Scratch

We will be doing most of our compositions on noteflight or musescore.

To use noteflight, you will need an account on noteflight.com.

Please notify me if you are unable to do so. Otherwise, please tell me your username on the site.

Lesson 1: A Simple Melody
Note entry should be fairly simple. If you are unable to create a note/symbol/text that I specify, please notify me so I can teach you.

Let's make a simple melody together, and then you can make one on your own.
Because pianos play so well in so many keys and octaves, we will start with that.
Below is an example of a music piece, two pianos four hands, that I created just today.

The importart part to get out of this is:
I didn't just write the piece immediately; I created a chord progression then melody, edited it to sound better, then added more voices/harmonies. Also note: use cool rhythms. But not too much. (Tip: since you're not playing the piece and the computer is, you can make the piece as complicated as you want!)

So first let's work on building a simple song like this one: http://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/a … bd9e76156b

Creating a Chord Progression
Just choose random chords that sound good played after each other. That's all there is to it. For this example, we're in C Major using I, IV, I, V.

Creating a Melody
Now, for the first note in each measure, choose a note from the chord. Choose a random rhythm for it. Now connect the notes. Continue this until you have a simple melody.

Accompaniment
Write your chord progression using a specific format. It might be bouncing it, alberti, just eighth notes. It just depends on the kind of song. For this one, I just put eighth notes of the chord's notes.

Improving Your Melody
Sometimes when you listen to a melody you think "The next part should be this note, and this note, etc." Change your melody to sound not just "interesting" but "cool". Adjust it to make it better.

Harmonies
Add another instrument. Use the same chords as the first, but with a different melody, perhaps while one goes up the other goes down. If it doesn't sound good together, try it again. Keep doing that until you have many voices and it sounds complete.

Doing this should give you a song about advanced as the one I linked to above.

Assignment 1: Your First Song!
Just follow the instructions above and make your own song.
If you are stuck with any part, just let me know and I'll help you.

Don't worry if your song sound simple, I'm here to help you improve it!

Good luck and have fun!

DJ-stickman wrote:

So basically i make my own song??

Yep. For now there's no restrictions on the theme, length, etc. just any song. Tell me if you need help. Later we'll focus on creating a fitting song for a specific scenario.

Last edited by kayybee (2012-10-25 02:05:08)

Oh, sorry I haven't submitted my work - ill do that ASAP

bump

tell me if you need any help.