Q&A for How to Write a Song for Piano

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Question

What is the I chord?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

The I chord is the tonic chord, or the chord of the key in which the piece is based.

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Question

How do you write music for a song?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

This would require knowledge of basic music theory concepts. wikiHow has a plethora of articles on how to do this.

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Question

I want to compose my own music but I do not know how to compose and record. What should I do?

Michael Noble, PhD
Professional Pianist
Michael Noble is a professional concert pianist who received his PhD in Piano Performance from the Yale School of Music. He is a previous contemporary music fellow of the Belgian American Educational Foundation and has performed at Carnegie Hall and at other venues across the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Michael Noble, PhD

Professional Pianist

Expert Answer

I would recommend reading other wikiHow articles on how to compose and record before writing your own song. If you're able to pick out tunes on an instrument such as the guitar or piano, then you can easily record these on a device such as your smartphone without having knowledge of how to write music.

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Question

If I'm 10, what should I start with to write songs in the future?

Community Answer

Start pressing keys and see what sounds good to you. Also, listen to a few songs played on piano to see what they did.

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Question

How do you write a very good song?

Community Answer

One point of writing a good song is not making it seem common, while still being a little catchy. Find what suits you and make it work.

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Question

How long will it take to write a song?

Community Answer

It depends on how long or elaborate you want your piece to be (since longer and more complicated pieces usually take longer to write). It also depends on how much of a perfectionist you are. The time varies for everyone.

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What type of piano music should I try?

Community Answer

Don't feel like you should limit yourself to what you play and write. If you just want to experiment, compose a long song with a bunch of different parts in different genres and types of music.

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Question

What if I do not want any lyrics in the song?

Community Answer

If your chord is made up of chords only, then it's necessary to integrate a melody into your song. However, if your song already has a melody, then you are done!

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Question

What key will make my song sound sad?

Elissa Schwartz

Community Answer

Different keys have different feelings. Major chords have an upbeat, pleasant feeling, whereas minor chords are the ones that invoke sadness. Experiment with different minor keys to see which one you want to write your song in.

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Question

What if I'm insecure? How do I write my own song on sheet music paper?

Community Answer

Writing music is a very fun and enjoyable activity! You don't need to share your music with anybody. Think of it as your own special song. Lots of famous composers and artists went outside the box with ideas for music. Even if you don't like your song because you don't think it sounds "right," it could be revolutionary. If you would like to share your work, but don't want people to know it's you, keep it anonymous or use a pen name.

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Question

I'm making piano music for a school project. I want it to make people have emotions of any type, and not to have a specific genre. Could you help me? And I would like for it to be more advanced.

Community Answer

It really depends on the song. Base your song on a key, and then think of scales that are mostly part of the tonic of the key, and maybe subdominant and dominant. For example, if you chose C, is it major or minor? If you chose minor for example, you could maybe use C melodic minor. What kind of mood do you want to set? There are lots of different scales and modes you could choose from, and each one has a different mood. You should definitely choose a genre. I suggest contemporary. There are lots of great contemporary songs that are simple but sound advanced that you could look at for inspiration.

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Question

What should I do if I'm having writer's block?

Community Answer

Take a walk, relax, and unwind. You shouldn't force the lyrics or the melody, to magically appear. They should come to you when the time is right.

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Question

It is hard for me to write lyrics what do I do?

Chloe

Community Answer

You don't always have to have lyrics, it could be an instrumental, if you don't know what this is, it is a piece of music without any lyrics or words, just notes.

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