but what it actually is called is "solfage." Solfage or solfa is a way of remembering the tone and position of the note in the scale it is in. For example using a C major scale: do= C re= D mi= E etc.

But a D major scale would be:

do= D re= E mi= F sharp etc.

Take a look at this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonic_sol-fa

(basically the first note (what scale you are playing in) will always be do)

E scale do=E...

Now for the lyrics:

Do, a dear a female dear

re, a drop of golden sun

mi, a name I call myself

Fa(far), a long long way to run

so, a needle pulling thread

la, a note to follow so

te, a drink with jam and bread

and that brings up back to do....

I must note, this is only the chorus per say, not the entire song as sang on "The Sound of Music".

Which major composers wrote in opera buffa?

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Asked by Wiki User

Allesandro Scarlatti, Johann Adolf Hasse, Leonardo Vinci, Nicola Porpora, George Frideric Handel, Tommaso Traetta, Christoph Willibald von Gluck, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and others.

What is a BM?

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Asked by Wiki User

B Major

"Bm" would make it B Minor...

B minor

Si menor

H-moll

How can I make my laptop play music?

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Asked by Wiki User

Firstly, you need a media player. If you have Windows, Windows Media Player should do the job nicely; simply double click the file in your folder. Alternatively, you can right click, and select "Play in Media Player". Or, if you do not have Windows Media Player, or do not wish to use it, I can suggest a media player, named "Billy", from the site . It is an excellent media player, and plays .mp3 files, along with other types.