Where Does One Start?

Alright guys, I just printed some choral staff paper and am wanting to think about composing a piece but I am sure you all know it is somewhat overwhelming. Where do you all normally start- bass line, soprano- where? And as you're composing, do you write a whole several measures with one part and then catch the other ones up, or work measure by measure with all of the parts?

Sorry I'm asking so many questions, but I really am interested in giving this a shot, and just want to hear what you all have to say about the topic.

Thanks So Much Guys,

Ethan:)

One starts right after 0 and immediately before 2 (in integers).

What do you mean "choral staff"? I think that choosing the instrumentation is part of the composition, and you shouldn't let other people do that for you.

You choose what kind of sound you want to create, you choose how many staves you're going to need. Also, it depends on whether you're actually writing it for a group which is going to perform it, which might also change the instrumentation.

But other than that, there's no "right" way of doing it. Feldman liked to just find a time every day and compose, Elgar is famous for starting a work, then jumping to the second movement writing some bits of the exposition there, then writing the last bars of a work, then going back to the first movement, with loads of drafts and stuff. Others just write like that, and then correct. Others don't correct (Feldman) and that's part of their compositions.

It also depends on the piece - it'd be difficult to write a fugue by writing it measure-by-measure, writing all voices together (it'd make more sense to write one voice first -at least for a number of bars- then the second one, then the third one etc).

It really depends on the kind of music you're writing, the kind of piece you're writing, the kind of instruments you're writing for, and the kind of person you are.

No one is going to dictate to you any of this in here :) It's for you to find out and for us to see what you've done with what you've found out :D

You've got to find out how you work best, which requires a lot of trial and error. I assume that by "printing out choral staff paper" you mean that you printed some stuff off blanksheetmusic.net with the systems and clefs and everything written in... I mean, I personally would advise against that, because why not draw the system lines and clefs by yourself and save your handwriting a little bit, but also, what if you want to add another voice? What if you want to stop what you're doing and start sketching out and doing crazy stuff? Better to leave yourself the flexibility. But I digress.

For choral music, the smartest place to start is probably with text, because then you won't end up in the position that I'm always in (it gets really annoying) of having this wonderful choral piece with no text, which takes away the choral-ness of it all. Take a text, think about the meaning and tone, line, rhythm, strong words, all that stuff.

But you could, of course, start writing without words, if you wanted to. I mean, it's inconvenient in the long run, but it's still wonderful practice and experience. Or even write for undefined instruments, as long as you write something!

As far as just-write-something! goes... decide what you want to write. Think about your mood, think about your opening sound, think about the general character of the piece, a specific melodic line... Like, do you want it to be big and lugubrious in big, blocky chords? Do you want light, precise, Bach-like counterpoint? Think about form now--ABA? Theme and variation? Sonata? Eventual counterpoint of two opposing melodies?--or later, and just start writing. Basically, pick any of these points (or something entirely different) to start from, and then follow through and write something! And just keep writing and let stuff suggest itself to you. Don't be afraid to skip around, don't be afraid to write both vertically and horizontally. If particular moments give you trouble, skip them and move on, because it's much easier to get a broad sketch of a piece and fill in details later.

If all else fails, go for a walk and hum to yourself/plunk at the piano until you get a musical idea in your head. Then WRITE!

First of all I'll tell you that don't try to find an "Owner's Manual" of composition to follow instructions, like it would be a VCR. I don't want to contradict any of the guys wrote up here, I can only tell you that you have to be patient with yourself, composing is not like changing the TV channel or everybody would compose. I don't want to sound negative but some people just did not born to compose, they simply won't make it, but don't lose your faith in yourself.

Listen carefully all the music you can, Great Composer's works are the best lessons, they're the best teachers, It doesn't matter if you write some kind of "copy" of what you heard, that's normal in the begining, then you'll find your own way.

And the most important thing I can share with you is that, "DEVELOPMENT" is the most important thing in composition, not "inspiration". Richard Strauss wrote "Also Sprach Zarathustra" with only three notes C,G,C, you may cleary listen that motif in the whole work, in one way, then in another, then faster, then louder etc... don't think R.Strauss heard the whole work in his mind just the way it is and just putted on paper. Don't seek to much in your mind, develop whatever you got.

I forgot to tell you, get at most Great Master's scores you can.

There are many ways to start (as has been said).. If you have never composed before, it might be easiest to start with a melody, and then add the rest. Or perhaps start with some chords and then try to arrange them for the choir. Maybe you have an idea of what you want it to sound like in your head.. in that case just write out whatever is easiest to write first. Perhaps find a piano and plunk around a bit until you have something nice and then write it down.

Like has been said, there are a million ways to compose.. Just do whatever seems right and easiest to you.

A tip though, is to compose often and regularly. If the choral thing doesn't quite work out at first, don't force it... but don't stop composing.

Thanks for the tips guys. Sorry it's taken me so long to thank you.

Hopefully I'll get some time here in the next little bit to start writing. The hard thing though is that there are so many choral styles and manurisims that I love, that it'll be hard to find out which one to go with.

There are times when I feel a really big strong celebratory sound, and then others when I like very thinly scored pieces.... Oh the possibilities:)

Here's another thing: don't try to do everything at once. There's more than enough time in your musical career to do everything you want to do, so don't try to emulate fifty million people in a single piece, and don't try to make your first work your magnum opus. There's nothing wrong with starting small, and there's nothing wrong with starting focused, so you don't get distracted. Don't bite off more than you can chew, or you may get frustrated with your composition and just walk away.

Alright guys, I just printed some choral staff paper and am wanting to think about composing a piece but I am sure you all know it is somewhat overwhelming. Where do you all normally start- bass line, soprano- where? And as you're composing, do you write a whole several measures with one part and then catch the other ones up, or work measure by measure with all of the parts?

Sorry I'm asking so many questions, but I really am interested in giving this a shot, and just want to hear what you all have to say about the topic.

Thanks So Much Guys,

Ethan:)

Everyone works differently, and it often depends on the kind of composition you're writing, but I think the best way is to write the melody first, and get it polished. Once the melody is done that's your roadmap.

After that, work out the chords (harmonization) then do a starting bass line. Once that's done, you have your basic roadmap completed and can then determine your next steps.