In this Orchestral piece I have been playing with Spifire Audio free loops.
Here is some music to enjoy at home XX
Read MoreWhat are some of the thoughts you have when you are in the process of developing musical ideas?
Do you question each idea you have and discard it away?
Do you hold on tight to your ideas and are afraid that you won’t have any ‘good’ ideas at all?
You can look at songwriting in two ways. Firstly, the glass half approach where you believe that you will run out of great ideas so you will never write anything good. Or you can view it by the second approach , which is believing that there is always an abundance of ideas swimming in your subconscious waiting for you to tap into.
Believing that there are ample opportunities for you to compose is always around you. It could be for your parents, friends, children…weddings, parties…for yourself..
There is also, always an abundance of time. It could be for only 5 mins at a time. 5 minutes is better than no minutes, and there is always 5 minutes waiting for you if you choose to take the time.
Everything you need is already here, if you look for it, opportunities are waiting to be taken.
So change your thinking. Next time you doubt that your contribution to the world is useless, believe that your ideas are a wonderful contribution to those around you.
Read MoreHere is a recording of a composition done by one of our Year 11 students.
She is essentially a piano player and has added violin and drums to her composition.
Her piece is influenced by the music of Luv Letter - DJ Okawari, a Japanese composer.
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Midi stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface. This is where you can create some really good instrument sounds through software such as GarageBand and Logic. What makes it even better is that you can manipulate notes, change durations and alter the sounds once you have recorded them. This gives a songwriter so much more scope in manipulating sounds and creating really good backings for their songs.
I’ve created a quick introduction video in how to use midi. (My apologies for some of the background noise, my husband decided to start washing up half way through….not that I’m complaining…)
Nothing can really top a recording of a live performance, however, Midi can be used in the creation of some really beautiful and professional backing tracks.
Read MoreIn a song, to add interest and variety changing key, or modulation is a great tool to use.
Songs typically modulate from a Tonic key to Dominant(V), Tonic Key to Subdominant(IV), or Tonic to Relative Minor.
Wait…..what does this mean?
In the key of C major, C is the tonic key or main key. It can modulate to F major (Subdominant), or to G major (Dominant) or to A minor (relative minor).
If you look at the Circle of Fifths, you can see that in the case of C major, for example, G major, F major and Am are the closet chords to C. This means they have many notes that are similar and therefore are the easiest to modulate to.
Read MoreWhen composing a melody, sometimes using the technique of Call and Response can develop your song, giving it some variety and interest.
Call and response is when you have the call - that is the first melody, usually a soloist. This is then answered by the response - a different melody, responding to the first. The response is sometimes done by another instrument or group of singers.
Here are some examples….
Under Pressure - Queen. The opening bass riff is the call followed by the piano playing two notes which is the response.