Writing tips
As you well know, when writing for film & TV we often need to deal with odd meters in order to make the music fit the scene and hit key moments. Therefore, when writing I suggest you don’t think about meter, but rather if the music is rhythmic think of a sense of pulse and simply think in 1. Doing this will free you from the constraints of a set meter and make it easier to stretch or compress your melodies and motifs. If you’re going to have live musicians play on your track, go back after you’re done and meter the cue so it makes musical sense.
Avoid starting the music in the middle of a bar (beat 2 or 3) because when recording live, especially with a group, it can cause confusion about how many count-off clicks they will hear before they play. For example if you’re in 4/4 and the music starts on beat 3 and the conductor calls 4 clicks to bar 1 but the music actually starts after 6 I can almost guarantee someone will mess it up and play in the wrong place. Instead create a 2/4 bar, then a 4/4 bar. Really the only time where it’s safe not to start on a downbeat is if there is a pickup into the downbeat (i.e. an 8th or 16th note at the end of the bar) in which case the conductor can call out 8 clicks to bar 2. Or if the music starts on an upbeat (i.e. beat 1 &) it’s not a big deal. Other than situations like that, avoid having music start anywhere in the middle of a bar.
Find the general tempo of a scene and stick to it. I don’t like constant tweaking of tempi from one bar to the next, especially if the music will be recorded live. It can be difficult for the musicians to follow, which will slow down the process, something you can’t afford on a shoestring budget. After you’re done writing, you an tweak the tempo for sections of the cue for better sync. Having minor tempo fluctuates from one section to the next is fine and won’t trip up your players, but don’t vary it all over the place.
Avoid tempo changes when you can, and if you do need a tempo change, make sure that you prepare it. For example when going from a slow section to a faster section, change the tempo a bar or two before the perceived tempo change over a held note to give the musicians built-in warning clicks. That way when recording you won’t need to stop for a pickup. Here’s an example of what I mean.
It’s often tempting to write something freely and not the click, especially for emotional cues. But when working on a shoestring with live musicians, this can slow things down and make them more difficult during recording. It’s always easier to comp together takes when everything is done to a grid, to a click track. But that doesn’t mean the music has to be rigid and can’t feel like it’s free.
There are tricks that can be used to make the cue feel like it’s free-time when it is, in-fact, written to a click. One is using odd metered bars, including 3/8, 5/8 & 7/8 bars to mimic a fermata or to speed up time a bit. Another is writing around the click by using syncopation and triplets. These techniques are also great ways to catch hits without needing lots of tempo changes. I’m not a big fan of 3/8, 5/8 & 7/8 bars. I use them on occasion, but more often I find that I can catch a hit using syncopation instead. Here’s an example of writing around the click.
Another writing tip is try to come up with themes that are easy to manipulate to get more out of your themes. When starting out sketch out your theme ideas and try a few variations for different key spots in the film/show before you commit to the theme or spend too much time creating amazing sounding mockups. That way if they’re not quite working out, you haven’t spent too much time before realizing you need to do something different. Before submitting the rejected demo I mentioned above as an idea for Captain Hagen’s Bed & Breakfast, I quickly sketched two other key spots to make sure it would work. More on that below.
Use orhcestration, arrangement, and modulation to squeeze more out of your themes. Rather than writing more music, reworking what you’ve already come up with can greatly speed up the process. Earlier I demonstrated how I re-used a rejected demo as one of the main themes in my score for Captain Hagen’s Bed & Breakfast. If you re-listen to that cue, you’ll notice I repeat the theme over and over, and simply change the orchestration and arrangement to get more out of it without ever changing the tempo. This allowed me to write that cue very quickly. Below is that cue again so you can listen to those elements, as well as two more variations that I sketched out before committing to this them.
If you play an instrument (or a few) use those skills to your advantage when creating your score. Writing for instruments you can play and record yourself means you can do it all yourself and don’t need to spend any money hiring anyone else, which is a huge benefit when working on a shoestring budget. You’ll also likely write better for instruments you play than for instruments you don’t. Maximize your strengths and use them to your advantage.