To become a fluent composer, one of the primary traits you must cultivate within yourself, is the ability to trust your own judgment. All too often we put others on a pedestal above ourselves, belittling our own inner knowing when entering the craft of musical composition. This trait raises its ugly head in many facets of life, but in the area of composing music, it can be paralyzing and limit how much and how true you will be able to compose.
To get past this limitation, it is good to have a strategy to deal with it when it comes up. One of the primary weapons to have at your disposal will be to have a solid background in the fundamentals of music, such as melody, harmony, rhythm, and arranging. When you get stuck, you can rely on these tools to dig yourself out of the sands of inertia. Not only that, you will feel that you know enough about musical craft, so as not to second guess yourself by putting another’s opinion above your own. Having a number of options will help you get out of a bind as well as keeping the music flowing.
Knowing the rules of music can also help. Often a composer becomes a one trick pony, as they have a shallow skill set, and once that hand has been played, have little left to continue on. Knowing the basic rules can keep you going, as when and if the creative right brain is not working well, you can bring out the left brained tools to keep things moving along. Though rules can be stifling if over relied on, a good balance between rules, and open ended exploration can be a satisfying combination.
Often times a composition will just not be working out as planned. Instead of beating yourself up and forcing yourself to continue on, perhaps put it aside until you can review it with a fresh perspective. Often the best compositions one will produce, come about naturally with ease and flow. Knowing when to put something aside until later, versus giving up, is a trait worth developing.
Improvisation can be a great way to keep the creative juices flowing. Playing around on a guitar, keyboard, or piano until something sounds appealing, can be a good strategy. When something, whether it be a melody, rhythm, or chord progression, grabs your attention, you’ve got a seed to develop. The rules and other musical tools can then be brought out to further develop the seed into a piece of music.
In the end, composing music is about finding your own unique expression in sound. Though we are all similar, we each bring our own little unique variation to the table. Trust in what yours is, and let it shine forth. If you uncover a composition you don’t think anyone will appreciate or enjoy, finish it, or develop it further anyways. You will learn more about yourself by doing so, and possibly wind up with something truly unique. Surprisingly, in this large world of ours, there is always an audience of some kind for most all we can express. Trust yourself, and trust in the process, and let your music flow forth.
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