Lessons with Saiming

Matt has decided to explore thematic potential.

So we will start with very simple theoretical material.

I would like you to list for me the different things that could be used to create a "theme" (or motif).

Do you then mean intervals between notes and rhythm. Or is there more? :huh:

Using different instruments in different ways, perhaps? Thinking about creating dialogs.

for the time being, think in "abstracts"...

so, no specific instrument.

no harmony.

try to imagine all the elements that make one theme/melody different from another.

there's a short list, and I'm sure we might even forget a couple.

Hm, well the usage of time, how fast or slow a motif is played as well as note length, pauses, note intervals.

Hm, well the usage of time, how fast or slow a motif is played as well as note length, pauses, note intervals.

so can we distill this down to:

rhythm

• tempo
  
• note lengths
  
• specific rhythmic units
  
• rests
  
• repetition?
  

sound relationships

• interval relationships
  
• dynamics?
  
• timbre?
  

We could also add "proportion" and "architecture".

So to construct thematic material we have a lot of building blocks from which to work.

OK, so now on to something very simple, in C major.

Using simple chords in C major, constuct a melody (don't waste too much time constucting a beautiful accompaniment, just go with simple block chords in the left hand) for piano/keyboard.

Consider the repetition of your basic thematic material as a starting point.

If you start with a 4-note motif, examine HOW you might alter that motif to repeat it a second time.

Does it have a unique interval?

Or a rhythm?

Can you invert the motif to create "new" material?

I want you to create a "high point" in the phrase.

How do you bring about this high point?

• rhythmic alteration
  
• bringing the music to a pause
  
• bringing the music to a suspensive point
  
• dramatic textual repetition of an initial motif
  

I have now written a short phrase. I actually just transposed it and inverted the motif at the end, I hope it is ok. Otherwise I'll gladly redo it :whistling:

ok, now break your melody up into its componant elements.

what is "important" in your melody?

what is worth using as motivic material for a larger piece of music?

are there any rhythms that could be modified to make the phrase clearer?

I am sorry that I cannot complete this task today since my mother is going totally berserk, and I have to shut the computer down soon :whistling:

But when I glanced at it a bit quickly I noticed that a pause measure 4, when the motif is repeated a third time could clear thinks up a bit. I will take a closer look tomorrow ;)

I have added a pause and variated it slightly, hope it is more satisfactory.:toothygrin:

sorry for the delay in responding (I've been busy wth some work).

I find the rests interesting, but you should be aware they create a bit of a "choppy" effect as well.

You might consider keeping the same basic over-all rhythm but reducing the number of rests (fill in the rests simply with held notes).

I like the way you shifted the rhythmic figure from the 1st beat to the 3rd beat of the 2nd measure, however, I will point out one detail of harmony that might cause a bit of confusion for the listener:

the B natural (measure 2, start of the next repetition of the motif) is the leading tone. As such the ear (in C major) tends to want to hear it as the end of the previous phrase (on the dominant harmony - G). This is accentuated by the fact that measure 3 starts melodically on the tonic © even if the harmony is diffferent.

One problem I hear in this melody is that it doesn't seem to be supported by the harmony which accompanies it. Notice how often the melodic tones are "Strangers" to the harmony below them? Notice how often the actual chord tones fall on weak beats or half beats?

This doesn't mean that all melodies MUST be always ON the harmony that accompanies, but you should have a sense that the harmony and melody are really related. Rare are the tonal melodies where the melody is entirely made up of "dissonant" notes.

I also notice that there is a preponderance of appoggiatura (dissonant note on the beat, resolution off the beat). This sounds suspiciously like Howard Shore's score to LotR. For the time being... STOP LISTENING TO MOVIE MUSIC.

how about starting over.

Use the same harmonic frame.

Create a melody that uses motifs (you got the hang of that part).

However, let it be PART of the harmony, and not fighting against it all the time.

You might consider using a few more "wide" intervals. And a few less rests. keep rests for important moments. Too many rests makes the melodic material very fragmented.

Yeah, I kind of figured out that you were really busy; I will do it again - with piano, right?

Is it possible to use the same motif but fix the errors, but completely change the harmony?

I have used the same motif, taken away a few rests and applied a completely new harmony - I am not sure if this harmony works that well, but I made sure that melody and harmony fit together a bit better. Is the last measure ok? I listened to it again and again and looked at it even more, and something told me that it was wrong - maybe I am wrong. Things have not really been working out since I got ill :w00t:

Anyway, patiently waiting for a redo or another exercise :)

the reason the final measure sounds funny to you is that it is a 2nd inversion chord.

generally, 2nd inversion chords are too ambiguous to use as the final chord of a piece. they have the dominant as the bass note, rather than teh tonic.

AH, damn, how did I fail to spot that :) Yes, my piano teacher told me a bit about them, that inversions of a chord don't have a 'solid' feel of the chord you are in i.e C Major if I used the 2nd inversion, it wouldn't have as 'solid' feeling of being in C Major, compared to when using the root chord which gives a 'solid' feeling that one does.

Something I noticed while trying to figure out a harmony was that the melody can change drastically by only changing the harmony slightly - I knew that before, but never that it had such an impact. I mean if you only listen to the melody it sounds rather happy, when I apply the harmony then it sounds, in the beginning of the phrase, very miserable (probably because I started in A min) and slowly becomes more and more lighthearted. Bah, never mind was just typing my mind :)

I guess I shall give it another try since no new exercise has been given? ;)

how about starting a piece for piano.

not too complicated, but something with a definate form.

1. establish the form in advance.

2. create distinctive thematic material

don't start composing the whole thing just yet... start with some thematic ideas. let's see how you could develop them.

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for non-traditional harmony, there are a few things you could consider.

chords can be inverted for different effects (as you've noticed with the 2nd inversion effect).

harmony can be transposd on itself. what this means is that you take a chord (this is supposing that you are not working with simply major/minor chord) and transpose the entire chord structure onto every note of the original chord.

for example:

if you decided to go with a chord of C - E - F# - B - D

you would transpose the entire thing onto E, then onto F#, onto B, and finally on D.

This works well when dealing with chords that don't necessarily have a traditional directionality to them (chords that don't lead to a destination "by sound").

When building melodic material around your harmonic base, remember that too many melodic notes that are NOT part of the harmony will cut the connection between the melody and the harmony.

This is where counterpoint rules come into play: when you use a non-harmonic tone in the melody (which is the equivalent of a dissonant tone in traditional counterpoint) it should have some sort of preparation and resolution to a harmonic tone.

this could mean:

• passing note (between two notes of the harmony)
  
• appogiatura (unprepared non-harmonic tone that resolves down onto the harmonic tone)
  
• suspension (prepared note from the previous harmony that becomes dissonant to the new harmony and resolves down into the new harmony)
  
• neighbour tone (note that is foreign to the harmony but is surrounded on each side by the same note which IS part of the harmony)
  

the more distant your harmonic material is from common practice, in my opinion, the more important these principles are and their use leads to coherance in your melodic/harmonic relationship.

This is, of course, going on the assumption that you are working from a harmonic framework and assigning melodic material to that.

If you start from an entirely contrapuntal point of view, the approach will be a little bit different.

Ideally, you should be working from a number of approaches to give a truly satisfying result - harmonically, contrapuntally, and purely melodically.

I am so sorry for being a bit inactive, and not too productive. School has totally devoured so much of my time, since I have many various projects which I need to take care of. I will try to do as much as possible during the week-ends.

I'll try to be done with the lesson exercise and the Orchestration Exercise soon :)