Re: [LAU] Cowboy composing

Leslie P. Polzer wrote: Think of the piece as written communication. Have a major theme in mind - the thing that you want to express with this piece. Let's say it's about your sunglasses. Find out how you feel about your sunglasses. They are just so cool, only a fool, would use anything else to block the sun. Wear them with a smile, and all the while there's no better way to have fun. There is the chorus. Now think of three things that support the chorus. * They were inexpensive, I got a good deal. * They protect my eyes from the sun. * They make me look good, and women are more attracted to me when I wear them. Now flesh out a rhyme for each and you have your verses. Say the chorus over and over until the natural variations in pitch and timing come about and think about translating those into a melody. Exaggerate the contours of both. Write down the resulting notes of the melody and find out what chords make sense harmonizing that melody. Now juggle the chords and the melody so that they are musically interesting. Now you have the bones that you can hang meat off of. Choose your instruments, and record. Season with catchy riffs and percussion effects. Taking a structured approach to the process, always driven by keeping the main them of the communication in mind will probably yield a surprising result. Stick with only paper and pencil as long as you can, then lean how to play your piece. If you start with your instrument you will inevitably fall into the trap of having all of your pieces sound the same, and you will limit your creativity to what your fingers already know. If you write the piece first, then learn how to play it and sing it, you may experience the feeling that someone else wrote the piece. After writing many pieces you will find that they may be quite diverse in style but still have an unmistakable common feel. That is your newly found compositional voice. Evolve the process so that it is more personal and sophisticated. You will find that you are never out of material, because there is always something new in your life to express. If you stick with the chords you already know, and use the two same strumming patterns, you are guaranteed to run out of ideas quickly.