261 Answered Questions for the topic Composition (Music)
06/29/19
Why have I never found any music written in the key of C Sharp Major?
Music is written in almost every key that corresponds to every note that is on my piano keyboard. There is clearly a C Sharp (black key right of C) on my piano keyboard but I don't recall ever...
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06/28/19
How can I stay informed of new art music?
As a composer, it's vitally important that I'm aware of what's happening in the contemporary music world. I find it very difficult to keep myself informed of a field that often flies below the...
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06/27/19
Melody Writing - Tension & Release?
I'm back with a more specific question. I read in a book entitled 'Complete Idiots Guide for Music Composition' which has a detailed discussion on writing melodies and techniques to do so. As I...
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06/26/19
How do I know what key to write in?
I've recently become obsessed with **Les Miserables** and **Miss Saigon**. The music has inspired me tenfold to compose, write similar music.
I've posted on here before on how to compose, and I'm...
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06/26/19
Is looking for chord after having the melody unusual?
Most people I encounter seem to have the opinion that **the** definitive way is to first have the chords and then "mess around" with the harmony notes until one founds a desirable succession of...
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06/26/19
How should I write a SATB piece in Musescore with respect to its voice soundfont?
I'm currently writing a vocal piece for a high school SATB chorus in Musescore. Throughout the composition process, I've been using the Musescore playback, **which presents all voice syllables in a...
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06/26/19
Key choice for brass instruments?
I've been told several times that brass instruments prefer to play in keys with flats, rather than sharps. As a trumpet player myself, I cannot relate to this preference. E major is just as easy or...
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06/23/19
What should I do about composing 'soft' accents for piano?
When composing for the piano, I often find myself writing a lot of sudden soft notes. I need an accent mark that suddenly softens notes. From my knowledge (and searching the web), I can not find...
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06/23/19
Guide-lines for creating a simple chord-progression?
I am working on a computer program that generates a simple melody, based on a simple chord progression of four chords taken from the 7 triads of the C Major scale. The program is also supposed to...
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06/22/19
Natural vs tempered semi-tones?
I am reading "Fundamentals of Musical Composition" by Arnold Schoenberg. Chapter XI, page 99, states: > Chromaticism is difficult partly because the natural semi-tones differ in size from the...
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06/22/19
Over/under pitch note?
I know there is a quarter tone notation, but is there a symbol for music score that will simply say over/under pitch? I think quarter tone notation might be too strict/rigid in music arrangement...
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06/22/19
If A minor doesn't have any accidentals, is it still minor?
As part of a music course, we have to compose a 3 minute long piece based on a river's journey. Having finished the composition, we now have to write a set of sleeve notes - basically an analysis...
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06/22/19
What is "Sonata-Allegro form" and what other similar forms should I be aware of?
There are lots of classical pieces called "Sonata", and they usually have 3 movements. But there are guitar Sonatas by Paganini that only have 2 movements! And I heard there's a crazy Tchaikovsky...
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06/21/19
Why have I never found any music written in the key of C Sharp Major?
Music is written in almost every key that corresponds to every note that is on my piano keyboard. There is clearly a C Sharp (black key right of C) on my piano keyboard but I don't recall ever...
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06/21/19
Techniques for memorizing a musical idea and "saving it to paper"?
Sometimes I have a very nice musical idea, with orchestration too, and I clearly hear it in my mind as if I was listening to a CD.
But I cannot retain it. The only way is to play it over and over...
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06/19/19
How to practice orchestration?
How can I *practice* composing for an orchestra? Should I take Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, analyze and then copy everything down on manuscript paper? I would like to hear some *techniques* for...
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06/19/19
Skills for writing your own songs?
What are some good starting points to begin writing songs for someone who possesses limited theory knowledge and playing experience (beginner)?What are the essentials skills and knowledge for...
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06/18/19
A total newbie wants to learn how to write songs. What does he need?
I am recently being interested in writing my own songs/my own music. However, I'm a newbie when it comes to music. I am not really musically talented nor inclined. I only know basic guitar chords...
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06/18/19
Do I have to be a virtuoso pianist to compose faster music?
I was about to compose my third movement of my first sonata, but the other movements are notated Andante and Adagio. I would want my final movement to be notated Allegro or something even faster...
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06/18/19
Looking for a high level Music Programming language?
I'm looking for a high-level programming language. I did some googling and found a number of examples (some summarized here http://users.soe.ucsc.edu/~sasha/proj/musicpaper.pdf) but haven't found...
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06/16/19
Is it possible to create a completely new genre of music?
This question might appear really weird, but still I ended up asking me this.
Every genre of music as we know today comes from some previous genre (as an evolution, a combination of two different...
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06/15/19
Accidentals in First Species Counterpoint?
On page 39 of Alfred Mann's *The Study of Counterpoint* there is a passage concerning justification of using accidentals in first species counterpoint.Here is the passage:>Aloys: [...]but why...
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06/14/19
Tension and Tonic?
It is widely known that music "wants" to be resolved on the tonic. But does it mean that I can end with the tonic, let's say, one/two octaves higher or lower than the whole melody that is being...
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06/14/19
How could I create a musical vocabulary based on a group of similar classical pieces?
Sometimes I'll be working on a group of pieces and realize that I'd like to experiment with abstracting some of the musical ideas (rhythms, harmonies, etc) into a musical vocabulary that I could...
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06/13/19
Composition Training (with Hindemith)?
I am looking to get back into composition and trying to get some advice on textbooks.By way of background, my biggest liability is my lack of formal training (I have none). During my early teens, I...
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