Introduction to Musical Composition

The art of composing music is an impressive skill that can be taught. Composing music is a worthwhile pursuit because music is the most mysterious and most intangible form of art that permeates all societies and cultures, both in the modern day and in antiquity. Back in tribal times, people would chant songs and dance around fires. (I have always had a deep desire to do this.) In more recent times, music was used before a battle to raise the moral of the soldiers. Music has the power to invoke a plethora of emotions ranging from delight and compassion to weeping or anger. The ethereal and insubstantial nature of a composer’s music evokes awe from those who do not understand the art.

If someone asks you, “What are your hobbies?” and you tell them that you compose music, the most common response is amazement. When you think about it, composing really is amazing. The ability to create a master piece out of nothing, is an elusive objective. There is no paint, clay, or any relation to objects in the real world. Invisible and ephemeral pulsations in the air are a composer’s final product.

Although music is mysterious in innumerable ways, there are rules and guidelines that make learning music manageable. Complex compositions can be broken down into learnable parts. Through this website I will show you how to create awe inspiring compositions.

This website is dedicated to mastering the techniques of creating memorable compositions. The website is subdivided into two sections:

  1. Beginner’s Techniques

  1. Advanced Techniques

The beginner’s section contains the basics needed to lay the foundation for more advanced works. Once these techniques are mastered the advanced techniques will be easier to understand.

A house’s foundation is the most important part of the house and takes the most time to build. The basic techniques laid out in the beginner’s section are necessary to grasp before building the rest of the house. A solid foundation will give you a firm footing when viewing the advanced material.

If you already have some musical background, I would suggest looking briefly at the topics in the beginner’s section to make sure you understand them, and if you do have a good grasp of the concepts feel free to peruse the advanced topics.