# I sometimes compose music. Its simplistic, but I hope not worthless. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057 "2011-11-06T14:47:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/1 "2011-11-06T14:47:25Z")
Got a new piano (after over a decade without regular access to one). I write music for piano at about the level I play–which is not a high level at all. But I try to make it meritorious anyway. So here’s what I just wrote: [http://www.mediafire.com/?a1es6o5ufe5gpsr](http://www.mediafire.com/?a1es6o5ufe5gpsr) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/2 "2011-11-06T16:30:31Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/3 "2011-11-06T17:26:08Z")
That’s simplistic? Geta loada this…(enjoyed it BTW) I can’t read music so I play (and sing) by ear. When I write a song I pick out the notes and write them down as (ex.) “G” above middle C. Like in the teaching phrase Every Good Boy Does Fine. :eek: A lot of them suck. But there are a couple that I can really see as getting recorded. We have a Songwriter’s Conference here every year. But I can’t go clutching a wide-ruled sheet of paper and explain, “See? That note is below middle C. You can tell because there’s an arrow pointing down…” I think you play really well and I’m jealous. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/4 "2011-11-06T17:48:19Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > That’s simplistic? Geta loada this…(enjoyed it BTW) I can’t read music so I play (and sing) by ear. When I write a song I pick out the notes and write them down as (ex.) “G” above middle C. Like in the teaching phrase Every Good Boy Does Fine. :eek: > A lot of them suck. But there are a couple that I can really see as getting recorded. We have a Songwriter’s Conference here every year. But I can’t go clutching a wide-ruled sheet of paper and explain, “See? That note is below middle C. You can tell because there’s an arrow pointing down…” > I think you play really well and I’m jealous. Thanks! But heh, for the record that’s not a recording. It’s a midi performance of the composition. I notated it using the free online music notation software Noteflight. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/5 "2011-11-07T05:42:13Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > That’s simplistic? Geta loada this…(enjoyed it BTW) I can’t read music so I play (and sing) by ear. When I write a song I pick out the notes and write them down as (ex.) “G” above middle C. Like in the teaching phrase Every Good Boy Does Fine. :eek: > A lot of them suck. But there are a couple that I can really see as getting recorded. We have a Songwriter’s Conference here every year. But I can’t go clutching a wide-ruled sheet of paper and explain, “See? That note is below middle C. You can tell because there’s an arrow pointing down…” > I think you play really well and I’m jealous. Below is an example of my own self-invented notation system. It sounds similar to yours. verses: GEDCDEEEGEDCE / EGEDCDEEEGEDCD / CEEECEEECEEECE / EGEDCDEEEGEDCDC chorus: FAAAAAAA[beat]FAAA / C^AGFGAAAC^AFGF / GAAAAAAAGAAAAA / C^AGFGAAAC^AGFGF bridge i: FGAAAAAAC^AGFAC^AGFGAA / AC^AFGFGAC^C^AC^AFGGGF / AC^C^AFFGC^AFAC^C^AFFGGGA / AC^C^AFFGC^C^AFFGC^C^AFGGGF bridge ii: AC^C^AFFGC^AFFGC^C^AFFGA / C^C^AFAC^C^AFGC^AGAF / FDFFFDFFFDFFFD / FAFDFDFFGAFDFF I actually regard myself as a lyricist, but couldn’t find any real musicians to write melodies. So one day at a late “everything must go” moment of a garage sale, I was given a keyboard, and started plunking out melodies. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/6 "2011-11-07T19:36:30Z")
> [@Sam\_A.Robrin](#): > > Below is an example of my own self-invented notation system. It sounds similar to yours. > > verses: GEDCDEEEGEDCE / EGEDCDEEEGEDCD / CEEECEEECEEECE / EGEDCDEEEGEDCDC > chorus: FAAAAAAA[beat]FAAA / C^AGFGAAAC^AFGF / GAAAAAAAGAAAAA / C^AGFGAAAC^AGFGF > bridge i: FGAAAAAAC^AGFAC^AGFGAA / AC^AFGFGAC^C^AC^AFGGGF / AC^C^AFFGC^AFAC^C^AFFGGGA / AC^C^AFFGC^C^AFFGC^C^AFGGGF > bridge ii: AC^C^AFFGC^AFFGC^C^AFFGA / C^C^AFAC^C^AFGC^AGAF / FDFFFDFFFDFFFD / FAFDFDFFGAFDFF > I actually regard myself as a lyricist, but couldn’t find any real musicians to write melodies. So one day at a late “everything must go” moment of a garage sale, I was given a keyboard, and started plunking out melodies. Good grief. You been in my house?lol That actually looks like it almost, except I put the “tails” on the arrows. Are there other people like us? Is our style valid and not stupid? (Feel like I’ve landed in a foreign country and understand the language somehow.) Wow. Oh, I’m a lyricist, too, but I know what the notes should be. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/7 "2011-11-07T21:35:16Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Are there other people like us? Is our style valid and not stupid? It’s similar to a form of text based notation called “abc” you might be interested in, which can be processed via software in various ways - into standard notation, MIDI output, etc. - you can read about it [here](http://abcnotation.com/blog/2010/01/31/how-to-understand-abc-the-basics/). ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/8 "2011-11-08T08:02:36Z")
> [@zombywoof](#): > > It’s similar to a form of text based notation called “abc” you might be interested in, which can be processed via software in various ways - into standard notation, MIDI output, etc. - you can read about it [here](http://abcnotation.com/blog/2010/01/31/how-to-understand-abc-the-basics/). You confused me with “software,” lost me at “standard notation,” and blew my mind with MIDI output. But when I clicked on the link I almost cried. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-sometimes-compose-music-its-simplistic-but-i-hope-not-worthless/602057/9 "2011-11-08T16:17:57Z")
It’s nice. I agree that it’s rather technically simplistic, but the actual meat of the composition is pretty good. My only complaint is that I’d like to hear the beginning chordal simplicity come back towards the end. In other words, reprise the beginning. But that’s the easy stuff. Creating it in the first place is hard. And, other than that, you got the feel of a real piece. Now hopefully you can do a recording of you actually playing it, so it won’t sound like a robot. 😛