4 answers
Merit
Student
1
Question
Asked
552 views
What are the things I need to know about music ?
The fundamentals of music composition
4 answers
Paul Bordenkircher
Audio Engineer
82
Answers
Las Vegas, Nevada
Updated
Paul’s Answer
Everything! No, but seriously, everything.
In order to be a successful composer, you need to know as much as you can about music. That means scales, chords, chord progressions, song structure, styles and genres, instruments and their ranges, song arrangement, recording and production, and more. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the business side, such as copyright, publishing, promotion and licensing.
And know this: a person in a creative career should never stop learning. There is no such thing as perfection of your craft, because it will always be changing. It’s a lifelong pursuit, but if you love it, you’ll love (nearly) every minute of it. Best of luck!
Learn music scales and modes
Learn chord structures and progressions
Learn song structure.
Learn styles and genres
Learn the business side
In order to be a successful composer, you need to know as much as you can about music. That means scales, chords, chord progressions, song structure, styles and genres, instruments and their ranges, song arrangement, recording and production, and more. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the business side, such as copyright, publishing, promotion and licensing.
And know this: a person in a creative career should never stop learning. There is no such thing as perfection of your craft, because it will always be changing. It’s a lifelong pursuit, but if you love it, you’ll love (nearly) every minute of it. Best of luck!
Paul recommends the following next steps:
John Graham
Music Producer
55
Answers
Bremerton, Washington
Updated
John’s Answer
Hi Merit!
Congratulations on your interest in music composition!
What you need to learn depends on your intentions. If you want to be a classical music composer, there's a long road ahead as Paul mentioned in his response. If you want to write Popular songs, then that's a different path. For popular songwriting, I recommend you take a look at some course videos, and some books on the subject. One of the coaches I like is Robin Frederick. Here's her video channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thesongcoach/videos and her book, "Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting" is available on Amazon for about US$30.
Another great way to learn composition is to play an instrument. If you don't already, I suggest you learn to play guitar or piano, as these are the main tools used by composers around the world. I had some formal instruction on piano, where I studied classical piano for five years, and then popular piano/organ and arranging for three years. I also played various instruments (drums, percussion, double bass, and guitar) in school orchestra, and also joined choir groups in school and at church to help develop my vocal ability. I also played in competitions, at fairs, and with local bands and in restaurants and clubs. These are all ways you can develop skills you can use in becoming a songwriter.
Good luck on your journey - you're going to do great!
Congratulations on your interest in music composition!
What you need to learn depends on your intentions. If you want to be a classical music composer, there's a long road ahead as Paul mentioned in his response. If you want to write Popular songs, then that's a different path. For popular songwriting, I recommend you take a look at some course videos, and some books on the subject. One of the coaches I like is Robin Frederick. Here's her video channel: https://www.youtube.com/@thesongcoach/videos and her book, "Shortcuts to Hit Songwriting" is available on Amazon for about US$30.
Another great way to learn composition is to play an instrument. If you don't already, I suggest you learn to play guitar or piano, as these are the main tools used by composers around the world. I had some formal instruction on piano, where I studied classical piano for five years, and then popular piano/organ and arranging for three years. I also played various instruments (drums, percussion, double bass, and guitar) in school orchestra, and also joined choir groups in school and at church to help develop my vocal ability. I also played in competitions, at fairs, and with local bands and in restaurants and clubs. These are all ways you can develop skills you can use in becoming a songwriter.
Good luck on your journey - you're going to do great!
Matias Ortiz
Computer Technician
1
Answer
Roanoke, Virginia
Updated
Matias’s Answer
Hi Merit!
It's a pleasure to greet you and I hope your day is going great. To enter the world of music production, it's necessary to first understand basic theory, then intermediate and advanced concepts. This includes learning about music harmony, instrumentation, how musical instruments work, and when to use them for specific songs to achieve the desired results depending on the genre. Not all musical instruments are suitable for all genres, and vice versa.
Then, it's important to have a general understanding of the voice and singers. Exploring choruses is essential for understanding how the voice and harmonies work. Depending on the genre, you should at least know about its history and its pioneers. This is crucial because your musical judgment should be very broad to be able to create all kinds of songs in any musical genre. Listening to a lot of music helps a lot, and doing active listening is key. This means identifying the instruments in a song and analyzing the types of effects used in the mix, such as reverb, chorus, etc.
If you already have a strong foundation in music theory, you can try to identify musical patterns, scales used, and the key of the song. For more advanced listening in the future, it would be advisable to study the types of waves and sounds in a song to perform mastering. It would also be important to understand synthesis and how synthesizers work, as this is an important part of production.
In general, these are the basics you need to understand music production. From there, you should always keep studying to learn new techniques and programs like VSTs and virtual instruments to be able to compose with MIDI. I hope this helps and you can learn much more about this complex but fascinating world of music.
It's a pleasure to greet you and I hope your day is going great. To enter the world of music production, it's necessary to first understand basic theory, then intermediate and advanced concepts. This includes learning about music harmony, instrumentation, how musical instruments work, and when to use them for specific songs to achieve the desired results depending on the genre. Not all musical instruments are suitable for all genres, and vice versa.
Then, it's important to have a general understanding of the voice and singers. Exploring choruses is essential for understanding how the voice and harmonies work. Depending on the genre, you should at least know about its history and its pioneers. This is crucial because your musical judgment should be very broad to be able to create all kinds of songs in any musical genre. Listening to a lot of music helps a lot, and doing active listening is key. This means identifying the instruments in a song and analyzing the types of effects used in the mix, such as reverb, chorus, etc.
If you already have a strong foundation in music theory, you can try to identify musical patterns, scales used, and the key of the song. For more advanced listening in the future, it would be advisable to study the types of waves and sounds in a song to perform mastering. It would also be important to understand synthesis and how synthesizers work, as this is an important part of production.
In general, these are the basics you need to understand music production. From there, you should always keep studying to learn new techniques and programs like VSTs and virtual instruments to be able to compose with MIDI. I hope this helps and you can learn much more about this complex but fascinating world of music.
William Moody
Freelance Musician
6
Answers
Downers Grove, Illinois
Updated
William’s Answer
The first thing we need to know is what your focus is in music. Voice or instruments.Both require being able to read a music score.Believe it or not Sir Paul McCartney of the former Beetles can NOT read music. He tapes his vocals and piano or bass guitar and has an assistant write the music into standard notation...this is for the benefit of his band or orchestra if his creation demands it. Many modern rock groups are notorious play by ear and cannot read music.
So BEFORE you get any further into the music field you MUST READ music.
So BEFORE you get any further into the music field you MUST READ music.
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