Composing

[lisztener]

Hi all

I've started to write some music myself and I have a few questions to the rest of you who write your own music.

How do you "receive" the music?    This probably sounds crazy, but do you hear the music in your head?  Or do you kind of improvise the music on the piano, and by playing come up with new music?

This might sound a bit weird, but when I'm really tired, I can hear songs in my head..     Late at night I sometimes hear pop songs in my head drums, sining and melody - whole kit..   This is not happening to often, and the songs are not always good..  But still..   But  this is really rare, mostly I just improvise at the piano and come up with nice sounds and melodies...   How do you produce the music yourselves?
Have a blast /  lisztener

[llamaman]

I take a theme from a piece I like, then change it until I have made it sound better, then the rest of the music just comes to me once I have that done.

[larse]

There are many ways to get a theme. Like you said, it often pops up in your head like out of nowhere. Others have made old themes new like Llamaman. Others improvise, others take words or objects and make turn them into themes, etc etc.

personally I like to use the piano alot. But I always make sure I don't make anything too pianistic, if you know what I mean...that way whatever I write usually turns out to be rubbish. Good practice on this would probably be to write for another instrument than the one you're playing, i.e. string quartett, or any other chamber ensemble. I'm not saying that one should'nt make music for the piano, just that you have to make sure it's music and not just something that might sound impressive.

[phil13]

I usually study the compositions of great composers (i.e. my last one I studied Haydn and Beethoven, this one Debussy and Scriabin). After watching their writing style, ideas begin to pop up in my head. Then it's just a matter of writing things down (sometimes it takes hours for even the smallest melody) and improvising new themes off of that one. Usually what I end up writing is either a theme and variations or a sonata (usu. 3 movements).

Then again, sometimes I'll leave an idea or fragment unfinished, so that I can come back to it later.

Example: I wrote a piece in Bach's baroque style in D minor about a year ago. That piece was unfinished, but it had a few interesting and good melodic ideas, so I kept it. A few weeks ago I finished a set of 13 variations and an Arietta on Bach's Minuet in G. The variations aren't much, but the Arietta (which is completely original, but I put it at the end of the piece because it seemed to fit) is very beautiful. The baroque ideas are now part of the 3rd movement, and the Arietta the 2nd movement, of my latest creation: Sonata No.2 for Piano and Violin in C-sharp minor.

It helps to have a library of random ideas you write down (or a sketchbook, like Beethoven.)

Phil