Somehow I never quite got the hang of songwriting. I'm fairly good at building a basic motif, and even extrapolating from there. The problem is that I'm not sure how to move from a set of motifs to an actual song. It's kind of like when a middle schooler is tasked with his first long essay. He has five pages to write, and only a page or two of actual material. So the only way to get there is to repeat the same thing over and over, but say it a little differently each time. That way it hits the necessary length, but without actually going anywhere or saying anything all that substantial. I kind of feel like that's where my musical abilities are right now -- and this applies to both composed tracks as well as live sound. Here's the promised clips: Battle of the ApocalypseHoarder's Legend These are old clips, so it's possible some of you have heard them before. They're basically the best work I've done to date. While they're not bad compositions, they are obsessively repetitive and show little or no development or movement. No changes in tempo, key, or even basic chord progression. There's no sophistication here, just a set of loops that have been combined in clever ways. So that's my basic gripe. My question is, how do I actually move forward from here to composing music that has an actual structure, and develops over time? I was considering tackling simplistic existing structures, for example an ABA setup, but I'm not really sure how to write A and B sections that fit together, or how to transition between them. (This is where some of the weaknesses in my musical theory begin to show.) I assume at least some of you were here at some point and managed to grow beyond it, so I'm asking: how do I develop my skills as a composer to build more sophisticated songs?

You seem to be having a hard time with progression, so here are some simple ways to bring new life to your pieces. Here are some simple ways to bring new life to your pieces. These methods can be used one at a time, or in combinations and are by no means the only ways to further develop your pieces.

Fun things to do to the melody:

1) Inversion: Take the melody line and flip it upside down keeping all of the intervalic relationships the same. (For example, instead of going up a major 3rd, go down a major 3rd.) See what kind of new line this gives the piece.

2) Retrograde: Take the melody and play it backwards.

3) Retrograde-Inversion: Do both steps, invert all of the intervals and then play it backwards.

4) Call and response: Layer the melody (either direct echoes or start on another pitch) and create an interesting texture and interchange.

5) Toward climaxes, fragment the melody line (works best with something well defined and understood by the listener) and build it towards the climax. You can even begin to begin to branch out into other keys (using chromaticism) and then land on the home key at the climatic point. This helps create frenzy and the sense of motion up to the climatic release.

Fun things to do to the harmony:

1) Sometimes just changing the background chords alone can breathe new life into your piece. Try selecting new chords.

2) Closely related to step 1 is changing the mode (major vs. minor).

Fun things to do with orchestration (or arrangement):

1) If you always have the melody on top, and the harmony below then try flipping them. Play the melody in the lower range while having the harmony up high.

2) Imbed the melody within the harmony (beware those this requires carefull attention to make sure the balance is still appropriate).

3) Have the instruments you've used change roles. For example, one is primarily the melody carrier, then changes to a background or side role while another instrument takes over.

4) You don't have to have everything in the piece going from measure 1, you can slowly build it up. You can take everything out except for one section in the middle and slowly build everything back into the sound. You can try different combinations of parts throughout the piece. This is how much of the trance music is designed, and it is effective when done well.

Fun things to do with rhythm:

1) Set things up for a while, and then change the rhythm or the melody and/or the harmony.

2) Change meter, for example go from 4/4 to 3/4.

There are many things you can do to make your piece come alive and have more variety. Try some of these tricks out (they're tried and true) and see if that helps.

Remember, good music is all about a journey, having some direction and taking your listener with you to that goal. Sometimes, you can surprise the listener with a new direction, but the path *to* that new direction has to be something the casual listener can understand. (This is probably the primary reason serial music is no longer super popular, the general public couldn't understand or grasp it).

Finally, always use your ear and try to distinct what is bothering you. Is that high line too repetitive and getting on your nerves? Then try changing a note or rhythm of that line and see if that makes it better. Careful listening (and often many sessions of listening) to your work really helps. It also helps me to sometimes take a break. Put a piece "on the shelf" for a while and come back after either working on other music or doing another activity (like jogging) and being refreshed.

Suggested reading and resources:

The Art of Orchestration by Benard Rogers
http://www.amazon.com/Art-Orchestration-Principles-Contributions-American/dp/0837129699]Amazon.com: The Art of Orchestration: Principles of Tone Color in Modern Scoring (Contributions in American History): Books: Bernard Rogers

Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music by Stefan Kostka
http://www.amazon.com/Materials-Techniques-Twentieth-Century-Music-2nd/dp/0139240772]Amazon.com: Materials and Techniques of Twentieth-Century Music (2nd Edition): Books: Stefan Kostka

Norton Anthology of Western Music
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/titles/music/nawm4/ancillaries.htm]The Norton Anthology of Western Music

A History of Music by Donald J. Grout
http://www.amazon.com/History-Western-Music-Donald-Grout/dp/0393979911/ref=sr_1_1/105-5484972-8378045?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187801042&sr=1-1]Amazon.com: A History of Western Music: Books: Donald J. Grout,Claude V. Palisca,J. Peter Burkholder

There are many more, but I'll have to go home and look through my library to make sure I give you the right titles and authors!

I hope that helps!

Nathan Madsen
Composer-Sound Designer
http://www.madsenstudios.com

[Edited by - nsmadsen on August 22, 2007 11:06:57 AM]

Quote:

1) Inversion: Take the melody line and flip it upside down keeping all of the intervalic relationships the same. (For example, instead of going up a major 3rd, go down a major 3rd.) See what kind of new line this gives the piece.

I did that a few days ago, combined with a glockenspiel. Now it sounds all Harry Potterish! Nice :D

You could also try planning your music beforehand. Write down where you want it to start, and where to go, what you wanna use, the ambience, atmosphere, and everything you feel should be included.

I did what you do when I was younger, compose per musical part. Try to compose on a per-note base. Think about every bar you copy. "Is this what I want? Why do I copy it?" This should get you a bit further. :D

Oh, and Nathan...why didn't you come up with those books earlier!? :p

-Stenny

Holy crap that's a lot of good ideas. Definitely gives me a lot to work with. Thanks a bunch, I'll see how things work out.