Atma505

I'm glad to see minor taking the cake, so far... major is for sissies. 8) Naw, just joking. Both sides can really create a beautiful, sad or joyous work, as well as capturing the many emotions in between. I'm really partial to tunes in major that make a broad use of minor chords and explore how both scales can co-exist at the same time. Deceptive cadence fan #1!

I'm at the library constantly, my room is packed full of fifty year-old music books that I'm never going to read... :D But I just recently rented out a book of analysis examples and scores, and I'll definitely take a listen as I look. I'm sure it will be a great way to get acquainted with counterpoint and voices that clearly aren't a part of the melody. Thanks for the advice, everybody!

Wow Tuma, talk about taking the extra step! That's a great tip, but what about when there are multiple voices, like in a string quartet? I imagine it would get way too crowded with all the voices doing that at once. And Mont: The best accompaniment I know of seems completely customized to fit the melody and flesh out the rhythm, so it's tough to apply what I see and hear to my own work. I'm definitely experimenting, but it feels like I'm just training myself in the wrong direction... I don't feel any better than I was a year ago. :P

Okay, that came off as a little confusing... in other words: I can write melodies fairly well, but I can't seem to add accompaniment that gives it personality and interest. I'm stuck with just block chords. Any suggestions?

Hey there, guys. I've got a problem. I'm a composition major in my second year of study, and so far I've taken two semesters of theory (and I'm in the middle of learning some Jazz theory). However, I feel like what I've learned so far is hardly enough to get the ideas that are in my head onto paper. Theory was helpful, but it didn't really teach me how to apply what I learned. I can write a melody well enough. It just takes some playing around with the piano to achieve a proper melody. But it's like I get stuck from there... as if one or two block chords per measure is my only choice for accompanying my melody. When I try composing voices besides the melody, I end up with something overly simplistic and sometimes emotionless. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly what I'm asking for. I imagine that fluent, rhythm-complimenting harmony is a form of counterpoint, but I don't know enough about it. If you have any idea what I'm talking about, or even if you don't, please leave a comment and help me out. Thanks! :D I attached a MIDI of something very simple I've made -- I think it's very nice, but that's about as much as I can flesh it out. I wouldn't know else how to handle such a thing. Ingenuity.mid

Wow, great find! Thanks for this, I'll bookmark it and take a look through it all.