Music Composition DUMmIES

the musical style desired on a Monday afternoon — and be expected to record

your piece that Wednesday morning. On the other hand, having tight dead-

lines can motivate you. Steve Horelick, composer of the music for Reading

Rainbow, once said, “The best motivation for me to complete a composition

is someone holding a gun to my head and saying, ‘I need it tomorrow.’”

You will probably do a lot of jingle demos for free before you actually sell one

to a client or a music house. You should feel fortunate if the studio time is

being paid for on behalf of your work in the meantime. Again, a compilation

demo of your work is very important (see the final section in this chapter for

more on demos). People in the professional creative world will not give you

very much time to demonstrate your talent, so you have to squash it all

down into a short tour of your past successes.

Look on the Internet or in the local yellow pages for music production houses

and advertising agencies. These days many music houses are one-person

operations, so you may meet with some dead ends. Not all ad agencies handle

radio and TV, but be persistent and businesslike and try to get your demo

into as many hands and ears as possible.

It is also a good idea to study the jingles that are currently airing. You will

often be asked to copy their style, so you will be expected to know what is

going on in the field.

Composing for the Orchestra .....................................................................

The personal and emotional rewards for composing commercial music for a

concert orchestra to perform are hard to beat. The creative freedom of not

having to answer to the demands of a movie scene or an advertising execu-

tive is intoxicating. Even a high school band or choir performing your compo-

sitions can have you oozing pride and a sense of accomplishment. And there

is always a chance that a more respected orchestra could decide to play one

of your compositions in concert. You may even have your piece recorded and

released on CD. Most of us dream of the immortality that a successful compo-

sition can bring.

These emotions are often not enough to drive a young composer to get a

composition ready for a good orchestra. Money for new compositions is very

hard to come by. It can be extremely difficult to find an orchestra willing to

take on the task of rehearsing and preparing to perform works by unknown

composers. Motivation can run out before anyone has even looked at your

score. Set some self-imposed deadlines for getting your piece done. Hold a

gun to your own head and say, “I need it tomorrow.”

You can apply for grants if your work qualifies. Find someone who knows how

to write grants or go on the Internet and do some research. A demo of your

composition done in MIDI can be helpful — but if it is poorly executed it can

Chapter 17: Composing Commercial Music and Songs 215