First steps in Music Composition.

What do you need to compose music?

“Music Composition” are two words that when combined, can be the gate to open to a new world of artistic possibilities. Many Piano students cherish the idea of becoming music creators, but sometimes they lack either confidence or knowledge to decide whether to start or not this specific musical path. As Piano Tutors, we should be aware of certain characteristics that these students may have that are determinants when guiding them to pursue this career that is challenging but extremely rewarding at the same time.

Composing music comprises many areas of the musical study, from learning an instrument,  that in the case of the composers should be the Piano, that is as Maestra Gisela Paterno says in her article “the composer’s toolkit” as it is unmistakeably the best resource to learn the theory and at the same time, putting it into practice, Also, the keyboard contains all the pitches (notes) that all instruments have as their range (88 notes in total) and it is an instrument in which visually is very easy to grasp the Harmony and Counterpoint between voices.

Secondly, the learning of a good foundation in Music Theory seems paramount to know the language and its rules. As Gisela states “Once the foundation is built, the task of the composer is to “put together” all the elements that contribute to the creation of a musical piece.”

Lastly, subjects as Counterpoint, Harmony and orchestration are more advanced but equally important. All these contribute to having more tools when you are facing a blank manuscript paper!

As a final message: develop your aural skills, listen to music….lots of music and from different backgrounds and styles! study hard, learn an instrument, learn the theory behind the music. Everyone can compose music, the road can be seen as long,  but truly not impossible and absolutely fantastic at the end.