Of course, no rule says that you must start with lyrics before composing the music. So if you wake in the night with a snatch of melody in your head, feel free to skip ahead to Part 2 and start from there. [1] X Research source But having a firm grasp on the story you want to tell can make critical choices easier when composing music. Even if you only aim to create an instrumental piece, consider keeping a story in mind to guide you. Classical composers would often do this for inspiration. For instance, Dvorak scored the second and third movements of his ninth symphony, “From the New World,” to a poem by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow.
For example, Bruce Springsteen’s “Brilliant Disguise” depicts the mounting mistrust between a husband and his wife. Each verse depicts their relationship by listing the husband’s growing suspicions.
In “Brilliant Disguise,” Springsteen follows the four-line format for his chorus. In a few words, he sums up the overall theme of mistrust with: “So tell me what I see/When I look in your eyes/Is that you, baby/Or just a brilliant disguise?”
In the last verse before the middle-eight in “Brilliant Disguise,” the narrator begins to switch focus from his wife to himself as he wonders why she’s with him at all. Springsteen employs the middle-eight to expand this shifted focus. Here, the narrator examines his own actions and state of mind, revealing a new dimension to his mistrust with the conclusion: “I wanna know if it’s you I don’t trust/‘Cause I damn sure don’t trust myself”
Count the number of syllables in each line to make sure no one line has too many for you to sing. If you’re using a rhyming scheme, identify cliched rhymes, like “forever” and “together. " See if you can express the same idea in other words that will stand out as an original statement instead of a borrowed phrase. Don’t worry about perfecting a final draft just yet. Most likely you will have to make additional edits once you’ve composed the music.
Use major keys to elicit happier responses from audiences, and minor keys to evoke sadness. [6] X Research source To hear the difference between major and minor, listen to John Williams’ original “Imperial March” from the Star Wars movies. In the movies, it’s played in G minor and sounds exactly like the terrifying war march that it’s supposed to be. However, you can find other recordings online where it’s played in G major instead, which makes it sound more like a pleasant little parade march for a sunny afternoon. Listen to the following songs, which have been grouped by keys. [7] X Research source Gauge your own reactions to them, and decide which ones you wish to replicate: A: “Out on the Weekend,” by Neil Young; “Wild Thing” by Chip Taylor C: “Imagine,” by John Lennon; “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” by Oasis D: “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty; “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” by the Clash E: “Mrs. Robinson,” by Simon & Garfunkel; “Take a Message to Mary,” by the Everly Brothers G: “Sitting on the Dock of the Bay,” by Otis Redding; “Eternal Flame,” by the Bangles
*For reference, listen to the following songs, which have been grouped by the number of chords in their progressions: One chord: “Get Up, Stand Up,” by Bob Marley; “Coconut,” by Harry Nilsson Two chords: “My Generation,” by the Who; “Wrong Way,” by Sublime Three chords: “Twist and Shout,” by the Beatles; “Let My Love Open the Door,” by Pete Townshend Four chords: “With or Without You,” by U2; “Peace of Mind,” by Boston
Listen to the following songs, which have been grouped by their respective chord progressions:[9] X Research source I-IV-V: “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” by Bob Dylan; “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd I-V-IV: “Rock around the Clock,” by Bill Haley & His Comets; “Margaritaville,” by Jimmy Buffet
If you’re stuck, forget the song you’re working on and jam away without worrying about finding the “right” tune. Play stream-of-conscious-style for the sheer pleasure of it. You may just discover the right tune by accident. If you’re still stuck, play one or more songs by other artists who inspire you. Once you’ve mastered their melodies, experiment with changing them bit by bit, studying the effects that each change makes, until you’ve come up with a melody that’s similar yet distinct from the original. Remember: there is a thin line between imitation and plagiarism. When using other people’s works as inspiration, honesty is the best policy; Kurt Cobain admitted that Nirvana’s “Smells like Teen Spirit” was a rip-off of the Pixies. The music to the Smiths’ “Rusholme Ruffians,” meanwhile, was so directly influenced by Elvis Presley’s “Marie’s the Name (of His Latest Flame), the band would open their own song in concert by playing the first couple of verses of Elvis’s; you can hear both the similarity and the subtle differences between the two on their live album, “Rank. ”
If your story requires numerous verses to build your characters effectively, consider having two verses before each chorus instead of one, so that the chorus’s effect on the audience doesn’t wear off due to excessive repetition. If your characters have changed significantly by the end of your story, consider adding a twist to the last chorus to signify this change. Going back to the last chorus of “Brilliant Disguise” as an example, the narrator now dares his wife: “Tell me what you see/When you look in my eyes/Is that me, baby/Or just a brilliant disguise?” If your story ends on a note of ambiguity, as “Brilliant Disguise" does, consider ending with a verse as opposed to a chorus. Since most popular songs end with one or more choruses, play with your audience’s expectations by denying them the neat little ending that they’re anticipating.
