Music composition learning resources

[Paul8447]

What are some good resources for an independent learner to learn music composition? At the moment I am looking at artofcomposing.com, but I don't know what should be covered in a music composition course. Also, it looks to be based around classical composition. My underlying interests in learning music composition is music for songs and songwriting. Does it matter that the above course is based around classical?

What would be ideal for me is one-on-one with a teacher, but I imagine that approach would be too exepensive. I guess the next best thing would be a set of learning materials which follows a methodical approach with the opportunity for asking questions as needed.

I've just bought a book called the The shortcut to melody creation. The songwriting magic formula.
Off amazon its not harmony or counterpoint. On the cover i was a bit sceptical about where it says this book eliminates songwriters block in melody, but it does. Its about how to create vocal melodys instantly on command. theres a facinating video where you see melodies being created instantly they use some very famous songs as examples. Although the video could be better quality, its not needed because it tells you how to learn everything in the book. like everybody else on here and other forums, i think ive bought every songwriting book ever written but this is the only book that shows you ''how to sit down with your guitar, do this and out will pop a melody.'' Don't know if i'm allowed to write that bit on here cos its a quote from the book But I think this book is a game changer in songwriting.

[padillac]

I've just bought a book called the The shortcut to melody creation. The songwriting magic formula.

You bought a book, or you wrote a book?

I ask because back in May you mentioned you were writing a book about songwriting. And the book you suggested here is authored by someone named Paul. Could be a coincidence, I know of at least two musicians named Paul

But if it’s not a coincidence, and you did write that book... cool! That’s a good thing, to get your ideas out there and try to be helpful. I would just suggest you say, “Hey, I wrote a book about this exact topic...” instead of pretending you just came across it.

Again, I may be making a link where there isn’t one, and in that case please ignore me

[Paul8447]

Haha I wish
But I'm still writing book, my book is or will be about songwriting and how streaming sites will affect songwriters in the future. But this new European meme law has sort of put a block on my book at the minute. I can't use any examples of anything to get my points accross

[Gamma-UT]

Dude, there's no "European meme law". GTFO Facebook and try reading actual news.

But, if you're convinced by that meme-law nonsense maybe it's for the best you've called a halt.

[Paul8447]

There you go know it all, here's an update for you just off a few weeks ago
https://metro-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/ ... 7937162%2F

But this is off yesterday
https://www-independent-co-uk.cdn.amppr ... 34121.html

[Paul8447]

It's not just youtube and sites like that will be affected.its everything.
Even this site and other forums anyone who wants to use something as an example. It affects everyone.
Imagine all the videos and all the pictures that you havent asked permission to post.
Thats been posted on kvr. They will all have to be taken down or kvr and everyone is going to get sued.

[Gamma-UT]

There is no law. There will be no vote on such a law until next year at the earliest. Yesterday's vote was simply on whether to continue towards possibly creating one or killing it right now.

The Youtubes of this world have been funding a massive misinformation effort because they don't want the EU scrutinising how their copyright-strike process works. So, they've been making up examples that won't work in practice because of fair-use and other protections.

The licence/link tax proposal would only affect those deriving revenue from publishing the links as aggregators. Licences are not per-use and only affect larger aggregators in any case. I'm sure there are things wrong with the proposal but it's not a "meme law" and anyone parroting that it is just makes themselves look like a cretin.

But you carry on with your book on how streaming is affected. It's gonna be a laugh I'm sure.

[Paul8447]

I take it you didn't click on the second link.
It's already been voted on and passed

[Gamma-UT]

I take it you didn't click on the second link.
It's already been voted on and passed

The Indy story is wrong.

"...every amendment approved so far will have to undergo another round of behind-closed-doors negotiations between EU politicos and EU member states, before going again through a vote in January 2019. The meme war is far from over."

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/eu-arti ... d-meme-war

[Gamma-UT]

But, while you're here, let's talk about that "book" you're spamming. Why is the YouTube video so coy? Or your post? "It's on Amazon." Even the YouTube video doesn't actually link to the Amazon sales page. And you've got to get the title right to find it on Amazon.

Is that because the book is more or less just a link to another video ("Yes there is and i will show you how this works. This book contains a link to a tutorial video, where you will see me teaching a pupil how the methods work and how to create instant hit melodies.")?

You're supposed to pay eight quid to get to some other link on some other website, where you've got to sign up before, presumably, seeing a price? Why do you think anyone's going to fall for that?

[Paul8447]

What part of this law has already been passed do you not understand.


EU PARLIAMENT APPROVES NEW COPYRIGHT RULES THAT COULD BE 'CATASTROPHIC' FOR THE INTERNET

POPULAR VIDEOS

MEPs voted for the controversial rules, known as article 11 and 13. The most criticised of those is the latter, which stipulates that technology platforms must filter the things people post on them, and check for copyright infringement.


Campaigners warn that would probably force internet companies to introduce stringent new automated checks that content must pass before they are posted to platforms like Twitter and Facebook. That could reject anything that even possibly infringed copyright – leading to potentially banning memes that use screengrabs from films, for instance, according to campaigners.

Julia Reda, a pirate party MEP who has actively campaigned against the new measures and said they would be "catastrophic", said that upload filters will mean that legitimate content will be removed from sites accidentally. "Anything you want to publish will need to first be approved by these filters, perfectly legal content like parodies & memes will be caught in the crosshairs," she wrote on Twitter.



READ MORE
New EU rule could completely change how the internet works
Article 11 introduces a so-called "link tax". That will mean that companies like Google and Facebook could have to pay news organisations to use their headlines on their sites, for instance, which campaigners claim could undermine some of the most central technologies of the internet.


“Today, MEPs have decided to support the filtering of the internet to the benefit of big businesses in the music and publishing industries despite huge public outcry," said Siada El Ramly, director general of EDiMA, the trade association representing the online platforms. "We hope that governments of the EU will hear their citizens’ concerns in the next stage of negotiations.”

All of the rules have received sustained critiicsm from both the big technology platforms as well as internet campaigners. But they have been supported by the big companies in the media industries, as well as some of their biggest stars including musicians like Paul McCartney.


But some musicians argued that the rules could actually hurt their industry, by stifling the ability to collaborate.

"Musicians and artists thrive when they collaborate and share," said Wyclef Jean, who is in Strasbourg arguing against the rules. "I’ve worked with so many young artists – the future – who have sampled my music and succeeded. Upload filters or anything else that restricts this will stop artists from making and creating the future."

The rules will now progress through the rest of the legislative process, which will include a final vote in January, which is likely to see the rules passed. EU members will then choose how to enforce the directive in their own laws.

The new version of the rules included hundreds of changes that have been made since the parliament rejected them in July, such as allowing exemptions for the very smallest tech companies. But campaigners argue the substance of the new directive is the same, including the parts referred to as a link tax and the controversial automated filters.

[tapper mike]

Thanks for the reply.... I'm not trying to hijack the OP's thread btw, I was just wondering after hearing someone else explain the benefits of learning CP along side or even prior to harmony. IIRC, they were explaining that since harmony is a derivative of contrapuntal style, by learning counterpoint first, you learn how melodic lines move horizontally whereas when you learn harmony first you tend to think vertically and forget about the movement from one chord to another.

Didn't happen that way to me.


You don't have to go back to the dark ages to learn how simple harmony in popular music works.
Learn those three play around with varying the order and try using different rhythms.
Add a fourth chord and you too could be awesome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5pidokakU4I

Spending too much time on theory stifles creativity.

[jancivil]

"Spending too much time on theory" is a strawman argument. "Didn't happen that way to me" and then you delimit discussion to "pop music". I didn't know this was the case prior to that. It wasn't in evidence in the beginning and it's not in the topic title and it looks_like the thread opened up as threads seem to do after a time.

"Stifle creativity"; well, someone asked about studying counterpoint with the desire to see linear movement worked out as though in a coursework.

Through the way harmony was taught to me, part-writing, all of the time part-writing, I obtained the opportunity to learn things pop music school does not seem to provide. Or your school. Sorry.

I learned to write independent lines in part-writing. If one looks at JS Bach, a principal model for the discipline conveyed in 4-part writing courses, one finds that exemplified. Counterpoint class I didn't get to because the prerequisite for Free Counterpoint was (in both schools I attended) Species Counterpoint and by this time I had enough exposure to it to really want to reject it. I still would. Some people I quite respect believe in it, I don't really. At CCM when I was done with "Honors Theory" I lobbied for more advanced coursework and I was allowed 'Form and Analysis' where I wrote a paper on the Bach suite I was preparing for jury. Now I will say if you have not had a serious part-writing course at least, analyzing Bach doesn't happen.
I saw it said here recently that 'rules' for Bach are just Fux applied to tonal music, but that statement makes no sense and so I disagree entirely, having done (demonstratively) while ignoring that completely.

And by this time I was writing freely. I'm not advising, just going with my anecdote vs 'Didn't happen that way for me.' which negates; as a positive story. Dealing with harmony as lines first opened my creativity up from the get-go. In a significant way. I recommend it unless one has to be strictly from conservative ie., stick to "pop music". Which is extremely limited in scope, obviously. Not exactly the hotbed of creativity in music IME.

I don't have a book to recommend, we didn't do books in either case. I do recommend a course in part-writing. Whether or not one is as lucky as I was is another matter.