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So I have a great piano tune finished but I don't plan on putting any lyrics in it at this time and so I cant take the chorus line and put it as the title.

Does anyone have any tips for coming up with a title for a song like this?

Random words.

^^ what he said.

Does Scott Joplin's "Pineapple Rag" have anything to do with pineapples? How about the famous "Maple Leaf"?

haha, sounds like a plan

thanks

lets see....smooth, flowing type song...
I think "Flowing River" fits well.

The first step in avoiding cliches is to recognize them, which you just did. Now find something more original.

Not that "Flowing River" is so horrible as a title, but it's kinda boring and predictable. It's what anyone would choose for a smooth, flowing type song. Be bold and dramatic!

If the image of a river came up when I would be trying to name a piece, I would call it "Downstream" (still kinda boring but not too obvious either) or "Overwhelming Quantities of Water" or "The River Swallowed All Of Us" or something.

Well Moonlight would be cliche, but translated into French it's Claire de lune. So what's French for flowing river. Another thought would be to get more specific, what river, what part of that river, what's special about that part of the river. All rivers flow, but only a few have caught fire (as the Cuyahoga in Ohio did in the 70s), so if your piece is a bit agitated you could try calling it Floating Fire.

La rivière couler
is flowing river

Les rapides de la rivière
is River rapids

if you didn't compose it with a specific idea in mind, then get a name which fits the sound image of it.

I Like to keep a journal of titles I run across that I find inspiring....sometimes I'll play a new piece for a family/friend and ask what it sounds like to them...most recently I have a friend sending me wonderful lyrics and then of course, they are the inspiration for the music.

rada
www.pianopassions.com

hi hi, vanityx3 "La rivière couler" would mean "The drowning river", interesting but quite surreal! (Oh but the second name is perfectly spelled). But a good name could be "Le flot de la rivière". I can come up with a bunch of french song name if it interest anyone, it's my native language But I personnaly don't go for names in languages that I don't know for the main reason that if I can't say/write it right or even worst, can't remember how it's named, better find something better in my own language.

I like choosing a name that would match my starting point. If it's for a movie score it will get a name related to the scene where it's used. When I'm exploring a style/tonality, I'm not afraid of naming it "Waltz in C sharp minor no.1" at least I won't forget it. I'm actually working on something that I've called "Presque ré mineur" or "Almost D minor" where I'm exploring cheating with tonality.

I am a new composer, and new to this forum. The pieces I have composed are only instrumental, so I come up with names that fit the sound of the music. For example: one of my compositions is a slow, sad waltz. I titled it Dancing Alone.

Or you could follow Torke's lead and name it after a tool. Maybe "Velvet Sledgehammer"?

Rada,
That's a great idea! I'm going to start doing that. Not that I've got an abundance of unnamed instrumental pieces just lying around. But still, I like it.

I like the following by ScottM:
I like the "material tool" equation. Going along those lines, you might want to use "Porcelain Rake" as well. That conjures up all kinds of imagery. Also, you can insert the word "the" to add even more power to material tool titles. For instance, "The Porcelain Rake" sounds a bit foreboding to me. Then again, that might not accurately describe the mood of "Flowing River", but maybe another piece.

dave

I absolutely agree with Mahlzeit that cliches like Flowing River should be avoided at all costs.

One possibility is to let the first and most obvious cliche about the mood of the piece pop into your head, and then do a bit of mental riffing on the words:

Flowing.... smooth.. silky... etc (use a Thesaurus if you have to) and then go for something a bit eye-catching:

Satin Sheets
Cucumber Caress (if the piece sounds cool enough...)
Silk Lightning (not for the slower tune of course...)
Cream Dream
Caramel Creek

Well, I expect you can do better than that....

Cheers,

Chris

VELVET SLEDGEHAMMER!

WHAT A COOL NAME FOR A PIECE OF MUSIC.

WHY DIDN'T I THINK OF THAT ONE?



Jeanne W

P.S. Best way to come up with titles I have found is to be on the lookout for words and phrases that could be possible titles as you go about your day. Write them down and save them so you have a store of titles to choose from.

P.P.S. The reason for title-ing a song, for me anyway, is so it's easy to tell them apart. I used to just date my pieces of music, but it was impossible for me to remember which was which.

P.P.S. I think, however, it's not always beneficial to place the kind of a title on a piece of music that conjures pictures up in a person's mind about the music, i.e. Autumn Leaves, Dancers Waltz, One Step From Heaven, etc.. I'd rather let the listener figure out for him/herself what the music may be about or saying.