Music Composition DUMmIES

Because it is inside your head, though, your imagination is also the hardest

source to put your finger on. Its timing is sometimes off, for one thing. The

Muse can feed you melodies when you least expect them and are least pre-

pared to do anything about them.

Always have a paper and pencil or a small recording device at hand, at all

times, no matter where you go. They are a lot easier to carry around than a

computer and keyboard.

You can do a few things to help your Muse work more effectively for you.

Here are some things the Muse needs and ideas about how to do your part

to help:

The Muse needs space to work in.

Turn off your TV and radio, log off the Internet, turn off your cell phone,

and tell your family and roommates that you are indisposed for the next,

say, hour or two.

The Muse likes to be nourished.

Every day, expose yourself to a variety of musical influences — not just

the few favorites you keep cycling through. And if you want your Muse

to get real exposure to different music, do it with full attention.

The Muse likes to be quiet.

Music as a background often silences or distracts the Muse. It is hard to

focus on what you are hearing in the mind’s ear when you’re hearing

things in your physical ear. The Muse is shy. Silence often causes her to

come out of hiding.

The Muse needs you to follow where she leads.

The Muse can’t do it all; you have to do your part. Once the Muse gives

you something, run with it. Work it, play with it — above all, capture it.

Write it down! Never think that you’ll remember what the Muse tells you.

No matter how impressive your melody seems at the moment, it will slip

out of your head just as magically as it slipped in.

Your muse needs you to remember what she says.

Keep a pencil and paper or a simple recording device next to your bed.

The first few seconds after you wake up provide the best opportunity to

clearly recall your dreams. Discipline yourself to write them down, even

if there is no music in them. And when you do wake up with a strangely

unfamiliar and uncharacteristic Beatles song in your head, get it down

on paper or tape. It is possible that it wasn’t a Beatles song at all, but

your muse playing hide-and-seek with you.

(Of course, make sure it wasn’t an actual Beatles song before you try to

publish it! This is what happened with Paul McCartney when he wrote

50 Part II: Melody and Development