1. Introduction
2. Key Symbols on the Music Score
3. Economical Use of Notes
4. Using Triplets
5. Octaves
6. Composing Music with an Instrument in Mind
7. Conclusion

1. Introduction

Hello everyone, I'm Helene.
It seems that there has been a surge of interest in composing music lately, and many people have been trying to write new music on music scores. Erinn is becoming a beautiful, music-filled place to live thanks to them. It is also true that just as many people seem frustrated by what they see as a complex way to compose songs. I've heard from some people that they were stymied by this complexity, writing songs that left a lot to be desired, and brought the mood of those who heard them down.

Through all this, I can't help but think about my place in the world. I believe I'm here right now to share my knowledge of music composition to everyone in Erinn, but I just can't help everyone individually, as much as I'd like to. I've tried really hard to spread my knowledge, but I've run into a number of difficulties. It's quite daunting, actually.

That's when someone suggested that I organize and compile my knowledge into a book! I've decided to write one based on my own process of trial and error, and the know-how I've accumulated over my years of knowledge. It may not be the most widely-known skill, but it's something that you can master if you just put in a little bit of effort. I am confident that this book will help people that want to compose songs, and be an aid to future bards-in-training.

I sincerely hope you'll get something meaningful out of this, and help raise your level of music composition.

-Helene with the red kitty hat,
Alban Heruin

2. Key Symbols on the Music Score

I'm sure most of you already know this, but all sheet music has special symbols that depict the notes and beats. These symbols can't be covered in here, so please refer to the book "Introduction to Music" if you need a refresher. Most composers have already used the symbols that were featured in that guidebook. But your curiosity in experimenting with other symbols may be tempered by the fact that music scores cost Gold...

Let me ease your worries. All the symbols on the score other than those symbols featured in the Guide will be ignored when playing the score. So, why would you want to use them? Adding other symbols can help your score's readability down the road. I'm sure there are some of you out there who've tried to make edits to a song you already wrote, and found yourself having a hard time reading through the symbols again.

14 ccccddddeeeegggg

On instances like this, where the individual measures are very hard to find, it is quite useful to use a dummy symbol to separate each bar. I often use / or //, but it doesn't matter what you use.

l4 cccc/dddd/eeee/gggg//

It's easier to read, and your song will not change one bit. You can even use |, if you want to. Whatever helps you see the separation best. Just remember that this does NOT affect the actual playing of the song.

3. Economical Use of Notes

A smart composer, however, may have picked up on a problem in the last section. Yes, you're right. The limited number of notes you can enter in your score just decreased even more because of those symbols. This method may work for the perfectionist who is writing a rather short song, but it may be quite the problem for some that decide to write an epic song.

In this case, if you want to edit the song, use these symbols on your practice sheet. Once you're ready to implement the song onto your music score, you can remove the symbols as you enter it. Or, if that's too much of a headache, you can use the Find/Replace function in other programs to remove the / character.

4. Using Triplets

When you're composing, there may be times where you'll want to put triplets into a single beat, but don't know exactly how to enter that. Unfortunately, a lot of the composers have trouble even recognizing triplets on sheet music.

This may be a little trickier, but you'll have to calculate the beats first, and divide that by 3. Here's an example with a song in 4/4. Here, one beat here equals 1/4 of a measure, or a quarter note. So how should you enter triplets in this time signature? All you need to do is divide the beat by three. A single note of a triplet in this song is 1/12. If you are a composer who is familiar with I, you can enter l12 to simply depict a triplet.l4c c l12ccc l4 c means bop bop bop bababa bop, a triplet rhythm simplified. (Of course, there's nothing wrong with writing c4 c4 c12c12c12 c4)

You can also use this method for the following:

Quintuplets(l20ccccc)
Septuplets(l28ccccccc)

That should do!

5. Octaves

Another one that catches a lot of people off guard is the use of octaves. This is actually something that's still debated to this day by music historians. Using < or > to raise or lower the octave may be easy, but people complain that it takes more time to actually apply this to songs that have already been made.

Come to think of it, a lot of people seem to have trouble marking octaves! For now, you can use the symbol O, but you'll have to remember exactly which octave it was whenever you switch sides. Also remember the symbol for a raise in half-note 'n, along with other special symbols. I understand that this may be a tad confusing, but if you take the time to understand it, you'll be able to accurately express yourself through songwriting. Hopefully this will help you expand your horizon as a songwriter.

6. Composing Music with an Instrument in Mind

Now, I'd like to talk about something I've noticed when talking to street musicians. I've seen musicians playing the same song in the streets, but the overall effect is totally different. That may depend on the level of music theory they've studied, but honestly, I think it has more to do with composers creating different versions of the same song.

Since many composers use melodies that have been passed down from generation to generation, but are trying to transpose those pieces into brand-new Music Scores, it's inevitable that changes would sneak in. It's a combination of the reasons above, plus the fact that a little bit of personal habits and preferences exert their influences. But it does seem like one musician seems to play the music with flair and beauty, while others seem to be lacking that. This is not even a problem of beats and notes. Even after following all of them, you can't help but feel like you could have done better.

So, where does this problem stem from? I think there's a possibility that the composed song and the instrument may not necessarily match. After all, every instrument has its own range of notes it can play. For example, lutes and mandolins play at their best from o3 to o5. If you try to use o6, it's okay, but it may seem a bit high. The problem is, most people neglect this aspect when they compose, so even though the song seemed good on the score, when playing it with certain instruments, it won't sound as good. So please test your scores on the instruments you intend to play them on, especially if you have a Lute or a Mandolin. You may notice that your songs sound so much smoother!

One more thing. If you find yourself carrying another instrument, please test it out first by buying a Music Score and writing test music to find out what it can do. Once you find the range of notes that the instrument plays the best, then you can start working on your masterpiece.

7. Conclusion

Hopefully this book taught you something new! From here on out, whenever you find yourself composing a song, if you do not forget the lessons learned from this book, you will have no trouble writing beautiful music. If this was all old news to you, I hope you don't feel I've wasted your time; take it as a reminder to watch out for these points when composing a song. You'll soon find yourself renowned as one of the best.

Lastly, this is a note for those of you using the lute as a weapon instead of an instrument. A lute is an instrument that carries the spirit of those that play it. It just cannot be compared to a brutal weapon, but many people seem not to understand this. Yes, I'm talking about those of you that use it to strike town objects, foxes, and wolves, but even more than that, I'm talking about the select few that use the instrument to create noise pollution by playing ridiculously high notes at a ridiculously fast tempo. This is the worst thing you can do as a musician; you're supposed to move people with music, not make them cringe and cover their ears. Please refrain from doing this.

May the spirit of the greatest bard in the history of Erinn, Cairbre, be with you every note of the way.