Week 2: Develop // Mar 29th
Welcome to Week 2's main thread! Here you can find the outline of materials and sample exercises to get you started. Then, post your finished exercises (either all at once or one at a time depending on your work flow.) Please use the following format when posting:
- Type(s) of development exercises used:
- Things you found easy:
- Things you found difficult:
Feel free to include any other thoughts in your post!
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I guess I'm really into this one because I'm going to post again. This time I reharmonized a classic melody every American knows from childhood.
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Eric Love the reharmonization!
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Eric you improved it hahaha!!! Loved the ending...
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Eric OH MY GOODNESS THANK YOU FOR THIS! On top of spaghetti is still one of my favorite songs from childhood to sing at inappropriate volumes in public. Very creative twists and who can resist those chromatic extended chords?! i think you gotta keep going with this now!
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Eric
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Ashley (Ash) Lucero To be honest, it just makes me laugh every time I hear it!
The cadence on the Fmaj7 chord is so hoaky. It's like Cub Scout camp meets retro jazz lounge. I have to say, I really have no idea how to keep going with this. Maybe turn it into a Broadway musical? Should I pitch it to Ben Platt?
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Eric I think you now need to write a theme and variations for it! We will be talking about form this coming monday for week 3. Youve already got your theme written, now to write some variations!
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Hi Ashley - Just had a brief go at the first exercise example to see if I understand it correctly
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Ron Yes!!! Perfect! You got some nifty tricks up your sleeve. How would you describe the character of this excerpt? I think it's a great start for an idea! More please, keep going!
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Ron I agree with Ashley, Ron. It's a good start. Keep it going!
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Ashley (Ash) Lucero Thanks Ash - I think I'd just describe it as experimental! I'm sure that the more I do the better I will understand it, but for now I'm just enjoying having a go
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Debbie Thanks Debbie
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Hello Ashley, I call this my RNA sequencing effort as I move through Exercise 2. That is, I have been reading about how RNA concepts were used to develop our newer COVID vaccines. For me, it means to cut a piece of music, lay it out as content, combine it with something else and watch out for the creativity. I took four notes from Take Me Out to the Ball Game and created materials using repetition, fragmentation, inversion, retrograde, augmentation, diminution, wave, and combinations. I have not as yet written down a composition, but I will do so soon. What I have played out of these as first musical efforts has resulted in such enjoyment. Thanks so much for your workshop and extensive notes. These were so helpful.
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Very nice Stephen Holland
It illustrates perfectly the transformations. Thanks!
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José Espírito Santo Jose, many thanks for your kindness. I am so enjoying learning to compose.
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Stephen Holland nice work! and I loved your metaphor with the RNA concepts, it makes so much sense! You've got some great materials going there, maybe start playing with rhythmic motives next too, try to push your boundaries in that regard! :)
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Thank you, Ashley, for your supportive commentary. I also appreciate your challenge to start playing with rhythmic motives. I will accept the challenge moving forward, but this was my first effort at composing, so one step at a time. Well, actually, there were many steps at one time with the process, which I so enjoyed applying. With that, is this process you taught us a way"licks" are created for jazz, bluegrass, and flat picking styles? I have a full notebook of licks that until now I did not know how to apply. By the way, my first effort at building a composition from these pieces resulted in a more intense presentation. I really want to go to a ball game, and that came out in the playing of this score. I just need to write it down. Many thanks.
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Stephen Holland Wow, i think combining your "licks" with this "classical" approach to composition would result in some really interesting stuff. Let's hear it!
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- Type(s) of development exercises used: "Write a melody, then write 2 more recurrences of it but slightly changing each time"
- Things you found easy: All of it
- Things you found difficult: Nothing really. Developing the idea into something more might be difficult.
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Eric Nice! I think the next step here is to think of some other harmonies to outline with your melody other than tonic (in this case E minor) and the dominant (B). Maybe that will take you to that next step of making it more than a challenge, or what were you thinking of doing next? Thanks for sharing more with us!
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Hello Ash and everybody!
First let me start by saying that I am enjoying so much your lessons! Thank you Ash! Also as I had to see the second lesson in stream I would like to vote now yes for a course on harmony or any other musical subject in Tonebase. I am travelling tomorrow and will not have enough internet access for 10 days so I am sending this exercise now, although I would have liked to work more on it. I will continue to develop it during my trip. I don't know its quality but I have learnt a lot by doing it!
Process: I came up with a motif, then I developed it by using repetition, diminution, augmentation, segmentation, and inversion. I put a base, and continued by writing a succession of chords. Melodies are popping up in my head, or at least phrases, so I will continue to work with this in the next few days.
Easy: The process, structured, an exercise. I knew what I had to do, and tried to do it. I was not lost even when I always thought that writing notes was out of my ability,
Difficult: I need to know more about chords, harmony, to make the motif more interesting and beautiful. I think what I have made is too simple, using for example in the last measure a chord of 2 notes because I could not find a better way to resolve.
Sorry I could not send a guitar recording today..... will have to put up con el pianito...
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Emma Very cool! It's sounds a bit like theme music for a spy show.
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Eric thank you Eric! Hahaha spy music, there you are!
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Emma this is AMAZING! These ideas are already enough material for a medium to long length piece! I am grinning and dancing so much listening to your ideas!! just WOW! Safe travels, Emma and congrats on being awesome enough to post your work BEFORE your trip, that's some real passion and hard work! Can't wait to hear more!
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Emma I love your motif and how you developed it in a variety of ways. It will make a very nice piece!
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