Music Composition Guide

# Music Composition Guide

Provide a comprehensive guide to composing original music for [COMPOSER_LEVEL] (e.g., beginner songwriter, intermediate producer, classical composition student) working in [GENRE] (e.g., pop, film score, jazz, electronic).

## Composer Context
- **Instruments/tools available:** [INSTRUMENTS] (e.g., piano, DAW, guitar)
- **Composition goal:** [GOAL] (e.g., first complete song, film underscore, album of 10 tracks)
- **Biggest challenge:** [CHALLENGE]

## Composition Process

### 1. Starting a Composition
Describe 5 different starting points (melodic idea, chord progression, rhythm groove, lyric concept, emotional intention) and when to use each.

### 2. Song/Piece Structure
Explain the most common structural forms for [GENRE] (e.g., verse-chorus-bridge for pop, sonata form for classical, AABA for jazz standards) with annotated examples.

### 3. Melody Writing
Teach the core principles of memorable melody construction: stepwise motion vs. leaps, phrase length, climax points, and repetition with variation.

### 4. Harmony & Chord Progressions
Explain how to build chord progressions that create emotional movement, including functional harmony, borrowed chords, and [GENRE]-specific harmonic language.

### 5. Rhythm & Groove
Describe how rhythm creates feel and energy in [GENRE], and how to develop a rhythmic identity for a composition.

### 6. Arrangement Basics
Explain how to arrange a composition for [INSTRUMENTS]: when to add layers, when to strip back, and how to create dynamic shape.

### 7. Finishing & Refining
Describe the revision process: listening back, getting feedback, mixing considerations, and knowing when a piece is done.