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Sorry Christopher, I only have experience with Finale and Logic. Hopefully somebody on this forum has used Reason!
Best of luck,
Casey
Hi Ilusa, welcome to the Forum.
From my experience, the best way for me to learn composition has just been through trial and error. I sit down at the piano every chance I get and I just improvise, just to see what I can come up with. If I think there’s anything worth saving, I’ll record it/write it down and work on expanding my ideas later. This is a good method of composition for me and it’s certainly worked for a lot of Classical composers along the way.
Another important tip I would have is to listen to the kinds of composers/kinds of music that you want to compose. If you would like to compose dark piano ballads, check out how the great composers composed piano music and try to emulate them. Try to figure out what it is that they did that made their music so great and incorporate that stuff into your own writing.
I hope some of what I said has helped and I look forward to your work! Keep us posted.
Casey
It’s been a while for me too but hopefully I will start lurking around the forums a bit more in the future!
Something to look into as well is the use of Secondary Diminished Seventh chords. Just like Secondary Dominant chords can spice up your writing and lead you into some undiscovered terrain, Secondary Diminished Seventh chords can lead you into some different resolutions that might spur your imagination.
1) All the time. In fact, at this point in my life as an aspiring composer, I would say I have those days more often than I have good days.
2) I definitely don’t have a set routine when it comes to composition. In order for the ideas to stay fresh, it IS important to come at them from different points of view (and different points during the day).
3) Improvisation is definitely important. I don’t think improvisation is necessarily in between steps 1 and 3. Many great composers sat down at a piano and improvised and then used THAT material to build their pieces. It definitely can be just as formal of a process as just sitting there trying to write from scratch.
4) Awesome improv certainly can be a result of your knowledge of learned rules, but at the same time it is a result of instinct and quick musical wit.
5) I don’t necessarily agree that too much freedom can become a hindrance. I would agree that sometimes when you have total freedom it’s hard to know what to do, but I think with careful thought and planning, the freedom is where you can really achieve your greatest work. What if Wagner decided he had too much freedom? We wouldn’t have heard any of his incredibly revolutionary sounds.
6) I think you should definitely submit your compositions. I would like to start doing the same. Do you work with a program like Finale or Sibelius?
I love Radiohead as well. I haven’t checked out the new album yet, have you? I figured you must like Zappa if you like Colaiuta. You know who else is great to check out is Billy Cobham (especially with Mahavishnu Orchestra).
well, I’ve played a little bit of everything. Big Band Jazz, small group jazz, rock, heavy metal, you name it. My favorite style of drumming is really anything that is groove-based (funk, r&b, etc…) My favorite drummers are probably more rock based though. I guess I’d have to say some of my favorite drummers are:
Danny Carey – Tool
Steve Gadd – legendary studio drummer
Carter Beauford – Dave Matthews Band
Dave Weckl – legendary studio drummer/independent
Jack DeJohnette – legendary jazz drummer
What about you, what are some of your favorite styles/favorite drummers?
Yep, I’m still around haha I’ve heard a lot of great things about FIU. I do play drum set, I’ve been playing for about 11 years now. If you ever need any drum help, let me know!
Welcome, Darnesha! Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a 21 year old Percussion major at the University of North Florida and am an aspiring composer.
I’m currently using Finale 2007 and Logic Pro 7 (for songs/song editing/compositions involving taped things that I’ve created). I haven’t personally had many complaints with these programs yet though, so I’m not much of a help.
No clue. I saw that Kronos Quartet just recorded another one of his String Quartets though. It sounds great and very distinct.
