Composing Your Own Music - Easier Than You Think

Most teachers make composition so mysterious. First you have to learn harmony... then theory... then form and on and on it goes. But do you really have to learn all of this before launching your own creations? Absolutely not. And I'm living proof of that.

I don't have a degree in music yet I've managed to create and produce 2 solo piano CDs.

So, how did I do this? Well first, I had the desire. If you don't have this ingredient most anything you try and undertake will fail. Why? Because you need to have persistence. And persistence is something that works better if you want something badly. And I very badly wanted to create my own solo piano music.

Now, everyone has their own way and method of going about this. Mine was to first listen to pianists I love and admired - namely George Winston and John Herberman.

You see, besides persistence, you also need inspiration. And what better inspiration is there than to actually hear music you love and admire. In fact, I would listen to these CDs over and over. The music eventually seeped into me but this in and of itself is not enough.

Don't get me wrong ... there's nothing wrong with listening and saying to yourself "how did he do that." In fact, I suggest students do exactly this. But you can jump over all this analyzing by learning just a little theory. And when I say little, I mean it.

What I have my students learn is something called the 8-bar phrase. And this is exactly what it sounds like. Once they get this - and it isn't hard to get - inroads into composition are quickly discovered.

For example, in the free workbook I offer with my course, you get tons of experience working with 8-bar phrases. You learn how to first improvise through them using chords. When you can do this - and it's pretty easy as well - you begin to "feel" how a composition is made up.

This approach has worked very well for me over the years as well as for my students

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