Can someone help me improve my composing?

I write music in my spare time and generally, it is very bad >.<

I wrote one piece that I call "Ariella Shira" [English: Angel Song] and my music teacher thinks that it is good.

If anyone would be able to help me improve I would be very grateful.

Ziva

To become a relatively good composer, you first have to decide what style you want to write in. Are you Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century, Jazz, Rock, Pop, video game, dissonant, or something completely different? Once you decide that, then you should listen to a great variety of pieces of that style. (I should mention that although you are listening to other composers' works, you shouldn't try to directly replicate them or else you might lose your own voice and style)

You then begin researching music theory and you begin to find out how some of the songs you like work, and eventually you gather a general idea as to how to construct music.

I would seriously recommend messing around on any instrument (preferable one that can play chords, like the piano, but that really isn't mandatory) and writing down anything that seems interesting. You eventually learn what sounds good and you begin to compose.

This process is slow (for the most part) and takes time. Composers all develop differently, and what might work for some people, might not work for you.

To make giving advice easier, you should post some of your works, such as Ariella Shira, so that people here can direct you and tell you what you need to improve upon.

To make giving advice easier, you should post some of your works, such as Ariella Shira, so that people here can direct you and tell you what you need to improve upon.

Thanks for your advice =D

I am very grateful.

How do I upload a file to here?

Thanks

Ziva

You can apply for structured lessons here

edit - moved from Lessons forum.

Are you Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century, Jazz, Rock, Pop, video game, dissonant, or something completely different? Once you decide that, then you should listen to a great variety of pieces of that style.

Heh heh, I wouldn't decide that just yet. Try playing around or experimenting a bit while learning as much music theory as you can. Your style will emerge as you compose; there's no need to decide it now, and I would warn against it.

I believe that you can go either way, Qmwne235. You could choose your style first, compose there, and move onto a style that suits you better later if you discover that your initial style isn't really you. This route, I believe, offers the composer a more solid foundation than starting from scratch.

It's just as I said before, some people learn different ways.

Ziva Shira, you should use the top few forums for uploading compositions. There are sections for Choral/Vocal, Orchestral, Jazz and other types of works. If you have a .pdf or a .midi file, you can upload them directly to the site when you post. If it's an .mp3, you need to find your own hosting. Alternatively, you can upload a .mus (Finale file) or a .sib (Sibelius file) which we can then look directly at, if we have those programs.

Wouldn't picking a style before you even start composing limit your potential? Otherwise, aren't you just building a fence around yourself?

To become a relatively good composer, you first have to decide what style you want to write in. Are you Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, 20th Century, Jazz, Rock, Pop, video game, dissonant, or something completely different?

I agree with this in the training of compositional techniques, but anyone who simply regurgitates pastiche is no composer.