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yoshi hi fellow songwriter!! how much have you composed so far?? i mostly like to make arrangements cause i think songwriting is kinda hard ngl...
Jan 14, 2024
JazzicusMaximus I have 2 songs I've composed for a 4 person band, and I'm currently working on composing one for a concert band. What songs have you arranged?
Jan 14, 2024
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Today during band I made a very random joke involving the song jingle bells, and it's a good thing that class was almost over because I made me and my fellow clarinetists laugh so hard that I couldn't play a single note.
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I added two new instruments to my repertoire this summer! I now play the ukulele, and my grandparents have an old Martin mandolin in their closet that we fixed up and I'm learning that, too. I love music!
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I recently had a piano recital. I played the song "Energico" which was just something random in my piano book. I did screw up a bit not as bad as ont kid who messed up so much he walked off the piano bench and then slammed into a table.
sugarscherrypop Jeez, that's kind of... scary in a way? I would've personally made it look like I meant to make those mistakes :')
May 17, 2023
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I just had a concert last week. It was very good
The pieces I play(In order if you want to listen to them):
Night Fury by Carol Britten Chambers
Highlights from Harry Potter by John Williams
Celtic Air and Dance No.2 by Michael Sweeney
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oh hey. this is a thing.
so i've been playing piano for about a decade or something like that. i've been playing guitar, acoustic and electric, for maybe 6 or 7 years?? i've been playing banjo for a little over 2 years. i've been playing harmonica for about a year now.
i really want to learn how to play violin soon? maybe that will be my next instrument, but for now i will admire from afar.
so yes! i am a musician sometimes! hello!
sugarscherrypop That's a lot of instruments! Good luck with your maybe one-day Violin Journey.
May 16, 2023
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yoshi Nice! Which one are you better at?
I'm a pianist and my brother is a clarinetist haha
May 1, 2023
foxmaster I'm honestly waaaaaaay better at the piano because I've been playing since second grade, and can kind of write music.
May 2, 2023
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Necromancer14 cool!
Jul 2, 2021
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After procrastinating for about a month, I finally decided to arrange another piece of music. The piece I arranged is the main theme from super smash bros ultimate.
Also any helpful feedback would be very welcome!
Here's the arrangement:
https://musescore.com/user/33758864/scores/6842674
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I CANNOT WRITE MUSIC FOR SONGS AND I AM *EXTREMELY* ENRAGED WITH MYSELF. I can play piano, some guitar, and I can hear the notes in my head but I just don't know what notes they are... if that makes any sense. Does that happen to anyone else? How do you know what note it is that you're hearing in your head? Are there any exercises I can do if it's just practice?
yoshi I cannot write music. I would consider myself decently good at piano, but composing is something I just can't do. I think it's just something that you find by yourself. You think of a tune, and you just figure out what it sounds like on the piano, and then you write it down. Most of the time, though, I like to start on A Minor and build from there, because it's the easiest for me.
Jun 6, 2021
Hijinks Hey Nate! I totally know what you mean, it's practically impossibleunless you have perfect pitch but I sure don'tto know what the notes are in the tune you have in your head.
I have found some tactics to make it easier to figure out what in the world you're trying to write, though!
> If you already know the tune, record yourself humming/singing it. It does not need to be at all good or fancy, you just need to hit the pitches you want so when you come back to it later you'll remember the tune you had in mind. You can record in super small clips too if you like!
> Note by note, hum them and find the note on the piano that matches. Usually you can be like "oh this is a high note, definitely above middle C" and go from there, or "hmm this is around middle pitch, probably in the B below C to F above range" and plunk out those ones to see what matches.
(This is where the recording comes in handy -- it can be easy to forget the pitches and get muddled by all the random notes you're plunking on the piano, so if that's the case, just hit play on your recording to refresh your memory!)
> One you've figured out all the notes, I usually move on to rhythm. I find it EXCRUCIATINGLY hard to figure out the rhythms my head, but usually once I figure out what meter I'm in it gets easier. To do that, start clapping an even rhythm and say/hum the melody over it. Usually you can figure out from there if the notes are grouped in fours or threes (though they could be twos or sixes or even fives; that's usually not what the rhythms in my head end up being though xD) and name the meter from there. (i.e. if they're grouped in fours, chances are you're in 4/4 time; if they're in threes, probably 3/4.) Once you've got that established, you can do the rhythm bar-by-bar, which makes it much more manageable.Spoiler! :
Aaah I may have rambled, my apologies! I hope that helps a bit, and good luck writing music! <3
Jun 7, 2021
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Heyo, question for all you musicians -- how do you deal with frustration and feeling like you're not improving at your instruments/at a specific piece?
I'm preparing for a piano exam in 2 weeks, and I feel like I've hit a block where I'm just so sick and tired of these 6 pieces I've been working on for over half a year, and I don't feel like my practicing is doing much. Like it's gotten to the point where several times in an hour-long practice I'll be really tempted to cry and/or do a literal keyboard smashbut I definitelyyyy haven't done either of those things multiple times what no
And that ends up making my practices even less effective because it's very hard to get much good practice in when you're frustrated and angry at yourself and the music the whole time.
Sooo...do any of you experience this? And if so, how do you deal with it/prevent it/practice effectively regardless?
yoshi Oh no! I am so sorry to hear that whatcha!
I definitely feel your pain. So many times I've had to play a piece for a recital or test, and after practicing it so many times, I just had no drive to continue.
Nevertheless, I've got a few tips and I hope they help you!
1. Slam the brakes. Since from what I've read, it seems that you feel your practice is futile, I would suggest you take a break. Not exactly give up, but just slow down for a second. Read a book. Take a walk. Hang out with friends and family. If your practice is having negative effects on you mentally, then you should slam the brakes for a moment and breathe.
2. Seek help. In almost any situation, seeking help from those close to you (and a shoutout through social media ^_^) will be effective. Get your peers to listen to your music. Accept some comforting words from some friends. And most importantly . . .
3. Perform. Play your pieces for those close to you! Since I'm guessing you're most likely familiar with your pieces, you should let friends listen to you! I'm sure they'll enjoy it, and it'll give you an incentive to play to the best of your ability.
This advice isn't a lot, but I hope it helped. Mostly, to figure this situation out, you'll need to feel it out for yourself. I'm sure you play beautifully, and I know that a lot of people will agree!
--from yoshi, who knows you're the best whatever you do!
Jun 5, 2021
Que oooof yeah I've definitely felt that. :/
Do you feel like you're prepared? Because if so (or maybe even if not!), you can let those pieces take a backseat for a hot second. Play some chill music for fun (my go-to is this super easy Lord of the Rings piano book that I can play through without worrying about anything) and remind yourself why you practice and spend time with piano. <3 I've had days where in order to keep myself practicing something I break up my "real" pieces with silly stuff in between at frequent intervals. My friend does a lot of piano improv, I think, to break it up.
If you feel less prepared and maybe frustrated that you're getting nowhere, I would say you can still take a break. If you want to keep working with these pieces but in different ways, you could take a break by listening to recordings of them or even taking a recording of yourself! It could always change your outlook. :)
I think the main thing is that when you're frustrated, don't push yourself too far or too hard. (for me, at least, every time I do that I get worse :p) Step back and take a deeeeeeep breath. You're gonna do great.
Jun 5, 2021
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Jan 14, 2024
To sum up my wind ensemble class: A kid got a sticky hand stuck on the ceiling. He spent all of class trying to get it down. His method was to throw a pencil at it, then try to use a stand to scrape it off, and finally use the drum leader's baton. He did get it down eventually, and then that ended up hitting the teacher near the end, who wrinkled her nose at how it was covered in pieces of ceiling.
anyways, hi! I am a flautist, bassist, and in progress songwriter! I love music, but this is also why I wake up 30 minutes earlier than I wish to (it's absolutely worth it).