Composing and Improvising

[paulmoony]

I got an amateur question about composing.

Do composers just right what pop into their head and maybe play it
a couple of times and fix it to sound better, or do they have any
other methods?

Famous composers like Chopin, for example, have composed
a few impromtus, which he did when he improvised, but what
about his other works? How did he composed Waltz, Scherzo,
Nocturnes, Etudes and many other works? Same with other composers.
If it was improvised, he would've called it impromtus , but he didn't.

How DO composers compose?

[lostinidlewonder]

I'm not a professional composer but I know most of them when writing piano solos would simply sit at the piano and work out what sounds right. They follow also example of what has been done before by other great composers and their music follow musical language based on musical theory (even when they start making up their own ideas and sound effects). So to put it simply, they compose at the piano, I doubt many would be able to think the music as amazingly as Beethoven did.

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Every composer is different.

[debussy symbolism]

Each one has a certain composition technique, whether improvisation, or carefull and theory based technique, etc.

[dinosaurtales]

We have been doing composition projects for our music class, and I can tell you by now that there are a variety of composition techniques and methods.  Your favorite one(s) will depend largely on where your strengths and comforts lie.  For example, I can't write a melody to save my life (we had to write a series of melodies to turn in today, and I think the instructor was appalled by mine!) - so my compositions start with either a harmonic progression (basicallty I mapped out an entire compositioin based on a series of modulations), or a rhythmic motive followed shortly by a harmonic idea.  The melody has been the last thing to get written in.  I've been getting rave reviews on mine so far, but I'll bet that's not considered a good method to use.  What do you composers think?

[clef]

I got an amateur question about composing.

Do composers just right what pop into their head and maybe play it
a couple of times and fix it to sound better, or do they have any
other methods?

Famous composers like Chopin, for example, have composed
a few impromtus, which he did when he improvised, but what
about his other works? How did he composed Waltz, Scherzo,
Nocturnes, Etudes and many other works? Same with other composers.
If it was improvised, he would've called it impromtus , but he didn't.

How DO composers compose?

there are many ways.  for instance you might get a tune in your head, write it down, and write an accompaniment for it.  other ways are to first write the foundation, like the bass line, harmony before improvising around with a melody.  Its really just up to you, the best way you can come up with a great song

[gruffalo]

i have just started to compose. what i get is just tonnes of ideas in my head. piano, orchestral, but i find it really hard to notate it. most of the things in my head are too complicated, and i find it really hard sort of decoding (i guess you can call it). someone told me this is where every composer starts, and has to find methods of getting things down through practice and recommend i start composing easier or earlier time period pieces.

I dont know if this is the same way other people get their ideas. I dont get as many of my ideas when i walk up to the piano. i have an idea in my head and maybe play it out to try it out (if i can), but i cant actually compose at the piano.