Hey guys, I’ve been composing in my bedroom for some years and even studied music composition at school. I’ve always wanted to be a film composer, but I feel I may need some practice. What would be your advice on practicing film composition? And creating great soundtracks?
Composing : How do you practice film composition? by Luís Mercês
How do you practice film composition?
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1. Film composers are no different than other composers or musicians. You need to practice every day - a couple of hours a day would be preferable. Just write music as if they were cues for a film. Some day it will get used. Write around one to two minutes of fully finished music (from scratch), every day you sit down.
2. Your a composer and probably a musician. You listen to music differently than others. You don't have to listen to just film scores - listen to all genres of music. I am not a classical composer, but I often while doing cardio listen to concerto, symphonies, and sonatas. Music from those 'masters' often provide me with techniques and ideas.
3. You have learnt in school - so why not listen to music while following the score (with sheet music). If you can't get it from IMSLP, there are so many youtube videos which show the score (often full score) while the music plays. If you hear something you like, find out how it was scored.
4. And if you really want to practice, get on a team and score a film. You can't make money that way but its great practice. I just joined a team to participate in the 48 Hour Film Project Texas competition on Oct 2 - 4.
5. Find your 'sound' - what makes you unique and separates you from your competition. It is fun early on to try to 'sound like' someone else whether it be Mozart or Zimmer - but over the long term, imho, you want to be you and not another 'me too'.
And as a musician and composer you should be able to answer this question quickly without Google'ing or Wikipedia'ing. Don't put down the answer here so others reading can ponder. If you do not know the answer, then you need to brush up on your history. Think turn of the 20th century. Do you know who was referred to as a 'professor' - they were not part of any educational institution or any teaching whatsoever.