Music Composition Crash Course

What I asked AI this week: Hey Claude, can you please give me a crash course in music composition?

I started creating little ditties for my niece and nephew on the ukulele and realized that apart from music class in elementary school, I know nothing about music composition.

So naturally, I asked Claude. If you were wondering, here are some basics about music composition:

🎶 Every song lives in a key — a home base of related chords.
🎶 The I, IV, V, and vi chords are the building blocks (in C: C, F, G, Am)
🎶 Song structure: Verse (tells the story) → Chorus (the hook) → Bridge (the surprise)
🎶 Major chords feel bright; minor chords feel emotional
🎶 Tension (V chord) + Resolution (I chord) = the heartbeat of every song
🎶 Contrast is everything — loud/soft, strumming/picking, busy/spacey
🎶 You don't need to read sheet music to compose. You need good ears and curiosity.

Now I just have to get up the nerve to perform them! 😅