composing techniques

Hi!
I have recently begun with music composition and I'd really like to know what methods do you use for expressing your ideas. Most of the time I find myself simply opening the MIDI editor and starting to write music. The problem with this method is that I tend to concentrate solely on the actual sound  (with reverbs and choice of instruments) while neglecting more important parts like melody and basic structure. Therefore my pieces often end up as a total mess with no order and consistency.

I really wonder how some of you do it. How do you write down your first ideas? Do you simply take pen and paper and write down main motif? Do you write a mindmap that helps you with the structure? Do you record different ideas and then choose between them? Do you actually write a complete score before you jump into MIDI editor? 

Thank you for your help 

I start by improvising on a keyboard using various sounds trying to get a mood or some thing I can hold on to. If a melody and chords present themselves fully formed I'll immediately write it down. I've lost too many ideas by not doing this. But regardless, everything is eventually written if musicians will be involved. I use a digital recorder that uses "takes" just like in a recording session. I can try different takes without editing myself at all. Then gradually I can visualize (or auralize) the work. Then as I proceed I keep an eye out (ear) for an ending. If I can get the ending, writing the middle is much easier, because that's a big hurdle to climb. I don't know what a mindmap is, but the process is the same whether I'm writing to order or just experimenting. I've always been a compose-at-the-piano person. I have to hear it before I can realize it.

I have an unfair advantage by having perfect pitch, so whenever I'm humming something random and it hits me like, "that would be an amazing motif", I go ahead and write it down, note for note. 

Ken's method is, from what I've seen, pretty common, and it works! It's reliable, and serial muscle memory keeps those motifs in your hands for a little bit.

As for how it sounds... unless it's incidental music that will only be virtually realized, I've been taught to always write with the players in mind, as a super high priority. Unless it's an aleatoric piece, I tend to write using technological notation right away. It just keeps it in one area, which is nice.

1 hour ago, Monarcheon said:

I have an unfair advantage by having perfect pitch, so whenever I'm humming something random and it hits me like, "that would be an amazing motif", I go ahead and write it down, note for note.

What do you mean exactly when you say you have perfect pitch?

27 minutes ago, Gylfi said:

What do you mean exactly when you say you have perfect pitch?

 

I'll try explaining it.  I have perfect pitch too, which means you can tell what a note is just by listening to its pitch.  Say your music teacher plays D-flat on the piano without you looking at the keys and asks what note it is.  If you can say D-flat right away without any bit of help, then you have perfect pitch.

I usually start a piece by finding an idea I want to express, and then based on that I try to make a rough model of the form of the music. I usually start writing the actual music after that point. Sometimes I'll write a melody and build a piece or a section of the piece out of that, sometimes I plan out the harmony first and then write a melody to it, but most often both form together naturally. Probably because I usually compose at the piano.

Personally, I usually prefer to not immediately write something down. I like to give an idea some time to change a little bit, until it really sticks. My philosophy with that is if the idea isn't good enough to remember, you can probably come up with something better with time.

3 hours ago, spike473 said:

I'll try explaining it.  I have perfect pitch too, which means you can tell what a note is just by listening to its pitch.  Say your music teacher plays D-flat on the piano without you looking at the keys and asks what note it is.  If you can say D-flat right away without any bit of help, then you have perfect pitch.

That's not really what I was asking. True perfect pitch is very rare but it is possible to develop a type of pseudo-absolute pitch - for example I can normally guess notes within a major second or so, and I know people who are even better at it, but they can still be mistaken. It is also possible to have such a highly developed ear that you can map out the abstract structure of something without being able to reference any pitch - amd sometimes you can figure out the true pitches through clever deduction (open strings on string instruments are really easy for this, as are throat tones on clarinet). I'm just curious if he really has perfect pitch or just a great ear.

As for my composing techniques, I compose through controlled experimentation and deep reflection. I have no pretenses of actually being a composer - even if I knew exactly what I wanted to do, which I don't, I do not have a strong understanding of how to do it. So, at this point in time I am mainly interested in learning through strategic trial and error, so that when inspiration really strikes (not the illusion of inspiration), I will be equipped to realize it.

31 minutes ago, Gylfi said:

I'm just curious if (s)he really has perfect pitch or just a great ear.

Sometimes I'm a couple cents off, but I'm generally pretty accurate in terms of tuning as well. Sorry, OP, didn't mean to steer the thread off topic.

Thank you all for your quick reply. You really provided some useful information. Very helpful :)