Welp...let's hope you meet some of those folks as you travail life's byways, Ol pal. Just don't count on it.



PS...don't forget about that "inside voice".

Word.

SonicFan
 I mean, if I shared my works of art with people who did not feel profoundly from them, then I would feel all alone, would feel that my composing dream is all pointless, and would just give up right then and there.

For me, the joy of making music comes from my love of music. I love it when someone is moved by one of my songs, but I don't compose with the intention of trying to impress anyone, or evoke emotion from them, so that we can be some kind of musical kindred spirits. I write music that makes me happy, that I can sit back and listen to, with the knowledge of all the work that went into it, and be proud of the accomplishment.

It always seems like the songs I write that are nothing more than a gimmicky bit of something that I do just to be writing "anything" that I can finish are the one's people like and comment on.  The one's I pour my soul into are the ones that get "sounds nice, who did the vocals?" 

Now first off, I apologize if I am talking too much/asking too many questions. It's just that this discussion is getting interesting since I am going to learn something from others who might reply back to me.  These learned things are vital to me and my composing dream.  They would be things I would not find on youtube or from studying up on music theory.  Therefore, I wish to know the answer to this question I am now going to ask which is that I derive emotion from melodies that have random notes with no rhythm or harmony and I also derive emotion from random songs that have been pasted together that also don't have any rhythm and harmony.
 
Now I realize that what we feel does not define reality.  In other words, just because I feel that those "songs" convey a certain emotion, this does not mean that they convey those said feelings at all.  As a matter of fact, since rhythm and harmony are intrinsic to music and are the very definition of music, then this would mean that those "songs" should have no feel to them at all and that they should just be random notes and such.  And yet, I feel something from them anyway even knowing the fact that they don't convey those feelings at all.  Therefore, what might be going on here is that there are two versions of these songs that exist.  One version is in reality which holds no feelings at all while the other version exists in my mind.  This other version that exists in my mind might have actual rhythm and harmony and just might convey those said feelings.  But I am unable to separate those two versions and view them independently.  In other words, if I were to compose something that has technical flaws, then that song would actually be all good to go for me since it would be flawless just like the actual version of the song I hear in my mind when this is simply not the case at all.
 
But in the event that there is no actual song in my mind and that I am just simply deriving irrational feelings from these songs, then wouldn't these feelings at least be an important clue to how my music should be and that I just need to do something different/add more things to my songs and/or the songs of other artists to convey those said feelings? Also, it's not just the melodies alone and them going together in terms of rhythm and harmony. It is also about how instruments sound together. 
 
But if I am creating a different version of a heard song in my mind and that this version does hold true and conveys the feelings I am ascribing to them while the version in reality does not convey any feelings at all since that version would be something flawed and imperfected, then what about my emotional interpretations from songs that are perfected by other artists? For example, there is this one song played in reverse which conveys an intense dramatic horrific feel to me. However, other people do not feel that way about it at all. To me, this song conveys a feeling of intense horror that is even greater than the best horror songs out there. This reversed song is "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benetar. It conveys a feeling of either being dragged to hell or a horrific demonic possession in which a demon-possessed person is convulsing. This feeling is not just conveyed in the singer's tone of voice as well as the other instruments. It is also strongly conveyed in the reversed melody as well. This intense horrific feel is conveyed in this video when Raven drags Dr. Light.
 
So if my emotional musical interpretation of that song is also false, then does this also mean that I am hearing a different version of this reversed song in my mind as well? Perhaps this version in my mind is in a minor scale instead of a major scale. Perhaps it is in some other scale and/or has a different rhythm/harmony. Therefore, listen to this reversed song in this video I made of it that conveys its horrific feel to me. Then tell me what I need to do with that song in order to bring out that feeling and what music programs/other things I will need to do to this song in order to bring out that feel.  Or maybe you or someone else can do something with this reversed song to bring out this feeling.
 
As an important note before I present this video, I wish to keep everything basically the same about this song in terms of its melody, notes, and rests. So maybe it just needs to be in a different scale. I am not sure:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7iwwsRAbTE
 
And here is the story version of this song:
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqwnDtWFlIo
 

ward s
I'm real late to this clam-bake, but flat beer is better than no beer at all.
 
Sonic Dude, it seems like there is a missing step in your process. You clearly experience some sort of an emotional moment that fills you with a desire to connect and communicate with your fellow humans. Then you describe your unsuccessful efforts to communicate your emotional experience to your fellow humans through the language of music. You conclude that any difficulties the other humans had in deciphering your emotional message must be the result of their inability to understand music and emotions at all. 
 
I think you probably do experience genuine emotions, and that seems like a fine place to root your compositions. And it seems clear that nobody here received the emotional message you were trying to communicate with your composition. I suspect that this failure to communicate has nothing to do with "melody, notes, and rests." And I don't see how changing to "a different scale" would make any difference either. 
 
My guess is that the reason you have failed to communicate by way of musical composition is that you have not done any musical composition at all. In fact, everything you describe sounds more like Walter Mitty's daydream than like any sort of creative musical process. 
 
People on acid make that mistake all the time. They think they see the universe in a dandelion and then when they hand the dandelion to you, they think you will see the universe too. Well I hate to bring the sad news, but what you've brought us isn't even a dandelion. 

First off, thanks for your response.  Now you say that my emotional musical interpretations have nothing to do with music theory and that they are just simply false deluded perceptions.  However, you have based that conclusion on the songs you have heard here in reality and not the versions that are in my mind.  The versions in my mind could very well convey those said feelings in terms of music theory and that they are not false deluded perceptions.  If that is the case, then there might be a way to bring those versions I hear in my mind through music theory here into reality so that others would be likely to feel the same way.  Therefore, there might really be a version of that reversed song "Love is a Battlefield" that really does convey a feeling of dramatic intense horror and that I just simply need to change the scale or something else.  Which is the reason why I am asking what it is that I need to do with that song in order to bring out that feel.

ward s

SonicFan
 
First off, thanks for your response.  Now you say that my emotional musical interpretations have nothing to do with music theory and that they are just simply false deluded perceptions.  However, you have based that conclusion on the songs you have heard here in reality and not the versions that are in my mind.  The versions in my mind could very well convey those said feelings in terms of music theory and that they are not false deluded perceptions.  If that is the case, then there might be a way to bring those versions I hear in my mind through music theory here into reality so that others would be likely to feel the same way.  Therefore, there might really be a version of that reversed song "Love is a Battlefield" that really does convey a feeling of dramatic intense horror and that I just simply need to change the scale or something else.  Which is the reason why I am asking what it is that I need to do with that song in order to bring out that feel.

What I said was that you have experienced emotional inspiration, but you do not seem to have taken that inspiration into the creative process. It's like you are a gold prospector looking at a huge pile of dirt but seeing the gold nuggets sprinkled throughout. That's a fine place to start, but now you need to go about the task of sifting all that dirt from those scattered nuggets. Until you do that, don't expect anyone to cook you breakfast. We're interested in the gold, not the dirt. Do the work.
 
"you have based that conclusion on the songs you have heard here in reality and not the versions that are in my mind.  The versions in my mind could very well convey those said feelings..."  
 
Yes, I could only hear what was in reality, and yes, in your imagination there may be music that would move me profoundly. 
 
Which is the reason why I am asking what it is that I need to do with that song in order to bring out that feel.
 
First, get rid of this notion that you can "change the scale" of a backwards version of some 1980s power pop anthem to make it express a profound emotional reality in your head. If it was that easy people like me would be doing it.

So what would be needed to be done to that reversed song to convey that horrific feel if simply changing the scale won't convey that feeling?  Again, go ahead and explain to me what those things are.  You can either explain those things to me and/or do something with this song yourself to give it that feel and present that song to me so I can personally judge it.

Sleep. It can be a really good thing. try it.

Sonic, I get the feeling that you are desperately trying to find a short cut to composing but I am afraid there isn't one. You will have to for example try to find a web site that offers advice on the fine art on a way that you find easy to comprehend and acceptable otherwise also. Or if you have already done this you need to keep on working on it and learn an instrument that you feel is right for you. I recommend either keyboard or guitar. Good luck with your adventure ahead.

My head hertz