How Do I Begin Composing?

At this point in my life, I’ve composed music for some 15 years, I’ve studied classical composition at the collegiate level, and I’ve had works performed both in the United States and abroad. Lately, I find myself reflecting on just how I got started. As I think back on the lessons I’ve learned from my time as a composer, one in particular comes to mind: composing is only as enjoyable as the tools you use.

The romantic in me loves the idea of writing with a pencil and paper. Something about getting my ideas down the old-fashioned way seems so pure. But I’ve never had an experience with composing by hand that didn’t feel extremely tedious. Make a mistake? Erase, erase, erase, possibly smudging the paper in the process. Want to change an idea? The entire measure, or potentially the entire page, needs to be rewritten. And even if one were to notate their ideas perfectly the very first time, doing so takes so much time. Someone who knows what they’re doing may have no problem committing that sort of time to creating music, but if you’re just starting out? Forget about it.

What’s left, then, are digital options, of which there are many. For instance, there are scorewriting programs—Finale, Sibelius, and the like. These platforms are extremely powerful and versatile, but their considerable capacity comes at a cost: such software tends to have steep learning curves. If you aren’t already committed to the act of composing, the frustration from learning how to capture even the simplest of ideas can seem insurmountable. Even Dorico, one of the more intuitive scorewriters on the market, takes for granted a certain level of musical expertise that beginner musicians likely cannot claim. You’ve gotta know exactly what you want before you can get it.

And then there’s MusiQuest. 

My first experience with MusiQuest was nearly six years ago now, and to date I have yet to find a more user-friendly composition platform. It’s designed with kids in mind, but robust enough that adult music students can get just as much value from it. The split second you’ve got an idea, you can click a button or two and materialize it on the MusiQuest note grid. And if you’re coming to the table with no pre-conceived musical ideas, MusiQuest is a great environment for improvising and exploring. Adding, changing, and removing musical ideas is about as easy as anyone could ask for. In short, MusiQuest assumes little-to-no musical know-how, and meets you right where you are.

I think back to my 12-year-old self, eager to express all sorts of musical ideas but utterly unaware of where to start. I remember trying to scribble ideas down in a crummy notebook, barely able to read my own handwriting, feeling overwhelmed at the thought that I would somehow have to render this chicken scratch legible before I could dream of passing it on to a musician to play. I remember stumbling through Finale’s extensive online manual, desperately trying to learn hotkeys and navigating complicated dropdown menus. I remember wishing there was a program that could make composing happen as easily as the music seemed to pop into my head.

Fifteen years later, I’m grateful to be a part of the team that has made that 12-year-old’s wish a reality.

But don’t take my word for it. Give the MusiQuest Song Builder a try and see for yourself just how fun composition—and composition tools—can be.