What should I write for as a begginer

Writing for Tenor Sax is very good, but, he would have to write something more or just the Sax ? .... Strings ... he already told me why not, ... piano, if he doesn't play piano could not be a good idea ....

I don't feel I agree completely with the Choir matter, .... sure you can try, ... but if you are a "beginner" the best is writing for something you have in your hands in that precise moment .... like writing a Piano Sonata in the piano... not write and take the score to a pianist to see what he says.... writing in the piano .... you and the piano, that's it ....

if you don't play piano, ... you initial idea of the trio sounds good .... you already play the bassoon, ... the clarinet is not big deal if you don't write very complex things, flute ... about the same ... and you only deal with 3 notes ....

The Choir ? ... well unless you have the choir right there ... waiting for your work ...

Why not to write something for you and your friend's instruments .... no matter you constitute a weird group ... like Flute. Violin, Bassoon (you), Tuba, (no Guitar) ...

They "look" weird ... doesn't matter, but you have them there for you ... you can ask, listen how the sound or how a passage sounds, you can ask how difficult may be.....

you won't ask the choir "hey guys, what do you think ? " ...

you won't ask the choir "hey guys, what do you think ? " ...

...because most choirs are full of idiots, with 75% or more not even able to read music. You'd get better feedback asking a dog to grade your calculus homework.

:laugh: .... hard but true .....

In a choir the verb "follow" is the most important ...

I follow you

You follow me

He follows him

She follows her

We follow you

You follow them

They follow us

:laugh: .... hard but true .....

In a choir the verb "follow" is the most important ...

I follow you

You follow me

He follows him

She follows her

We follow you

You follow them

They follow us

I'm just saddened by how true this is ;(

But I apologize if I'm a little late to the tip giving but- when composing for the first time these should be always taken:

-Time Signature: Something in 4/4, 3/4, 2/4 or Cut time. START SIMPLE.

-Never FORCE musical ideas out- and don't write a bunch of random notes across the page either. Insure that you're ideas are fluid BEFORE you get on the computer and start composing. To be honest, when I compose, (and I'm sorry for the absolutely HORRIBLE ANALOGY coming up) when ideas start coming out, they DON'T STOP. You have to write as fast as your ideas come out. It's like taking a poo. Once it starts coming out, there's no holding it in. If you can't notate the idea within the time that idea comes out, sketch it out on a piece of [lined] paper.

-In failure to compose the idea (and with lack of paper to sketch the idea), it's best to stop composing all together for that piece, unless your perseverance is relatively high. It's EASY to lose sight of what you compose- and my primary thing about composing at the moment is this: As a beginner write your pieces in ONE DAY. DO NOT SPREAD THEM OUT OVER MULTIPLE DAYS OR YOU WILL LOSE SIGHT OF YOUR GOAL. Life's experiences tend to alter moods and feels ever so slightly ruining the original idea of the music you started composing, and as a beginner, I would say it would be difficult to manage an idea over a few weeks.

-Advice on what instruments to use when composing. Pick a few random instruments that you know how to compose with. I.e. Clarinet, F Horn, Piano, Trumpet, and Trombone. One wonders how they go together. Here's what I'd do:

Trombone: Drone on a few whole notes or something. Eventually joins the Horn and Trumpet.

Horn and Trumpet: Melody, starting with horn, trumpet joins in.

Clarinet and Piano: Supporting background, perhaps a run of eighth notes. Not sure what eighth note runs to do? Start simple- do ascending/descending runs of the 1,3,5 and 7 (of the scale)

If that didn't help, here's what I would have to say (without an example). Start with RANDOM instruments, without percussion preferably, if you don't know how to do it yet (percussion comes afterward). String instruments are probably the easiest to compose with for beginners but hardest to make complex, I'd say (I'm still an amateur myself). They make for very nice backgrounds. If you're composing for an instrumental duet/trio/group, woodwind instruments are a lot easier to make sound better and more fluid than brass instruments (I'm a brass lover myself, but woodwinds are so much easier to compose with.)

-You're best friends as a beginner are the the 1,3, and 5 of any Major or Minor Scale. Stick to the simple 1,3,5 chords and you'll be set! Or be like Eric Whitacre and create new ones (just make sure they sound good).

-All musical ideas come from within. Well, I mean they may come from little riffs you hear in the outside world, but like I said earlier, don't FORCE the idea out :/

-Study your music theory.

And yeah, that's all I have to say. Sorry if I was a bit behind :/ Kind of new here myself.

Or just write anything else. :P Experimentation is great if you want to learn.

Whatever instrument you're most interested in, write for it in an SATB form (for saxophone that would include soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone [a saxophone quartet]; for the oboe it would be the oboe, english horn, bassoon, and contrabasson ). You should do this to develop skills in four-part writing, which is the basis of all harmony.

Other than that, write for whatever instruments you are familiar with, whatever instruments you like or want to experiment with, and whatever instruments which might allow you to have it performed (if you have a bunch of family members who play stringed instruments, it would be a good idea to put together a string ensemble piece for them, especially on a special occasion , even if you don't play a stringed instrument).

The Saxophone cuartet sounds a good idea to me, he plays sax, so he knows how to it works, and won't be very difficult to perform, .... he can play all parts on his sax just thinking in the transposition ranges and that's all. ....