Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is it a song with lyrics?
A. No. The music I make is for solo piano. Each letter of your message becomes a note in the melody of the music. The actual music itself is made from the letters of your message, without hearing sung or spoken words. The words on the manuscript sheet music score are the words of the personalised message from the person who ordered the music, that I have turned into music notes. I show in the manuscript which letter has become each note, but they are not lyrics, they just show why and how each melody note came to be there.
Q. Music notes only go A, B, C, D, E, F, G. How do you turn other letters into notes?
A. The letters A, B, C, D , E, F and G are turned into their note of the same name. Beyond this, the letter H just returns to the note A, the letter I becomes the note B, J becomes C and so on. Finding out the sequence of notes made from the letters you write is fun, but it is just the easy bit at the beginning! I take these notes and turn them into music by adding rhythm, a time signature, key signature, chords, and harmony, deciding whether the melody will move up or down to reach the next note, decorating the main notes with others, choosing a style (you can specify this up to a point), and accompaniment for the left hand. Each main melody is unique to your choice of notes depending on what you've written, and the interpretation that I make of these notes is also unique.
Q. How many letters can I write in my message?
A. I can turn any number of letters into notes but at the moment I have listings in my Etsy shop for up to 8 letters (just a name, which doesn't come with an audio recording), up to 30 letters, and up to 40 letters. Both the 30 and 40 letter options come with audio recording. Feel free to contact me at composify@gmail.com or via the Facebook page for a faster reply, if you have a specific number of letters you'd like turned into music or any other questions.
Q. What do I actually receive as the gift?
A. The gift is an original piece of music commissioned by you which otherwise would not exist. It comes to you in two forms:
Sheet music manuscript
The sheet music manuscript is emailed to you as your own copy of the music you commissioned. It can be printed as many times as you like, for example if you have commissioned it for a group of people, it can be printed because you own the PDF. It is a bit like having your photos from a professional photographer given to you on a file instead of having to go back to them to ask them to print them at cost each time. The manuscript will show your message within the notes and how each note has been created from the letters you chose. It can be framed as personalised wall art, like in the picture, or used as functional piano music that can be put on a piano music stand and played!
Audio recording
The audio recording will be sent to you as a link, firstly via Soundcloud, which is free to access and can be heard from any device with an internet connection and a speaker (phone, ipad, computer but also smart speakers such as Sonos). Following this it will be distributed to all major music streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon, Apple Music, Tidal, YouTube Music and many others.
Q. Can I hear some examples?
a. Yes, just search Composify on any music streaming service or click here for free listening.
Q. Can I see some examples?
A. Yes, there are images from previously created manuscripts on this site, below and on the Home page.
Q. The shop only shows listings for certain occasions like Weddings and New Baby, but I've got another occasion in mind, which one should I order?
A. Order the one which has the right number of letters for you. The Wedding and baby listings have up to 30 letters and the Family gift for 40 but these are just examples - It can be turned into anything you choose.
Q. Did you make this system up of turning letters into notes?
A. No. There is a long history of turning hidden messages into music, from Bach through to Ravel (Menuet on the name of Haydn) and lots of other composers. Mine just aren't hidden, and can be much longer messages than a name, and I'm the only person offering it as a gift service!
Q. Do you provide a printing and framing service?
A. No. One of the major positives of this gift is that it can be sent instantly to anywhere in the world that has the internet, with no worry about postal delays! It also has the benefit that with you in control of the printing, you can freely resize for any frame or choose different papers for your print, and if it gets damaged for any reason - no problem, you can print it again.
Q. Do you create CDs?
A. No, but it is possible through online channels to download the track from streaming services and burn it onto your own CD if you need a CD version.
Q. How do I buy one?
A. You can order at our Etsy shop here
Q. I have another question not answered here, can I get touch?
A. Yes, you can email composify@gmail.com or get in touch via the Facebook page for an even faster reply!