Decide on a style of music you would like to write, such as classical, rock, jazz, or folk music. Think of a corresponding mood, tempo, and instrumentation. For some ideas, listen to a few pieces in your chosen musical genre. What combination of musical elements does the piece contain that make it fit into that category? For example, does your favorite rock tune have a steady beat in 4/4, a slow moving melody with repeated notes and emotional lyrics? What are your favorite sections and why? Write down your initial direction for your composition. Will your piece also have lyrics? For this article, I am choosing to write a simple piano piece in a classical style. It will have a medium tempo and a happy mood.

Decide on a form for your composition. Most musical compositions are made up of sections that are the same (repeating sections) or different from each other (contrasting sections). How long will your composition be? How many sections will it have? Remember that every style of music has its own set of common forms, such as a 32-measure AABA form in jazz standards, or a 12-bar blues. You may like to stick to one of these forms or make up your own. My advice would be to keep it simple! For example, if you break down your composition into two contrasting sections of eight measures each, you have enough material for a 32-bar AABA tune! I will use this form for my composition example.

Use your tape recorder/computer/minidisc to record some ideas. Use your instrument to come up with some riffs. Use your voice! Sing little melodies. Do this for at least 10 minutes. Be free to play or sing whatever you like—it doesn’t have to be perfect or ready to perform at this point. No one has to hear it except for you. Go for it!

Listen to the audio clip of me thinking of some ideas for my composition….

Listen back to your recording. Is there anything that stands out to you? Is there an idea that you think you can develop into a classical melody? Have you created your first chord progression for your rock song? Can you decide on an opening line of lyrics for your jazz or pop tune? If you haven’t found something that you like thus far, you can always pick notes and rhythms out of a hat. Remember that your melody or chord progression isn’t long or complex at this point. The melodic idea that you decide on will become your first musical motif—a two or three note idea that will become the foundation of your piece. See if you can notate this on paper—clap the rhythm and sing or play the motif on your instrument. My motif will be the following idea:

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Now that you have your opening motif, what are you going to do with it? You have some options—you can extend it, shorten it, play it backwards, repeat it, make up something a little different or completely different from it. By doing this, you are creating a musical phrase—a more complete thought or idea—from your motif.

Here is my example. Notice how I have stated my motif, played the pitches backwards with the same rhythm, and then finished my phrase with a different idea.

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Since I am writing two eight measure sections, I will extend my initial four measures to an eight measure phrase by repeating my idea in a different key, ending with a little change to the rhythm.

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In almost all styles of music, there is a contrasting section that adds interest to the piece by presenting new material to your ear. That is one of the functions of the ‘bridge’ in pop or rock songs, the B section in jazz tunes, and the Development section in classical sonatas. To write a contrasting section, repeat steps four and five, trying not to play your original motif. Can you think of a different rhythm? Will your melody move by steps or skips this time? Will you use repeated pitches? Does this section have a different mood?

Here is my contrasting section:

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At this point in the compositional process, you have created a couple of contrasting sections—now how will you arrange these sections in your piece?

Think of your original form. Does what you’ve written fit in with your initial concept? Feel free to make changes. Does your piece seem whole or do you need to write another section? How does your piece end? What would you like to add to your piece so you could perform it? Do you need to add a bassline or left hand piano part? Do you need to write a harmony part for a different instrument or singer?

You don’t need to know a lot about music theory to start writing chords in your music. Just try different ideas out until you like what you come up with! You might even be able to get some ideas for harmonies from pieces you’ve played.

For my composition, I will alter the last line to make my melody sound more conclusive. Then I will add a left hand part to give my piece some harmony.

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