Composing Worlds: Vikings And Dragons | Music Composition Course

In the first section, Ryan welcomes you to the course and introduces the overall structure of the material. We begin the course not by focusing specifically on Vikings or Dragons, but on how to approach emulating ANY style of music. In this way, the concepts you learn and practice will be adaptable beyond this one particular sound. Style is not the use of a single element, but the consistent use of many different elements working together. It's also important to consider all the musical choices you won't be making, which are just as important in making music feel like it belongs to a certain style. After explaining these initial concepts, and how the course is structured, we are ready to dive into the music!Learn about: style, rhythm, melody, harmony, instrument choices, course goals

The first theme you will learn to write in this course is the Viking theme. You'll learn about modes and scales that lend themselves well to the masculine roughness of the Vikings, instrumental choices to represent cultural history, Scottish vs. Irish rhythms, and more. The section begins with theory about melody and harmony, and then we put those concepts into practice by composing a new theme. This theme will be adapted to a small ternary, or ABA, form before being orchestrated and fully fleshed out. By the end of this section, you'll have your very own tough and manly Viking theme!

Just as dragons are in direct contrast to vikings, the musical elements that make up the Dragon Theme must be in stark contrast to the Viking Theme! Learn about less traditional scales such as the Double Harmonic Minor and Octatonic scales and how to use them to create ominous and evil sounding melodies. By experimenting with these dark and mysterious scales, we'll build a melody that is unpredictable, strong and powerful. Watch Ryan's creative process as he goes from a blank page to a fully fleshed out Dragons Theme, from the basic scales to a menacing and powerful orchestrated powerhouse.

Our third and final theme of the course is a Flying Theme. Unlike the hard and rough menace of the Vikings and Dragons, the Flying Theme is a chance for the music to soar! You'll learn about pedal tones, when to augment diatonic harmony with modal interchange, and a powerful technique for creating a sense of fast and slow rhythms at the same time. The Flying Theme is constructed from two distinct melodic sections and then given a third feature as we create a Flying Ostinato to add a whole new layer of energy and excitement to the music.

All of your hard work pays off in this section as we are able to combine all three different themes into a single track! Discovering an effective way to compose a longer piece of music by working in more manageable chunks, we are able to take all three themes and merge them together. Learn Ryan's techniques for transitioning between the different themes, adding auxiliary sections such as introductions and outros, and adding an extra layer of polish and refinement to each theme.

The final section of the course focuses on production. For this section, Ryan moves away from the notation software and into the DAW to create a mock-up demo that is more powerful and impactful than is possible from the notation alone. Using primarily the Cinematic Studio series of sample libraries, Ryan chooses which audio tracks to keep from the NotePerformer playback and which to replace with new samples. He then uses modulation and expression to bring these virtual instruments to life, balances the demo mix with EQ, compression, and reverb, and adds new elements like choirs and guitars to get the most out of the track for a truly powerful presentation! By the end of this section, your Vikings & Dragons composition will be complete!