🔥🔥🔥🔥. I started off as a classical pianist. Recently I make music mainly hip-hop and jazz and r&b beats. I watch this process often it helps me understand melody and the process of making a Cantus firmus w/counterpoint! Thank you!
Thank you for leaving all the “trial and error” process. This is excellent. You could have just presented yourself as some mysterious “musical genius” who just imagines it all fully formed in their mind and merely writes it down. 👍 I appreciate your resistance of ego here.
The legend is that Mozart would just compose straight to the score in all it's final glory, but supposedly the truth is that his widow burned his sketches to create that illusion. So even the gods have to work through it like us mortals!
@@RyanLeach I do think that Mozart Rossini Schubert Bach ecc. had some form of talent and experience that enabled them to write with ease. No one could write so much music without a minimum of talent. And these fellows had talent to sell. Talent combined with a lot of formation gave them ease to compose. Mozart studied with his father then with many others including Father Mattei a great Italian teacher. Mozart gave his diploma at the conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome At only 13 years old. I do not want to put myself next Mozart. I am only a small piece of dust next to them.
The chord progressions sounds angsty and i love it based on the genre! Sound like a scary cool mystery like! But btw a tip to make better chord progression. Use chords close to the key example D, Bm and A or C to G or F! Use chords that voice correctly, its ok if its a semitone up or down! That what i only know so bye thanks for the video! Reflecting of how i compose too sometimes!
For me this was perfect. I’ve started to have a go at composing after watching your composing a fantasy part for the pink castle image. Whilst trying to come up with a melody it felt like I laboured way too much to get something I liked. This video has shown me my journey was normal and has given me confidence to continue. I hope I can find the next video on orchestration to guide me further. Thank you for sharing your trial and error approach. So many times it seems like composers just come up with an idea and that can be very discouraging for beginners. ❤
I have been looking for this exact video for nearly 10 years thank you soooo much!! Great job! I like how it's really simple, focused on the melody and harmony. I love how you talk about a lot of different topics instead of "top 10 pro tips stopping you from making millions" like every other video on YT. Love your channel
Bless you for this video! I've often felt like a terrible composer because I take so many wrong turns, because I'm not able to just 'make it work' or capture the feeling right away. To see a seasoned composer putting significant effort into picking out a musical direction is SUCH a relief! It means that ideas that don't work are not a sign of failure or a lack of talent - instead, they're part of the composing process. Separately, huge kudos to you for not editing out all the dead ends. Thank you so much for showing us hopefuls what goes on behind the scenes!
Loved this, and hope you will make more videos in this format were we get to see the whole process and your thoughts along the way. Very insightful and inspiring for my own workflow! Thank you!
Thank you for letting us watch you "think out loud" -I loved watching the process, though I will confess I've never used dice to determine where I'm going with a phrase!
Thank you. I really enjoyed this. Your videos in general are very clear in explaining why music theoretical concepts work. The pacing of this one was just about right. All too often in other tutorials, the noodling phase is skipped totally, with a motif or theme apparently springing fully formed out of nowhere. That edited approach makes my own efforts feel random and slow. Your video here helped me to understand the entire process and how the period form works as a framework, but one which can be flexed to add interest, experiment with a choice of harmonies, and to support the melodic flow through the entire piece.
Thanks for the comment Brian, it's a hard call in the low attention span era because I'm afraid some people will miss some of the more valuable and useful advice if they get bored halfway. But good to know people are finding value in the struggle, I'll include more long-form videos like this in the future.
I enjoyed getting to see this melody come together; thanks for putting this up. It's great to have both types of videos-- the ones with the in between details cut, and ones like this one where the entire process is shown.
Thank you for showing your process and openness to show us the uncomfortable and vulnerable parts. Helps demystify the process and gave me a clearer understanding of all the other videos I saw on your channel (which by the way are helping so much!)
This is very helpful. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who uses a d12 from time to time in composition! Thanks for leaving in all the time spent working through things that didn't seem right - that can be most of the time spent writing sometimes.
This was incredibly helpful to watch. I would say specifically seeing you try something and then point out what's not working to give direction on fixing it. So much of the instinct comes from practice, and if I can learn from your practice, I don't have to struggle so hard with those mistakes myself.
Ryan, your channel is a gold mine! It's incredibly useful to see the process behind and your rationale. I've been watching every single of your videos and you just inspired me to compose again. Thank you very much!
I just wanted to let you know that I recently found your channel and have thoroughly appreciated the content. This long-form one was very helpful in terms of showing why you've made certain choices, particularly when showing what/why other options don't make the cut. Thanks for this, as well as all I have learned and am yet to learn from your videos.
You are the best on UA-cam Ryan for the insights and inspiration I need at my stage of compositional learning - a perfect combination of simplicity, clarity, experience and absolutely zero BS - you are a great teacher - thanks for all the time and effort you devote to your channel
It was a good format. It's nice to see the whole composing process without editing, it's very educational to see the thoughts about little things like some rythme or some bass line or some intervals.
I just discovered your channel, and the quality of your video, both content and production, is amazing, just what I was looking for. Thanks for your efforts, it’s very much appreciated
I used to think I was taking far too long to put a melody together but feel far more reassured after this video. Thanks for being transparent, it's really encouraging. Keep producing these excellent videos.
I appreciate your authenticity, and I admire your willingness to share your experience. I learned a lot from you in this video. Your resulting melody is inspiring. Please keep these types of videos coming. Thanks!
Thanks Ryan. I loved that you left the whole process in the video It really helps to see how flexible you can and should be with melody and harmony until you are happy with complete thing.
I'm a new Subscriber and have watched aproximatly half a dozen of your fine videos . I like what you do and I am compelled to comment on this video in particular. .I think it's great that you show the work involved in putting something together. No one said it was easy, but it's a world of choices . many don't realize the effort put into just a few seconds of music.. . Well done. I will continue to watch your channel . a big attaboy to you friend.
This is actually probably the most useful video I’ve seen on composition. Thanks and well done for this I’d really like to see some more on how to write a basic idea too. Keep up the good work
I like this format. Watching it was like a form of meditation. Well, my meditation where my mind wanders all around and I keep pulling it back to the original starting place. Enjoyable and relaxing.
Thank you for this video, sir! I now see that two of my problems are that I take whatever I think of first without experimenting with it and changing it as needed and that I add in too many instruments before establishing a working base melody. I will try to come up with a functional melody with one instrument, write a full piece for it first, then add in more (if any) instruments. THANK YOU!
The second upbeat of measure six sells it for me. It's moving. It's a lengthy video, but to see the process in action affords no way around it. Good stuff. I'm curious - what aspect of music study opened your eyes the most to the mechanics of composition? Voice leading? Counterpoint?
Love how you came up with parameters for your composition here. There is nothing scarier to me than a blank sheet of music with no rules. Paralysis by analysis for me.
I enjoyed all your videos so far a lot, but this one is exactly the format i was looking for, as I'm still a beginner and need as detailed explanations as possible. Especially the exchange of melody and harmony in the decision process is sth interesting for me.
I love this in depth video, maybe not every video will be like this, but it's great to be able to follow your process. My mind in the final bar wants to go to B major.
I found a way to pick what key would you want to be in. Just pick what tonic note you want to be in. Adjust your piece how high or low the notes are so all of the notes, chords will be in place and be perfect how you want it. Example: A lullaby with high notes but not too much high. You can pick the Key of A or C depends how high you want it to be. edit: a grammar mistake
I love this format, and I wish I could be in your mind to understand your critical decisions (so I think you could talk more during the process or post-comment your video to precise your intentions). Thanks for sharing, it's inspiring! :)
Thanks for your great video. I'm a beginner and although I couldn't understand 100% of your technical explanations, it was very useful for me to understand that the trial and error process is used for pros too. I'm a little anxious to find my melody and I don't have the patience to improve the tune so much. And I don't have so much theoretical background in my mind. I know stuff but I need to think too much all the time and I happen to compose mostly by my ears. So, I need to learn more, but it's time-consuming. A time that I prefer to use in composing.
Very interesting to see the process in real time!! I would suggest adding your thoughts as written text on screen, like a subtitle, so we can follow it more easily.
Thanks Ryan, your information is priceless :) If I may ask a question, what music software do you recommend for writing music sheets? You know, instead of writing new melodies and orchestration by hand. Thanks so much again 🤩 🙏
Watching you noodle a 3 note phrase and then listen, over and over, till you see if the 4th note is sounding "right" to your ear made me feel more comfortable about doing that same exploratory method of creating a melody line. I used to berate myself about that development sequence even though it created things I and others liked. What I have found is that if I have a strong emotion/feeling/mood in my body, which feeling might or might not have arisen from a strong earlier real time event, one of the "rightness" tests I seem to also apparently use is: does that 4th note "fit" that prevailing mood, regardless of whether it fits in a musical/theoretic sense. I ask my self, in effect, what is the next note that the mood wants? Your presentation (in other videos) of the your well articulated outline Period and Sentence structures also made me realize that phrase/rhythm sequences which which I struggled to make "right" by that same listening test, can be expanded and developed more consciously by folding those two structures into my toolkit. The tail end orchestration was extremely revealing, helpful and valuable. But the idea of using a twelve sided dice starter (when you don't have a handy internal feeling/mood to test against) is pure genius, especially when you feel "dry". Your live example that you can weave a random start into something worthy is a tremendous confidence builder. Thank you for exposing that starter trick, too. .I have seen lots of music theory videos, but none have given me the place to start like your videos have. Carry on!
Now I dont feel bad for not getting a good melody off the top of my head in the first 20 minutes. Thank you for being honest! It actually releaves me a little to know I'm not alone in the tedious and time consuming prosses :) very nice
I have this habit of thinking of a ton of different harmonies, but not finding a melody to fit at all. It just makes it even more rewarding to finally find the one.
I had to play back the parts where you'd play something that in my mind sounded pretty cool, but then you go "mmm maybe not that"😂. It's like ear training.
Worthy and worthwhile - please do more. Perhaps where u focus on a different initial goal, perhaps a such as an ekphrastic approach - using some non-music piece of art or landscape or . . . I think u can do it pedagogically as well as emerging from one solitary human - as u demonstrated in this video.
Hey Ryan, it's me again :) Glad so see your channel exploding with new people! Also loving these kinds of videos where we get to see your complete thoughts going into a project. I was just wondering how you got to the two chords Bm/D and Am/C in bar 2. And why you chose a different bass note for the chords or when you decide to use slash chords. At 6:05 you just kind of come up with it. Would love some insight on that topic or maybe even a video! Cheers!
I loved it,, my brain was looking to all these possibility as you were looking for clues and continuity. Quite a different video indeed, but somehow interestingly interactive ;) Thanks again for the generous sharing 😇
interesting how i hear stuff i find interesting and you think it doesn't convince you. im gonna steal the bits you didnt use btw. i hope there's more stuff like this
Actually I really appreciated being able to watch somebody work and see the consequencial work flow and see the work behind an idea; what they evolve it through and into. And also an added extra for me is to witness how someone uses that software for writing; what is it called?
I’ve never tried this. Interesting. Usually when I’m in a music mood I sit down at the keyboard, open up a DAW, pick instrument(s), put fingers on keys, and let them have a mind of their own, to wander. I never hear melodies in my head, except maybe and very rarely from something I’ve been working on week to week to week. Conversely, 99.999% of the time I can’t replay any song I just finished creating. If I don't immediately capture with a DAW or in a WAV, it’s gone forever. Perhaps this is due to the illness I had in my 40s that stripped me of many memories and skills, some of which I’ve not gotten back, including almost-total recall (almost, not complete). Meanwhile, here is a strange project I did for a friend a few years. Bear with me, it's not easy to describe. His name went outside the range of normal notation; hence, I used his full name and assigned each letter in his name to a piano key alphabetically (A to Z) starting with the octave below middle C, all the way up until I used up all the letters in his name. (You could choose to start lower or higher or not at C.) And then using his full name, starting with the first letter, working thru his name, I selected the corresponding piano key, and used that sequence to create the song. I did allow myself flats and sharps, and lower or higher octaves to add some diversity. It was an odd song for sure. But of course it would be! My name was less interesting than his; although both our names together was best. But each time the song ended with a question rather than a finished statement. So I had to cheat a little on that last note or two, to make the song seem complete. IF I explained this right? Make sure to write all this down on paper before you actually play/record, because I made a couple mistakes when assigning letters to keys, as well as when to repeat the same keys. Sadly the first try with the mistakes was the better song. After correcting it, the song went lacking. lol I have not shared these songs with anyone but my friend. Also did one for one of my nieces and shared with her. It was a fun experiment. Very simplistic. I could do something much more interesting and complicated, but none of the results piqued my interest enough to do so. Again I hope I explained this correctly? I’m sure you get the general idea. And sorry for such a long comment.
Mr. Ryan it happens to me that in various works l follow the same harmonic scheme. What and how can We do to give different and new harmonic and melodic novelty. Thank you for your precious videos very educational.❤😊
Hey Ryan, fantastic video. I have a question, you mentioned that going to the C was going to the Phyrigian mode. I was wondering how you came to that. Cheers!
The Phrygian mode has a lowered 2nd scale degree. So if we were starting from B minor the second note should be C# but for Phrygian we lower it to C natural. Check out my video on modes: ua-cam.com/video/1FRmmnKSBdg/v-deo.html
I know this is an old video, but maybe someone watching has the answer. Do you have a secret for finding chords for the melody? I usually stick with simple diatonic chords, but I know there is so much more out there. When should I stray to non-diatonic chords? Thanks so much! Edit: I just found your new-ish video on this topic. I'd love to hear another video, so you have a vote for continuing the series!
Hello Ryan, was the orchestrstion done in sibilius also or some other program? I would have messed with the rhythm a bit at the end like switching the first 1/8note with the 3rd 1/4 note
I'd be curious to know how many people actually do skip ahead when Ryan suggests it about halfway through. I'm personally enjoying just listening to the song evolve.
Very interesting. Thanks for this glimpse into the real work. One comment. Maybe I'm wrong but it feels to me like your unconscious kept trying to pull you back into sentence form. For a long time as you were searching for a way to move forward, bar 3 was rhyming bar 1 and then you were trying to elaborate more in bars 5 & 6 I was thinking if you'd been willing to shake things up more in 3 & 4, perhaps by forcing a more overt rhythmic contrast, you could have come back to a 5 & 6 much closer to your original 1 & 2 and things would have fallen into place faster. But that's not meant as a criticism, just mentioning it to see if I'm understanding the concepts correctly.
Check out these videos: ua-cam.com/video/34gSQTW2vuU/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/kC8035kFbiE/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/Z8uYdzU_ZR8/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/ucNWbawSiZM/v-deo.html
It depends if I’m concerned about independence of voices. If the chords are just a block unit I’ll be less concerned because independence isn’t the goal. I am generally more concerned about parallels between melody and bass
@@RyanLeach thank you so much for your reply! so when your writing a homophonic texture your not concerned with voice independence? is that it? so when would you be concerned with independence? when writing a 4 part chorale or something?
@@gordonosterhage2439 yea four part chorale, melody vs bass or melody vs counterline. In general I try to be mindful of parallels but if the occasional one slips in it doesn’t really bother me
@@RyanLeach I know the point of this was melody, just can't help listening to bass and rhythm. Question actually, how do you think this type of writing can be used for top lines in pop, rock, etc? Or is that more lyrical dependent do you think? Thank you for the reply btw!
I enjoy this format. I am pretty new to this and so it's a stretch, but that is cool. One thing though, try to get some separation between your desk and mic, could do without the thumping with each note you play. Cheers Ryan
Period form in Bm. Authentic cadence in antecedent, tonicizes F# at cadence in consequent (before immediately moving off to the subdominant key of E minor!)
I'm trying out something completely new with this video, so please let me know what you think!
Ryan, this format is actually way better than the short one. I enjoy and learn from watching all the noodling, experimentation, etc
🔥🔥🔥🔥. I started off as a classical pianist. Recently I make music mainly hip-hop and jazz and r&b beats. I watch this process often it helps me understand melody and the process of making a Cantus firmus w/counterpoint! Thank you!
It’s really intuitive and engaging to see your thought process in real-time. Thank you for sharing!! 🙏
You should use this on one of your jobs:)
Amazing, thank you so much for all this info! One question, what music notation software are you using there?
Thank you for leaving all the “trial and error” process. This is excellent. You could have just presented yourself as some mysterious “musical genius” who just imagines it all fully formed in their mind and merely writes it down. 👍 I appreciate your resistance of ego here.
The legend is that Mozart would just compose straight to the score in all it's final glory, but supposedly the truth is that his widow burned his sketches to create that illusion. So even the gods have to work through it like us mortals!
@@RyanLeach Isnt it because for Mozart, composing was more like improvising, which is mostly "formed" in some ways by the time it begins?
@@RyanLeach ive read Malmsiein said he never practiced. implying that the stuff came out spontaniously, i dont believe that for a second
@@RyanLeach I do think that Mozart Rossini Schubert Bach ecc. had some form of talent and experience that enabled them to write with ease. No one could write so much music without a minimum of talent. And these fellows had talent to sell. Talent combined with a lot of formation gave them ease to compose. Mozart studied with his father then with many others including Father Mattei a great Italian teacher. Mozart gave his diploma at the conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome At only 13 years old. I do not want to put myself next Mozart. I am only a small piece of dust next to them.
The chord progressions sounds angsty and i love it based on the genre! Sound like a scary cool mystery like!
But btw a tip to make better chord progression. Use chords close to the key example D, Bm and A or C to G or F! Use chords that voice correctly, its ok if its a semitone up or down! That what i only know so bye thanks for the video! Reflecting of how i compose too sometimes!
For me this was perfect. I’ve started to have a go at composing after watching your composing a fantasy part for the pink castle image. Whilst trying to come up with a melody it felt like I laboured way too much to get something I liked. This video has shown me my journey was normal and has given me confidence to continue.
I hope I can find the next video on orchestration to guide me further.
Thank you for sharing your trial and error approach. So many times it seems like composers just come up with an idea and that can be very discouraging for beginners. ❤
I have been looking for this exact video for nearly 10 years thank you soooo much!! Great job! I like how it's really simple, focused on the melody and harmony. I love how you talk about a lot of different topics instead of "top 10 pro tips stopping you from making millions" like every other video on YT. Love your channel
Bless you for this video! I've often felt like a terrible composer because I take so many wrong turns, because I'm not able to just 'make it work' or capture the feeling right away. To see a seasoned composer putting significant effort into picking out a musical direction is SUCH a relief! It means that ideas that don't work are not a sign of failure or a lack of talent - instead, they're part of the composing process.
Separately, huge kudos to you for not editing out all the dead ends. Thank you so much for showing us hopefuls what goes on behind the scenes!
This „noodling“ on the piano literally made me fall asleep, and thats not negative. Very chilling.
Loved this, and hope you will make more videos in this format were we get to see the whole process and your thoughts along the way. Very insightful and inspiring for my own workflow! Thank you!
Thanks, these are the easiest kind to make so I'm sure there will be more!
Thank you for letting us watch you "think out loud" -I loved watching the process, though I will confess I've never used dice to determine where I'm going with a phrase!
I think everyone who writes music needed this. Thank you. I love to juxtapose my methods to others. So dope man!!
Thank you. I really enjoyed this. Your videos in general are very clear in explaining why music theoretical concepts work. The pacing of this one was just about right. All too often in other tutorials, the noodling phase is skipped totally, with a motif or theme apparently springing fully formed out of nowhere. That edited approach makes my own efforts feel random and slow. Your video here helped me to understand the entire process and how the period form works as a framework, but one which can be flexed to add interest, experiment with a choice of harmonies, and to support the melodic flow through the entire piece.
Thanks for the comment Brian, it's a hard call in the low attention span era because I'm afraid some people will miss some of the more valuable and useful advice if they get bored halfway. But good to know people are finding value in the struggle, I'll include more long-form videos like this in the future.
@@RyanLeach Please err on the side of not boring yourself. Zappa forever!
I enjoyed getting to see this melody come together; thanks for putting this up. It's great to have both types of videos-- the ones with the in between details cut, and ones like this one where the entire process is shown.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for showing your process and openness to show us the uncomfortable and vulnerable parts. Helps demystify the process and gave me a clearer understanding of all the other videos I saw on your channel (which by the way are helping so much!)
This is very helpful. I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who uses a d12 from time to time in composition!
Thanks for leaving in all the time spent working through things that didn't seem right - that can be most of the time spent writing sometimes.
Thank you so much! I was really looking for a process to start a new composition and this really helped!
Also nice how you incorporated the licc
This was incredibly helpful to watch. I would say specifically seeing you try something and then point out what's not working to give direction on fixing it. So much of the instinct comes from practice, and if I can learn from your practice, I don't have to struggle so hard with those mistakes myself.
Ryan, your channel is a gold mine! It's incredibly useful to see the process behind and your rationale. I've been watching every single of your videos and you just inspired me to compose again. Thank you very much!
I just wanted to let you know that I recently found your channel and have thoroughly appreciated the content. This long-form one was very helpful in terms of showing why you've made certain choices, particularly when showing what/why other options don't make the cut. Thanks for this, as well as all I have learned and am yet to learn from your videos.
You are the best on UA-cam Ryan for the insights and inspiration I need at my stage of compositional learning - a perfect combination of simplicity, clarity, experience and absolutely zero BS - you are a great teacher - thanks for all the time and effort you devote to your channel
That’s very kind, thank you
It was a good format. It's nice to see the whole composing process without editing, it's very educational to see the thoughts about little things like some rythme or some bass line or some intervals.
I just discovered your channel, and the quality of your video, both content and production, is amazing, just what I was looking for. Thanks for your efforts, it’s very much appreciated
Thank you very much!
A very nice, down-to-earth video. Yes, composing music is work, kids - whether you want to hear it or not!
nice video and format is really nice to see how it's coming from nowhere to finished piece , well done!Thanks for your work!
Love this! Feeling normal now. And if it is too long for some, they can fast forward. Works for all.
I used to think I was taking far too long to put a melody together but feel far more reassured after this video. Thanks for being transparent, it's really encouraging. Keep producing these excellent videos.
I appreciate your authenticity, and I admire your willingness to share your experience. I learned a lot from you in this video. Your resulting melody is inspiring. Please keep these types of videos coming. Thanks!
Thanks Ryan. I loved that you left the whole process in the video It really helps to see how flexible you can and should be with melody and harmony until you are happy with complete thing.
I'm a new Subscriber and have watched aproximatly half a dozen of your fine videos . I like what you do and I am compelled to comment on this video in particular. .I think it's great that you show the work involved in putting something together. No one said it was easy, but it's a world of choices . many don't realize the effort put into just a few seconds of music.. . Well done. I will continue to watch your channel . a big attaboy to you friend.
Perfect format for me! Very useful to "stay" with the composer in the process. Thanks
This is actually probably the most useful video I’ve seen on composition. Thanks and well done for this
I’d really like to see some more on how to write a basic idea too. Keep up the good work
Just discovered this Channel. Love this style!! I love the in depth versions. Hopefully more like this current as time progresses
I like this format. Watching it was like a form of meditation. Well, my meditation where my mind wanders all around and I keep pulling it back to the original starting place. Enjoyable and relaxing.
Thank you for this video, sir! I now see that two of my problems are that I take whatever I think of first without experimenting with it and changing it as needed and that I add in too many instruments before establishing a working base melody. I will try to come up with a functional melody with one instrument, write a full piece for it first, then add in more (if any) instruments. THANK YOU!
Thank you. I enjoyed to watch it.
The second upbeat of measure six sells it for me. It's moving. It's a lengthy video, but to see the process in action affords no way around it. Good stuff.
I'm curious - what aspect of music study opened your eyes the most to the mechanics of composition? Voice leading? Counterpoint?
form
I love the long video -seeing + hearing your process is great! thank you!
Love how you came up with parameters for your composition here. There is nothing scarier to me than a blank sheet of music with no rules. Paralysis by analysis for me.
I really like this. I like to see the whole process. You should do more of these.
Just discovered you but I am a musician and I like what you did here. Showing your process even if it takes a bit.
I know this video is not popular. but thank you for making it, it was very helpful
I enjoyed all your videos so far a lot, but this one is exactly the format i was looking for, as I'm still a beginner and need as detailed explanations as possible. Especially the exchange of melody and harmony in the decision process is sth interesting for me.
Liked your doodle. Gave me time to ponder what i would choose
I love this in depth video, maybe not every video will be like this, but it's great to be able to follow your process. My mind in the final bar wants to go to B major.
I found a way to pick what key would you want to be in. Just pick what tonic note you want to be in. Adjust your piece how high or low the notes are so all of the notes, chords will be in place and be perfect how you want it.
Example: A lullaby with high notes but not too much high. You can pick the Key of A or C depends how high you want it to be.
edit: a grammar mistake
Obrigado por seu tempo e disposição de dividir seu talento conosco.
I love this format, and I wish I could be in your mind to understand your critical decisions (so I think you could talk more during the process or post-comment your video to precise your intentions). Thanks for sharing, it's inspiring! :)
great to watch the process
Thanks, trying to find a balance between skipping the boring parts and keeping in details is tricky.
36:48 this last phrase is _literally_ just the licc lol
Thanks for your great video. I'm a beginner and although I couldn't understand 100% of your technical explanations, it was very useful for me to understand that the trial and error process is used for pros too. I'm a little anxious to find my melody and I don't have the patience to improve the tune so much. And I don't have so much theoretical background in my mind. I know stuff but I need to think too much all the time and I happen to compose mostly by my ears. So, I need to learn more, but it's time-consuming. A time that I prefer to use in composing.
Very interesting to see the process in real time!! I would suggest adding your thoughts as written text on screen, like a subtitle, so we can follow it more easily.
As an aspiring composer, this is amazing! Cheers
Thanks Ryan, your information is priceless :) If I may ask a question, what music software do you recommend for writing music sheets? You know, instead of writing new melodies and orchestration by hand. Thanks so much again 🤩 🙏
@1:59 "They Not Like Us"
Love this format ❤
Watching you noodle a 3 note phrase and then listen, over and over, till you see if the 4th note is sounding "right" to your ear made me feel more comfortable about doing that same exploratory method of creating a melody line. I used to berate myself about that development sequence even though it created things I and others liked. What I have found is that if I have a strong emotion/feeling/mood in my body, which feeling might or might not have arisen from a strong earlier real time event, one of the "rightness" tests I seem to also apparently use is: does that 4th note "fit" that prevailing mood, regardless of whether it fits in a musical/theoretic sense. I ask my self, in effect, what is the next note that the mood wants? Your presentation (in other videos) of the your well articulated outline Period and Sentence structures also made me realize that phrase/rhythm sequences which which I struggled to make "right" by that same listening test, can be expanded and developed more consciously by folding those two structures into my toolkit. The tail end orchestration was extremely revealing, helpful and valuable. But the idea of using a twelve sided dice starter (when you don't have a handy internal feeling/mood to test against) is pure genius, especially when you feel "dry". Your live example that you can weave a random start into something worthy is a tremendous confidence builder. Thank you for exposing that starter trick, too. .I have seen lots of music theory videos, but none have given me the place to start like your videos have. Carry on!
Speaks for me.
Seeing you go through the process was inspiring
Now I dont feel bad for not getting a good melody off the top of my head in the first 20 minutes. Thank you for being honest! It actually releaves me a little to know I'm not alone in the tedious and time consuming prosses :) very nice
I have this habit of thinking of a ton of different harmonies, but not finding a melody to fit at all. It just makes it even more rewarding to finally find the one.
I had to play back the parts where you'd play something that in my mind sounded pretty cool, but then you go "mmm maybe not that"😂. It's like ear training.
Haha, nah just because I went one way doesn’t make it “right”. Go ahead and try something out with that idea if it inspires you!
I don't mind the noodling part. Sometimes I actually hear what I want to come next, but you do something different. I find it interesting.
Thank you! This was very inspiring actually!
THE LICK IS AT THE END AHHH CAN NEVER ESCAPE
🤣
Best comment
Thank you so much!
Worthy and worthwhile - please do more. Perhaps where u focus on a different initial goal, perhaps a such as an ekphrastic approach - using some non-music piece of art or landscape or . . . I think u can do it pedagogically as well as emerging from one solitary human - as u demonstrated in this video.
Man came out nice. I never thought to do a synth vibe.
Hey Ryan, it's me again :)
Glad so see your channel exploding with new people! Also loving these kinds of videos where we get to see your complete thoughts going into a project.
I was just wondering how you got to the two chords Bm/D and Am/C in bar 2. And why you chose a different bass note for the chords or when you decide to use slash chords. At 6:05 you just kind of come up with it. Would love some insight on that topic or maybe even a video!
Cheers!
J a aaaaaa
I loved it,, my brain was looking to all these possibility as you were looking for clues and continuity. Quite a different video indeed, but somehow interestingly interactive ;) Thanks again for the generous sharing 😇
Thanks I appreciate it
Nice background!
interesting how i hear stuff i find interesting and you think it doesn't convince you. im gonna steal the bits you didnt use btw. i hope there's more stuff like this
I just discovered this video. I'm going to have to try the RNG method to practice composing from scratch
Actually I really appreciated being able to watch somebody work and see the consequencial work flow and see the work behind an idea; what they evolve it through and into. And also an added extra for me is to witness how someone uses that software for writing; what is it called?
Back when I made this I used Sibelius but I’ve since switched to Dorico
I’ve never tried this. Interesting. Usually when I’m in a music mood I sit down at the keyboard, open up a DAW, pick instrument(s), put fingers on keys, and let them have a mind of their own, to wander. I never hear melodies in my head, except maybe and very rarely from something I’ve been working on week to week to week. Conversely, 99.999% of the time I can’t replay any song I just finished creating. If I don't immediately capture with a DAW or in a WAV, it’s gone forever. Perhaps this is due to the illness I had in my 40s that stripped me of many memories and skills, some of which I’ve not gotten back, including almost-total recall (almost, not complete).
Meanwhile, here is a strange project I did for a friend a few years. Bear with me, it's not easy to describe.
His name went outside the range of normal notation; hence, I used his full name and assigned each letter in his name to a piano key alphabetically (A to Z) starting with the octave below middle C, all the way up until I used up all the letters in his name. (You could choose to start lower or higher or not at C.) And then using his full name, starting with the first letter, working thru his name, I selected the corresponding piano key, and used that sequence to create the song. I did allow myself flats and sharps, and lower or higher octaves to add some diversity. It was an odd song for sure. But of course it would be! My name was less interesting than his; although both our names together was best. But each time the song ended with a question rather than a finished statement. So I had to cheat a little on that last note or two, to make the song seem complete. IF I explained this right?
Make sure to write all this down on paper before you actually play/record, because I made a couple mistakes when assigning letters to keys, as well as when to repeat the same keys. Sadly the first try with the mistakes was the better song. After correcting it, the song went lacking. lol
I have not shared these songs with anyone but my friend. Also did one for one of my nieces and shared with her. It was a fun experiment. Very simplistic. I could do something much more interesting and complicated, but none of the results piqued my interest enough to do so. Again I hope I explained this correctly? I’m sure you get the general idea. And sorry for such a long comment.
Mr. Ryan it happens to me that in various works l follow the same harmonic scheme. What and how can We do to give different and new harmonic and melodic novelty. Thank you for your precious videos very educational.❤😊
Hey Ryan, fantastic video. I have a question, you mentioned that going to the C was going to the Phyrigian mode. I was wondering how you came to that. Cheers!
The Phrygian mode has a lowered 2nd scale degree. So if we were starting from B minor the second note should be C# but for Phrygian we lower it to C natural. Check out my video on modes: ua-cam.com/video/1FRmmnKSBdg/v-deo.html
@@RyanLeach Ah, cheers! I confused myself cause I was thinking it was C Phrygian instead of B Phrygian. 🙄
I know this is an old video, but maybe someone watching has the answer. Do you have a secret for finding chords for the melody? I usually stick with simple diatonic chords, but I know there is so much more out there. When should I stray to non-diatonic chords? Thanks so much!
Edit: I just found your new-ish video on this topic. I'd love to hear another video, so you have a vote for continuing the series!
super fascinating!
Mr. Ryan Leach now I know how to use dice... ahahahah thank you.
I have a big question for long time how can we bring emotions into composition
Hello Ryan, was the orchestrstion done in sibilius also or some other program? I would have messed with the rhythm a bit at the end like switching the first 1/8note with the 3rd 1/4 note
what program he's using to transcribe the note he's pressing.
ME: I like that
RYAN: That's not very interesting. 😂
Wonderful!...you got a cowboy one
I'd be curious to know how many people actually do skip ahead when Ryan suggests it about halfway through.
I'm personally enjoying just listening to the song evolve.
Honestly, a lot of the stuff you thought didn't work sounded like it definitely could to my ears... preference I guess
please teach about one key to another key change modulation, verse, chorus, bridge.
Great suggestion! I have quite a backlog of video topics to get through but I will definitely get to modulations at some point.
Very interesting. Thanks for this glimpse into the real work.
One comment. Maybe I'm wrong but it feels to me like your unconscious kept trying to pull you back into sentence form. For a long time as you were searching for a way to move forward, bar 3 was rhyming bar 1 and then you were trying to elaborate more in bars 5 & 6
I was thinking if you'd been willing to shake things up more in 3 & 4, perhaps by forcing a more overt rhythmic contrast, you could have come back to a 5 & 6 much closer to your original 1 & 2 and things would have fallen into place faster.
But that's not meant as a criticism, just mentioning it to see if I'm understanding the concepts correctly.
What are the differences between melody sentence form and melody period form?
Check out these videos:
ua-cam.com/video/34gSQTW2vuU/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/kC8035kFbiE/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/Z8uYdzU_ZR8/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/ucNWbawSiZM/v-deo.html
@@RyanLeach Thanks a lot.
Hi, anyone please knows the name of the software he is using? Thanks
Back when I made this I think it was Sibelius but I prefer Dorico now
Are you avoiding parallel 5ths and octaves while you put down the chords?
It depends if I’m concerned about independence of voices. If the chords are just a block unit I’ll be less concerned because independence isn’t the goal. I am generally more concerned about parallels between melody and bass
@@RyanLeach thank you so much for your reply! so when your writing a homophonic texture your not concerned with voice independence? is that it? so when would you be concerned with independence? when writing a 4 part chorale or something?
@@gordonosterhage2439 yea four part chorale, melody vs bass or melody vs counterline. In general I try to be mindful of parallels but if the occasional one slips in it doesn’t really bother me
How did you choose the bass rhythm?
Hm I think I just played it in, so it was more just what came naturally rather than a "choice"
@@RyanLeach I know the point of this was melody, just can't help listening to bass and rhythm. Question actually, how do you think this type of writing can be used for top lines in pop, rock, etc? Or is that more lyrical dependent do you think? Thank you for the reply btw!
@@GTORT I think it's the same for any style, just make sure the vocalist has a chance to breathe!
I enjoy this format. I am pretty new to this and so it's a stretch, but that is cool. One thing though, try to get some separation between your desk and mic, could do without the thumping with each note you play. Cheers Ryan
I would do this with you Ryan, but... (wait for it)... NO DICE.
Sensacional!!!
This piece kinda give me outer space or emptiness vibe.
It makes me wonder if I'm not putting enough effort to writing my melodies... either that or you over think it.
what software is this
Sibelius
D12 die - Legendary idea.
Ryan: And now I'm gonna roll again and if I get even, we'll do major, if I get odd, we'll do minor.
Literally all the other modes: Am I a joke to you?
You must write a lot in G :)
Lol, you ended it with The Lick.
What form is Chopin's piano sonata no 3 first movement first theme? Anyone? Thanks
Period form in Bm. Authentic cadence in antecedent, tonicizes F# at cadence in consequent (before immediately moving off to the subdominant key of E minor!)