How do you actually learn how to compose music? [duplicate]

Question

How do you compose a rock song like the person in the video?

I've gone through all the books and video tutorials and I still don't know how to make music.

I just want to make songs like the person in the video and put the song I made onto sheet music.

Are there any books/video tutorials that you recommend that can actually teach you how to compose music?

Answer 1

The best way to learn to compose is the same way that you learned to speak:

1. Listen to a LOT of music.
2. Try to imitate what you listened to.
3. Eventually, when you have figured out what is going on (at the subconscious level, not by learning a lot of theoretical ideas), you will start "making your own music" rather than copying someone else's.
4. Somewhere along the way, you can start learning some "music theory" - but remember that the average 5-year-old kid can communicate pretty well by talking, without ever learning anything about English grammar - and note that reading and writing are very different skills from speaking!

Warning - this may take several years, and the best time to start is probably the same time that you started learning to speak - i.e. at birth, or arguably even before birth, since a fetus in the womb can apparently hear and react to external sounds.

Answer 2

Clever though the guy is in your video, when you try to 'compose by numbers' it is unlikely you will end up with anything very original sounding. In my experience you need to have a catalyst (initial idea) to jump start your composition. A riff or a motif, or a phrase of lyrics - anything that has caught your imagination, and a whole song can develop from this.

Books and videos are all well and good, but they might tend to be missing that vital aspect of the initial inspiration that would make your song unique to you.