Composition is the actual nuts and bolts structure of the song. We take the components we’ve learned about in previous blogs, like 1/4 notes, 1/8 notes, measures, time signature, etc. and assemble our musical piece into a solid structure. An actual written composition will have all of this literally laid out including dynamics, accents, even mood (usually written in latin). It is everything one needs to know about the song, and that anyone in the world can pick up and play exactly how the composer intended it.
For electronic music, the composition need not be scored out like it does for an orchestra. It DOES still need the structure, however. Its important to know things like verse, chorus, intro, bridge, solo, etc. and exactly when these things happen in a song. The primary structure of a song is based around the chord progression, the melody, or both. Most often this is in 4, 8, or 16 measure segments called Phrases. For example, if a chord progression is 4 measures long and repeated, and at the end of the second time through it there’s a slight difference (measure 8), you got an 8 measure phrase. This phrase is repeated throughout the song, every 8 measures having that change at the end.
Understanding phrases really helps in the construction of a composition. Instead of counting out individual measures, you can now count phrases. You can make the verse 4 phrases long, or 8 phrases, then add a change. Phrases make structure more comprehensive. Mevoice_synth01-8262013lodies to follow this formula, typically being 8 or 16 measures long. This is a melodic phrase.
When you know all of the different phrases in your song, you can assemble the composition all in one go, and then tweak it later. Example: verse phrase 4 times, then chorus phrase 2 times, verse phrase 8 times, etc.. then you can add the intro phrase, a middle change, or anything you want.
