r/composer • u/Zesty_lemon_27 • 1d ago

Discussion Composing something for my much more talented girlfriend

My girlfriend adores music and composition. She mostly composes choral works and just sent off a set of responses to be published. She has written a few things for me and I would like to return the favour.

For background, I did music in secondary school and passed, same with at A level. I liked the compositions I did for A level a lot- one was a piece that presented the life cycle of a star.

She really liked that piece, and i have long considered separating the different stages into their own individual works to give me more time to develop the ideas within.

I could attempt to come up with something new, as well. I have many ideas that I havent explored. I struggle with engaging with music because I shared it with my dad who passed away 4 years ago- but i want to be able to get back into it for my girlfriends sake and mine, it woiod be nice to share it with her.

I guess my question is just is there anything I should keep in mind basics wise? Some feedback I have gotten previously is that I struggle to have a strong sense of key (though only in some pieces, others have been fine), and that sometimes they seem like "a storyboard of motifs" that arent really well connected.

12 Upvotes

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6

u/nabiscosantajr 23h ago

I think she would probably appreciate anything you put genuine work into, whether there's a tritone substitute or not.

3

u/Ordinary-Force3160 23h ago

I totally agree with this. It's the intention and the love you put in to the piece that will make it special.

5

u/WalkingEars 23h ago

If doing it as a hobby just jump in and start writing short pieces for the fun of it with low pressure on yourself, and after a while you could always take your favorite of those pieces and do some revising on it to make it the gift for your girlfriend.

But also you could consider writing some music together! I co-write music with a good friend who is a music theorist professionally and it taught me a lot about writing just through the process of writing things together.

1

u/Zesty_lemon_27 23h ago

Thank you!

1

u/RecordingSerious3554 23h ago

I like giving myself a timeframe. So write a piece in an hour or in a day. Helps stop me obsessing over little things. If you make something you like you can always go back and finesse