Writing! Scoring! Arranging! Composing!
And getting kids ready for school.
Right now, I'm sitting alone in Familiar Grounds of New London writing to you, while my kids are swimming. And believe me, I'm thankful for the break.
So, back to the writing. I have nearly completed a score that I hope to go into a really cool project I'm working on. Oh man, I am so excited. But let's backtrack and look at what the process looked like.
Composing a New Song:
- Remember that I said that I don't using other people's material. Copyright law is nothing I want to tangle with. It's a pain. So, I had to come up with an original idea. That was first.
- Next, I worked on the just the bones: Writing lyrics, putting chords where they belong, figuring out a cool riff here or there and how I wanted the song to start. I recorded my voice to help me remember how I wanted it to go.
- Then I worked on putting the beginning drum part into the computer program Sibelius. This is not easy. It's a pain. Then the other instrumental intro.
- Start putting in the melody. Get 1st verse and intro done. By this time you're pooped.
- Keyboards are next. Just play and go. Worry about fixing the way the computer puts the midi instrument in later. Clean up is easier then. Enter the chords that go with the key part.
- Then, Move into other instruments. From the chords you can establish harmonies for the different instruments. don't be afraid to use unison. KISS rule very important here.
- By this time you're thinking you bit off more than you can chew... Don't worry, it's a process. Put it away, come back later or tomorrow - - But you MUST COME BACK.
- Work on chorus if there is one. Repeat process up to this point to complete.
- Now, things start to get slightly easier. You have your first verse, intro and chorus done. From here you can borrow, copy, alter and play. Hard work may come at bridge, but it will seem easier - Especially if you have an instrument solo or reuse a part.
- Continue repeating these steps until you reach the end. Remember to look in text books to make sure you have correct punctuations and notes for instrumentalists.
- Go back and clean up song. This make take a bit. Sometimes it's a difficult transition.
NOW!
The most important step! Do not skip this step.
You need this step. This is a very, very important step!
Ready?
Contact an expert and have them look over your score. They will be able to tell you if you have any holes, missteps, or if it's back to the drawing board. They'll also be able to tell you of some tricks for the future.
This is what I have done. I contacted Jack Whitney, former Jazz Professor at UW-Madison, who happens to live in my area. He writes charts for many bands, and performed on trombone with many combos to orchestras. A great guy to know if you're starting to write more complicated stuff.
I'll let you know if it turns out. I'm hoping so. I also hope to find some musicians to perform by the end of the month.
Yay! Progress!
I will continue to press on. Thanks for cheering for me! :)