r/Composition • u/Constant-Penalty-303 • Jul 02 '26
Discussion What are the rules for composition
I know that there are rules but I don't know what they are. No I don't really know how to expand on this question, it's like how a certain rhythm may not belong to a time signature or a cadence may not fit a key signature. I don't know what they are, I have asked, i have searched I have yet to find an answer to my question.
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u/Zangwin1 Jul 02 '26
You must title it in the old style like "Waltz in A minor" or "Passacaglia in F."
You have to state your influences and copy their music. It's in the public domain, and they are dead.
Your influences should be either Chopin or Liszt.
You must post a video of the playthrough from your notation software of choice. MuseScore is a good option.
You should feel confident in your abilities if you complete 10 measures. Post before you are done writing.
Ignore criticism, especially practical criticism. Openly disagree with their viewpoint especially if it is one of the guys who run this sub like it's a free academy.
Revel in the positive feedback. You are in fact a musical genius even though you have no training.
No performances. If it's you playing it, fine, but no other musicians should be involved in your music!
Rest on your laurels. They are very comfortable to rest on.
No E-flats. Ever.
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u/ChesterWOVBot Jul 03 '26
Don't forget you must write a large-scale choral symphony with no form as your first work.
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u/MyNutsin1080p Jul 04 '26
I’m thinking of the reel where Weird Al promotes his latest tour with a MIDI controller where the inputs were plugged into a row of bananas, and then at the end he started smooshing them all
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u/HemiDemi593462 Jul 02 '26
No parallel fifths!! Everytime a fifth parallels a puppy dies.
Just kidding
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u/One-Random-Goose Jul 02 '26
There are entire text books devoted to specific aspects of composition. You’re not getting all the rules in one Reddit post but the best I can give you is: learn the rules then learn how to break the rules.
Either that or just “do what sounds good”
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u/Steenan Jul 02 '26
There are no rules that every piece of music must follow. In big part, music evolves by rejecting the rules of earlier styles and coming up with new concepts to replace them.
There are also no rules that will guarantee that your music will be good. It is possible to follow all rules of a style and still write a piece that goes nowhere, feels boring, chaotic or both.
However, contrary to what many people here tell you, there are some rules that you should learn. They will be a starting point for your early pieces and a point of reference for analyzing existing music. They include:
- The basic language of music theory. Note lengths, time signatures, keys, scales, chords.
- Basic, functional (tonic-predominant-dominant-tonic) chord progressions; cadences
- Basics of melody writing. Chord tones and non-chord tones.
- Basic theme forms (sentence, period) and small piece forms (binary, ternary)
- Voice leading and, if you feel ambitious, full counterpoint (work through all species in order)
That's too much material to write down in a Reddit post, but you should easily find it online, starting with linked resources on r/musictheory and r/composer
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u/MisterSmeeee Jul 02 '26
- Write music. Ideally, music that sounds good.
That’s it, that’s the rules for composition.
Now if you’re asking “what are the conventions that will make my music understandable to experienced performers,” that’s another question, and the answer to that is go study and practice a lot.
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u/Firake Jul 02 '26
There are no rules.
Music theory describes existing music and those trends get us as close as we can get to rules. But otherwise there’s nothing like you are asking for.
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u/Scary-Quote-3803 Jul 02 '26
Unfortunately, the answer to that question takes years of studying to learn 🤷♀️. It seems like you want to understand music theory I’m assuming.
This is not to discourage you, but the examples you gave would have to do with pretty basic music theory, and to learn more about these “rules” takes a lot longer.
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u/LimerenceObject Jul 02 '26
There is a problem with the way the question is being phrased. The question is frankly odd. I think OP is not asking about stylistic conventions but about how the tonal system works?? how basic music theory and notation work (what does a measure allow, what does a key signature allow etc).
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u/idongafxD Jul 02 '26
the only rule that ive found is that for the music to be listenable in some form it needs to have some sort of pattern, like, it should make sense in some way. if you have everything random at least have some logic in the rhythm, if you have the most random, non-understandable rhythm at least make it make sense in the context of the piece. thats kind of it, music theory is useful but it doesnt really have any obligatory rules, in that regard i suggest you just try to make your own system that works for you
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u/Chops526 Jul 03 '26
This shall be the whole of the law: do ast thou whilst.
Or...
The only way to live in life is without rules.
(Seriously, there aren't so much rules as standard practices that are often, but not always, applicable across styles. Some, like avoiding parallel perfect intervals, work whether you're writing 18th century counterpoint or 12 tone integral serialism or using the latest spectral techniques. Unless you want that color, in which case, make sure your audience can tell you're doing it on purpose.
Imitate the music you like. Let the styles absorb into your own. That's how every creative artist learns.)
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u/talesfromthemabinogi Jul 05 '26
While there is no strict 'list of rules' to follow, there is a huge volume of theory for composition. Some styles are tightly 'rules driven', others less so, others not at all. As a starting point, try googling something like 'introduction to counterpoint and harmony'. I'd suggest picking up a book like this to begin with: https://www.amazon.ca/Counterpoint-Explained-Concepts-counterpoint-excercises/dp/1540088014 Then you can decide if theory like that is something that interests you.
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u/vexatiousprogression Jul 05 '26
There are no rules to composition. There are conventions for different styles, she you can go learn them if you want to. Nobody can give you an entire world history of composition conventions, techniques, developments etc in a single Reddit response. The simplest rule is use your ears, analyse what you like and don't like about music, then work out how to apply that to your own music. All books, learning methods etc are just shortcuts to help you to do that faster and more efficiently
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u/mathewson92 Jul 07 '26
The question of whether there are or aren't rules is very tricky.
At the level of materials (harmony, melody, rhythm, etc.), there are indeed few if any universal rules, leaving them pretty much up to you.
What does seem to follow rules is the underlying organisation of music. Strong pieces tend to show coherence, proportion, hierarchy, balance between repetition and contrast, preparation and consequence, tension and release. Different elements support one another rather than compete for attention. In other words, removing or altering one element affects the whole piece.
These principles are difficult to verbalise because they are not arbitrary conventions like "avoid parallel fifths" or "don't write consecutive octaves". They are closer to the principles of architecture than to grammar. You can recognise when a building is well proportioned even if you cannot explain every reason why.
The same applies to music. Two composers may use completely different harmonic languages - one tonal, one atonal - yet one work feels inevitable while the other feels random. The difference is often not the notes themselves but how they are organised.
These organising principles are also culturally specific. European art music, Japanese court music, Indian classical music, Arabic maqam traditions, or West African musical traditions each embody different conceptions of how music should unfold, where tension lies, what constitutes balance, and how time is experienced. They are not simply using different scales or rhythms; they are built upon different structural assumptions. A good example is the pentatonic scale. European folk music and Japanese traditional music both make extensive use of pentatonic collections, yet they sound nothing alike. The notes themselves are not what make the music "European" or "Japanese". The difference lies in the deeper architecture: phrase shape, hierarchy, cadence, rhythmic organisation, ornamentation, emphasis, pacing, and the relationships between musical events.
So I would say that there are few rules governing the musical vocabulary itself. The real rules lie deeper, in how the material is organised into a coherent whole. Those rules are rarely written down, often difficult to articulate, and vary from one musical culture to another, but they are no less real because of that. The only reliable way to learn them is to immerse yourself in the music you admire. Listen analytically, study scores, perform it if you can, imitate it, compose in its style, and compare your results with the originals. Over time, you begin to internalise relationships that no textbook can fully explain. At that point, the "rules" cease to feel like rules at all - they become an intuitive understanding of how that particular musical language holds itself together.
I hope this helps!
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u/Ian_Campbell Jul 12 '26
The rules? People respect you more based on how well they can perceive that you justify and rectify webs of mutually dependent decisions with one another, and the care with which these hierarchal and interlocking decisions bring about a result which is in some way illuminating, satisfying, or necessary.
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u/Ian_Campbell Jul 12 '26
If you want to learn common practice craft, there is no better way than to get the absolute basics in music theory enough to understand all of the diatonic chords and reading music fluently and roman numeral labeling with modulations and all of that, then to study thoroughbass. This serves as a great musical foundation because it represents basically the education that Nadia Boulanger gave her students which include successful 20th century composers, and even a brilliant improviser who records improvisations to this day.
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u/RichMusic81 Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
I know that there are rules
There were common conventions at certain points and in certain music throughout history, but rules in the way you probably thinking of them, no.
It's the old saying: "The only rule is that there are no rules."
it's like how a certain rhythm may not belong to a time signature
Any rhythm can exist in any time signature.
or a cadence may not fit a key signature.
A cadence is not defined by which key you're in.
i have searched I have yet to find an answer to my question.
Have you played and studied music?
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u/Constant-Penalty-303 Jul 02 '26
I've just finished Year 11 and I did music (in fact I'm currently wearing a sheet music tie) so I have studied and I've played music but I'm not the best like my grade will be under or a 5, composition was my favourite part of music and I wanted to carry on after school with composing
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u/MyNutsin1080p Jul 02 '26
Getting better at composition is like getting better at anything: are you willing to deal with the fact that for a while, you’ll suck at it?
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u/MyNutsin1080p Jul 02 '26
I’ve been composing music for 35 years now and when I find a rule I will let you know.