| LearnJazzPiano.com archives: how to compose? | |
| d3dy -- 06/07/2005, 03:37:05 -- #14706 | |
| scott,please show me how to compose a song,not instrumental,but lirycal, i like broadway style like renee olstead.... | |
| Scot -- 06/07/2005, 12:48:54 -- #14722 | |
| Heh heh, now listen, this is quite a question. The magnitude of it is quite large... how about this question: "Show me how to paint like Rembrant please, but not like Picasso." There is only one way to learn how to compose music, regardless of what kind of music you want to compose, you just have to sit down and do it. I've been writing music since 1985. Some of it is good, and while at the time I thought all of it was good, maybe a few dozen of the thousand or so tunes I've composed are keepers. The best way to learn to compose is just do it. When you have a tune, scan it and upload it here so we can help you with it. If you want to compose Broadway style tunes, then you need to listen to that kind of music so it gets into your blood and you know the musical language of Broadway. Old stuff by Rogers and Hart, or new stuff by Andrew Lloyd Webber, it doesn't matter, they are all songs that help a storyline. The easiest way to get started is to force yourself to compose small songs. 16 measures long. AABA form. Force them small, write some lyrics, and see what happens. There are other composers here who can probably give you more tips, but it boils down to this: composition is one of the highest forms of art when it comes to music. You come up with an idea for a song, then you put it on paper or work it out at the piano, and then hopefully it turns into a song. | |
| d3dy -- 06/08/2005, 01:21:49 -- #14737 | |
| my only troubles is the lyrics.... I can never make a meaningful lyrics. so i always compose instrumental music. how to solve this scott? | |
| Scot -- 06/08/2005, 12:25:31 -- #14759 | |
| Well, when I have to write lyrics it's the same as writing music. I find something I like, some line like, and I'm not kidding, I wrote a song that started out with: "I've got eyeballs in my right hand front pocket." I just built it up from there. But I'm really into creative writing, poetry, stuff like that, so it might be easier for me because I have experience. Just like writing music, writing lyrics takes some experience and it doesn't hurt to have some inspiration as well. Like anyhing else, you have to do it a LOT. Over and over and over again. It doesn't matter if you write bad songs or good one, you just have to keep on doing it if you want to compose music, with or without lyrics. Here's your assignment: write seven songs this week. One on each day, with lyrics. Don't spend a lot of time on them, just write them. Anything. Write about dust on the floor, it doesnt' matter. Bottom line: in order to get good at something, you have to practice. In this case it means writing song after song after song after song. | |
| mco246 -- 06/08/2005, 13:28:47 -- #14764 | |
| d3dy You say you can never "make meaningful lyrics".. I dont believe that. sounds to me like anything you write, is not good enough.. but the question is not good enoug for "who?" I bet you can write meaningful lyrics! just like anyone. They become menaingful when they mean something to you first and foremost! if at the end of the day you truly feel satisfied with what you have, then thats all what really matters. if you dont, try again the next day, and the next... have falafel in between. Michael | |
| orson -- 06/08/2005, 15:36:55 -- #14768 | |
| A great song doesn't have to have meaningful lyrics. Consider "Tutti Frutti" or "Satin Doll" | |
| jmkarns -- 06/08/2005, 16:21:36 -- #14774 | |
| Songwriting, which I think is what we are talking about here, is a natural outgrowth of piano playing. The next step is emulating an artist that we admire. Then we start hearing our own voice. Miles Davis said that finding your voice can take a long time. | |
| d3dy -- 06/09/2005, 22:45:43 -- #14831 | |
| thanks everyone.... | |
| 7 -- 06/10/2005, 02:49:33 -- #14840 | |
| Writing lyrics The first step would be to analyze the lyrics of the many great poets and songwriters of all time. It doesn't hurt to buy some books on writing poetry or take a course at your local junior college. A deep understanding of the conventions of poetic structure will spare you rolling over in your grave as sadistic high school literature students dissect your art. Poetry has many rules not unlike music (since they are often found in the same setting). A stanza is typically four lines. Generally (but not always) you have two or three 4-line verses and a bridge or chorus of more or less equal length. Your best lines should be first and last. Always make sure the rhythm scans properly. Words always sound more profound when sung over a dramatic musical backdrop. Rhyme schemes vary but the most typical are: A A B B or A B A B or A B C B As far as meaningful lyrics are concerned, most lyrics relate to human joys and problems. And, as any casual listener knows, the vast majority of song lyrics revolve around male-female relationships: 1. S/He's hot and I'm gonna get him/her 2. I've got a perfect partner and everything's wonderful 3. I've got an imperfect partner, but not for long 4. My partner has left me 5. I'm the best lover ever, so take a number 6. I can't get any, no matter what I do 7. My partner is having an affair 8. I'm having an affair 9. I'll be fine on my own 10. Mares eat oats and does eats oats, and little lambs eat ivy. Meaningful lyrics are often the result of life experiences, or philosophical revelations. In order to write about life you sometimes have to first get one. | |
| ·Jesus -- 06/10/2005, 03:05:29 -- #14841 | |
| You can always begin with that: "Woke up this morning..." | |
| Dr. Whack -- 06/10/2005, 08:04:13 -- #14851 | |
| kicked my dog, drank some sour milk... wait a minute! Is this a country site? | |
| orson -- 06/10/2005, 14:09:23 -- #14865 | |
| Hey 7, I really like your set of rules. In fact, it should be possible to compose an ultimate song that includes all possible combinations. Here is a little blues lyric based on some of your rules, plus I added a train because I like train songs. The third verse has an interesting contradiction, an effect often used in blues lyrics: I've got an imperfect partner, but not for long, Yes I've got an imperfect partner, but you know it won’t be for long, My partner is having an affair, but I'll be fine on my own. Well I got to find a new love, but I can't get any, no matter what I do Yes I got to find a new love, but I can't get any, no matter what I do My partner is having an affair, but I'll be fine on my own. I'm the best lover ever, so take a number baby I'm the best lover ever, so take a number if you know whats good for you I just can't seem to get any, no matter what I do My baby jumped a train to Memphis, and rode it all night long My baby jumped a train to Memphis, and rode it all night long S/He's hot and I'm gonna get him/her | |
| 7 -- 06/11/2005, 00:11:29 -- #14912 | |
| Orson, You cracked me up! ROFLMAO!!!! A generic song for all occasions AND my first online collaboration! For anyone who is interested, here is my (real) Lyrics page: http://Jeff-Brent.com/Lyrics/lyricshome.html The stuff at the top is the most recent. | |
| d3dy -- 06/13/2005, 22:20:32 -- #15082 | |
| thats really great 7, those things really help me a lot...thx. | |
| 7 -- 06/14/2005, 01:34:02 -- #15087 | |
| Thanks for the thanks. I appreciate your appreciation. | |
| SolArt -- 06/17/2005, 15:17:32 -- #15241 | |
| I'm into poetry writing myself, indeed very similar to music. I like inside rhymes & similar sounds, you know, just the physical SOUND of the words can be just so nice; to say nothing of when they're set to music & sung by a talented singer, of which I'm sure they're probably definitely into the lyrics. And just think, your soul has been bared! | |
| Copyright © 2005 by Scot Ranney. All rights reserved. | |
| Click Here for more information about performances and clinics. Click Here to sign up for Scot's music announcements. | |