The Art of Composing Podcast: Music Composition | Music Theory | Creativity

Episode 4 of the Art of Composing Podcast. This episode is all about starting on the pathway to mastery. What is mastery? Well, it is the state that you achieve, where you have almost magical powers of control over your chosen field. How do you achieve master? You'll just have to listen and find out. I also talk about how I started composing, how I got off the path towards my life's task, and what it took to get back on the pathway. What is in this episode: What is mastery, and how do you achieve it. Jon - An Autobiography (kind of) How to identify your life's task using the 5 strategies from Mastery by Robert Greene. Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode: Mastery by Robert Greene War of Art by Steven Pressfield Episode 4 Take Aways Mastery is really about a state you can achieve, in which you have a power over reality that most people do not have. This power comes from fully absorbing all aspects of you life's task. Your life's task is the thing that you feel deep down, that you are called to do. To identify your life's task, you have five strategies: Returning to your origins is basically connecting with your true passions. Occupying the Perfect Niche is all about working your way towards a life that will support and nurture your life's task. Avoiding the false path is all about not being steered in the wrong direction. Letting Go of the Past is about looking at the direction you're life has been taking, and having the courage to say whether you've been on a false path, even if you've worked hard in a particular field. Finding Your Way Back is about being willing to make a cut with the progress you've made in order to get back on your true path towards mastery. I will get a transcript posted in the near future.

Episode 3 of the Art of Composing Podcast. In this episode, I talk about what it takes to start composing immediately. What is in this episode: The mindset you need to learn to compose music. How to approach the act of learning to compose. Why you need 20 hours to become good at composing, and 10,000 hours to become a master. How to setup your studio for zero-friction composing. A little more on why you need to learn your musical grammar and logic. How you can take the free beginner's composing course at www.artofcomposing.com/free. Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode: Art of Composing Podcast on Stitcher Alex Heffes musictheory.net M-Audio Keystation Musical Form Hub A Geometry of Music Sibelius Musescore Digital Performer Reaper Sign Up for the Free Beginner's Course Here 7 videos taking you from the first note to the last Worksheets included Sign Up We respect your email privacy Episode 3 Take Aways Becoming a composer first starts with calling yourself a composer. Fake it till you make it, thats what I always say. You need to approach composing with a beginner's mind, this will give you the freedom to accept what you are learning and to grow as a composer. Be prepared to put in at least 20 hours of deliberate practice to get comfortable with composing, and another 9,980 hours to become a master. Don't worry, even if you only do your 20 hours, you'll be a pretty decent composer. Setup your studio so that it is comfortable for you, with all of the basics for composing at an arms reach. At a minimum, have your staff paper, a pencil, an eraser, and some kind of instrument to help orient you on pitch. Learn the grammar of music, and learn it well. It will make your life so much easier. If you are worried about how to start with the first note... then just start with C, that always seems to work out... but seriously, try to think of the shape of your melody, and mixing up scale lines and chord lines. You can also take one of your favorite pieces, and then write a variation on it. Remember, you are practicing, so you can do whatever you want, as long as it helps you progress in your goal of becoming a composer. Finally, learn some basic musical form, basic diatonic harmony, and go through my free beginner's course. It is available at artofcomposing.com/free. The Diatonic Harmony Charts Major Harmony   Minor Harmony I will get a transcript posted in the near future.

Ever wonder what the process of composing music is really all about? Are you confused about how to even start composing, let alone, how to develop a piece of music and when to stop? Find out about the process I go through when composing, and for a special treat, listen to me actually compose an entire piece of music live.

In this first episode of the Art of Composing Podcast, I talk a little bit about who I am, why I started artofcomposing.com, and the Art of Composing Podcast. Next, I go into what music composition is and the stages of learning to compose music... also known as the trivium.