Trying to compose Pop music

[tommy15433]

Hey guys,

I am 23 starting to learn piano.
How long do you guys thing it will take me to learn piano just to compose pop music like R&B and soft rock?
What kind of things do I have to learn to compose pop music?

[leucippus]

You don't need to play the piano to compose music.  What's more important is to know something about music theory.

Just download something like Finale Notepad, a free music writing program.  You can write music for any instrument and the program will play it for you.

I wrote the following piece on the piano long before I could play it.  I'll grant you that it's really simple, but this was the very first composition that I ever tried.  I did have a keyboard handy to try things on, but I had absolutely no experience at all.  No music theory either.

I'm sure you can do much better.

This is a midi file of it created by Finale Notepad:

First Composition Midi

Don't laugh, this was day one!  My VERY FIRST ATTEMPT EVER!  No piano playing, no music theory.  Just getting my feet wet with using the software.  Nothing fancy at all.