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Maybe your song sucked. Have you considered that?

On some positive stuff, what is everyone working on? I'm starting on my last two movements of my symphony. It's very programmatic based on scriptures from the Old Testament and I'm learning Dvorak 8th!

Whatever. I think that musical development in what sounds 'good' or 'bad' is based on the music that you are surrounded with as a child and the reactions of loved ones to it e.g. you listened to a lot of heavy metal, your parents liked it so you are inclined to like and produce music that is similar. That's my theory, and it's not particulary innovative or even relevent. As for the original question, I'm slightly offended when people try to claim that I am gifted because it implies that I didn't work very hard to get where I am because I never had to. I have worked a lot to get myself this far, and it isn't very far at all. Saying I'm 'gifted' depreciates my effort. I think that you can be a great composer whether you were born with it or not, it just depends upon whether you want to be a composer. Anyone can do it if they work hard on it and really try (how cheesy is that?).

Yeah. It's just very jumpy. And, not in an effective way. Choir directors won't spend that much time on that short of a piece because it is too tough for the singers to really grasp in a short amount of time. Voice leading will help you to find easy ways to make difficult sounding things. ;)

I wouldn't say formal training is strictly "necessary". There are several composers who have become influential musical forces despite being self-taught or otherwise lacking in formal training (Mussorgsky, Elgar and Schoenberg are three examples). There are even cases of people who didn't even know how to notate music, but who yet were able to create and compose quality works (Noel Coward comes to my mind). As a self-taught composer myself, I take some pride in these precedents. But I'd say training is "very helpful" at the very least. I have managed to become a part-time composer despite my total lack of formal training - but I know there are flaws in my works which could have been avoided if I had ever attended lessons or received some kind of feedback. I also can't take advantage of other people's reviews and feedback when I don't understand the technicisms they use to explain a hidden flaw in a passage that just "sounds good" to me. So I might be making the same mistakes over and over again, without even knowing it. I've felt that fear myself. Much like Balakirev and Rymsky-Korsakov did (although Tchaikovsky managed to persuade the latter into training, only to see his fears come true for a long time before regaining his "voice"). But I've come to believe that I have missed doing many things musically by not knowing they could be actually done (and how to). Alas, training also provides a fertile ground for networking (which I'm utterly unable to do, given my terrible social skills :blush:). The bottom line for me is: you don't need formal training to be a composer - but you may need it to be a better composer.

usually I don't hear a single melodic line...I hear the melody played by french horns etc. with orchestra accompaniment (fast woodwind scales+string rhytm: triplet motifs+choir: long sustained notes.- just an exameple)....so i hear the thing fully orchestrated usually its like complex ideas.. (Of course dont hear whole pieces, just the actual part i want to figure out so its nothing special -.-" ) BUT first you need to now what you want to achieve with your piece: -Mood (happy/sad, epic thingy, romantic, suspense....-> major/minor or other egsotic scales ) -Tempo -Instrumentation ..... ..... ..... Once you now these...and you have a melody...its kinda easy to choose instruments to play it (especially when you have a certain plan about the whole piece (sections, bridges,modulations, tempo changes.....and so on)) For example if you have a part where you want some epicness, also a bit dark ambient, with a bit of suspense....you'll maybe use some heavy brass playing the main motif.....you wont use flutes, oboes, steeldrums (lol), harps etc. to express ultimate power (-.-") Also if you have a romantic scene or something like that calm scrafty stuff maybe you play that sweet melody with octave strings etc, or some more expressive isntruments like flutes......you wont use Tubas etc. to express some romance lol So its very easy to attach melodies to different instruments when you know EXACTLY what you want to achieve...