Learn How to Write Music

Hi, my name is Frank, and I co-founded the Music Interval Theory Academy. Let me confess that it was never my initial plan to create an online academy for composition based on Interval Theory. I'm a pro composer and have spent most of my professional life composing music to picture, writing songs, creating background music, or scoring any other type of storyline. I never cared so much about song lyrics or writing lyrics in general. My focus always has been on the music.

Over the last few years, I discovered some significant problems along the way that I had to face, and I want to share my top three takeaways with you right here!

For many years, I've analyzed classical works and scores. Everybody around me kept telling me that this was a good thing and the only way how you learn and become a better composer. Well, I've put in the hard work ...

Years later, I realized you don't become a great racing-car driver by watching hundreds of races on TV, right? And you don't become a great chef by watching millions of cooking shows. I mean, that is pretty obvious. To develop a skill, you have to practice that specific skill over and over again. If you focus on the analysis, you'll become good at analysis, not composition!

Now, the composition also has another component to it, and that is the artistic quality. Indeed, you can't really practice artistry, but what I've experienced as a working composer in the industry is that 80% of what gets the job done is pure technique! This might sound shocking when you think about it. You don't have to be a born prodigy to make a solid living as a composer. In fact, the biggest portion of a composition is the technique that everybody can learn, no matter how gifted you are. I'd say that only around 20% is pure artistic quality, even call it magic or "fairy dust on top of the raw material" :D ...  

Nowadays, I know that there can be a clear methodology to the process of writing music. Over many years, all of my composition and orchestration mentors taught me that there is an infinite number of options and combinations, and they were right. However, that's not helpful when you are facing tight deadlines. Usually, you don't have the time to record hundreds of variations in Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, or whatever software you use.

So, what should you focus on instead? Should you write another chord progression or even create a musicality checklist? Or should you rewrite the melody of the previous section? Should you use the C major scale or some more exotic scales? And for the orchestration, is there any good reason you should double any part with another instrument?

If these questions sound familiar to you, then you probably don't have an easy-to-follow process, right? You probably hunt for ideas most of the time, feel overwhelmed, and have a hard time coming up with good musical material. I also went through all of this, and you don't have to experience the same problems.

Furthermore, I offer concrete solutions to those questions/problems, which led to the founding of the Music Interval Theory Academy, where you will find the biggest tips and best practices to help you create fantastic music out of a major chord! (No joke!)

Writing music is not hard. In fact, it's fun, or at least, it should be. You want to keep things as simple as possible so you don't confuse yourself. That's where Interval Theory comes in very handy because it focuses on the nature of the intervals (yes, intervals have a nature to them). There are no hard rules or restrictions with the intervals, and it's more like following a guide or mental notes.

Combining the methodology with the knowledge about the nature of the intervals will let you compose unique music fast and organically. That's a great way to speed up your workflow and become more efficient. But I'm not only talking about quantity here. By listening to some of the options you created (based on technique), you give yourself input that will train you to develop your unique musical taste. This step is crucial for creating your artistic voice to separate your work from everybody else. You want to create a category of one!

This is the most efficient way to quality as well! Keep in mind that it's tough to amplify complex processes. That's why we want to keep it simple and focus on those things that actually matter! So many composers ask for sound advice, like what sample libraries to use in their home recording studios, but actually, most often, their results would be way better if they focused on developing proper composition skills first.

Ok, this one was an essential eye-opener for you. Insecurity and the lack of trust in your composition skills can and will finally destroy the art you want to create, slowly but surely. How can you feel good about the music you wrote if you don't know whether or not it's good? In fact, how do you value your work at all?

The short answer is you can't. And there's no recipe for "good" decision-making.

What you can do, however, is grow musical confidence and prevent yourself from stepping into two dangerous traps! I want to list them right here because you might find that you actually got trapped in one of them or even both.

1. You work on a piece for way too long!
2. You connect your personal well-being to your success! (This one goes deep!)

Building confidence is a self-feeding mechanism. Once you understand how it works, it gets stronger and stronger, like a muscle. And it helps you to overcome fears, make decisions quicker, and even attract better clients! It's the law of attraction.

Clients will feel your confidence and see that you're not a risk factor for the project. In fact, you can become the solution to success even! It's quite apparent that you'd rather want to work with somebody very confident than somebody who is not sure about what he does and if he can get the job finished at all.

And please don't confuse confidence with ego! Ego is quite the opposite of what I mean. At this point, we are knee-deep in the subject of personal development right now, and to some degree, this step is mandatory to cover the artistic side of a composition. Inside the Academy, we share some great concepts and models you can use to develop a healthy relationship with your work, creativity, and even your successes, like the "Creative Pool".

If you feel you'd benefit from what I'm talking about, please look at the Academy. I'm convinced that it will help you move forward and make quicker progress in your musical life. We want to help you focus on what you love doing, and that is creating beautiful music! And even if you don't feel ready to start building your musical dream life, I hope that all the free materials on our website help you become a better composer!

If you're intrigued by Interval Theory, please stay connected and hop on the email list where we share a ton of exclusive content only with the inner circle.

I hope that we'll meet soon.

Best always and good luck,