Search the Community

Some short pieces. Six Piano Pieces.pdf 01 Aeolian (Winds).mp3 02 The Hummingbird's Phrygian Flight.mp3 03 Quick Diminished Changes.mp3 04 Can We Be Friends.mp3 05 Longing Worlds.mp3 06 Gemini II.mp3

This is Keshar (Keshy). He is a very big boy because he is a Maine Coon. This music tries to represent what "he" makes me feel. The work has two parts and it is an approximation to create harmonic systems from exotic scales, which are non functional as we are accostumed to with tonal music. The first part has three sections: ABA Sections A are using a Gypsy scale in C: C - D - Eb - F# - G - Ab - Bb From this scale, the following chords (built in thirds) are obtained, with variants: Cm7 - D7(b5), Ebmaj7, ¿? (F#-Ab-C), Gmin(maj7), Abmaj7, Bb7(#5) Section B (which includes a fugatto) is using the Jewish scale in C: C - Db - E - F - G - Ab - Bb The chords are: C7, Dbmaj7, E¿?, Fmin(maj7), Gmin7(b5), Ab+, Bbmin7 --------------- What I do here is to develop a melodic and harmonic system using ONLY the notes of each scale. What matters is to establish the cadential chords. In the first case (Gypsy in C) the tonic chord is Cm / Cm7. The cadentials chords are hard to find in this case because the characteristic note is F# (the others are present in C minor scale), and the chords that include this note are not stable: D(b5) / D7(b5) has a b5, Bb7(#5) has a #5.... These are altered intervals. Gm7(maj7) can also work as cadential. Anyway, one has to manage this, and I used all these chords as cadentials. In the second case (Jewish), the characteristic note is Db, and also Ab and Bb (with these alterations the scale is major, to be minor the third degree should be E flat). Now it's easy: Dbmaj7 and Bbmin7 include the notes and are stable chords. Besides the are a step from the tonic chord (C or C7) which is a strong point to be a cadential chord in modality. When building a system like this, sometimes even the tonic chord is not stable, and the harmony is difficult to make it sound as a unique scale-mode, because the tendency will be to skip to other tonal center (more stable). Other times, the scale gives so odd chords that they cannot be used and it is better trying to use it as we do in atonality. On the other hand, we must always avoid progressions that can be typical of major/minor mode, this would destroy the sonority of the scale. Well, the universe of scales is infinite, and information about it is scarce. It is easy to find the description of the scales, but no one explains HOW to use them. So..., I did my own research and wrote a book explaining how to work with any scale (from unitonal to dodecaphonic), with lots of examples. In the second part the approximation is different. It is planned using different scales y several tone centers at the same time. That's why no chords are notated. This is also a choice, I mean, use two scales (even in different centers) at the same time... The thing is to make them sound good together. For example, in the first part there are two scales: Right hand: G - Ab - Bb - C - D - Eb - F = G phrygian Left hand: G - Ab - B - C - D - Eb - F = unnamed KESHAR I.pdf KESHAR I.mp3 KESHAR II.pdf KESHAR II.mp3

Instructor: @Monarcheon Students: max. 10 Expectations: Composers will learn about music from the contemporary/modern period, analyze it deeply, and will write music in this style. This should span over about a month and composition assignments will be used. Week 1: Bartok - form Week 2: Webern - interval set/vectors Week 3: Messiaen - rhythms/time Week 4: Cage - intro to musical philosophy AKA "real theory" Special Notes: This is our first test long-form masterclass... structured to be more like an actual class. It's a test because I don't know how many people will be interested/care. Let me know if you're interested in the comments.

I feel attracted to indeterminacy in music and composing "by chance". After having studied Music of changes and other works I wanted to try by myself. I wanted to see the results leaving to chance more or less elements of the composition, and using different scales. I use a deck of cards, and dices to do it. These are pieces that one con find interesting or not, I don't think much can be said about anything (since they were randomly done). I find very interesting to see the different moods changing scales or the indeterminacy strength. oxymoron 1: dodecaphonic scale, pitches, octaves, rhythm, and dynamics all done by chance. I only fixed that there would be a middle part in chords. oxymoron 2: diatonic scales with one or two accidentals added, pitches and rhythm by chance. oxymoron 3: ABA form, parts A use the neapolitan minor scale, all written by chance method. The middle part uses an artificial scale and I wrote it without any indeterminacy, as a contrast section. oxymoron 4: right hand uses Mode 7 (Messiaen) and left hand Mode 1 (hexatonic) first, and a pentatonic scale afterwords. Everything else left to chance. OXYMORON 1 - SCORE.pdf OXYMORON 2 - SCORE.pdf OXYMORON 3 - SCORE.pdf OXYMORON 4 - SCORE.pdf

This was the first nocturne I wrote, some tiem ago. It's in Emin, tonal but with some unusual progressions. In some parts I used an artificial scale (nor major, nor minor).

Hi Bearing in mind the 12 semitones of the scale (no microtones) and excluding transpositions, the number of possible scales/modes are: 2E11 = 2048 This brings the possibility of building 2048 different harmonic systems. I don't mean using scales as improvistion tools over some chords. I mean using any scale to build chords from it (by thirds, but also by seconds, fourths, fifths, hybrids, etc...) and use them to harmonize whan we are composing. Even only ONE note may grow to a harmonic system. See Ligeti's Musica Ricercata (the first piece is built only with a note: A). If we stick to major/minor scales (modes) we are using only 0.01% of the possible systems (excluding also atonality). So there is a musical univers out there...

I have heard that the diatonic scales have their own characteristics. A minor is described as 'The sadder minor scale', and D major as 'The joyful major scale'. The distiction between major and minor scales is very clear to me, but I cannot really hear a differance between the scales with the same major or minor tonality. Does the tone a diatonic scale is centered around contribute to the feeling of the scale? My guess is that the 'feeling' of these scales comes from instruments that are suited to play that scale. IE, it is the timber of the instrument that makes a scale sound happier/sadder than another. Or maybe I am not a good enough musican to hear a real differance between C major and D major. What do you think?