Composition Frustrations and Goal

I have been taking theory and composition classes for about a month and some change. I talked about the theory aspect of my lessons here. Anyway, the composition part is what I am most jazzed about, but it is SO HARD because music is a language that I only kind of know. So, for me, the experience of writing music is similar to the experience of someone trying to write a hella deep French novel when they only know how to say “Bonjour.” It’s frustrating to not be able to articulate my musical ideas.

Another challenge I have been having is that it is difficult for me to be intentional about the music I write. At this point, because so much is guesswork for me, my melodies just kind of happen and I go with the flow on the keyboard. Now, while that method has its place, it makes it difficult to broaden my ideas and add layers to a song because I don’t really understand what I did in the first place.

Because of my limited knowledge, I am only able to write basic things. However, I want to write super dope things. My goal is to write beautiful and interesting music that ACTUAL, LEGIT musicians would be excited to play. For example, a music student at UT 3D printed a 6-stringed violin so that he could play a piece (read about it here). It was a project that took MONTHS, and he stuck with it because he wanted to play that piece so badly. I want someone to be THAT excited to play MY music. I’ve got a LONG way to go.