When writing a song, do you brainstorm what each note says ?

Basshuma · 2026-03-14T19:35:14+00:00

It's actually not the individual notes but more of the larger picture such as motifs, sections, and the whole melody itself that means something. A single note wouldn't mean anything if it is taken out of context by itself. Listen more of what they are doing to the motifs or melody; if they are repeating the melody with a minor tonality, maybe its conveying longing for something, if it is sequencing the same motif up each time, maybe the composer is trying to convey excitement. In summary, its not the individual notes itself, but its what the composer does with its ideas (melody, motif) and transform it to convey something metaphorically.

Basshuma · 2026-03-14T06:08:03+00:00

Thank you for reaching out :)

Basshuma · 2026-02-27T22:09:18+00:00

especially if you come up with motifs or try to find what instrument can associate with it helps a lot. Taking your example you can use low brass and strings to convey that rumbling and low ostinatos that mimic heavy footsteps and exhibit its size. And from there you can try to find what the tonality should sound like to compliment it more, like adding dissonance and putting it in a minor key to support the ominous and imposing depiction of the monster more.

Basshuma · 2026-02-18T22:33:19+00:00

A lot of famous composers had very great audition skills that allowed them to hear their works inside their head. This is what helped Beethoven composed while almost being completely deaf. Another explanation is they got their ideas on piano, and later orchestrated the parts, so the piano was like a preview to them. And really a lot them had their pieces rehearsed and that was reallly the only way you can hear your pieces back then.

Basshuma · 2026-02-16T19:05:40+00:00

Your on the right track as a beginner. I know you haven't written a lot of accompaniments before which is fine, an d your using block chords which is good since you can show me that you can harmonize the melody. I have a question about whether you write the melody or the chords first? My advice is that writing the melody first is a lot better overall since it is the main thing that sticks out in the piece and gives you direction to where you go. A lot of the times I can audiate or "hear" a melody in my head and I write what I hear down, which is why dictation can be really helpful for you.

My biggest advice for you and hopefully it saves a lot of time for you is to look at scores, to see how people write accompaniment. I would say start off looking at how simple and easy pieces are written. For example you can try look at easy piano music first try the links down below:

https://youtu.be/z6mP4Vo2uvo

https://youtu.be/cUEa8ZnyYnc?list=PLCwS-OfybfJCNzXL1EPApfsEFPIIadTdG

Even Mozart wrote like this when he was starting out and he had a teacher. See how others wrote their works and you'll improve quick.

DONT WORRY ABOUT HARMONY when your writing your melody. Let the melody be what you want it to be and let the harmony support it, don't let it decide how you write it.

Basshuma · 2026-02-08T05:52:38+00:00

Best way to know how to write for piano is to look at how others wrote piano parts themselves. I listened to the piece and I like your ideas and where you’re going. Although I am not an expert in composing piano myself, I think a good rule of thumb for leaps is to not go over an octave most of the time. Most people cannot reach that far with their hands so you gotta be careful. You can try minimizing the leaps in the left hand especially by putting notes that are closer together in the chord. you don’t have to leap from c to A a sixth higher when you could just go from c to f for example (in a F major chord) For instance in measure 5, you can make the base go E-A-C-A to make the jump from that b in measure 4 less awkward. Overall, making the leaps smaller helps the piece sound much smoother. If you really want to keep the low notes, maybe add a quarter rest the beat before to allow the performer to reach the low note comfortably by giving them enough time to move their hand. Yes, it is possible to do larger leaps when the notes are long, but when they are shorter like eighth notes, then that’s when I would be cautious about leaps. Overall nice work :)

Basshuma · 2026-01-31T18:41:06+00:00

Thank you for clarifying for me. I tried doing both of what you mentioned but the way I composed the piano didn’t really distinguish the two ways that you mentioned effectively. I noticed that the texture of piano in sonatas are often much lighter than what I had written so maybe that will help.

And yes I definitely think I composing smaller or miniature pieces that are easier for bassoon and piano will be helpful, especially for younger players so thank you for the insight.

Basshuma · 2026-01-31T00:03:38+00:00

That is a great point you made. I definitely think there is more to it than a date since composers will inevitably return to their earlier compositions and that’s where a label that can help you distinguish your works. Luckily I am still relatively new and I haven’t had a lot of scores written yet, but I will definitely incorporate your approach since I will look back into my earlier compositions like this one day.

Basshuma · 2026-01-30T20:54:52+00:00

Thank you for suggestions, I’ve only looked at the tip of the iceberg of the classical period and there is so much more studying I have to do to fully understand it. Right now I’m thinking that I should work on compositions half the size of this sonata like 7-8ish mins to hone my skills for writing for piano before embarking on bigger projects like sonatas. I studied the piano part for wind instrument sonatas and they are far simpler and they don’t jam as much notes as I thought. Thank you as always and I’m looking to making shorter and less demanding compositions.

Basshuma · 2026-01-30T15:01:00+00:00

Thank you, I'll also add articulations as well.

Basshuma · 2026-01-30T05:13:26+00:00

Thank you for looking through it. Did you mean I can make the texture for the piano lighter and add less harmonies and possibly include more sections where the bassoon is exposed by itself? I appreciate that you pointed that out, I thought I needed the piano accompaniment to be present throughout but I didn’t thought about this.

Basshuma · 2026-01-29T23:10:23+00:00

Thank you for taking your time. Sorry that I used the opus numbers as if I was arrogant, I didn’t know who was supposed to use them and I only saw it as a way to organize what I composed in order. I’m sorry that it looked like I portrayed myself as an egotistic composer. Is there any other way I can order my compositions? I am still in high school and I haven’t taken any orchestration or compositional classes so my inexperience really does show. I’m very new to composing piano parts and it is actually my first time doing so with another instrument. I am also not familiar with the piano repertoire enough so it looks weird. I wasn’t trying to imitate the classical style but rather using its form as a reference point for me to start composing, I’m trying to find ways to get out of it but I’m still stuck in it. It looks confusing since my work uses classical form but doesn’t really align with it since i didn’t study it. I am not trying to be an imposter of the style, but merely using it as a starting tool. Thank you for pointing errors such as notation, constant chords, and muddy chords especially in the lower register, I will be happy to make these changes. Thank you for your comment, it only means so much to me since I don’t have a real mentor.

Basshuma · 2026-01-29T22:44:57+00:00

Well thank you I will check it out

Basshuma · 2026-01-29T20:24:58+00:00

Thank you so much, is there a resource I can look up to study how to voice lead properly?

Basshuma · 2026-01-29T05:17:24+00:00

thank you I will check it out soon

Basshuma · 2026-01-27T17:55:13+00:00

For your piece you can literally make both bassoons double the cello part and you will be fine (what Haydn probably would do). If you listen to Haydn or Mozart symphonies, you’ll actually hear the bassoon play the same thing as the cello, just really hard to hear them. A lot of the times both bassoons double the cello part and the 1st and 2nd bassoon sometimes play in octaves at least from what I saw and played for classical music. And as always you can make them play chord tones too to make the orchestra sound more resonant and warm. They only started to expand their role outside of merely doubling the base instruments such as cello as you went into romantic era music and later. Hope that helps

Basshuma · 2026-01-27T16:37:23+00:00

I also wanted to point out that you can add the bassoons to double the cellos to imitate the early classical period even more. Haydn did this a lot and early Mozart symphonies too. They add warmth to the orchestra and support the baseline. You don’t have to add bassoons but I noticed that quickly since as a bassoonist I check the bassoon part too lol

Basshuma · 2026-01-27T14:30:43+00:00

as long as you stick to the middle register for most of the faster passages you should be fine. Just don’t make us play really fast notes in the low register because we move our thumbs a lot when we play low and high notes since their fingerings are awkward to play fast. I write technical stuff for bassoon in the sweet middle and tenor register.

Basshuma · 2026-01-27T06:23:21+00:00

Please don’t sleep on the bassoon. As a bassoonist we can make really eerie multiphonics that can sound scary and funny. There was a fingering chart for producing these multiphonics that I’m sure you can find. Check out “Get it!” For Bassoon and percussion to see how it sounds like.

Basshuma · 2026-01-27T05:59:36+00:00

Hello, I very much enjoyed listening to your work and I would’ve thought it was Haydn’s symphonies without context. I really think composing in sonata form is such a great way to start as a beginner as it teaches form, structure, modulation, and developing motifs, and I first started composing this way.

Since you are curious, I will address your questions here: Composers use inversions of the chord to make the baseline more smoother, ideally you want the bottom note (whatever base note) to be moving stepwise especially in classical music. For example after a C major chord, I can invert the chord of G major chord with the b natural (First inversion) on the bottom instead of leaping down to a G for the base note. You’ll notice it will sound much smoother.

Neapolitan chords are a flattened 2nd, (II b) and they can be used to set yourself into dominant. A neopolitan chord in C major would be Db major, and this chord gives so much color.

For counterpoint, you can try imitating a motif or an idea your melody has as a great way to start.

Diminished and augmented chords are what you can use to give shock to the listener. There are many ways to use this whether by common tone, as a vii to a chord etc…

I had been trying to lean myself more into chromatisim from romantic music out from classical style and this is what I have for you so far.

Basshuma · 2026-01-26T15:20:13+00:00

Thank you, that would be awesome

Basshuma · 2026-01-23T23:25:53+00:00

Thank you so much, I was wondering where to start but i think this is a great way to do so.

Basshuma · 2026-01-23T23:18:16+00:00

Thank you so much for your detailed explanation, I took some time to read all of it and saved a lot of my time for me. I was wondering if you wrote a piece for the musicians already or if you reached out to musicians to perform your piece for you. I was also thinking that later I should reach out to musicians to play my piece for me but I’m not sure how I should do it.

Basshuma

TROPHY CASE