Advice On Acompaniments.

hello to all, and nice to meet you, im an aspiring composer, studying by myself, so yeah, im really really far yet xD, basically ive always loved music, but never really had the money or the skill in my hands (or so i feel) to learn an instrument, but last november i just though, heck, i cant just do it in my computer, soon after i started doing puny experiments with the fl studio, started getting better instrument vsts, and around one or two months later started getting some books and studyng. now i have a daw and use notation software too, i found "William Russo's Composing Music A new approach" helped me tons but i still i have a problem.

I dont find hard whiping up a melody by itself, OR the acompaniment (altough they are pretty common ones, pretty much what is taught by william russo's book- ompah,ompahpah, repeated notes, ostinatos, different kind of arpegios and i guess plain chords), i mean i CAN add a melody to an accompaniment afterwards but i find its not quiet as good that way, not like when i make the melody first, but when i do that i often find myself puzzled as how to actually do it right, "no accompaniment seems to fit right" or "it sticks out", if you know what i mean; i figure this is because i dont know enough ways to do the accompaniment or havent done enough excercises, so i was kind of wondering if you know of any i can do to get better at that? or if theres any books or examples or composers i could check, oh, and my main aim is kind of game music, or trailer-commercials, film, tv music and such xD

it would also help me if you could advice me in the same way about Form, which again is something i only know from what ive learned from russo.

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oh and by the way, most of my music background (music im used to or i know) is pretty standard, music ive heard in games and tv/film, from the most commercials id say john wiliiams, Danny Elfman, alan silvestri and others who i probably dont know the names, then from more classic ones, one of the ones i love the most are Gustav Holts and his "the plannets" (specially the first 3 planets) and Wagner in general.

And here's some of my practices, one is an old practice, sunlit library, its got only melody and chords, i hadnt reached acompaniment chapters yet, Golden Meadows is a free practice a few chapters after i learned a bit about acompaniment, and the smallest one, light hearted strings, is another free practice, but i was trying some stuff i learned reading the first page of the harmony section of the rimsky korsakov's guide theyve made in the garritan website.

Golden Meadows.mp3

LightHeartedStrings.mp3

Sunlit Library.mp3

please be my guest when criticizing me, i really want to get better and theres no other way than that, and i sure am far from what i would like to accomplish...

Ps: sorry if everything sounds a little stiff but i dont own a midi keyboard, i made it all in a notation software.

Your question is impossible to be answered a general, concise advice that takes into account the many factors involved in the creation of a satisfying accompaniment to a melody.

The starting point for a successful accompaniment would be a solid harmonization of the melody, with special attention to the bass and its interaction with the melody.

The actual translation of the harmonization into suitable rhythms, patterns, textures, countermelodies and so forth will depend on a complex combination and interplay of factors: what is most efficient and idiomatic for the instrument or ensemble in charge of the accompaniment, suits best the melody, mood, overall style of the music, etc.

Your best bet to hone your skills would be, as usual, consulting the literature. If you want to write piano accompaniments, examine the wealth of solo & piano works (either vocal or instrumental) by Schubert, Schumann, Debussy, Poulenc and many others, which are usually more sophisticated than formulaic um-pahs or arpeggiations, but they have not reservations using stereotyped accompaniments either. You will find lots of ideas for pianistic patterns and textures there. If the accompaniment is for guitar, harp or whatever instrumental ensemble, just study the relevant scores.

The "game/film/Tv/and such" orientation of the music has not direct bearings on the style of accompaniment, but indirectly because of the mood, type of melody, particular instrumentations and so forth. Ultimately, the guidelines for a good accompaniment are the same for all kinds or music, because those guidelines are adaptative to the particular contexts.

hi, and thanks for your great answer sarastro, sir, it gave me lots to think and try to find out about (and sorry to take so long to answer, ive been away for a while xD), still, i have some doubts, you mentioned that the melody needs a solid harmonization, with that, do you mean, to make sure that the melody doesnt go astray from the notes in the chord right(and the notes that do stay in rule)? or is it more than that? and about the bass line, id really love to learn more about how to make better baselines but the books ive read havent been very useful about that topic, makes me feel a little bad when i see my overly simple baselines and compare them with other's -_-, they make it look so simple, not to mention i usually get a little blocked everytime i try to remember all the rules i have to keep in mind while composing xD, altough it doesnt stop the process from being very fun. anyways do you know where i could learn more about making better bass lines too? (books,websites,scores?), oh and my reason to mention what kind of music id like to make was to find out if anybody knew any composers i could study that had similar styles, but i wasnt very clear, i didnt specify my aim is orchestral music (full symphonic orchestra) and also kind forgot to ask some other stuff (but frankly, i had already asked and said a lot of stuff xD right?, lol)

Then, about piano acompaniments, would it still help me, in general, to learn about them even if i dont dont own a piano or a midi keyboard? (cause i dont really own any instruments.... and cant afford any -_-), all i can really use at the moment is notation and vst instruments (which i kinda got thanks to a friend), and i mean this given how specific the technique of play is for the piano (and same with the guitar, no?)

and one last thing, ive heard again and again about how you have to "visualize" the harmonic structure of a piece when your making it (or planning it) but i dont think ive ever seen a working example of how one would actually look (i mean ive made chord progresions for my practices, but nothing too fancy or too long, mostly triads, i dont think ive ever made a track longer than a minute or so xD, like AABA ) do you know where i could find a book or some examples online or something where i could learn more about that too? i would really like to know how a professional creates his/her harmonic structure (i figure it would be too much to ask, if you could show me an example of how you do it?)

well, thanks in advance, and sorry to bug you so much, and eveyone else too for that matter xD.

Well, I was waiting for someone else to chime in and provide some answers, because this is a complex matter. Some clarifications that you asked for:

1) Solid harmonization: your description is perhaps a bit simplified, but it is would be good starting point. The melody can contain other notes than those of the underlying chord, as you know, and the harmonic system can be other than the tonal major/minor system.

2) Bass line: in music that focuses in a melody against an accompaniment, a polarization happens and the melody and the bass are the most important lines. A good harmonizer will write just a melody and the bass without the "filling", and the music will feel harmonically complete. The bass does not need to be melodically very complex or rhythmically active. It is about its structural notes and their relationship with the melody. The bass can be then decorated, or given more activity, or styled this or that way, but it should work in its simplified form. Good models for melody and bass are baroque compositions. Indeed, composers of that period often only wrote just those fundamental lines. The "filling" was either improvised or given to a student or someone else to complete.

3) Books on writing good bass lines: I do not think there are dedicated books about this. This topic is covered in standard harmony texts. Common exercises of harmony are figuring out bass lines and harmony for a melody, and figuring out compatible harmonies and melodies for a bass line. Any text will do, and they often include the theory and a bunch of exercises. I guess there is already a thread that discusses good textbooks on harmony here. A good one is Walter Piston, but there are many others. Do a search first, because there might be a good bibliography in some thread already.

4) You did not ask for it, but just in case: harmony deals with the vertical dimension of music, but you need horizontal dimension too. This is covered by counterpoint. At certain point, both disciplines overlap. Anyway, there is also a lot of bibliography, with theory and exercises. I think I have seen a thread here that discusses books on this subject. Do a search.

5) Orchestral stuff: you might not be ready yet to undertake orchestral projects. Stick to simple ensembles first (solo piano, melody and piano or guitar, four part choir...) to consolidate harmony and counterpoint. The preparatory stage of an orchestral work can often look very much like a piano work (written on a grand staff, only it does not need to be playable or idiomatic for the piano, because it is going to be orchestrated).

6) Basic forms and harmonic structures: simple binary or ternary forms are a good starting point. Do not try longer or more complex stuff yet. This way you can write a greater number of exercises exploring many different things each time, and learn faster, rather than a single, time consuming large scale project. The common harmonic structures are covered in the harmony books. Start with those, and you will soon be able to figure out your own.

7) Since it looks like you are not following formal studies, I suggest you try to figure out a rational learning plan, so that you do not skip essential steps and your adquisition of knowledge is optimized. Be aware that you can not get immediate answers for every factor involved or get there in a short amount of time; music is very complex and it takes many years of study.

I hope someone else will chime in with further comments and insight, study plans, and so forth. Anyway, I recommend performing a search on the topics you are interested, because most of your questions might have already been answered or discussed in separate threads here.

Good luck!

Thanks again sarastro, you dont know how thankful i feel about your advice; where i live i cant really get much composition studies, frankly i dont even think there are any schools or universities that teach that here, you really are the closest person ive ever had to a teacher... if you dont count russo's text(and some others) -which were more like far away voices giving me directions xD.

Anyways, i'll get to searching for harmony books then, and about counterpoint, i only know 1:1 and 1:2 counterpoint (from russo´s) so i´ll get to search more about that too (theres two more types, no?), although i havent ever seen anyone say "when" its practical to use it; also, about ensembles, besides quartets or ensembles which involve a piano, do you know any other ensembles or groups with varied instruments in them that would be practical and fun to work with?

Oh, and last but not least, i do know that music is a field that takes years to master, i'm already prepared for that xD, besides, the other stuff i love to do is write stories, creative writing in general, and thats another field you never stop learning, (or more like cant, cause you can always break the rules everysometime, same as with music...). All in all, music is one of those things i dont plan to stop doing until i kick the bucket xD, even though i still haven't decided which will be my main profession (and let's face it, neither will make me millionare anyways), altough for now im leaning towards music, cause, since i started learning it, i havent been able to stop doing it everyday. Still, i guess only time will tell.

Anyways, thanks again for your advice.

Well, thanks, I'm glad you found my advices useful enough.

There are some fun chamber ensembles you can try before jumping to orchestral: woodwind trios, quartets and quintets. You get timbric variety and they are "standard" ensembles, therefore you can find many nice examples to study. Next you could try a small chamber orchestra, which is basically a woodwind trio or quartet on top of a string quartet - all soloists, i.e. one player per instrument - (also quite standard and with lots of examples to study). Clarinet choirs and saxophone choirs are quite popular small ensembles. Or brass ensembles (trios, quartets, trombone choirs...) Percussion ensembles are also possible and fun (mixing pitched and non pitched percussion). You could try Orff ensembles (a recorder or recorder choir, pitched and non pitched percussion; it is a standard ensemble designed for beginners at schools). You can of course invent your own mixed ensembles (up to eight instruments looks like a reasonable limit to keep things manageable until you develop the skills needed to attempt large orchestra), only you will not find many examples of them.

Happy learning and happy composing!