Hi,
In this post I would like to broach the subject of musical composition.
Foreword
Whether you are an experienced musician or a beginner, have you ever thought about creating your own music? Flat.io provides the perfect tools for it!
Composition
The main elements to consider in your first compositions are: rhythm, melody, form, and harmony.
1. Rhythm
Do you want your composition to be fast and energetic, or slow and sad? Let's start at 80bpm in 4/4 with a simple mix of quarter and eighth notes: ♩ ♫ ♫ ♩
2. Melody
Seconds and thirds are the easiest intervals to sing. Keep the range within an octave and a half for an average singer. Here's a first measure:
3. Form
We think of our first measure as a question and build a response. I reused the last two beats of bar 1 — a descending third then ascending second — written a second lower each time:
For a 4-bar structure: question → response, question → end of discussion. The climax measure introduces a high pitch and higher rhythmic flow:
All the notes of our composition belong to the scale of D harmonic minor.
Conclusion
The path I chose is only one amongst many. The paths to composition are numerous — do you want to write a piano piece, or something for orchestra? That's where instrumentation, orchestration, and instrumental techniques come in.
Sébastien