YWS Music

hi fellow songwriter!! how much have you composed so far?? i mostly like to make arrangements cause i think songwriting is kinda hard ngl...

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?

Jeez, that's kind of... scary in a way? I would've personally made it look like I meant to make those mistakes :')

That's a lot of instruments! Good luck with your maybe one-day Violin Journey.

Nice! Which one are you better at?

I'm a pianist and my brother is a clarinetist haha

I'm honestly waaaaaaay better at the piano because I've been playing since second grade, and can kind of write music.

cool!

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.

Hey Nate! I totally know what you mean, it's practically impossible unless you have perfect pitch but I sure don't to 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.

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!

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.