Composing music without even writing out the sheet music?

[athrun200]

I took some music theory courses such as tonal harmony and counterpoint during my undergraduate study which gave me the impression that classical composers write sheet music when they compose.

But after I stepped into the recording world, I see something different.
Sometimes I see that people post videos on youtube teaching people how to compose via recording softwares such as Ableton, they really could compose without touching sheet music.

A question sudden arises inside my head: Do pop singers/ composers use sheet music to compose?
If they don't, then I understand why people seldom publish "official" sheet music for pop song. (By official, I mean the sheet music that contains exactly the same number of instruments as the song, not piano reduction or transcriptions.)

 

[Steenamaroo]

In orchestral music I guess it's very much like literature.
It used to be handwritten but technology has probably all but killed that.

I would think that most professional orchestral composers are using music notation software for two main reasons.
One is it has all the advantages of word processing and the other is the real time feedback. You can hear almost exactly how your work will sound as you write it.
(Google sibelius - it's a pretty basic version)

In pop music I doubt there's much notation going on.
It's probably much more common to write the lyrics and chord references then jam as a group of musicians or hire someone to improvise a part.
I can write sheet music, but I never do.
I deal almost exclusively in creating backing arrangements for solo singers/songwriters.

People talk about having to commit music to paper in order to copyright it, but I doubt that's true these days.
Don't quote me on it.

Hope that's useful.

 

[athrun200]

I know Sibelius, I used it to submit my music homework when I was an undergraduate.
It's a nice notation software, I love it.
But you need a good sound library in order to have a good and realistic sound.

No wonder why people don't publish sheet music for pop music, there are only transcriptions done by third-party out there.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I know Sibelius, I used it to submit my music homework when I was an undergraduate.
It's a nice notation software, I love it.
But you need a good sound library in order to have a good and realistic sound.

No wonder why people don't publish sheet music for pop music, there are only transcriptions done by third-party out there.

Your right. The GM patches aren't exactly realistic.
There's a ridiculously realistic suite that I believe filmmakers etc use, but I can't remember what it's called.
Is it from Korg, maybe? I don't remember.

I'm completely guessing here but maybe there isn't much music to be made from sheet music, when weighed against the costs of publishing/printing/distributing.
I mean, that's what it's all about, right?

Any 'composition' I do is either with an instrument in my hand or it's a simple melody that I'm writing out in midi notation.
That's strings, glocks, that sort of thing.

 

[athrun200]

As far as I know it's Vienna Symphonic Library and it's ridiculously expensive if you want the whole set. (€1,645)

I should try to make music without sheet music starting from today.

 

[Steenamaroo]

As far as I know it's Vienna Symphonic Library and it's ridiculously expensive if you want the whole set. (€1,645)

I should try to make music without sheet music starting from today.

I've found that knowing the theory and having a solid musical understanding has been invaluable to me, even if I never lift a pen or a pencil.

I suppose the bottom line is to just do what works for you. If that's your working method and you're comfortable, go for it.
If you think it's costing you time and you'd be better off working in computer software, go for that.

 

[DM60]

My take on sheet music is, this is what composers used before recording and the ease of recording. Take Mozart, how could he get the sounds in his head to the people who were going to play it? Sheet music in my mind was the first DAW. I want this played and arranged like this, here is the recording. Sheet music is a type of recording in that it records the music I want reproduced.

I think knowing how to compose and write sheet music is still a good thing, even if you have a way to work around it. It is like knowing math even though you have a calculator. The better you understand the basics the better you can use the tools.

Hopefully that was worth 2 cents.

 

[athrun200]

It is like knowing math even though you have a calculator. The better you understand the basics the better you can use the tools.

Hopefully that was worth 2 cents.

Nice one! I will remember that

 

[Steenamaroo]

I think knowing how to compose and write sheet music is still a good thing, even if you have a way to work around it. It is like knowing math even though you have a calculator. The better you understand the basics the better you can use the tools.

Boom!
Perfect.

 

[Hibiki Itano]

I mostly write down when I compose a song/composition but not really a sheet music (a manuscript you may say). The sheet music is completed only after I finish the recording. For the orchestral music, I write down the note on a notation program to capture the midi file.

 

[YanKleber]

But after I stepped into the recording world, I see something different.

Well, I don't think that it is a recording world thing. I am a pop/rock song writer (not professionally) and have written dozens of songs in the last 30 years and my way is just to pick my acoustic guitar, find a nice chord progression and work based on it. Then AFTER the music is done and IF this is the case I put it on a sheet for copyright registration purposes.