How to Learn to Compose Music

"The recipe for music is part melody, lyric, rhythm, and harmony." Richard J. Scott

The advantages to learning music composition run the gamut from acquiring a new hobby to a career as a professional composer. Music composition techniques vary based upon the skill level of the composer and the complexity of the music being produced. Although music theory is not required to compose songs, knowledge of musical elements -- sound, pitch, rhythm, harmony, melody and notation -- facilitate the arrangement of sophisticated ballads and are the professional standard among musicians. The following techniques can be used to compose music regardless of experience level.

Things You'll Need

• Musical instrument
• Recording device

Instructions

Steps to Compose Music

1. Choose which type of music you would like to compose. Use your favorite songs and musical genres as clues. To spark ideas, listen to recording artists from a variety of genres such as New Age, Pop, Alternative, Soul, Rock 'n' Roll, Country, and others.

2. Determine the mood, theme and tone for your song. Use inspiration and imagination to get ideas from a variety of sources including personal experiences, such as falling in love, heartbreak, dreaming of your dream car, autumn leaves, the ocean, etc.

3. 

   Pick one instrument to use to develop the framework for your song and experiment with a variety of sounds. The instrument can be anything that creates music such as a piano, guitar or your voice. Explore different rhythms, tones, pitches, and melodies. Keep trying until you find sounds that resonate with the kind of music you are trying to produce.

4. Determine the structure for your composition. Although the organization of your song may develop intuitively based upon your previous experience with music, many songs have an intro--verse--chorus--verse--chorus--bridge--verse--chorus format. As you begin to create sounds that appeal to you, decide where each melody fits best. The chorus contains the most memorable melody of the song. The verse melody is usually secondary and the bridge is the third melody and usually has a different musical variation than the chorus and verse. You are free to create unique structures for your songs. Experiment until you find the one that works for you.

5. Record all versions of your song. If you are conversant with music theory, you can use music staff paper to record the notes and chords of your song. If you don't understand music theory, you can record your songs into a tape recorder or other voice-recording software. It is likely that you will create many drafts as you go through the creative process, it is important to have access to all the previous versions of your song in case you need to revert back to your original ideas. Continue this process until you have finalized the musical structure for your song.

6. Add additional elements to your song as needed such as lyrics, extra musical instruments, and sound effects. Music composition is a creative process and the composer is responsible for the style and determining how many musical components should be included in a song.

Tips & Warnings

• Listen to other musicians regularly to learn how they compose songs.

• Take a music theory class.

References

• Read and Play Piano: "How to Write Music, How to Compose Music"
• Writing Fever - The Place for Songwriting Collaboration: "How to Get Started with Songwriting Part I"
• Dictionary.com: Music Theory

Resources

• Harmony Central - Make Better Music