For those with musical inclinations, writing a song can be a positive, exciting and exciting experience. Composing piano pieces, however, requires much more than mere willpower, but a good dose of talent and study. This is intended as a simple guide to composing piano pieces.
Steps
Step 1. Be creative and experiment
Use different chords and find the right rhythm. If you don't really want to compose, then you can also improvise without paying too much attention to the rhythm, but if you want to do things seriously, you will need to use a metronome to help you keep the rhythm correct. If you just can't do it, listen to a song and try to imitate it, changing the notes, pulses and rhythm slightly. Remember to be creative!
Step 2. Create a staff using a simple ruler
Draw five lines above and five lines below, for the right hand and left hand respectively. You can also download empty staves, otherwise, try to draw them similar to the example image.
Step 3. Slowly play the piece you improvised, and write each note on the score
The following image shows a simple measure with a single note.
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If you play middle C, or with your left hand, these notes must be written in the bass clef, and then in the lower staff with the clef in the shape of an upside-down C.
Write a Song for Piano Step 3Bullet1 -
If you play middle or right-hand C, you'll need to mark it on the treble clef staff.
Write a Song for Piano Step 3Bullet2
Step 4. Each note has a different symbol depending on the length, it will take a bit of concentration at the beginning, but over time it will become easy
Step 5. Start with the melody
The melody is the soul of the song. If there are words, the singer will sing them according to the melody, which must be played on the piano with the right hand. By finding the right melody, you can start writing the piece. Ask yourself these questions: What piece do I want to write? What atmosphere do I want to give it? Romantic, summery, sad? Write the passage with these concepts in mind, because they will be an integral part of it.
Step 6. Repeat the melody, varying
After playing a melody in the same way twice, the third time it should change a bit, this is called "variation". By playing the melody in the same way over and over again, sooner or later it will get boring. Try changing or adding some notes or accent, changing the bass or playing an octave higher or vice versa. Experiment.
Step 7. Add the bass
The bass line serves to maintain the rhythm and support the harmony or melody of the song. Start the bass line two octaves lower than the melody. During the song, you can vary by jumping an octave higher, but always lower than the melody.
Step 8. Add a fill
Where the melody stops for a couple of bars, insert a solo. Depending on the musical style, it might be a good idea to insert a jazz solo or an arpeggio. This way, you can deviate from the original melody and prevent the audience from getting distracted.
Step 9. Create the song structure
The following are the most common structures.
Scheme 1: Melody -> Chorus -> Bridge -> Melody (one octave lower) -> Chorus -> Bridge -> Return to the upper octave -> Chorus and End
Scheme 2: Intro -> Melody -> Chorus -> Melody (with embellishments) -> Chorus -> Octave change -> Chorus -> Melody (one octave higher) and End
Step 1. Try using the first scheme
Step 2. Create the intro
Make it simple, short and based on the chords of the song.
Step 3. Add some text
If your song has a committed or particular atmosphere, start in a "strong" way and end in the same way. Add many repetitions outside the singer's average range (high or low). If, on the other hand, the song is about love or feelings, you should keep it sweet, in the medium range of the singer and add high notes for the most exciting parts. If it's a story, add repetitive notes in the singer's average range. You can write the lyrics before or after writing the song, it doesn't matter for the purposes of the composition. Alternatively, you could compose an instrumental piece, i.e. without words.
Step 4. Play for your family and friends and get constructive criticism
Advice
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Find triads (chords) that sound good and play them in order. This is called "chord progression". This way, it will feel like the music is going somewhere. An example of a chord progression is this:
C major scale (Do Re Mi Fa Sol La Si Do). Here is a list of chords in C major: C E G - C major, D F A - D minor, E G Si - E minor, F A C - F major, G Si D - G major, A C Mi - A minor, Si Re Fa - B minor. A chord progression structured around these chords could be: C major, A minor, E minor, C major, G major, C major
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Use riots. Many composers use inversions to emphasize a note (the upper one). Inversion is a very simple concept.
Let's take the C major chord for example. The inversion of the fundamental is Do Mi Sol. The first inversion is Mi Sol Do, the second inversion is Sol Do Mi, for the third inversion, you have to go back to Do Mi Sol. As you can see, just invert the root note with the last
- Create an initial part, then a different second part, maintaining the same atmosphere, the chorus and the bridge (which serves to create the atmosphere before the chorus), obviously also maintaining the structure of the song. At the end of the piece, after the bridge, sometimes the chorus is repeated twice
- If your song has lyrics, try not to use dissonant notes, but if it's a dramatic piece, you could use dissonant notes to describe the tension.
- If you don't know how to start, listen to a song you like and use a chord or two from this song.
Warnings
- If you base your song on someone else's, be sure to ask permission or give the author due credit.
- Don't always use the same chord progression. It's okay if the chorus and verses keep the same structure, but to make the song more interesting add at least one interlude or bridge with different chord progressions.
- Don't write songs about themes that don't inspire you. This is your creative moment, make the most of it.
