~ Tips For Novice Composers ~

Drums:

When wishing to create human sounding drum patterns, remember that a drummer generally has only two arms and two legs. Think of which sounds get played by which.

For example a kick drum gets played by the foot. The snare drum gets played with the hand. The high hat gets played by either, depending on the sound produced. It would be unlikely for a drummer to hit a snare, tom-tom and cymbal at the same instant, but a snare, tom and pedal high hat could be. The ride cymbal and ride bell generally would not sound together (unless of course your drummer had two ride cymbals, sounding both together can give added sound reinforcement to your composition). Of course, your band could have two drummers, or a drummer and a percussionist.

Watch real drummers, where you can. Television shows and music video, for instance, usually doesn't show much drum work, but occasionally you do get an over the shoulder view, which is sometimes enough to get an idea of what they are doing. The slow motion function (if your VCR has it) is handy.

For a rusty cymbal sound, if your keyboard/sound device allows it, try dropping the pitch by about four semitones. You may want to drop the kick and snare to match. To get a matching splash cymbal increase the pitch by the same amount. Also (if your device has it) try a short duration, quarter note or less, of the Wind Chime tone.

For that Industrial metallic hammering sound try the Agogo (#114). The Reverse Cymbal (#120) can mimic compressed air sounds.

Don't forget to try adding some effects (Controllers).

Bass:

For fatter, fuller bass tones, try the Reverb at 100% (127) and Chorus at 50-100% (64-127).

Want a different GM bassline? Try using the Saw Wave (#82) for your bass.

Get those weird, squeaky Acid bass sounds by raising your notes well beyond a realistic bassline. (the sky is the limit)

If you have a Roland GS device try the Rubber Bass tone for an acidic sound.

Guitars:

Go easy on the pitch bend, and don't over use it.

I've found that the notes below C above middle C sounds more realistic than higher notes. (with the XP-10)

Try experimenting with the Harmonics (#32) and FretNoise (#121) tones. For feedback sounds try the Whistle (#79) or Ocarina (#80).

For soaring lead crank your reverb and chorus effects.

Naming your song:

Okay, there is two basic ways of naming your song: 1) come up with a name then compose the tune to match the name 2) name the song after you compose it. For this article we'll focus on the latter, naming a untitled finished composition (that's usually the way I do it).

Try to let the tune tell you it's name. Relax and listen to the melody first, sometimes you can hear a repeating pattern that seems to mimic voices (like the way many MIDI files of Pop and Rock songs have an instrument singing the vocal parts). If you have no luck with the melody, listen to the rhythm, the bassline often gives me an idea.

Still don't have a clue? Listen to it at a different time of day or night, when your in a different mood. Does the tune remind you of something? A warm day, your girlfriend/boyfriend, an elephant walking, a train wreck?

Still don't have a clue? If all else fails call it anything, flip through the dictionary and pick a word.

Still not decided? If you still have no idea, you could just call it "untitled" or "song15" or some such. Then you can decide on a good name later. (I use the current date yymmdd[a-z] for the original filenames.)

We found the following quote on the subject, on another website, which we found amusing:

"Say you write a song about a chandelier, and the
 chandelier gives off light. And the light is the
 color red and red reminds you of the color you're
 not supposed to wear around a bull. So you name
 the song 'Cow.' " 
 Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins on naming songs

remember too, it doesn't have to make sense

Thinking about future record deals:

You may want to read

"The Problem With Music", by Steve Albini
"Love's Manifesto", by Courtney Love
"The Great Record Industry Ripoff", by Cyreal Killer

Misc. tips:

Compose what you want too! (unless your worried about marketability and radio air play (if you are you're probably reading the wrong page))

Be unorthodox, don't worry about the rules, which in this case were made to be broken.

Try combining instruments that would "never play together". You may be surprised.

If you have difficulty turning the tune(s) in your head into a MIDI file then try letting the composition build itself. It usually won't be what you had in mind, but you may like it as much, or perhaps more.

Don't forget to play with the SFX tones (#121-128). These can be quite interesting and surprisingly musical.

Don't think you have to know all the science or rules of making music, we don't, but it never hurts.
A good place to start is at the Murray State website: Music Theory Online - Entry Page. For more advanced tips than ours try Harmony Central® Main Menu as well as Welcome to TweakHeadz.

Don't be afraid to experiment. Back-up your work then open a copy and have at it.

Someone else suggested sampling your own work. Copy sections you like from your previous compositions and include them in new ones.

Dissect (track by track) other peoples MIDI files that you like and see how they used the instruments, patterns, chords, etc. If your software can, solo each tone part then unmute a second tone, then another. Repeat the process with different tones until you get a feel for how the composition works.

Be original. You don't have to sound like band x for people to enjoy your music.

Remember you have over one hundred tones to choose from. Mix and match.

Don't limit yourself to a certain genre, expand your musical horizons, look around the Internet for other styles of music, then try incorporating similar elements of what you find that you like into your favorite style(s). (think)-> waltz-rock, ethnic rock, Arabic techno, punk-folk, classical-country, rave-polka, heavy metal-techno etc. (you get the idea :)

Remember, if your music sounds good to you. Who cares what anyone else thinks. And if it doesn't sound good? You can always delete it, but consider saving it and fix it later. Remember also, just because it may not sound just right to you doesn't mean someone else won't like it.

If you have trouble with complex compositions, try working up to it "sometimes less is more" and "you must crawl before you can walk". Sometimes a good solid bassline can go a long way.

Don't obsess, HAVE FUN, art should be enjoyable!!!!!

Don't forget to put your name, or nickname, and contact information (e-mail address, URL if you have a website) in your MIDI file, if you distribute it on the Internet, it helps people contact you or find your site.

If you put your music on a website and have an opinion poll, don't worry about the negative responses. (think: statistical demographics ;)