How do I write a piano piece???

[Candiria99]

hi im a (kinda) begginnner pianist (maybe intermediate) and I've been interested in writing a piano piece but it seems so intimidating!! theres so many scales and chords and so much stuff to put into it. So I was wondering where would I start?? I have no problem making a melody really but I have no clue how to write the chords.  its just hard because i can play the chords in my head but i dont know which ones i need to play. Any help??

oh and one more question... is it possible to become a great composer and not the great of a pianist???

[ted]

Your last question is the easier to answer - yes, of course - many composers aren't much good at playing the piano. If you mean a composer specifically of piano music, then probably it would be true to say the best piano music is written by those who are, in some sense at least, pianists. Whether or not they actually conceive it at the piano or away from the piano is a matter of habit and preference, and doesn't matter that much.

Although I've written a lot of piano music I'm not at all sure how to answer your first question because it has never been the way I have worked. I'm not saying it couldn't be done by starting with a melody and filling it up with chords and scales - it's just that it's never happened that way for me. I don't usually set out to "write something" for the sake of writing something. There has to first exist some very vital and interesting idea which affects my intellect or emotions - melody is too narrow a concept to describe this. Once something takes my fancy I usually develop it at the keyboard through improvisation for some time and over many sessions. I may simply let it stay as a germinal idea - make shorthand sketches of it in case I forget, tape recordings etc. If the idea shows signs of "flowering" into a definite form I might consider writing a piece out.

I have to be pretty stimulated by something to do this though. After all, it takes a long time to tediously notate even a moderately complicated piano score - in that time I might have created a hundred more interesting ideas !

In short, I couldn't write a piece simply for the sake of writing a piece - like a daily task. I know some folk do it this way and good luck to them but I certainly cannot.

[Candiria99]

thank you for your help... but if i want to start writing and learning about about composing, where do i start? also...do you know of any websites or books that would help me with composing?

[ted]

Candiria:

There are hundreds of books and articles on the web about composition but I feel you are working back to front. Let's put things in the most crudely simple way.

1. There are no "rules" about how to do it. Therefore there can be no "instruction book".

2. If something you have created at the piano sounds good to you, says exactly what you meant to say and you can repeat it, then it is not "wrong". If you have done this then you have composed something, maybe just a phrase or a section, but it is composition and that's all there is to it.

It sounds as if you want  people to show you what to do after the manner of a set of instructions to change a tyre. This is not possible. Creating music is not a procedure belonging to this simple class of activity. It is a highly complex and intensely personal experience.

I suggest you begin by writing out little ideas which please you emotionally or intellectually. Do this at first without worrying about how to put them together. If you are a pianist then develop your improvisation. Almost without exception the great piano composers were marvellous improvisers. For many composers improvisation is the seedbed of musical thought.

[NetherMagic]

Candiria this might help for some people if they are good at incorporating the stuff into their music, take theory lessons, like about counterpoint, harmony, etc.

again some people just compose stuff from the top of their heads, some ppl compose after they have learned theory, your choice

and btw good luck on your compositions

[Candiria99]

i'm going to follow your advice ted about learning to improvise but i dont even have a clue where to start. i've rented books from the library about improvising but theyre not really instructional books, they just tell me all this stuff like what to put into your improvisations and techniques and all this other stuff obviously intended for a person who has already mastered improvising. so please help me out there because i really have wanted to learn how to improvise on the piano. also if i put a lot of work into learning it (say two hours a day) for the average person would it take them a long time?

oh and nethermagic i have learned a little bit about musical theory but only the basic stuff. i just got a book "mel bay's complete book of voicings and harmony" or something like that, do you think that would help? or do i need something else?

also thank you both for your help and support

[ted]

Candiria:

I really think you need to find an appropriate teacher. For things such as composition and more particularly improvisation this may not be at all easy. The ideal choice is a retired professional, perhaps experienced in jazz, but also possessing strong ability in playing classical music. He or she must be a fluent improviser, capable of reading and writing scores and also capable of passing the aptitude on to other people.

The best people for this are seldom found in the academic circles of classical music and registered teachers. When you go for interviews ask them to improvise for you, ask them to play some jazz for you, ask them to play some classical. If they can do all these things you will have confidence in them - remember, you are the customer - you are entitled to ask questions.

I am not in favour of attempting to learn improvisation from books - you need another human being. The fact is that it takes even a talented person a long time to develop improvisation fluent enough to satisfy even himself. Also, it lasts a lifetime and the learning never stops. It becomes an intrinsic part of your musical thought. It isn't a task which begins and ends like learning a new piece. Not only this, but the ways of going about it are many in number, all different and all good. It is extremely complicated and extremely personal.

One thing you can do right now is broaden and intensify your listening. Listen to all sorts of music, improvised or not. Listen to orchestral music, to Oriental improvisation. Listen to jazz improvisers and think about what they are doing. Work out those aspects of the music which impress or move you and those which do not. Understand your own musical responses.

If you can't first see the whole musical landscape you won't know where you want to go yourself.

[Candiria99]

thanks for your advice ted. im going to seriously look for a teacher within the next few days.