My Advice for Beginning Composers

I share some of my most useful advice for beginning composers that no one told me in music school. If you wanted to be treated more professionally, or pursue composing as a career, these tips should be massively helpful to you.
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Time Stamps:
00:00 - Intro
00:27 - 1. Have a Personal Website or Portfolio
01:33- 2. Have Impeccable Engraving/Notation Skills
04:07 - 3. Invest in Tools and Software
06:16 - 4. Compose More
🎹 Who Am I:
I'm Carlos, a composer from Chicago. I currently am studying music composition at University, and I create insightful videos on both composing and productivity. I hope that musicians of all backgrounds will find value from the videos I create!
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If you'd like to leave a small message or question, feel free to leave a comment in the TH-cam comment section and I'll easily be able to answer. If you have a longer question, request, or business inquiry, contact me through my website: carloslalonde.com/contact

[@ToastedCigar]

You're right, tip #4 is so obvious but also so damn important. Being a pro composer means that often you just have to churn out something even if you don't feel like it.

[@antoniogallegos4038]

Note flight is the best!!

[@Zazi_Ndebele]

Since lockdown started I got Sibelius because musescore is painful to use and I was not enjoying composing with it. Videos like these are very helpful!

[@nomadfc4342]

actually sibelius is much of a pain too

[@CarlosLalonde]

I think MuseScore is fantastic for those dipping their feet in composing and it has a lot of great tools and features. However, when composers want to go to the "next level" and more efficiently create quality-engraved sheet music, scores, and parts, then Sibelius is the way to go IMO.

[@nomadfc4342]

@@CarlosLalonde yeah i'm currently using both but i am nowhere near the level of sheet music dictation of a pro but musescore it visually more easy to beginners and for transcribing purposes it's good

[@sheeb2855]

Are there certain orchestrations that are easier to write in? Like would it be easier for a beginner composer to write a string quartet for example as opposed to a symphony?

[@Jwellsuhhuh]

It’s personal preference, there are infinite different ways that people sketch works and orchestrate.
I personally visualize the piece (main melody and some harmony) in my head and figure out what kind of ensemble size I want and what specific instruments, then I’ll open that ensemble in the software and write the parts that I know on a few instruments, sometimes just sticking to string quartet, and then over time just fill the rest in where I see fit.
There’s no perfect way to write and each method has its own pros and cons. Sometimes you might change the ensemble over time as you develop the piece and listen to the software demo, or if the ensemble you’re writing for adds or remove available players.
So in terms of actual writing “difficulty”, obviously writing for more instruments is more work but the larger the ensemble, you can also get away with doubling parts and leaving some instruments empty a lot of the time. So the real difficulty probably comes in more if you’re writing for a instrument you haven’t written for before, especially if it has technical limitations, and you have to make compromises to avoid writing something too difficult or impossible.
But I doubt that difficulty alone often discourages composers to write for specific ensemble types. It’s really more about what you want your piece to be for and what instruments you have around you that are willing to play the piece.

[@CarlosLalonde]

It definitely depends on the person and what their skillsets are, but usually the simpler the better. I usually tend to orchestrate big works in a piano score since it keeps things concise and clear for my formal framework of a piece.

[@superblondeDotOrg]

Dorico is best 04:40 🤪