Today is the very first day of “The 21-day Composition Challenge”. I chose the following “quests” from 21-days-of-VGM’s Quest Logs Level 1:

  • The Forgotten Beats
    Write a melody that starts on beat 2 or 3. Most melodies start on the first beat of the measure, but starting on beat 2 or 3 can create a neat sense of anticipation or surprise.
  • A Minor Challenge
    Compose a piece in a minor key. It doesn’t have to be any more complicated than writing a piece in a Major key, and you should be comfortable with both.

Reading the description of the quests, I started to get an image of a melody which starts from beat 2 or 3.  I opened up my DAW and started working on a rough sketch, by recording the piano track with improvisations.  Then I edited the tracks I recorded, cut the parts I didn’t like then re-record it, and add or move some notes manually.

 

Once this rough sketch is done, I wrote it down.  I don’t always do this step, but it helps me organize my ideas, like stepping back and looking at the big picture.

While working on the notation, I changed some parts again to shape the track. After that, I went back to DAW and started to track notes based on the sheet music.  Then I began to feel like I wanted to play the melody with a sound like Clarinet.  So, I added a track for Clarinet.

 

 

After finishing tracking notes, I played it and still, some parts sound weird. I changed the chords, add 2 bars after measure 14 and 16 and repeat the parts, changed key partially, changed chords here and there.. to make it sound better. While working on it, I started to want some arpeggio along with the piano.  I wanted something high-pitch and thought of the sound of either Glockenspiel or Celesta.  I tried both and chose Celesta.  I added the arpeggio manually.

 

After tracking is done, I adjusted some volumes and added some plugins (like reverb, limiter, etc),  Then I bounced the track!

Here’s my Day1 track, with a melody that starts on beat 2, plus in the minor key!

Thanks for checking this out!  I have 20 days to go!  If you have any tips to share, please let me know!

(UPDATED August 2018)

I went ahead and finalized this sketch. Now it’s available at our Royalty-Free Music Shop, so please check this out!