Become a composer! Part 2: Learn Your Instruments

[MetalRenard]

Become A Composer! Everything You Need To Get Started.
Part 2: Learn Your Instruments!

Introduction
In the previous tutorial called "Baby Steps!", we did something very basic to get you started making a song. We accomplished a small exercise to help you realise some important aspects of creating music, namely that you can have different things happening at any one time and different sounds can be used for different things.

In part 2 we are going to talk about getting you ready to choose your instruments wisely and learning how to use them each to their full potential. This is where things really get fun! Don't forget to ask questions if something is not clear or confusing.

For this tutorial you will need a virtual piano, a virtual string instrument and a virtual drum kit. You can use Kontakt Player for the drums and SampleTankFREE for the piano and strings!

Understanding These Tutorials
Quite often I will put a word in italics. This is to help you understand when I'm stressing an idea, to help add intonation to the writing.
Other times I will put a word in bold. Every word in bold is an important word you probably need to understand/research. Explanations of these words are available on Wikipedia, just type them and "wiki" into google to read up on them. Easy!
Specific instructions are in orange.

Part 2: Learn Your Instruments!
To get started, I want you to listen to the following mp3s and think about their differences.
Example 1 is of a drum kit in the context of a song.
Example 1a: Using an instrument correctly
Example 1b: Using an instrument incorrectly

Example 2 is of one single thing played by different instruments.
Example 2a: Choosing the right instrument
Example 2b: Choosing the wrong instrument

What do these examples show? Well the first of each is an example of something that works while the second is something that doesn't work so well. Don't get me wrong, they're both valid as art, but let's face it, "a" will get you noticed more.



Let's break it down.

Example 1a makes proper use of a drum kit. It reflects how you would play a drum kit in a real-world situation, using the hi-hats to keep rhythm, the kick drum and snare to create a rhythm or beat and the cymbals to show a change from one bar to the next or to accentuate other aspects. Toms are used to make "fills" or transitions.
Example 1b is not a realistic use of a drum kit. Sure, you can play a drum it that way, but an experienced drummer wouldn't do that, would they? Therefore...

Each instrument demands you understand how it is played in real life before you can use it effectively in your music!

Example 2b uses a string instrument to play a melody and backing. Did you know that you can only realistically play one or two strings simultaneously on a viola? And even then you wouldn't be able to play things like this. That melody is much more suited for an instrument that allows for a more complex joining of melodies... Such as a piano!
Also, listen to how weird and disjointed the string version sounds while the piano version feels full and has a rhythm. This is because the piano is a percussive instrument by nature, its notes start with a "hit" and then fade out. String instruments are the opposite, it takes a while for the note to start because the bow has to be drawn across the strings and then stays loud until you stop moving the bow! Therefore...

Each instrument has a purpose, you must find which instrument suits your purpose for that given part of the song.

Open up a piano and a string instrument in your DAW. Write a short melody for the piano and then a backing with the strings.
Piano and Cello example

Notice how the piano plays quick notes, often several at a time, while the strings play long, slow notes? The piano is playing the lead melody and the strings are playing the backing.

Now add a drum kit to your piece. It doesn't have to be loud, just something to set a rhythm. Remember, this isn't to make a masterpiece, it's simply to learn, so it doesn't have to be pretty.
Piano, Drum and String Section Example
(I left in the flute too... Because I bloody love it. Don't get picky. :P)

Do you see how each instrument has its function and place in the song? Can you hear how each instrument is used realistically?

Homework!
WHAT?! Homework?! Damn it, I knew it was too good to be true!

So, how do you learn about all this stuff?
Whenever you use an instrument, first you MUST listen to a real example of it being played. Lots of examples in fact. Even better if you can learn how to play it yourself.
And that is your homework.
Are you planning on writing a piece of music that uses a flute? Listen to a good live performance of a flute and learn what it can do, what it can't do and what kinds of techniques are used.
You want to use a drum kit? Listen to your favourite band for 10 minutes but ignore the guitar, vocals and all that, just listen to how the drums are played. Incorporate what you learn into your next track.

What We've Learnt Today
Today we've learnt that instruments have a "correct" and "incorrect" way of being played. It's important to learn about every instrument we use before trying to write a piece of music with them.

We also learnt that some instruments are suitable for one task but not another. A piano has short, percussive notes while a string section has long, drawn out notes that take a while to get started. This means a piano is better at playing short, fast notes while the strings look after the backing.

If you feel like you haven't learnt enough then try doing this research for every single instrument in an orchestra. Trust me, this is a lot of work! Get cracking!

End Note
This concludes part 2 of this series. Part 3 will be coming your way soon and it will discuss song structure and transitions.
If you're interested, the song in this part of the tutorial is called "Pave The Way". It's a theme I wrote for the sci-fi series Delura.


Please do NOT reproduce this content without my express permission.
[Disclaimer] To other experienced composers/arrangers/music producers, I am simplifying things. If something is missing it is likely not a mistake, I just don't feel it is necessary at this stage. :)

[Ahzoh]

interesting...



so is a backing a sort of background melody, that has a lead melody playing over it?

[MetalRenard]

Classical music is harder to understand because it is so much more complex than other genres when it comes to understanding the roles of each individual instrument in the whole.

We'll take a step back and look at rock music first since it is so much more well defined and each instrument has a precise, easily discernible role.
The drums take care of rhythm and do lots of the work for transitions. The bass can be independent but quite often its place is to hold the whole thing together. Without a bass guitar the drums and guitar wouldn't fit together.

Now for your answer, "Backing" would represent what the rhythm guitars do during a solo.
Example: http://metalrenardmusic.bandcamp.com/track/a-lifes-work
For almost this entire piece there is a lead melody and separate backing. Do you see how their roles differ?

[Ahzoh]

I do see! there was that section where the bass is soloing, could also hear the drums too...

[MetalRenard]

There's no bass solo in this, that was a combination of rhythm guitar and bass working together with the lead playing a complimentary rhythm. It's actually a pretty complex piece of music but it was the clearest to understand in this sense.

Now to apply it to an orchestra.
The strings in this case would be the ones creating the context, to put it in other words. They create a frame for you to insert a lead melody which is played by another instrument. This could be another set of strings (violin solo for example), a flute, trumpet, piano... Whatever.
The whole point is that it's important to understand what each instrument can do and how you want to use it in your song. :)

[Ahzoh]

this is where my grade 8 knowledge of music fails me, I reason I have forgotten what rhythm is.



also I do add bass to my music, but I never HEAR it.

[MetalRenard]

Hrm.
Will probably write the third part of this during the Summer break. ^_^
About time I get back to what I love after a 2 year almost-hiatus.

[Ahzoh]

I hope you will write more, as it is a help to me...