So here's the deal.

[thelightofspeed]

My girlfriend's next birthday is approaching in 9 months. She plays piano. I do not play the piano. I know nothing about music besides the notes, and I know them very poorly. I have no desire to learn the piano.

I want to compose a piano piece for her birthday present.

So. Where do I start? What program should I use to compose it, what do I need to know about the piano, how do I ensure it's playable (she's pretty good at piano, I'll inquire further as to her skill), etc. Help me out.

[peterjmathis]

That's kind of a tall order, but I guess you do have 9 months. I'd say you should start by learning the basics of playing the piano before getting into composition. Knowing what makes up existing piano pieces will help you understand what's playable instinctively.

Good luck! You'll have to work very hard to get this done.

[stevebob]

Perhaps "tall order" is an understatement.  I know you weren't asking for comments or opinions about the practicality of your idea itself, but I really do think you should reconsider your plan.  It's unlikely to be a productive use of your time, effort or energy, and it's likely that a gift with more tangible value will be more appreciated.

Please don't be insulted.  Your intentions are obviously good, and I'm just trying to offer you helpful and realistic advice.

[thelightofspeed]

I wish to compose it in a computer program; any advice on some I should use? Money is no object.

[3htohn]

Your thought is admirable, but no amount of money will help if you don't know anything about music.

But if money is no object, then my advice would be to write down everything you know about her, get a few photos and get in touch with a composer / pianist you can spend a bit of time with, exchange a few ideas and commission a piano piece for her.

Энтони.

[thelightofspeed]

Nah, that'd defeat the purpose.

Looks like I'll be forging my own road there through trial and error. Thanks anyway.

[3htohn]

Oh. Try Sibelius then. I'm not sure what version they are up to, but there may even be a free trial download on their site... and good luck.

Энтони.

[dss62467]

The other posters are right... If you don't know anything about playing the piano, you can compose something that will be extremely difficult to play.  I remember an interview I saw with Mitsuko Uchida where she talked of a composer she plays who didn't know the piano and her fingers were getting all caught up.

If money is no object, and you have something in mind, then it is a great idea to collaborate with someone who can transcribe it for you.   I think she would appreciate that more than having something that sits in her piano bench because it's unplayable.  She would feel horrible not learning it for you, but there's no enjoyment in learning a piece that isn't a pleasure to play.

[arumih]

I agree with everything the other posters say...but I think it would be impossible for someone who doesn't play the piano to compose something that's 'too' difficult...perhaps something that's wholly impractical maybe...in my very limited experience with composition I'm unable to compose anything that I can't sit at the piano and at least play parts of. I think perhaps for most people, you can only compose with the technical tools available to you so your composition would be around your playing level, or maybe a bit higher (can any composers comment on that? I know with computer programmes it's possible to come up with pieces beyond your level depending on your ears/theory perhaps).

Can you sing? Perhaps the best thing to do is find a friend who plays piano and has good ears, come up with a melody and let this person do the transcribing/arranging. This way you've 'composed' it but you haven't arranged it. This I think might be the simplest way for someone with little to no musical knowledge to come up with something.

If you really want to go it alone, you'd need to invest a lot of time into learning chords so that you can at least add in the necessary harmony to whatever melody you come up. Once you have a melody and the resulting chords, throw in some broken chords, alberti bass and other cheap tricks to mix it up. This isn't going to be great by any means (without some professional help). Don't worry though, even if she doesn't like it, she'll just say she does to avoid hurt feelings  . Good luck!

[thelightofspeed]

Would it work to compose the entire thing myself, then send it to a person who plays piano to tell me what needs to be fixed/suggest improvements?

[3htohn]

I suppose it would work this way and may even sound similar to what you send to be edited (arranged), providing you had just the air notes (melody line). But if you want to compose the entire composition yourself and take it to be ummm, improved, well it'd be like building a car but not knowing anything about mechanics or electrics then taking it to a local garage to see if it works - the whole thing may have to be done over.

I agree with Arumih, it's not just a matter of slapping a few notes on a page (whether it be from a computer or a piano or even just your mind) and wallah, you've got a composition.

The thing is, with composition there is so much more than just notes on a page there is chord structure, style, tempo, dynamics, melody, rhythm, harmony and much, much more. I like the singing idea , this takes us back before Guido of Arezzo.

Энтони.

[stevebob]

Nah, that'd defeat the purpose.

By the way, what is the purpose?  You've said that you want to compose a piano piece as a gift for your girlfriend, but I don't believe you've explained why.

I agree with Arumih, it's not just a matter of slapping a few notes on a page (whether it be from a computer or a piano or even just your mind) and wallah, you've got a composition.

Who (what) is wallah?

[dss62467]

Who (what) is wallah?

I do believe that was intended to be "voila!"   Funny, I was trying to find a poster named Wallah too.  Regardless, the point was made and that's all that matters.

[go12_3]

 In my opinion, get a piano teacher ASAP and get to work and learn about the notes and harmony , basic music theory and composition....etc.  Then you may be able
to compose a simple melody.  You might even try a music store and see what they can offer and if they know of a website that you can compose a song and hear it in return.
Do play around on the keyboard, listen to what you can do.  Learn the basic chords and learn to improvise.  Try that route for a while and see if that would enable you to compose or improvise a tune for your girlfriend.   Good luck! 

[rmbarbosa]

your intention is very beautiful but... do nothing is better than do something without musical quality. Overall we must respect Music.
Anyway, there`s one music named "One minute of silence". The orchresta is silent along just one minute...
Why dont you offer to your girlfriend another music, e.g. "two minutes of silence"? 
Best wishes
Rui

[nanabush]

Man, go for it!

Try to get Finale Notepad free trial (and if your lucky, a CD torrent).

I use Finale to write down stuff, and it's very easy to get the hang of.


If you want to compose without learning music, you might be out of luck, but if you learn enough to know the note names on the piano, and what a chord is, then you can use your imagination to make what you think sounds good.  Your girlfriend will probably be extremely impressed that you even tried to teach yourself to write a piece on your own.



If you can get these down:

1- reading piano keyboard
2- reading music staff
3- understanding note values (quarter, half, etc)
4- learning major/minor tonalities
5- basic chords (major, minor, mixed)

Then you can probably come up with a pretty catchy pop-sounding thing.  I know some people who have zero music background, but fiddle around long enough to make something decent sounding.

You don't need 3 years composition training, and classical lessons for x amount of time.  Just look around online at some of the basic stuff I mentioned, and you'll have some sort of base to understanding what the music you hear LOOKS like on paper.  Then go from there!

[3htohn]

Who (what) is wallah?

Sorry, it was late when I posted this I meant to say the French word voila.

Энтони.

[mrba1979]

What if you go through all this trouble and she does not want to play the piece?  Learning new music takes time and suppose she is just not in a position to add a new piece to her repertoire.  Speaking from the experience of "stupid things men think are romantic but actually are just stupid" a better romantic gesture would be to hire a musician, buy flowers and take her to an ultra expensive restaurant.  I know its kinda of basic, but trust me that it will go along way to show her your apprectiation.  Just so you know I once thought it romantic to celebrate my wifes birthday in our car.  To make a long story short I put the cake in the trunk, drove to the store where I wanted her to buy her own birthday present, and had the whole party right in the car at the store. My thoughts at the time where it was something different, and it was more intimate to celebrate in a smaller space.  Turns out it is just easier to get hit in a smaller space.

If you are still determined to follow this path of composing which could very well end in disaster I would agree that "Finale" is an excelent program.

Just incase anyone wants to know:  Yes, I am still married to the same woman.

[Bob]

I think a vacuum cleaner would be a nicer romantic, yet practical, gift for her.  That and some soft padded clothes for yourself. 


You could use a music sequencer program to create something in sound.  You don't have to know anything about notation to do that.  I'm thinking of a piano keyboard being hooked up to a computer though.  I suppose it's possible without the keyboard.

I've heard about people composing music using Garage Band, using loops.  I haven't used that though but I keep hearing about it. 

That's not necessarily playable on a piano though but it is music. 

If you're concerned about her playing, just make it on the easy side.  I think Finale or Sibelius (probably both by now) have a feature that will harmonize a melody for you.  And possibly put it into piano style.  I'm not sure.  I know one of those will harmonize a line for you though.

[3htohn]

Actually, there is a program called "Band in a Box" but I've never used it, someone was telling me about it years ago (I'm sure you find it on the net somewhere). And it was being used to compose (not piano pieces) songs by a friend of mine who knew very little about music.

This might help. But as I say, I've never even seen it, but worth giving a try.

Энтони.

[Bob]

Yes, that too.  You can plug in harmonies and it will improve in different styles for you. 

If it doesn't do it automatically, you could save that information as a MIDI file and import it into a notation program to print it out as musical notation. 

[thelightofspeed]

By the way, what is the purpose?  You've said that you want to compose a piano piece as a gift for your girlfriend, but I don't believe you've explained why.

Because I love her? There's not much more to say that isn't applicable to any gift.

[snip]

If she doesn't want to learn the piece, that's fine, I'll save as a midi and she can add it to her iPod. I'm quite sure she will enjoy the present; we tend to exchange more personal gifts than ones that could be given to others and mean the same.

Try to get Finale Notepad free trial (and if your lucky, a CD torrent).

I'd actually used Finale in school years ago, and downloaded it again before I saw this post (2010, torrent). Psychic, amirite?

If you want to compose without learning music, you might be out of luck, but if you learn enough to know the note names on the piano, and what a chord is, then you can use your imagination to make what you think sounds good.  Your girlfriend will probably be extremely impressed that you even tried to teach yourself to write a piece on your own.

If you can get these down:

1- reading piano keyboard
2- reading music staff
3- understanding note values (quarter, half, etc)
4- learning major/minor tonalities
5- basic chords (major, minor, mixed)

Then you can probably come up with a pretty catchy pop-sounding thing.  I know some people who have zero music background, but fiddle around long enough to make something decent sounding.

You don't need 3 years composition training, and classical lessons for x amount of time.  Just look around online at some of the basic stuff I mentioned, and you'll have some sort of base to understanding what the music you hear LOOKS like on paper.  Then go from there!

Thank you, this is what I was looking for! (affirmation of own beliefs, I know, so sue me) Would you recommend any resources to help me learn?

Also, the 'experimenting with a keyboard/piano' sounds like it may help. Anywhere I can download a virtual piano, per se?

[stevebob]

Because I love her? There's not much more to say that isn't applicable to any gift.

I guess I should have asked about reasons you think this is a sensible idea for a gift, then, rather than about the purpose.  But it's not important; it's obvious that nothing will dissuade you from this endeavor, so there's not much to say but good luck with it!

[nanabush]

There are alot of flash keyboard apps that you can find from google, but they're usually only one octave (about 12 keys total to play on).

Garage band is REALLY good, if you have a mac.  You can turn your computer keyboard into a music one, and ya you can cut and paste loops, and use tons of different instruments (and they're not crap quality, they sound like the actual instrument).

https://www.musictheory.net/

This site is pretty cool, and very visual.  I'd suggest going through a bunch of those.  If you are a visual learner, then this stuff should be pretty easy to absorb, and is great for reference.

The best thing to do would be to find an actual keyboard (you can get one at like Walmart or a store like that for under 100 bucks, and it would be around 4-5 octaves).

Second best thing, if you don't have garage band, would be 'Finale Notepad'.  On this program, if you've learned some BASIC music theory from the site, you can start trying to write down sequences of notes and just see how they sound.

Look up 'chord progressions' and see what notes make those up, and you'll impress your girlfriend for sure; having chords in your music if you have zero music knowledge will be like going above and beyond