The Only Composing Rule I Like

July 16, 2024

There's a million tips on how to be productive as a composer.

A lot of them are great, but they often overlook the most fundamental issue: sitting down to write.

The cycle for many aspiring composers typically looks something like this:

  1. "I need to spend more time writing music. I'll schedule in four hours on Saturday."

  2. Saturday rolls around, and the idea of composing for 4 hours seems overwhelming.

  3. As a result, very little music is made.

  4. This leaves the composer feeling guilty and inadequate.

  5. The next time they think about composing, they're burdened with this guilt and anxiety (hello Tortured Composers!).

This vicious cycle can be paralyzing, but there's a simpler, more effective approach that can radically change how you compose music.

The solution? Set yourself an incredibly low bar. And be ok with being lazy.

“However there is a way of starting a project that takes the sting out of this.

All you have to do is give yourself permission to ‘lazy.’”

-Ben Settle

Here's how it works:

  1. Set an absurdly small goal. Give yourself permission to write just one little thing:

    • One bar of music

    • A single chord progression

    • An 8-bar melody

  2. Make this tiny goal the ONLY pressure you put on yourself.

  3. Choose something so simple and easy that you'd feel ridiculous not sitting down to do it.

  4. Ideally, do it at the same time everyday.

This approach works for several reasons:

  1. It removes the intimidation factor of a large time commitment.

  2. It lowers the stakes, reducing performance anxiety.

  3. It gets you to open your DAW, take out the score paper and pencil, or pick up your instrument, which is often the hardest part.

While this might feel comically simple, you'll often find that once you start, you end up writing more.

Sometimes A LOT more.

Why? Because you end up getting PULLED into the creative process, rather than trying to force yourself to sit down and be creative on command.

The beauty of this method is that even on your worst days, you'll at least accomplish your tiny goal.

On good days, you might create far more than you expected.

Over time, this consistent practice adds up, leading to more finished compositions and less guilt.

So, give yourself this seemingly ridiculous rule and watch what happens.

You might be surprised at how much more productive and enjoyable your composing sessions become when you remove the pressure and give yourself permission to start small.

Remember, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - or in this case, a single bar of music.