How to Write Music into your DAW

Improvising music straight into your DAW can be challenging, particularly at first. It seems anything but creative and intuitive. But there are some tips and tricks that will help you be more productive and stay on track. Composer Guy Michelmore shows you how to improvise a new piece of music or song straight into his DAW.

Check out Guy’s "How to Write Music" course!

- - - - How To Write Music - - - -
How To Write Music explores the fundamental skills that underpin every great piece of music whether it’s a song or a film score, string quartet or video game sounds track.

[surgicalglitch]

Guy is probably one of the best Youtubers out there that actually offers genuinely good music theory that actually helps you compose great music. His information really translates well to any genre of music and he isn't trying to work the Youtube algorithm by offering titles and bullshit like some other Youtubers out there with titles like; "THIS PLUGIN IS A BEAST!" or "HOW TO CREATE A BANGER IN 10 MINUTES". His videos are all about him entertaining himself, his audience, and most importantly getting the point across in the best way possible in clear English whilst teaching you the technical terms and ways like any great teacher.

[Adks]

This man has more energy than my 10year old kid.

[Pasta]

Santa Guy! Thanks for teaching me theory in your course at thinkspace! the best teacher I've ever had in music 👍🏻

[striverfor]

2:45 Into your DAW, turn off the click
3:50 What sound will you use?
4:32
5:49 You can start with melody or ostinato
6:18 How do you improvise?
6:48 You need a certain amount of theoretical knowledge
8:22 Melody and harmony go hand in hand
11:09 The arranging stage
13:34 The happy place
16:00 Losing track of where you are
17:10 Make notes
19:30 Build it up in sequence

[douga]

The greatest benefit I've gotten from your videos is that I was inspired to take up the piano a year ago. Thanks, Guy.

[Cute_Little_Cookie]

I allways tell my daughter when she've written a sentence, that she should read it a couple of times because then she can see the misspellings and hear when something is wrong.
I do the same when composing. As I move forward after a few bars, I go back to listen it again and again.
It's amazing what you can discover then. So you can change and fix it, make it better.
This can take days, sometimes just s few hours. It really depends on how efficient your workflow with your DAW is, how fluently you're with chords and how much time you invest. It really helps to learn and practice those things first.
After that, nice things happen.
Thanks and greetings from Germany

[michalsiegel]

From my experience, always starting with different, even absolutely random instrument will lead to the most original pieces. Always starting with the same cliche like piano or strings usually leads into composing very similar pieces. :-)

[LetsSmiley]

Holy shit this was the most helpful music production video I have ever seen.

[vyvianspipes]

Absolutely dig the beard!! 👍 Great advice, Guy. Very relevant to the musicality stumping my creations.

[DrMax]

Very well put. Incidently that comes quite close to how I write music. All the years of practising free play in different keys while knowing the theory definitely paid of for me. Now I can play what is in my head directly into the daw without thinking to much about it. I second your message to all strugglers: Keep at it. Learn your theory and improvise everyday in different keys like hell. You will be rewarded in music heaven with ideas oozing out of your fingers.

[chrisdurhammusicchannel]

Thanks @Guy Michelmore !!!! I've been watching your videos for a while, and they helped me out of a composing slump when a friend asked me to compose some music for his documentary!!! I think I've been using a welder's mask of doubt for too long!

[xriou]

Merci pour ta bonne humeur. Toujours aussi sympathique.

[jimrogers]

Great video, Guy... and love the winter beard as well. Thank you so much! Looking forward to seeing what you do to develop the idea into a longer piece of music... and please use this initial musical seed when you do that! Cheers!!

[ronaldeng]

What a fantastic sketch of practical ideas for composition. For me, I have found it easier to write on paper first because the computer always feels a step removed from raw creativity. Decide on the rough harmonic/melodic content. Then I transfer these few ideas to the daw to formalize each part, and develop lots of revisions. Once it's on the computer, it's easier to come back to when you have many projects simultaneously. Thanks for the fun intro.

[rogerlindgren]

Just have to say. Discovered this channel today. This must be the most inspiring youtuber, that I have come across so far. I will probably watch all the videos in a few days. Thanks a lot.

[darrenhirst]

Your videos are a delight to watch and that humor of yours always makes me laugh.
Thank you Guy.

[Az-jtzp]

That moment when you shouted "there is more to life than 120bpm" you sounded exactly like Wallace from Wallace and grommet

Loving your content! Thanks for the help, it's awesome for a newbie like me

[samanthaknieser]

You are wonderful! What a fantastic virtual mentor! Thank you for sharing such helpful and lifting content. God bless, and wishing you all the best.

[edwardarchibald]

Guy, thank you very much! The whole video was not only delightful but extremely timely in addressing the issues that I’m facing right now. I feel immensely encouraged!

[calebclunie]

This is excellent infotainment, and with music. Good job.
The beverage, on the counter is so lucky.