Sometimes you have folders you use a lot, like your Documents or movie folders. If you like you can put folders into the Dock and at that point they're called a "Stack."
This is very important because vocal melodies need to have room for a singer to breathe and you must also consider the pitch range - a singer's pitch range is more narrow than most instruments.
center (key) to begin with. You don't have to stay in that key for the entire song, but it is wise to at least begin in a single key.
Choose a tonal
Begin with Chords and Melody at the same time
I like this one a lot. Begin with a single chord and a melody note or phrase, as you add on the next chord and more melodic notes, write them together. Experiment by changing the chord but not the melodic phrase. Experiment by changing the melodic phrase but not the chord
. Force yourself to disallow any of your favorite rhythmic patterns to creep into your new song idea
If you are thinking about dynamics while composing each part of the song, you are already ahead of the game.
- The variety of instruments you use, and the sounds you get out of those instruments brings color to you music.
Begin with Texture first
- The density of sound and timbre may influence the types of melodies you compose. Consider how the density of texture may change from section to section.
Begin with Form firs
Starting here can do wonders to keep you out of trouble (musically speaking). When you don't think about the form (arrangement of the parts of a song) early on in the writing process, it is easy to paint yourself in a corner late
http://www.musopen.com/
Musopen is an online music library of copyright free (public domain) music. At Musopen they obtain recordings of public domain music that have no copyrights so that visitors may listen, re-use, or in any way enjoy music. Most of the music is of classical piano or symphony pieces.