Composing Music

The music production process can be a little daunting especially when first starting out. The great thing about it is the more you progress at it the more you will develop your own style of music production. However, we have compiled a list of steps that can help you to not only navigate the production process but also work to the best of your abilities. 

The Steps To Music Production

Composition

This is the general stage of music production and the stage of gathering ideas. The choices you make in this stage will help to define the song, genre, vibe, and style. It is basically the stage where you outline the structure of your music and start to shape exactly where you want it to go. Remember that once the core and main ideas are established it is hard to change them as you go further into the production process. You will need to decide on a tempo, select your basic instruments to be used, and build your basic beat.

Arrangement

This is where you will take your ideas and try to organize them and lay them out in a timeline. This is the stage where you start to build around the beat, tempo, etc established in the composition stage. You’ll develop the chorus, bridges, verses, breakdowns, etc. You want to think about any empty space, the harmonic structure, duration, and things like that. While it seems a bit complicated, remember to keep it simple.

Sound Design 

This is the final stage before missing begins. This is where you can get creative with audio effects, edit your samples, fill in arrangements, and have your final creative discussions. This stage is the final stage before everything comes together you have produced your vision of music. 

Mixing

This is where you combine multiple layers of audio to create your one final track! This is the part where you make sure all of your moving parts blend well together and sound good together. While you can make some adjustments and help to polish all sounds and whatnot, it is important to remember that by this stage you should be pretty confident in the sounds and melodies that you are bringing together. This is where all the power in your music is displayed!

The process of composing music does not align itself with a specific definition as individuals have always tried to define the same to a large extent. As a result, the industry has come across some big names who have managed to change things for the better. With that level of expertise, composing music needs to be carried forward with a unique set of steps and methods. As a result, we decided to help you out with a few tips that will always come in handy.

1. A Habit of Writing

Penning down your thoughts needs to be considered as a habit, and one should carry forward the same thing regularly. This particular tip is a simple one that proves to be a lot more effective than what one could imagine. For that very purpose, you can go about carrying a small notebook and use it the very moment your mind comes across something unique. Since we are not aware of the exact timing of creativity, it is always good to be prepared with a simple notebook.

2. Listening

Apart from writing things down, top music composers have also spoken about how they love to keep listening to their favourite tunes. Regardless of the genre, you need to listen to your favourite artist and keep the feeling within. At times, the process might also strike you with ideas as it helps you stay within the zone. Once you come across something interesting, always look for ways to combine the same and bring in melodies to the list. Just like how directors watch movies to direct better movies, you need to listen to music to compose better music.

3. Charting out the Length

Another method to carry forward the craft with ease is to implement a simple step while composing. A lot of composers reach a dead end when they begin the process without knowing where or what they’re heading into. Due to that, they will not be able to achieve the desired limit and the extent. So to make it a lot simpler, you need to specify or chart out the length of the piece right from the beginning till the end. In this manner, you will know when to stop and process the same with a well-established ending.

4. Analysing

Reading a musical score and analysing the same should always be practised as the process helps you rethink and re-evaluate. The tune goes through your mind and remains there for analysis and other kinds of interpretations. Due to that, you will always be aware of how to carry it from there and what to add to make it better. Although it is a time-consuming process, you should give it a try as it hits you with results.