Once you have a strong sense of all the parameters constraining the music,
you can begin the process of actually composing the pieces. Try to start by
collecting musical examples of the style you would like to use. For a turn of
the century march, you might look to John Phillip Souza. For a powerful space
theme, you might listen to John Williams. The purpose of this exercise is not to
learn how to imitate their styles but rather to explore what it is in their
music that evokes the sense of time or place that makes their music so
successful. You may end up using a technique that they used, but just as often
you might see an alternative way to achieve the same end. Either way, the
process of analyzing another composer’s work as you break it down into
elements and decide what effect each element has on the composition as a whole
can help you decide what elements to bring into your composition to create the
desired effect.
During these listening sessions, you may find yourself in a groove as
you’re singing along with a particular part of a catchy tune. This in turn may
lead you to compose your own musical phrase with a similar effect. On the other
hand, all of this listening is just as likely to give you a long list of things
you do not want to do with your composition, along with the reasons why.
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