Welcome to Composer Corner

Hello everyone.

It has been said that one can not learn to be a composer. You either have it or you don't. Well, I don't think that is entirely true. Yes, some of us have a nack for it and others don't. My favorite composer is John Williams. You know some of his pieces even if you don't recognize his name. He wrote the music to many films: Stars Wars, the Indiana Jones Trilogy (Raiders of the Lost Ark), Superman, etc .... I mention him to say that I have the realistic expectation that I will never compose like him. I don't know how much natural talent he has, but I do know that he went to school. He learned to do what he does. And, if I had all the money in the world, I would go out and get a Music Degree. Since I don't (have all the money in the world), I'll have to deal with what I've got.

The main problem that I have encountered with composing music is writer's block. Sometimes I can bust out a tune without trying very hard. Other times I can't write to save my life. But, I'll have the desire to do so, so I sit at my computer, twiddling my thumbs, waiting for inspiration. However, inspiration doesn't come to every composer. Sometimes you have to search for it, perhaps working through a pre-determined process. This blog is my little corner to rant and rave about overcoming musical writer's block.

I want to share my insights as an amateur composer (very amateur) and maybe a helpful hint here and there from other sources. I've noticed that there isn't a lot of information for amateur composers online. Yes, there are tons of websites, but the information can either be overwhelming ... or just plain-not-very-helpful. In the end, I may not be very helpful myself, but if nothing else, I'll add my personal touch to the confusing subject of musical composition.

My goal is NOT to teach you music theory or even how to read music. I will assume that you know how to read music. Knowledge of music theory is not needed in order to compose, although it is helpful. Your compositional skills will increase as you learn more, obviously. There are some good music theory tutorials online. You can do a Google search. I recommend this one. Very easy to understand.

Earlier I mentioned a pre-determined process. Since I rarely can pop stuff out without thinking about it, I follow a set of rules in order to compose a piece of music. In my next post, I will begin discussing my process, what the rules are and when and how I break them. After all, you can do nothing wrong in music, but if you want to achieve a certain sound, there are rules and precise exceptions. Till next time!