Fundamentals
At the beginning of a composition there is usually a melody to which the composer searches the appropriate chords to finally create a song with an arrangement for the instrumentation.
This Composing Guide follows another philosophy!
Empirically, inexperienced musicians do have more difficulties to find appropriate chords to existing melodies rather than the other way round.
Therefore our approach is actually going the other way round, according to a present chord sequence we search for appropriate melodies.
This approach is not unprofessional as one could think, instead all jazz musicians are doing exactly this. They create by their improvisation appropriate melodies according to present chords.
Objective
Hobby musicians and bandleaders are composing their own songs
without previous knowledge in Composition, Theory of Harmony, Theory of Melody and Technique of
Arranging.
Low knowledge in reading music is sufficient to reach a desired success.
You are a hobby musician, who owns a keyboard, expander or a PC based sequencer with automatic
accompaniment or something similar,
than you have prepared after 5 steps a complete song with melodies, harmonies and an arrangement
according to the style chosen in your keyboard, expander or sequencer.
If you also want to get a song with a unique arrangement, you need two steps more.
These steps will be available in a separate version of the Composing Guide.
If you wish to get details, don't hesitate to send an e-Mail
to the author.
Prerequisites
You own either a keyboard (for example Korg, Roland, Yamaha, GEM, Technics etc.) or an expander with
automatic accompaniment or a PC with a software sequencer with automatic accompaniment in which you
record the compositions produced here step by step.
You are also familiar with the Chord Symbols which are commonly used in dance, light and jazz music.
Method
In 5 steps a new song is composed by use of "Patterns" for Chord Sequences and Melodies.
Your masters in this Composing Guide are not endless theories but your personal taste,
your courage and what you obtain from your own experience on the base of trial and error.
For better understandingm, you also find already-prepared listening examples.
This Guide renounces far-reaching technical terms and does not want to instruct you but merely guide you.
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