How to Compose a Secular Song
Most secular songs use a polyphonic texture which means there is more than one line of music. However, to keep it simple you’re just going to write the melody with no harmony or bass line.
Make sure you follow the rules you have read over in our 'Rules' section.
This section should be hand written
- Secular songs require no lyrics.
- Pick a church mode from our ‘Church Modes’ page to write your music in (we suggest the Lydian mode for Secular songs because it’s known to be the 'happy' mode .)
- Pick one or two rhythmic modes from the list on the Rhythmic Modes page and arrange the words to fit in with these modes. We suggest you pick I and Mode VI.
1. (2). Select some intervals from the 'Intervals' page and use them to add a melody to your rhythmic patterns.
2. Selects 2 or 3 notation patterns from the 'Neume Notataion' page and write them out on your manuscript.
Now you are ready to input your music into Finale 2012
Setup
Writing the Music itself
Setup
- Open a new Finale 2012 project and select the ‘Setup Wizard’.
- Press ‘Next’.
- Select the instrument you want to use and add it to the instrument list. (We suggest the flute.)
- Give your song a title and write your name in the composer section.
- Click ‘Next’.
- Ensure you time signature is set to 4/4 and you are in the key of C Major.
- Click Finish.
Writing the Music itself
- Pick the note duration you want to use from the sidebar.
- Place the first note on the line or space as it is on your hand written copy.
- Continue this until you have completely written out your song.
- Listen to it by clicking the Play button in the top left corner of the score.
- If you are happy with how it sounds, you have finished writing your song in modern notation.