Hey, my name is Justin Webb, and I compose music (I've been kind of famous around this forum)...and I thought I'd give you a crash course in composition.
1) Remember that it does NOT have to be difficult to be a great song. A lot of composers choose a simple melody with a nice slow bass progression because of the sweet, cantando effect.
2) The Tonic (I) Subdominant (IV) and Dominant (V) are the strongest chord progressions to use because of their strong relationship to each other.
*3) Don't be afraid to use some color chords... depending on the era of sound you want, Secondary Dominants/ Leading tone chords, Neopolitan chords, Augmented 6th chords, Extended chords (9,11,13,etc..), Chromatic Mediants, etc... they all can play a vital role in your piece.
**4) When you want to add an extra little "kick," modulate. (Say you're in C-Minor, and you want to build into a loud, resolute, bold section, use proper modulation techniques, with cres. or something to that effect, and modulate to say F-Minor. Sounds so good when minor keys modulate by 4ths.).
These are just a few basic things when composing...but the thing about composing is, that you can do anything! Have fun with it!
Sincerely, Justin Webb.
*- If you want to know about these chords, reply, PM or IM (justy might swim) me asking me.
**- If you want to know proper modulation techniques, see above.
