composing help

[chopincrazy23]

Hello everyone,

I have been taking lessons for composing, and I am pretty good at it. The only problem is, I am terrible at getting myself motivated to start a composition and finish my current ones. Does anyone use any tricks to help them "get into the groove of things" for composing?

[ajspiano]

Hello everyone,

I have been taking lessons for composing, and I am pretty good at it. The only problem is, I am terrible at getting myself motivated to start a composition and finish my current ones. Does anyone use any tricks to help them "get into the groove of things" for composing?

I'm fairly bad at finishing bigger works..

I found that I got better by assigning myself smaller tasks, less (not absent of though) inspiration drawn compositions. Such as that I would write something for specific purpose, that I knew I could finish in say a maximum time of 1 hour.

As a result I have a small array of little pieces, like my own self composed notebook for beginners. It has things like etudes for specific purposes..  so for example poly-rhythms, pieces that stick to specific keyboard positions (or minimal changes of position), small easy(ish) examples of a variety of forms..  so like minuets, bouree, chorale, canon etc. ..inventions (which took a  bit more time initially)..

This seems to have pushed me to have a higher level of "craft" that I can apply when first sitting down.. I can nut out and find decent musical ideas without them having to come to me when I'm in the right mood..  Then I can allow the "inspiration" side to make some adjustments to what I've written by reworking ideas later when I'm in a different mood if need be..

......

I also love just improvising generally.. and can go with that whenever.. so when coming from that perspective the ideas part is easy enough..  but you have to find the willingness to either right it down then and there or go over the same (or similar) ideas until you remember them quite well i guess.

[chopincrazy23]

Thanks!