Bryan Thanh Nguyen's Lounge Discussions

Without a strong knowledge of music theory and harmony, you will probably not get the results you want just by getting a computer program. Beyond the theory, you would also need some working knowledge of texture, orchestral doublings, not to mention working in any kind of music forms and structures. I agree with some of these other folks that you would be better served to sit down with a real composer and talk through your ideas, even just humming theme, and let that person work them out for you. This is exactly how Paul McCartney "wrote" his larger orchestral works (working with Carl Davis) and how he "wrote" many of the instrumental parts for The Beatles' songs (working with George Martin).

People learn music all the time from scratch - I did. Most often they start with either guitar and piano. While not specific to film music - there are myriads of instances of musicians and bands who have well known and great tracks who never learned anything formal through lessons. However, they developed their sounds and style over very long periods of practice and experience interacting with other musicians. On the other hand, a large fraction of the world famous ones, did start young and often had some sort of formal training even if it was a completely different genre. Now film composing, especially 'symphonic' as you mentioned in your question can be a completely different beast from say playing guitar chords for folk, country, church or writing a country tune or even a jazz improvisation. It requires the same sort of stamina and training as say an engineer or a software computer programmer since you are working in 'multiple dimensions'. You need to learn the techniques of nuances of each instrument, how to properly combine the instruments together to make the 'sound' you want and then learning the general principle of formal composing techniques applicable to writing to any group of instruments/ensemble whether it be classical, jazz, big band, orchestra, or even gospel choir. If that is the direction you want to move in, as others have stated, you want to get some formal training. First on the basics, often done with piano or guitar and then go more advanced to writing for groups of instruments/ensembles. Everyone learns at that own pace but this is no small task - it will take 'years' to get to the 'playing field' (unless you are a 'prodigy' :) ) Now keep in mind that for film music there are really two types - there is the orchestral score stuff but there is also pre-recorded music stuff that can be most anything at any level of complexity. So for example, many films just have a simple solo acoustic guitar playing cues in the background. That could be your 'calling'. The bottom line as I tell people is in my opinion any music you write is artistic and 'legitimate'. It doesn't have to be as sophisticated as John Williams, Hans Zimmer or Alan Silvestri to work.

You did not specifically say you wanted to create film music, if that is your goal, there is something of extreme importance that no one commented on. SYNC. Even the great Sony Rollins had trouble with this when he scored Alfie - and he never scored another film even after his awards. (Because it nearly killed him). The human brain processes sound faster than sight. Because of our natural instinct to recognize rhythm we are lured into thinking it is easy. For our brains to be fooled that many pictures going by quickly is actual movement; results from seeing frames move at around 1/23rd of a second (frame rate) for our brains to be fools that audio is happening along with the picture (Synchronization) the sound matching the picture needs to be within one MILLISECOND! It takes an amazing amount of work and study to accomplish this needed math joined at the hip with music. It's why the Auricle time processor recieved an academy award back in the '70's, and before that huge set of gold guided books full of formulas were used. No matter what your goal - music lessons benefit you on many levels. Those who studied a wind instrument when they were around the age of ten increased their I.Q's by ten points higher than those who didn't. Stroke victims recover better if they already knew how to play a musical instrument. It is the constancy of chipping away each day that is key (consistent practice) There are a lot of software out there that can be a lot of fun, and it can bring you joy. Today's culture is all about praising. I would rather find out from a teacher if I am on the right track. Your Mom and friends will always thinK you are wonderful. If you have the talent and want to get the songs out of your head - a good teacher will put you on a real path and not a platitude. I Agee with Joel, there are many genres and and degrees of sophistication in music that are all legitimate. What I'm trying to say is - the hard work is totally worth it! Becoming musically "literate" (knowing how to read and write) is totally worth it! If you have an iPad "Notateme" it is a great way to hear what you have written, and perhaps a great way to get you started.

And there is nothing like professional feedback. I have now been going to Houston Community College for 12 years now (that's a 2 year college :) ). Obviously not for a degree. I am being mentored by not only arguably the top jazz pianist in Houston but he is a wonderful and very talented orchestral and chamber composer. In composition class he will review my works artistically, not just my jazz and classical pieces but also all my film scores. This past Monday I brought the popcorn (last class of the spring semester) and we watched the whole 35 minute film I just finished scoring (about 30 minutes of cues). I came with 27 pages of scores for 14 cues covering 584 bars of multi-instrument music (slow music or it would have been more bars :) ) - and all of it was reviewed and critiqued. Sometimes I had really great suggestions for improvement and others times, he just liked what he heard.

Yes agreed with everything Joel said. If you haven't yet, start listening to NPR and baroque/classical/romantic composers and find somebody that inspires you. Start listening to the chord progressions of the greatest composers and figure out the small bits that they have in common.

Ok. Plain and simple - it works. Has texture, I can identify two distinct parts. Many voices - well produced. Good supporting percussion. Can serve many supporting purposes (video games or film or animation, for example). And I commend you for writing a minor piece NOT in A minor - I believe it is in E minor. What you might want to consider: 1. Pretty much the same 'chord progression' throughout - something like Em, D, C, B7 (or equivalent). If this is really an epic - consider modulating up for emphasis at the end. Also think of someway to depart from this 'repetition' and perhaps add a bridge or equivalent somewhere in the middle. 2. The tempo is very regular and supported through a constant 1/8th note repetition/ostinato. It could get 'worn' in some listeners ears after a while. Why not vary or mix up the tempo or even the melodic structure with varied time signatures or changing rhythms - at least with the percussion. 3. You have a base line on the right which is extremely regular with 8th notes. Why? first of all, the bass line can have varied rhythms and who says it has to constantly be on the root? consider adding a 'counter melodic' line with the base line. 4. Why does everything have to be playing almost all the time? why not single instrument solos - you can use it for added texture - or even a percussion solo, for example. All the comments above are considerations for the composition end. I normally don't comment on the arrangement or production end (i.e., what your synths or samples sound like, for example). Others here tend to do that.

Thank you for all your input Joel! Your advice was spot on. I'll be sure to keep in mind with my next session.

Thank you Kathryn!