I must confess that I'm always a little confused by that question. I can read music, so it makes sense to me that I should be able to write it, just as reading and writing English seem to go together ... if I can play it, I should be able to write it (though some rhythms that I can play are challenging to figure out exactly how to notate).
Except that I know from what others have said that it's not like that for everyone else. I have not yet managed to grok that disconnect.
I can't write everything I can sing or hum, and I'm not great at figuring tunes out by ear, but if I can figure out how to play something on an instrument, I can usually write it down. The trick to writing down something I've made up is to get it to where I can play it the same way enough times in a row while at the same time paying attention to what notes I'm playing and counting time. (If it hasn't "jelled" yet, focussing on those details will wind up changing how I play it.) Scoring a multi-part arrangement is easier if I can get a computer to play back all the parts at once so I can make sure every so often that what I've notated is actually what I had in my head. A piano, which I don't really play yet, is also helpful for composing and arranging multiple-part music. (So glad I've got that Fender-Rhodes upstairs.)
One problem I have is that writing down music is a slow enough process that I keep putting it off, so I've got a backlog of things to transcribe. (But if you want an example, "The Jo-Bug Jig" (http://www.radix.net/~dglenn/words/jo-bug-jig.html) is online, and I'll get around to posting "On Aleksandr's Exile" at some point (probably when the new new HCB (http://www.homespunceilidh.com) album is ready, since it'll be on that. (Actually both tunes will.)
On the one hand there are folks impressed that I can write music at all; on the other there are various people I know -- including several bandmates -- who seem to be better at it than I am. I wouldn't mind having someone who reads but doesn't write music try to explain how music can be a read-only language. I'd like to understand it. (And I wonder whether understanding the phenomenon would be enough for me to know how to teach others to notate music.)
God I wish I could do that. I can't even read music but I get things pop in my head all the time. Usually as accompaniment to my poetry. And I can't write it down! I've had a SATB choral piece in my head for *years* that just doesn't work as a poem because I can't figure out how to get the phrases to overlap the way they would if it was a song. Song, chant, whatever.
Fortunately there is a solution for you! Unfortunately, it costs a little money (how much depends on whether you want a current version or something used that was good enough twenty years ago).
A multitrack tape recorder or digital recorder. For SATB, an old 4-track cassette (such as a Yamaha MT100 (I think that's the model number -- it's been a while) or a PortaStudio) wilo do. It's a portable device that allows you to record tracks all at once (if you have other singers) or one at a time with overdubbing. Then you can play back the assembled parts (adjusting relative volume as needed) and present an audio copy of your arrangement for someone else to learn by ear or try to transcribe or whatever. Or just make sure it works as well as it did in your head.
There are more modern and much more featureful versions (many of which record to a hard disk instead of a cassette tape), but for what you've described, an old 4-track from eBay will likely suffice.
There may be a freeware program to make your computer do something similar.
Learning to read and write musical notation is still useful, but this would at least let you get the arrangements out of your head and into a transmissible form to share with others.
That's my catch22. I can't sing worth a damn. I sure as hell can't sing soprano and bass. And I can't tell anyone else what to sing without proper notation. So either I learn how to write music or I'm sol.
(no subject)
I must confess that I'm always a little confused by that question. I can read music, so it makes sense to me that I should be able to write it, just as reading and writing English seem to go together ... if I can play it, I should be able to write it (though some rhythms that I can play are challenging to figure out exactly how to notate).
Except that I know from what others have said that it's not like that for everyone else. I have not yet managed to grok that disconnect.
I can't write everything I can sing or hum, and I'm not great at figuring tunes out by ear, but if I can figure out how to play something on an instrument, I can usually write it down. The trick to writing down something I've made up is to get it to where I can play it the same way enough times in a row while at the same time paying attention to what notes I'm playing and counting time. (If it hasn't "jelled" yet, focussing on those details will wind up changing how I play it.) Scoring a multi-part arrangement is easier if I can get a computer to play back all the parts at once so I can make sure every so often that what I've notated is actually what I had in my head. A piano, which I don't really play yet, is also helpful for composing and arranging multiple-part music. (So glad I've got that Fender-Rhodes upstairs.)
One problem I have is that writing down music is a slow enough process that I keep putting it off, so I've got a backlog of things to transcribe. (But if you want an example, "The Jo-Bug Jig" (http://www.radix.net/~dglenn/words/jo-bug-jig.html) is online, and I'll get around to posting "On Aleksandr's Exile" at some point (probably when the new new HCB (http://www.homespunceilidh.com) album is ready, since it'll be on that. (Actually both tunes will.)
On the one hand there are folks impressed that I can write music at all; on the other there are various people I know -- including several bandmates -- who seem to be better at it than I am. I wouldn't mind having someone who reads but doesn't write music try to explain how music can be a read-only language. I'd like to understand it. (And I wonder whether understanding the phenomenon would be enough for me to know how to teach others to notate music.)
(no subject)
(no subject)
A multitrack tape recorder or digital recorder. For SATB, an old 4-track cassette (such as a Yamaha MT100 (I think that's the model number -- it's been a while) or a PortaStudio) wilo do. It's a portable device that allows you to record tracks all at once (if you have other singers) or one at a time with overdubbing. Then you can play back the assembled parts (adjusting relative volume as needed) and present an audio copy of your arrangement for someone else to learn by ear or try to transcribe or whatever. Or just make sure it works as well as it did in your head.
There are more modern and much more featureful versions (many of which record to a hard disk instead of a cassette tape), but for what you've described, an old 4-track from eBay will likely suffice.
There may be a freeware program to make your computer do something similar.
Learning to read and write musical notation is still useful, but this would at least let you get the arrangements out of your head and into a transmissible form to share with others.
(no subject)