What is the modern-day music composition process like?

Given the large scope of your question, here are a few suggestions: You seem to not really know what your options are in terms of software, so I'd say at this point don't run out and buy ProTools. For recording live instruments it is a good tool, but for composition you don't need it except for compatibility reasons with other studios, and until you have paying gigs, there is no need to spend that much money on your software when it won't do what you need. Get something cheaper to get going (I suggest Reaper, which does just about everything that ProTools does, and many things better, at a much cheaper price) For your sounds, that depends on what style of music you are composing and what budget you have. It is easy to spend thousands of dollars on samples, and still not have all of the sounds you need. I have 2 hard drives in my music PC dedicated to nothing but sample libraries, and between them I have about 600 gigs of samples. Kontakt is a standard sampler software which should work in most DAW's, and comes with some sounds which are fine for general composing, although not all of them are pro sounding enough to use as part of the final recording. That is where those thousands of dollars of samples come into play. For my process, it depends on the style of music. I have a template project that I open up, which has about 160 tracks of instruments already setup with correct levels, reverb, etc. That way I can just start playing in parts and don't have to spend the time over and over again to add in each instrument. This is what I use for all of my classical based stuff. If I am doing something more rock, I have a different template with tracks for drums, guitar, synth, vocals, etc. already set up. This saves me about an hour for each project on the rock stuff, and a couple hours for the classical/film score stuff. I keep a notebook in my back pocket at all times, and scribble down melodies or chord progressions as they come to me throughout the day. When I compose, I take those ideas and throw them into the computer, and once I can hear them on a cello, or piano, or kazoo, I start working on harmony and counterpoint. Depending on the desired end result, I may write and record a song in an hour, or I might spend months. I did a group of small pieces all based around the idea of the desert and isolation, and for each one I just came up with a melody on the piano, added some percussion and strings, and was done. No more than 4 hours for each piece, and they are fairly short. Having the template with all of the instruments ready to go helps to keep creative, so that I don't lose an idea while trying to setup a new track or figure out how it needs to be routed. In today's composing world, most people will want to hear a great sounding mockup, and unless you can provide that, it's hard to get gigs (unless you know the people you are writing for, and they trust your abilities), especially since most projects are not paying you simply for the written music, but the final recording as well. I have yet to meet a modern composer who is getting work these days who has not invested a TON of money into their samples to get realistic mockups. If this is a career you want to explore, be aware that the entry fee is fairly high. For a top of the line computer decked out to do this work, plus the software and samples you are going to need, along with some basic recording equipment, it would not be unreasonable to expect to drop $10,000, and possibly more. Not that you need to spend that much, but for certain things, the only way you can go cheap is if you really know what you are doing. I trust that Hanz Zimmer and his crew can make a $99 sample set sound great, but they have been doing this for decades. For me to get a similar quality sound, I am going to have to purchase the $799 samples, but if that is what it takes to get the gig, so be it.

All of that technology stuff is nice for producing songs, but almost useless for creating strong melodies. Can you make up a strong melody? A melody memorable enough that if you sang a few bars to someone, then they could easily sing/hum it back to you after a minute? (I've tried it. It's really hard.)

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned this on AskMe multiple times, but I think it applies here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immersion_Composition_Society You seem like someone who could use some arbitrary boundaries and/or deadlines in order to help you ignore those 10 questions for a while. Each answer is just gonna bring up more questions anyway. Take any frustrated, confused energy you might be feeling and make some music- worthwhile or otherwise. My advice: Use your 'limitations' as a frame to create something within- don't go looking for more complications right now. You've got a PC, use what it has to offer (garageband is very easy to use). For many artists, it helps to narrow things down, way down. For some people, pencil and staff paper are where it's at. For others, it's software and drum loops. Those preferences can be default due to what happens to be on your desk, and that's cool. Don't be afraid to make shit music. Maybe you would benefit from finding a collaborator (or several). Personally, my #1 objective is to protect and nurture my desire to create music, and make sure I don't outgrow the foundations that support it. Trying to do everything right and position myself to be a professional feels like quicksand to me. IMHO, the most important thing is to Keep Writing and Playing Music. Sounds cliche, but I believe that success is bound to follow, so long as your definition is reasonable. (also, props to specius for such a thoughtful and informed answer)

speicus' answer is great and right on the money, I think. The one thing that I can't get clear from your question is where you want to go with all this. Concert composition? Film/commercial composition? It's possible to give a more specific answer to your question, but only after you narrow things down a little. I would say, though, that my general advice to all composers is to listen to as much music as possible. With a very brief overview of the history of western music at your side, youtube is your friend. Not that you should limit yourself to western music, but it's as good a starting point as any.

I'll stand corrected: while technology may be not that crucial to song-writing (thinking up melodies), technology/software is pretty important for soundtrack-scoring. As mentioned, Pro-Tools is state of the art for someone detail-oriented who likes a lot of control over everything. That someone is not me, I prefer Garage-Band which is more quick and dirty and easy to get started on. I haven't tried Ableton yet, but I know that people who have tend to like it a lot. Random note: don't be shy about trying obsolete technology. Vintage analog synths have come back into fashion, maybe those cheezy 80's FM synths are due next?

Answering as a songwriter who's interested in, but not yet experienced in, more formal composition: I second http://ask.metafilter.com/171350/What-is-the-modernday-music-composition-process-like#2465358. I took a day to try out the Songwriting Game a few weeks ago and wrote 10 songs in 7 1/2 hours, after probably a year or two of writing nothing. And two of them are songs I really, really like. The thing is: people can answer your questions by saying "Well, I do it this way", but I think most of your questions are more a matter of personal preference rather than there being a right way or a wrong way. I would strongly urge you to start with what you have (pencil and paper is fine if you don't have any software you like; or get whatever software you can get easily and cheaply and use that) and get the perspiration part happening. Tools are great, but they don't do anything until you pick them up. The answers that are right for you will become clearer as you begin to answer them for yourself. As for books: I haven't read it yet, but you might find http://www.earbox.com/hallelujah_junction.html by John Adams to be worthwhile. Also, http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=toc&isbn=9780226732169 by William Russo might be helpful - it's full of exercises for practicing ideas as you learn them. He also wrote http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=toc&isbn=9780226732091 and http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?isbn=9780226732138.

Oh, and send stuff to performers you know, if only to say, "Hey, how does this work for your instrument? Is it playable?" They can give you better, more specific feedback. If you don't know any performers for an instrument you're writing for, well, you'll have to meet some anyway, right? :)

Also, just to clarify: I'm not really looking for advice on how to create a melody or a harmonic framework for a composition. I guess what I was looking for in my original question was how I might be able to write a composition for multiple instruments, which I originally thought was done through music sequencer software. If you have a melody or harmonic framework, that should help guide you in what the different instruments can do. Can you fit a melody to a harmonic framework, or vice versa? Then you have an idea for a melody and accompaniment, which you can divide among the instruments in many different ways. That's oversimplified but it can give you a place to launch off from. For example, if I'm writing for piano, guitar, drums and violin, do I write one instrument's part first, record, listen, write second instrument's part, etc., record, and repeat? That's one perfectly acceptable way, and I know a lot of people who started out that way. As you get more experienced, you'll probably start to have ideas for sounds or textures with multiple instruments occuring to you simultaneously (I hope!). Another good way is to try and think of the character of the music you want to write, and how best to achieve that with the instruments at your disposal, like in the examples you link to: The music that has most recently sparked my interest in this field is Matt Uelmen's "Tristram" yt theme from the game Diablo I, as well as his theme for the Catacombs yt . I've been listening to these tracks fairly frequently to get a gist of the instruments, sounds, and techniques he used to create his music. Well, when you listen to these pieces, can you pick out the instruments being used? Can you describe what they're doing, and how they support the mood of the music? I could do this for you, but you probably wouldn't learn as much. I should at least point out, because it may not be super obvious, that the pieces you link to have just a few acoustic instruments supported by copious electronic effects and a lot of synthesized and sampled sounds. So to create the kind of music you're thinking of I would look into, and experiment with, basic electronic music effects like reverb, delay, compression, equalization, various kinds of distortion, etc. For software, I think right now Logic, Ableton, and Reason are all close to the sweet spot for ease of use vs. power and flexibility. This is assuming you are doing mostly synth/electronic stuff. If you are writing out parts for other people to play so you can record them, I would also recommend picking up a notation program like Sibelius or Finale. Do composers hire assistant composers to write out parts to instruments they don't know how to play? Some people work this way, but I would really advise against it. One of the things that separates a good composer from a mediocre/bad one is that they know how to write for instruments they don't know how to play. This is why I strongly recommend picking up an orchestration book like the Adler or the Kennan someone mentioned above. These books will give you a reference for the ranges, mechanics, and capabilities of most instruments you're likely to write for, and especially starting out, they are indispensable. Hope this helps, good luck!

I'm a big fan of http://www.ableton.com/, since it lets me record and play live with the same software, it sort of lets me evolve from some peices of ambient noise+effects into a more structured song. and I really like the interface and how quickly it lets me get things going. If you get a decent audio interface, like a firewire one with a couple of preamps, it'll probably come with some trial software, ableton, cubase, etc. Reason is also pretty popular with keyboard dudes, it comes with a crapload of sounds I really like the sound of live instruments, you don't really have to learn how to play, I play but I get the most fun out of having people over and sampling them doodling around on guitar, drums, etc, and building something out of that. You can copyright your sound recordings online at http://www.copyright.gov/, I know people that have just filled up CDs with beats and then sent that in, it just costs like $40 and gets you a little extra protection. In ableton, to make a quick song, I would play a part on a midi keyboard, cut + paste part of it to another track stretch it out and make it trigger a different instrument/synth, double time another one and and drag to other instruments, etc. Its really easy to change timing, and transpose things, either in midi or recorded samples. You can also use gates, compression to really change the dynamics. I know other guys that are on labels that do things completely differently, and some electronic guys come from a more hip hop background and their workflow will be more like what you'd use on a sampler like the Akai MPC. I've seen some awesome video tutorials that can show you the workflow real artists use.