Music Composition DUMmIES

Composing on Computers ..........................................................................

It’s often a good idea to start your computer composition with the rhythm.

Setting a metronome going and establishing a time signature at the beginning

will make editing easier later on, because you will be able to use measures

and beats as timing references for cutting and pasting once your computer

knows where to put the measure lines. Good computer programs allow you

to make changes to tempo and meter later if your composition requires them.

Even if you are starting with just a melody in your head, taking time to set the

correct tempo can be an aid for the creative and technical processes involved.

If you are writing a song or something else that has a strong groove, it is often

a good idea to come up with a little MIDI drum track for two or four measures,

copy it into the whole length of the tune, and use it instead of the boring click

of a metronome. Later you can replace it by re-recording the drums with more

variety — or even re-record it with a real percussionist playing to your origi-

nal groove track.

Thinking in sections ...........................................................................

The next thing you can do is to think in two-, four-, or eight-measure phrases

as you add other rhythm section parts (bass, keys, guitar) to your composi-

tion. You don’t have to follow this or any other rule, but most Western music

runs in sections composed of multiples of two or four measures. Thinking in

these terms also makes cutting and pasting easier.

You can work up all your parts for each section separately. Then you can cut

and paste the entire sections into their proper places within your composi-

tion. You can have a verse, chorus, and bridge, all with multiple instrument

parts in them. The individual parts can be moved around — or you can move

the entire sections. Then you can make changes within each occurrence

of these parts or sections so that there is some development of your musical

ideas throughout your piece.

Linear composition ............................................................................

Of course, you don’t have to compose by writing sections and copying and

pasting them in. You can always write in a linear fashion. You can play melodies

or even entire performances across the composition in real time. If you are

using MIDI recording instead of recording audiotracks (exception: audio

loops), you can slow the tempo down temporarily just enough so that you

can perform a difficult part that may be beyond your technique as a musician

Chapter 18: Composing Electronic Music 235