Battle/Powerful Pieces/Themes

I been trying and failing miserably in trying to write Battle and/or Powerful pieces and/or themes lately.

I been listening to alot of good ones but never seem to get a melody to smack me in the head.

Is there an easier way to get ideas for Battle and/or Powerful themes?

Or is it just my own inexperiencedness.

Sing, sing, sing. Think of what you're trying to depict and just randomly sing some melodies. Good luck writing them out, but you will amaze yourself with what you come up with if you just randomly think about something and sing a melody to it. Don't keep singing the same thing, always try to improve it. When you think you got it down, put it on paper.

What I would do is start out quoting a powerful piece. Wagner, Mahler, Bruckner, and Zimmer are all great composers to take ideas from. Taking someone else's musical ideas may seem unoriginal at first but you can do so much with that base theme by developing it and using your personal musical language to make it your own. If that doesn't get your juices flowing then try and keep it simple. Get a good pulse on the root going with some powerful fifths octaves. A minor key is a good idea. D minor is my personal favorite. Also try and use fugal and canonic concepts. It's easy and it makes the piece sound really active.

Good Luck,

A. D. Berinato

Conductor, Composer, and Music Educator