Saturday 22 September 2012

Character Piece No. 1

Last class, I played the beginnings of my first character piece based on those 14 chords. I'm writing for horn and piano, the two instruments I know best. It was still a pretty rough outline of the piece, with parts not yet filled in, no dynamic markings or anything... But it established the basic character, particularly a rhythmic motive carried in the RH piano for most of the piece.

I got some really helpful feedback from the class, mostly about this recurring motive. They liked the idea and the character it created, but suggested I explore ways to make it less predictable -- use it in different registers, give some to the horn, maybe offset the motive in horn and piano... add or subtract notes to create variation, play with subtle ways to change it up. If it's too repetitive, the danger is that we'll all get sick of it. Never a good thing! So there were lot of good ideas for me to think about.
Dr. Ross said it has potential - encouraging words! So now to try to realize that potential!

Saturday 15 September 2012

14 Chords

Our first assignment: to invent a progression of 12-16 chords that are not related to functional harmony, which we'll later use to write pieces for piano and some other instrument.

It sounds simple, but I found it quite challenging. Most of the music I've played has been based on tonality. The last few years of theory classes have focused almost entirely on traditional harmony and voice leading. So now to be sent off to explore atonality... I felt a bit lost. No rules to follow - except to avoid the rules I know.

It took a lot of trial and error to come up with chords. When I went to the piano, my fingers kept finding chords they recognize (they're too well trained!), and my ear kept saying, "Ya, that sounds good!" So I had to really play around to find chords that sounded ok but couldn't be easily labelled, and to arrange them in a somehow logical way with a gradual increase then decrease in tension.

All my chords were approved when I played them in class. Chord 10 had the most tension, probably because it's widely spaced and uses the lower register of the piano. They found chords 7 and 12 nice - and when we looked closer, we found that 7 is similar to a V13 (but still acceptable!) and 12 is based on a stack of 5ths (interesting!). Other feedback: I used a wide range of the piano, which helped to vary the tension of the chords (good!).

I still might go back a tweak a few chords - there's a few that I don't particularly like. But overall I'm happy with what I came up with and the feedback I got in class.

Tuesday 11 September 2012

my BLOG

I have a blog?!

Yes, I'm new to this whole thing. Right now it's just another website for me to check, another password to remember, another thing to keep track of. But I wouldn't be surprised if I soon get attached to blogging. I like journaling. The thought of an online journal, open for anyone to read, is a little intimidating yet exciting. Please leave comments! Give feedback, tell me what you think.

So why am I starting this blog? Bottom line: I have to! It's required for MUS 3140, the composition seminar. We have to keep a composition blog, write about our experiences with composing and such... talk about feedback we get in class on our pieces...

I don't have much to say yet. I'm just writing this today because it's a hurricane day - school's closed so I have time! I have very little experience in composition. I've always been interested, but it's a matter of actually sitting down to write. Often I sit at the piano and play, just following my fingers and my ear. It's fun! But to write it down... it's hard! I actually have to decide what I want, where I want things to go. Decisions, decisions, decisions!

And so I decided to go for a composition minor - to explore this world of writing music, to challenge myself, to see where it takes me. A major in piano performance with a minor in composition. It will be a busy but exciting next couple years!