How to Compose Music (Your first piece for complete beginners)

🎵 If you enjoyed this video, make sure to also check out my free training - 'My 3 Secrets to Composing Rich Cinematic Music':
www.composingacademy.com/free...
In this video, I will show you how to compose your first piece of music for the piano. Aimed at beginners, I'll walk you through step by step how to compose a four bar melody to a given chord progression and then extend it into a longer piece of music, using structure. I also briefly walk you through the gear you will need, including the differences between a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) and Notation software, and where to find free high quality sounds and samples for you to use when composing.
► Get your FREE Beginner's Guide To Composing Music in 5 Easy Steps here:composingacademy.ck.page/5eas...
00:00 - Intro
01:08 - The software you'll need
01:48 - Getting started
02:37 - Melody vs Harmony
03:27 - Starting with a Chord Progression
05:50 - Composing a melody
08:44 - Extending your piece with Structure
13:20 - Using ostinatos to compose an accompaniment
15:10 - The whole piece
15:51 - Outro
Check out my other two videos below for more examples of chord progressions and ostinatos which you can use:
10 Cinematic Chord Progressions
• 10 Cinematic CHORD PRO...
8 Cinematic Ostinatos
• 8 Cinematic OSTINATOS ...
Links to the software used in this video:
Cubase (DAW) 30 Day free trial
www.steinberg.net/cubase/trial/
Spitfire Audio Labs (Free Soft Piano Instrument)
labs.spitfireaudio.com/labs-s...
If you enjoyed this video, make sure to subscribe to the Composing Academy Channel, for more Composing and Music Theory tips and tricks.
Composing Academy is the place to learn how to begin composing your own music. Here you will find easy to follow videos explaining core Music Theory concepts along with various tips and tricks to help you craft that perfect song of cinematic piece of music.

[@droidfan]

At my old age and no formal music education, I practically lost hope of being able to compose this beautiful kind of music. After watching your videos, I am willing to start over. Thank you so much!

[@hillithwatts7050]

All the best for your endeavours!!

[@gaopinghu7332]

Never give up.

[@Anneshaw6]

Never give up ❤

[@SangNguyen-zu8hs]

.

[@jacktherabbit2238]

You give up, they win. you keep going? Regardless of success, you win.

[@RW1A]

I came here after one of my friends insulted me by saying the music i made is just garage band beats, so i came here to learn composition to shut him up. This is actually a good video and helps find me some software i could use that works, thank you.

[@TheIkgn]

Don’t let others get you down! You got this

[@bettylyles9409]

No matter how long you’ve been a musician/composer, it’s good to go back to the basics because there’s always something more to learn. Thanks for this awesome video!

[@dreamvinestudio]

Well said.

[@nickmuzekari6124]

This channel is the best, hoping to see more videos from you regarding the process, i.e. deeper dives, expanding on the composition, etc.!

[@marekadrspach5845]

This channel is simply breath-taking! Just a simple, short and yet great tutorial. This channel is very underrated, keep up the good work 🙌.

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Don, thanks so much for your kind words and support. I'm glad you found the video useful!

[@jamescalvey5273]

Another top quality video! Informative, easy to follow and professionally presented as always!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much for your positive feedback!

[@micwarren21]

I found this channel about a week ago. The content is presented in a clear and very useful way to get started immediately. I'm very happy with my subscription and checked notifications on. He delivers the material in a short period of time where other sites take four times as long and don't cover it as clearly as this site. Thank you

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Michael, thanks so much for your feedback, support and subscription!

[@erichcuenco65]

This channel is one of a kind! the BEst easy to understand! keep it up!

[@atlassilverbraid]

Hola. Great video. I watched to get help but realised I was doing what you suggest anyway without previously realising. I go back to my DAW with renewed impetus and confidence.

[@nicholaslockepiano2279]

Hi Simon, I just wanted to say that these videos you're making are so valuable to me, especially the orchestration stuff. You have a serious talent for this, not sure if you're a teacher/lecturer, but these will help so many aspiring composers out there (like myself). They are really concise and high-quality, I just wish these videos where available when I was in high school, would have saved me a lot of time and student loans. Subscribed!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Nicholas, thanks so much for your comment. Yes I am actually a teacher, but I spend most of my time teaching drums! I'm so glad you are finding the videos useful! Thanks for the support!

[@nicholaslockepiano2279]

@@composingacademy8270 I downloaded your free beginners guide and it was really well made and succinct (much like your videos) and I very much appreciate that you generously do all of this for free. However, have you considered expanding your website and creating a more extensive tutorial package? Possibly even online classes, composition critique, or mentoring? Given the quality of your content, I feel like people would be willing to pay money for extra services. Just something to think about as your channel grows, definitely keep making these videos, but I think the amount of work you put into this is worth more than adsense revenue can provide.

[@therealmattmann]

@@nicholaslockepiano2279 I agree completely. I think many people would be willing to pay for such concise education without all the *fluff* that so many sites use to fill time in their videos.

[@rik-keymusic160]

I really love to listen to you. Your voice is really good and you talk not to fast like some other content creators do. They often go super fast and that gets me really nervous at times 😅 you doing a great job here! Thank you ! 🙏

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Richard, Thank you so much for your comment. My dialogue speed is something that I'm very aware of - I think I actually need to slow it down a little more! Thanks for your kind words!

[@CarlineFrancois]

Thank you for this tutorial. It gave me a refresher.🎵🎶🎵

[@andrewleebunting]

Excellent video. So well delivered, you have a real skill for teaching this stuff. Subscribed!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for supporting my channel & your positive comments!

[@4511702]

Your channel deserves way more publicity. Great organized content.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@vedmishra5081]

NO ONE IN THE WORLD LIKE COMPOSING ACADEMY ..... HE TEACHES US IN 10 MINUTES WHICH I COULD NOT LEARN IN 20 YEARS .. GREAT JOB THANKS A LOT

[@composingacademy8270]

Oh my word, thank you so much for your kind words! Your comment definitely bought a smile to my face!

[@SIBOVELD]

These videos are great and simple to follow. I'd like to be able to compose orchestral music for personal use in my DAW but have only basic music theory knowledge. I've played some instruments bat school but never learnt about chords, etc. I have a good ear but not sure how to start? Any recommendations? I'd like to find some 1:1 training if possible

[@mortengu1385]

wow, thanks... this is a perfect first tutorial to make something that actually sounds good... keep up the good work on the channel!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Morten, thanks so much for the support and for watching!

[@neozoid7009]

Awesome stuffs got what I needed , Thanks for this awesome video

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, you are very welcome, thank you for watching!

[@robbijb8]

I thank you cause I just learn more about chord progressions and it's amazing how I could recognize some of them in popular musics.

[@composingacademy8270]

You are welcome, I am pleased you have found it useful!

[@abtextiles912]

Wonderful tutorial!

[@composingacademy8270]

I am so pleased you found it useful, thank you for watching!

[@jakepeng9962]

Thank you.

[@iantrigue6159]

This channel is so good! I've learnt so much

[@composingacademy8270]

Happy to hear that! Thank you so much!

[@delroycampbell198]

Very Nice style, love it keep up the good works Simon

[@composingacademy8270]

Many thanks!

[@UttamghoshMusic]

very helpful... thank you...

[@composingacademy8270]

You're welcome, thank you for watching, I appreciate it!

[@4theLifeOfTae]

Wow this is nice thanks, If you haven't already, could you make a video about composing for already exisiting vocals for example People who do lyrics first then need to come up with a suitable backing track

[@muddycube-theboringytchann9036]

Great video - straight to the point!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks for watching!

[@dreamvinestudio]

Awesome tutorial! Thank you!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you and thanks for watching!

[@weeeBloom]

i really loved your tutorial. thank you!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you - I'm glad it was useful!

[@5966ramesh]

Absolutely Beautiful. Thank you.

[@composingacademy8270]

Many thanks!

[@LaRana08]

This is so goood!

[@MathClcks]

i am interested in piano music, i always listen to relaxing music while workin, but after watching this video i will try to make my own melody by following your steps. thank you

[@TheGazzadj]

Just stumbled across your channel, and blown away by how well things are explained. As a returning piano player, and I say piano player not pianist as I am a returning learner from many years ago, I own Live 11 and normally produce dance music but I am also interested in writing basic film scores. I think I must have watched seven of your videos in succession and have found the information invaluable. I look forward to more, hopefully of the beginner tips and advice and tutorials similar to this one. Glad I found your channel.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much for the positive feedback. I'm glad you found the videos informative. I have Live 9 which I've used occasionally, but looking to upgrade to 11, so I can one day record some videos about writing film score/cinematic music using it. Thanks for watching!

[@TheGazzadj]

@@composingacademy8270 I look forward to that, I also have East West Composer Cloud subscription but at the moment it is somewhat wasted as it is too advanced for me at the moment. Buy in haste repent at leisure ha ha.

[@h0pesfall]

This channel is gold! Thank you

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for the kind words :-)

[@h0pesfall]

@@composingacademy8270 you are welcome ☺️ just a suggestion: could you make a tutorial about quantization, please? ☺️

[@antonellorepetto6033]

Congratulations all very interesting!!

[@teashea1]

Very good video - baby steps - organized - good production values

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you, appreciate that!

[@lokigl4871]

I´m serious when i say this, i have tried to make music myself and couldn´t make it sound good, i saw this video and made a pretty nice song, thanks man!

[@composingacademy8270]

These are the comments I love, I am so pleased it has helped you on your composing journey! Thank you for watching!

[@ALollygagginWorld]

I have found you videos really informative. I love listening to orchestral music and have no music back ground, but recently I have been drumming some stuff in Cakewalk DAW after understanding the fundamental part of music. I shall keep practicing and learning with hopes I doing trailer music, which I love 🖖

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for the comment. Really pleased you are finding them useful. Happy Composing!

[@Markrspooner]

In future, I will direct beginners to composition to this video as it is one of the best explainers of the basic principles I have seen. I agree with another comment that the next stage would be to show how you can use these basic principles to create different emotions and energy level of music.

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Mark, thank you so much for your comment and feedback. Yep I've made note of the suggestions for the future videos - watch this space!

[@Nimatarsetar]

Fantastic video, Simon.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much, I am so pleased you liked it!

[@BA-bc2vv]

amazing, so neat,so helpful

[@composingacademy8270]

So pleased you have found it useful, thank you!

[@kiland3d]

simple, short, conprehensive... great efficiency! perfect for a beginner! (it's written in the title ;) )... thanks a lot

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you found it useful!

[@sudhanva-bhat]

Amazing, simple and well demonstrated. Thank you for this. I wish I could buy you a coffee :)

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much, just a comment & being a subscriber helps me and my channel so thank you for being part of the community!

[@RameshKumar-yk4kl]

💥💥💥 Awsome

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you so much, so pleased you liked it!

[@Daniel-lc6ol]

thank you so much

[@composingacademy8270]

You're welcome, thank you for watching!

[@chilkaswami]

very nicely explained.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks so much! I hope you found it useful

[@alexshi-ban6825]

Man, thanks!

[@blackforestbeamer]

i love and use since a long time BBC symphonic orchestra from spitfireaudio, amazing instruments. i will try also the soft piano

[@composingacademy8270]

I haven't actually used the BBC Symphonic Orchestra (apart from the Discover version) but I love the soft piano!

[@yvanroustan4426]

HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE SAD, DRAMA, UPTIFTING, ROMANCE simple tracks will be the next ! Thank you very much for sharing your musical knowledge !

[@composingacademy8270]

Thanks for watching and for the video suggestions - watch this space!

[@Boinzy476]

Thank you for this! I'd love to see a followup video where you arrange and orchestrate this piece.

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, yes an orchestration on this particular piece is on my list to do!

[@nickmuzekari6124]

@@composingacademy8270 Any progress on orchestrating this piece? I'd love to see that as well. This is my favorite composing channel and as a beginner I'd love to see more in-depth stuff added to learn from.

[@patrickomalley1513]

Very informative for a beginner. How do I get different colours for the notes on Cubase? All mine are the same colour. Thanks

[@nchangcute2539]

Very good explanation.. thanks sir.

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you for watching!

[@rickhood]

I have been all over KZbin for 2+ years now in my "getting back into music" thing and this is by far the best "how to write a song" out there, thank you! Is arpeggio sort of a subset of ostinato -- an ostinato that only contains notes of a chord? When composing for orchestra, do you usually start with piano, then move piano midi into other instruments when you orchestrate it, then add and alter as needed?

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Richard, thanks so much for your kind words - I'm glad you found the video useful! I like to think that an arpeggio and ostinato are closely linked - but yes an arpeggio only contains notes of the chord You could have a single arpeggio, which in that case, wouldn't make it an ostinato, because it wouldn't repeat. When composing for orchestra, I would normally use a piano sound just to come up with some initial ideas, such as a short melody or chord progression. Pretty quickly though, I start writing and orchestrating straight into the DAW using Samples, as I find the orchestration can help inspire me to write the next bit! I hope that helps! Please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any further questions!

[@neargrog685]

As a beginner, this was really well put together & easy to understand. I use Dreams - which is a PlayStation game, or rather game creation system but it has a brilliant music creation system. I only play Dreams to create music. I’m going to use this video to help me create something new right now 👍

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you! I haven't heard of Dreams - I'll have to check it out :-)

[@neargrog685]

@@composingacademy8270 The music creator looks a lot like the program you were using in video except you use game controller to navigate. It’s a really underrated application in my opinion & great for someone who doesn’t have access to all the tech displayed in your video (although you need a game console). I made a track later that day using your tips. I went with chord progression 2. It sounds pretty good! Next time I’ll arrange something a little more complex

[@JJones-xt8id]

I use the same soundfont a lot. In musescore.

[@jkdrake1]

Thanks for this. Is the melody just moved an octave when using the same notes?

[@SauvCityOfficial]

Hey man excellent tutorial ❤but I have an question that any DAW can work to compose piano piece like ableton in my case I glad if you reply this question

[@Breeze_of_feb]

Finally i get the best music composing video🤓 Thanks to you sir

[@composingacademy8270]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@johnhill762]

Show us your music!

[@Breeze_of_feb]

@@johnhill762 I am still learning so 😅😅😅😅 do you like music too??

[@cannonsword1]

I wanted to get in to making music but had no idea how to do it, thanks for making this

[@composingacademy8270]

You are very welcome, happy composing!

[@daddydanny5588]

love yr channel ..

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@FinnEcesMusic]

Quote powerful actually

[@Excellentness]

Like your vids bro

[@AMatroskin]

thanks so much, but how about the structure of composition entirely? I can't find something about it.

[@boudjouraftalal6859]

thank you ;)

[@composingacademy8270]

My pleasure!

[@user-jk6eu8rn5r]

TANKS MAN!. I create my first song project!.

[@composingacademy8270]

Excellent! So pleased!

[@daniloapostolov-dacatv1536]

I compose minuet for piano. And aria for piano.

[@nicolaberti7698]

Wow thank you so much for this video. Extremely valuable. I hadn't realized how much I tend to overcomplicate the melodies and also I don't let them develop more slowly. Two key things I believe! Do you remember what was the tempo for this example? Thanks!

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Nicola, I'm glad the video proved useful! Yes often the best melodies are the most simple ones! The tempo for the piece was 120bpm

[@nicolaberti7698]

@@composingacademy8270 Thank you for your reply! :)

[@michaelnovet117]

When you did the ostinatos at the end, did they replace the original harmony (just playing each chord in sequence) or were they an addition on top of the melody and the harmony?

[@Fildoggy]

They are just the harmony, so instead of playing all 3 chord notes at once it goes 1-3-2-3

[@zaqareemalcolm]

So sorry in advance to be asking this kind of weird question, but should i be learning to compose simple things or complex things? Or is this one of those "depends on what you want to do as an artist" things? I'm restarting music after a break for some years, and I got as far as writing a 10 bars of a chord progression so far, but I'm not sure if I'm being ambitious enough, or it's too ambitious (ie.unecessarily difficult) for my skill level. At the very least, I (think) I'm happy with what I wrote so far though.

[@Tv_sam123]

Hey Simon, I received a email about that if i have received the free guide of Composing. Which is yes. Thank you for this great free resource!. I'm a bit careful of replying on emails so i choose the reply on KZbin. Sorry for the inconvenient Thank you for the hard work you

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, thank you for your response, glad you received the document and I hope you find it useful!

[@greyngreyer5]

How do I do pianissimo and crescendo in DAWs?

[@Trash-Beats]

Is not simple for us that don’t know music theory😂 but I followed everything step by step in my daw so I’ll study it every day thanks Simon

[@composingacademy8270]

Many thanks for watching - I hope it will be easy to follow in your DAW!

[@Xonatron]

11:56 - why does it make sense for to re-order the last chords for the piece to feel like it's come to a natural ending?

[@Xonatron]

Coming back 4 months later with a bit more insight, is it to end with a C major chord because we are playing within the C scale and it feels conclusive to end (to resolve) with the base note of the scale you are in?

[@HarryRollisProductions]

This music tho in the library video... it sounds like something from Pirates of the Caribbean

[@H039in]

Класс!

[@composingacademy8270]

Thank you!

[@JessiIsHere]

Hello sir. I have a question. I’m a complete beginner on music composing but I’m an expert at playing the piano and I know something about music theory. I also heard a tone of music genres. Will this video be too easy for me to learn?

[@composingacademy8270]

If you are new to composing, hopefully it shouldn't be too easy!

[@orchestralhymns]

Usually my compositions follow this order: 1 - chord progression 2 - Melody 3 - dynamics 4 - mixing 5 - mastering I use Sibelius and Reaper... Thank you for tips and tricks

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, yes that's usually the workflow order that I go through when writing. It can be interesting to try coming up with a melody first and then harmonising that as well!

[@orchestralhymns]

@@composingacademy8270 Thanks 👏👏👏...

[@PiyaChoudhari]

How can we compose without this software like how old people used to compose without software because i don't have sucha software so i want to learn first how to make it withoutan app or any software

[@lschmidtmre]

Great material, thank you. It would help to speak a bit more slowly, for the benefit of non-native speakers.

[@FlowElectron]

Woah I have sat in that room Well done this is a really good video (Definitely not Louis)

[@composingacademy8270]

Haha hi Louis! Glad you like the video!

[@ag_supersonic]

The link for the piano instrument doesn't seem to be working.

[@composingacademy8270]

Apologies, I think Spitfire must have changed the address. I've updated the link so it should work now

[@normg2242]

You must live in Europe or the UK. I can tell by the roof window...lol Nice tutorial, thanks!

[@composingacademy8270]

Yes I am in the UK you are correct! Thanks for watching!

[@johngough2958]

I've always started with the melody - never with a chord progression! It just seems wrong to do it the other way round.

[@BrettILevine]

😃

[@joseph.cotter]

Something I just noticed is that in the midi keyboard representation, c3 is middle c (c0-c7) whereas on a piano, c4 is middle c (c1-c8). Very confusing and something I've never seen pointed out.

[@d_rivadeneyra]

This would've come in handy when I was 13yo and composing the sounds of hell

[@haidaralhaibi4416]

I always wanted to play an instrument, Iam 26 I have no musical education but music runs in my blood.

[@tuck295q]

brdige....i need to know bridge

[@ananthir4504]

Hello sir!!! Nice video. But I found a small mistake in it..... The plural form of ostinato is ostinati not ostinatos

[@composingacademy8270]

Ah thank you! I didn't know that, so will make sure to add the correction to my future content!

[@memy4460]

Please note, the link to the free piano samples doesn't work anymore.

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, thank you for this, it looks like they have changed their link, will update & repost. Appreciate you letting me know.

[@robbijb8]

The second progression sound like Forever Young- by Jay-Z.

[@composingacademy8270]

Have never compared but will check it out! Thanks for the comparison.

[@Xaforn]

Ugh I wish I understood music theory better….I want to play music to my poetry/songs I write

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi, I haven't done a music theory video myself yet, however the David Bennett theory video is great and would highly recommend!

[@jimmy-jh6tk]

inspired by hiroyuki sawano, now im here lmao

[@michalpolivka6208]

😢 those paralel fifths is killing me

[@ashleybyrd2015]

I get that it's hard to initially gain subscribers on youtube but please don't insert that subscribe animation every minute (if you absolutely have to, please keep it at the start and end), it's rather jarring and makes it hard to focus on the contents of the video. Great video :)

[@composingacademy8270]

Hi Ashley, many thanks for your honest feedback. I'll make sure to take on board your advice for subsequent videos, in order to improve them. Thank you!

[@vastacks_9126]

IF ANYBODY HAS MORE NOTES I CAN USE. REPLY. TEACH ME HOW TO COMPOSE BY REPLYING

[@SnailyTheSnail]

Screamig at people will get you nowhere. The video is supposed to help you. Just watch maybe? Or are you too impatient?

[@vastacks_9126]

@@SnailyTheSnail u have any notes? But I'm talking about not of this video.

[@SnailyTheSnail]

@@vastacks_9126 I know nothing bro, I'm here to learn, just like you