Toolkit of the composer
When you sit down to compose (usually at a piano and computer), you're faced with a blank canvas. At least that's how it's depicted in movies. It looks like there's nothing, and you have to invent. From an outsider's perspective, it seems like the music just pours out of you. That's the romantic fairytale way of thinking about composing music.
Music bursting out of you sounds lovely but isn't very reliable if you need to create music consistently on demand. Where does music come from? The notes we play aren't random. Certain note combinations and melodies sometimes sound really good together. It seems like sometimes all the notes flow and support each other. How does this come about? There must be some kind of relationship between note combinations that allow this to happen.
You've been given a film composing assignment. You've seen the story you need to create music for. How do you start? How can you...
