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Beginner's Guide to Composing — Part II —Nadje Noordhuis Welcome to Part II of Bloomingdale School of Music’s online feature on beginner composition. In Part I, we talked about using a simple motif (a short musical phrase) as a basis for a piece with two contrasting sections. Hopefully by now, you have written something of your own, which doesn’t need to be very long or complicated. If you haven’t been through Part I yet, please go there first! You will need to refer to your own composition for the exercises in this article, where we will discuss some additional steps that you can take along your own music-writing path. The fastest way to improve your skills in composition is to evaluate what you’ve already done. It’s best to be objective—you don’t want to criticize yourself and your work to the point where you don’t want to write any more. Pretend that you are a music teacher and your student has given their composition to you for review. What would you say if you were advising a student on how they could improve on their piece of music? Here are some questions to ask:
To demonstrate how we can develop our musical writing, let’s use the original example from Part I. Here are the first four measures, with the first bar stating the motif:  Enlarge and Listen Step 1: Counter-melody What we can do to add interest to our piece is to create a counter-melody. This is an additional line that complements the original melody without overshadowing it. You can play your composition on your instrument or through a music notation program, such as Sibelius or Finale, and sing counter-melody ideas that you can write down later. The fun part about this type of line is that it usually makes good use of passing tones and suspensions—think as creatively as you like! You don’t have to limit yourself to writing inside one scale or key center. Write a counter-melody that is lower in pitch than your melody, and then write another one that is based higher. Which do you like best? And while you’re thinking of it, who is going to play this line? Can we introduce another instrument? Sing and write your ideas while thinking of who is going to play this line. Keep in mind the overall range of their instrument, as well as taking into the account the different timbre (tone quality) that is associated with each octave of the instrument. For example, the upper octaves of the tenor saxophone can be quite loud and shrill, and the lower octave can sound more husky and mellow. Here is a trumpet counter-melody written to complement our piano line example. Notice the use of an F# against the melody written in the key of C! Since this note is not in the key of C, it gives the piece a fresh flavour and character. Also, notice when the melody line ascends, my counter-melody descends, and visa versa.  Enlarge and Listen Step 2: Spice up the harmony There are many different sounding chords at your disposal – major, minor, dominant, diminished and augmented to name a few. Are there some interesting chords that you have never used to harmonize a melody before? Where could you add them into your piece? Also, you can overhaul a composition by simply changing the rate at which the chords change (the harmonic rhythm). Do you have one chord per measure? What would it sound like if you included two chords in every bar? Another technique you could use is displacing the harmony from the melody. What does it sound like if you shift the chords one beat away from where you have written them? What affect does it give your composition? In Part I, our example piece had a harmonic rhythm of one chord per measure. Here’s how we can make the piece more interesting by varying the accompanying chords and being creative with where they occur in each bar.  Enlarge and Listen Click here to compare this new version to the original arrangement from Part I |
 Nadje Noordhuis Bloomingdale Faculty Artist Album for the Young Vol. IV: Student New Music Project  Bloomingdale
students can submit compositions (in written form) for a chance to have
them performed on this exciting June 19, 2009 concert! Deadline is March 1, 2009.Step 3: Experiment with tonality A lot of the music that we first learn to play is written in a specific key. The melody and harmony may deviate from that key to create tension, and return to the original tonal center for a feeling of resolution. It is these harmonic travels that create the narrative to our composition, and can stir emotional feelings of conflict, suspense, doubt and resolution. Think of each key as a different color on your artist’s palette, readily available to your imagination. Which key is your composition written in? What would it sound like with a different tonal center? How would a different key give your piece a new storyline? What mood could it create? Here we see the alteration of our original contrasting section by moving the tonality from C major to C# minor. This unexpected change presents a feeling of surprise with a new, mysterious twist to the storyline.  Enlarge and Listen Click here to compare this new version to the original arrangement from Part I Step 4: Add a new section Here is where traditional song forms can be used for ideas. The rondo form in classical music uses a main theme that is alternated with contrasting sections, in a pattern such as A B A C A B A. If you have written two contrasting themes, try writing another one! Where could you place this section in the form of your tune? How many times does it repeat? In what style or genre will this section be written? You could have a section for improvisation, or write a canon – it’s up to you! For our piece, lets add a section at the end for improvisation. This will be section ‘C’ following the A A B A song form (A A B A C). This section will have more of a pop tune vibe, similar to something played by the band Coldplay. This section is notated as follows:  Enlarge and Listen Step 5: Fine-tune your piece With your piece now including some counter melodies and contrasting sections in its overall form, it’s time to consider how effectively these elements work together. Listen back to the complete work on your computer or play all the way through your piece—does it have a sense of flow? Does it show different moods? Do you like certain sections better than others? As you tweak your composition, think outside the box—you are only limited by your imagination. Add or subtract notes, harmonies or even complete sections to create an overall narrative that you are happy with. Remember that the stronger that you write your melody, the less embellishment you will need. Finally, play your composition to your friends and family, and enjoy the rewards of writing your own musical masterpiece! Put it all together Click here for an audio recording of the edited composition example. The chords in the B section have been spiced up a little, and the counter-melody is not played during the first time through the A section, to give the piece a piano introduction. Enjoy! |
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