Stupid Question

Okay, sorry for being so stupid, but im only 14 and dont know much about forms. I mean, i know about binary, ternary, rondo and tghe basics of sonata form, but say if i wanted to write a concerto or symphony or something, i wouldn't know which ones to use for which movements, especially as some of the websites only say stuff like "the second movement is slow". Does that mean it just has to be slow, in any form? for example i could write the second movement in ternary or binary form, as long as it is slow?

Does anyone know websites or books that could help me? And when you compose, do you stick to the specific forms or do you just write "what sounds good"? Please help, i would like to try writing stuff like a sympohny or concerto but i dont want to feel stupid by writing it totally "wrong".

Okay, sorry for being so stupid, but im only 14 and dont know much about forms. I mean, i know about binary, ternary, rondo and tghe basics of sonata form, but say if i wanted to write a concerto or symphony or something, i wouldn't know which ones to use for which movements, especially as some of the websites only say stuff like "the second movement is slow". Does that mean it just has to be slow, in any form? for example i could write the second movement in ternary or binary form, as long as it is slow?

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Hi Mitch, How could you possibly be stupid. Stupid is when you don't know AND don't ask AND pretend you do know. You are just beginning a hopefully rewarding (and I don't mean money) journey into music. Unfortunately I've just started composing myself (well for almost 2 years) so My knowledge is little. I don't even know what you mean by ternary - binary form :blush:

But, yes I think they mean any form like adagio or largo. less beats per second in a way :laugh:

Does anyone know websites or books that could help me? And when you compose, do you stick to the specific forms or do you just write "what sounds good"? Please help, i would like to try writing stuff like a sympohny or concerto but i dont want to feel stupid by writing it totally "wrong".

I would certainly start and keep writing what feels good. Music is a private thing. You can't learn your own style of composing from books. They can only help to understand what's happening in music but they can't make it happen.

If you want to achieve something you must be willing to fail at first.

Imagine your first piece being your masterpiece. that would be horrible, it would all be down hill from then on :(

I hear Paul Hindmith's book "Elementary Training for Musicians" is a standard work

:ninja: I don't know if it is allowed in this forum and I'm normally not a fan of pirating but (serving a noble cause) here's a link for it using edonkey or emule:

ed2k://|file|Paul%20Hindemith%20-%20Elementary%20Training%20for%20Musicians%20[2nd%20Ed.].pdf|8694752|CB6085B4B53E1FE1BC6B0DAAA011E012|h=K5MPLTYMYM4L7MB5M2KAUVHQYRBLVOEL|/|sources,82.172.71.171:4690|/

If you can efford it , buy it! or look for it in a library.

Okay thanks for that advice. What is eMule? Is it a program or something? If so, where can i download it?

emule is a peer to peer (private computer to private computer) file transfer program. This of course is legal. You can share family photo's , your own soundtracks. But... sharing copyrighted material like Movies, software and comercial music is illegal..... so exactly that is what's happening on a large scale.

Now laws differ from country to country. In the netherlands its legal to make a copy of something for your own use but it is illegal to offer it to someone over the internet. Because it is impossible to monitor all the data traffic on internet and because there is no central server involved, almost everybody gets away with it.

I was hardly an example of good conduct in the past :blink:

I used it to try software before I would or would'nt buy

A word of warning!.. Downloaded executables (.exe files e.g.) should be checked for virusses ALWAYS! Some downloads contain porn instead of what the filename suggests.

http://www.emule-project.net/

from "the Life Of Brian" movie:

He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy ... [/b]

so writing something like a concerto or symphony...There is no real limit here. It is good to listen to the tempo of movements, but you will get things like andante sostenuto and that simply means slower than moderate speed and very sustained. Choose the form that suits your needs. If you would like to present Andante Sostenuto like a minuet or passacaglia or chaconne or whatever it is up to you. Use the net for a guide, but in the end composers change things all the time. Ein Deutches Requiem was written by Brahms who decided to do his own biblical research and prayer and chose different texts than traditonally used by the Catholic church. There were already standard lyrics and he changed them.

But for learning there is no substitute for knowing the old rules, only then can you artistically break them. So maybe make your first symphony in this manner straight forward, immitating the form of another composer.

I hope this helps