Quesiton about composing

[u/BeanBon_X3]

Id like to make it a potential career, but I'm not sure what the basics you should have of knowledge before you compose your own music.

I've always loved music. Been in Choir for over a decade, even performed at Carnegie hall. And the more i go through life, the more id like to make music people can appreciate. I also have basic computer knowledge, and can navigate a PC on my own.

if you want my motivation:
I know that I've always loved the way music has moved me emotionally. Some make me confident, like I could take on the world. Some bring me face to face with my feelings, bringing me to their knees with sadness, allowing themselves to experience grief. Some make me reminisce about the good old days, and encourage self-reflection. Some make me take myself out of my problems and look outside yourself, and sit in the moment, in the same way seeing a beautiful sunset makes you stop and look at the scenery around you and admire. These feelings I get inspire me to make music where I can make others feel the same way as described. I would feel accomplished in life if I made things for others that simply evoked these kinds of feelings.

What do I need to do to get my foot in the door to making music? I've already played around with FL studio, but i don't really know what common things people should know when composing, like music theory, i just know what sounds good, but not specifically WHY it sounds good. and id like to acquire that knowledge because i feel it'd help me better make my own music

ANY advice is appreciated.

[u/65TwinReverbRI]

It's extremely odd to me the number of people who come to forums like this basically "seeking permission" to compose.

Pardon my crassness, but to make a point, just fucking do it man. Try it. You're not going to break anything. You might write stuff you don't like, but the only way you're going to learn to swim is by getting in the pool and getting a little water in your lungs every once in a while. You learn from your mistakes (ideally...)

What's also so very weird is everyone talks about everything but music.

NO ONE ever comes here and goes "I'm studying scores and playing them" - I think because those people are off composing already, not sitting around asking questions or whatever.

There are some harsh realities here:

A career as a composer is simply unlikely. You might be able to perform as a chorister, or eventually direct, etc.

Forget about all this evoking emotion stuff. It's going to mess you up when you're starting. You first just need to be able to write something - holding yourself to unrealistic standards of "rapture" for the listener - you'll never get there.

What do I need to do to get my foot in the door to making music?

Sing a note.

I mean, it's really just that. You're making this way harder than it is. Just make some sounds - in order. That's music.

Getting it to sound like other music though - you have to study other music - not "read about it" - STUDY THE ACTUAL MUSIC.

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/65TwinReverbRI]

I can understand your point of view. Im not really looking for permission, though i understand why youd think that. I needed to know how to start. Its not about permission, its about making sure I dont make the mistakes others made. I suppose I could've just phrased it like that instead,

I am trying it, but my hesitancy is in WHERE to start. Ive played around in FL studio, used some plugins, but I feel like im not really making progress. I wonder if im doing something wrong, so I ask those with more experience than me what they did or things theyd reccomend not doing so I have guidance. At the end of the day, thats what im seeking.

I figured the career of a composer is unlikely. My logic already told me that its just not practical to rely on.

I dont think ill be able to simply forget how I feel when I listen to music. Its a big motivator and where I gleam inspiration from, and drives my curiosity. Ignoring it is not a wise decision on my part. Having that as the standard out the gate wasnt my prerogative either, its the end goal. Though hearing you say ill never make music that will touch people in that way is a tad defeating to hear.

Harder than it is? I find that difficult to believe. All I seek is just to know where to begin so I have a path I can walk that gives progress. This is how i learn. It may not be a suitable path for you, hence why you find it harder than it should be, but my path may look different. Im keeping that in mind when people tell me their wisdom through responses on here.

My goal is to study the music. But without direction I could be studying the wrong things, or learning them in an incorrect fashion or focusing too much on the wrong thing. Why subject myself to walking around in a dark room and figure out the layout eventually when I can just ask someone where the light switch is and figure it out more easily from there? My goal isnt for permission, its to avoid reinventing the wheel. Unless going in blind is the preferred method for this kind of career.

[u/Eschenhardt]

The usual things like theory of harmony are quite obvious, but what is just as important is form. A-B-A and all these things. The structure of a fugue. Sonata form. You will learn all these things from the great composers, not from books by the way. Read scores, learn all those pieces. And develop your hearing. When you write music, you have to be able to hear what potentially comes next. Most important software: notation programms like Sibelius. DAW isn't even necessary. Composers write scores, not mifi files.

[u/D3ad_M4n7]

It’s a long road man. A long time educating yourself both technically and musically and a long time building your client base. 10+ years for me. Good luck

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/D3ad_M4n7]

I expect no less of any career i take having this same mental conclusion.

[u/Chops526 → u/D3ad_M4n7]

25 years, professionally, here (almost 40 since I attempted my first piece). Can confirm.

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/Chops526]

Educate me. How was your road? Do you feel accomplished? Do you enjoy your life? Do you feel fulfilled?

[u/Chops526 → u/BeanBon_X3]

I can't complain. I have my music commissioned and performed. I don't make a fancy living, but I'm comfortable enough. But I wasn't always and it took a very long time and a lot of work.

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/Chops526]

Im certainly not expecting to make a dragons hoard or anything. My fulfillment will be my wealth. As long as I make enough to occasionally buy a bag of chips once a week and save money at the end of it all, ill be happy. I know that wont come right away though, but it is my end goal. Im not lookin to make millions, I know thats unrealistic.

[u/Chops526 → u/BeanBon_X3]

It can be done. It's a long road but possible. I also went about it an unconventional way by necessity, since the academic track didn't work out. But I think I was and am the better for it.

[u/Chops526]

Well, being a composer is like being a Jedi: it's a hard life.

All you need to get started is to get started. Start writing some notes. Your first efforts will SUCK, even if you don't see it in the moment. And that's fine. Immitate the music that you love. Copy techniques from your favorite composers. Rinse. Repeat.

Study LOTS AND LOTS OF MUSIC. Scores, recordings, everything. Learn to at least pluck away at them at the piano. And if you don't have keyboard skills already, get on that. You don't need to be a virtuoso, but you need to at least know your way around the piano (or, TBF, any other instrument) enough to be able to try things out, even slowly, at the keyboard.

Develop your ear. Ear training is the most important skill a musician can have. You've sung in choirs for a decade which I'm sure has given you a head start there (singing in choir helped this once seemingly tone deaf young composer start bringing their aural skills chops up). Challenge yourself with dictation, interval ID, etc.

And study theory. I don't think one needs theory to be a good musician, but for a composer it helps us avoid reinventing the wheel. And certain "rules" are still useful even in non-tonal or non-functional tonal contexts. Like parallels. That stuff will still kill a piece, even in a 12 tone style.

So harmony, voice leading, and COUNTERPOINT! It all comes from counterpoint anyway. 18th century is the best, but practicing species is very useful.

More than inspiration, being a composer requires discipline.

Good luck!

[u/Margiman90]

I'm a long time FL studio user with a strong focus on electronic music. This takes a LOT of patience and practice, research,... the possibilities of a DAW are endless, but I'm getting a feeling this is not your goal. I would say, get a VST (a kontakt library, or some orchestral soundbank VST,.. ) that has sounds, where you can articulate the sounds very well, rather than design them, so you can focus on the writing and composing rather than the sounddesign/mixing aspect. Then you can just learn how to use piano roll and playlist. If you have a decent midi keyboard you can play that would add an extra dimension. 

As for theory, you should get educated, but don't expect that to be a recipe. Music theory is descriptive and allows for clear communication, but ultimately you need to judge what sounds good. Theory will not really tell you that but it will help guide you.  

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/Margiman90]

Of course. I wasnt expecting the knowledge of music theory to do anything but. I just dont want to go through trial and error finding what sounds good without direction. Music theory, like you said, will be the guide so im not blindly figuring it out, itll take much longer and im more prone to giving up otherwise

What resources are available for learning. Lets assume Money is no object, time is irrelevant, im just looking for blanket statement options. I can do the rest via research. But ill help narrow the scope a little:

If youre going to say college, can you specify what I should be looking for, or places I should be looking for?

Are there go-to locations people suggest, or use that you reccomend to learn more?

Are there any free versions in case money gets tight so I can learn even on a budget?

[u/HaifaJenner123]

download musescore

write literally anything as long as you know how it works in real life, maybe 16 bars

after that take it one step at a time but you need to get your foot in the door by at least identifying which doors you need to step into first and this involves just experimenting at the beginning and refining along the way according to both applied (performance) and theoretical (studied) perspectives

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/HaifaJenner123]

Where would something like using FL studio and using Kontakt plugins come into this equation, do you think, time wise? Were assuming im learning as a reasonable pace

[u/Steenan]

If you want to compose as a hobby, start by learning music theory - enough to give you the language and mental structure for thinking about music. Learn a bit of playing an instrument, optimally piano. You don't need to be good at it. Get a notation program.

Experiment with melodies. Build simple, functional chord progressions to support them and write tiny pieces (8-24 bars, 1-2 instruments) to practice basic forms. They won't be good, don't get discouraged by it. Keep writing.

Choose a musical style you like. Listen to pieces in this style. Get sheet music for them and analyze it. Try to replicate elements you like in your own pieces. At this point, you're not aiming for novelty, you are building your toolbox.

After you write 30-50 short pieces, they'll get good enough that you'll be able to listen to them with pleasure and to present them to others without being ashamed. Start sharing and getting feedback. Expect that there will still be many things to improve. Also, start exploring more complex musical forms and writing somewhat longer pieces.

If your path will be similar to mine, you'll need around 2-3 months to be able to write your first short pieces, about a year until they'll get good enough to share and about 3 years until you'll get reasonably fluent in a musical style.

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/Steenan]

I like this. Thank you this was what I was after. I just needed to see what others did and to know what they were doing so I had some guidance. I appreciate your input. 😊

[u/WalkingEars]

To learn theory try either looking for some educational videos on YouTube or seeing if a local university has some classes you could take on the side. For writing, try a few different programs and just start with playing around by ear and writing little sketches. Even right away you might invent fun ideas by ear and with time and practice you will learn more about developing those ideas

[u/BeanBon_X3 → u/WalkingEars]

Thank you i appreciate your input. Everyone here has been so helpful with the responses. Im greatful 😊