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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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 Hi Emma - it's so refreshing hearing what can be done with all these techniques. Well done. Safe journey
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- Type(s) of development exercises used: This is an attempt at exercise 2 from Ashley's list: "Write an interesting 4-5 note rhythm, then write it backwards. Use it on the open strings over a bass line that you write yourself"
- Things you found easy: It wasn't too hard, but the result is not my favorite. I'm not sure I really did exactly what the exercise calls for.
- Things you found difficult: The "interesting" rhythm sounded a lot less interesting when played backwards.
Also, the glissandos sound really dorky on the MIDI piano - sorry!
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Eric well, I DO like the result! I think it needs a contrasting section in the middle OR just some type of variation so that it doesn't sound too playful if that's not your intent. You have some really interesting flavors in there you definitely need to keep and exploit like that accented whole step. I think you should even make the bass and the rhythm contrast slightly more? What do you think?
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Eric Eric it's really good. I love the rhythm and the whole thing worked for me. It's a really inspiring challenge listening to everyone's ideas
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Eric I like the rhythm, really interesting. And also liked the mood after my horror music, very joyful
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Ashley (Ash) Lucero and dear colleagues
I had a pretty busy week and only now had time to do something. Because that's a lot of exercises I did a choice and I am posting what I already have. First, things first:
1. Short melody and variations
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2. Chord progression with uncommon arpeggio
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3. A short composition illustration repetition, fragments and voice exchange.
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José Espírito Santo I like the way the note groupings make the accents fall on off beats. It would be interesting to hear it with a non-syncopated accompaniment or bass line.
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José Espírito Santo Hi José well done - I listened to all 3 and there's some very interesting ideas developing. Look forward to hearing more
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Eric
Thanks, Eric!
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I think that now it's better written better
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José Espírito Santo Thanks for sharing! You've got some interesting harmonies going on in the arpeggiation exercise; i like that descending line going from g-f-e at the beginning of each measure! I'd suggest experimenting a bit more with the arpeggio pattern to come up with something different from, for example, Weiss fantasia in c minor. This ascending arpeggio pattern is quite common. May I challenge you to push the boundaries a little?
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José Espírito Santo also, your fragments/voice exchange/repetition exercise is sounding really nice! You've got plenty of material already to make a finished piece.
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José Espírito Santo and finally, your short melody which you varied little by little brought about some interesting lines. I think the structure is working out pretty nicely for the first 8 bars. nice work!
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Ashley (Ash) Lucero
Thanks for the advice. Yes, you can challenge me on that one. Let’s see what comes out of it...
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Ashley (Ash) Lucero
This one is my favorite. And if I change the sound from guitar to harmonica, it sounds really well, kindoff gipsy... If I would put my hands develop something a little bit further, I would bet on this one.
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José Espírito Santo I think harmonica suits Short Melody very much, good idea! First few measures felt like a western music to me, a dirty cowboy sitting under a tree, playing it. Then developing to something else. Very nice and original!
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Gokce Turkmendag
Thanks!
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Type of development exercises used: I noodled around and found a motif I liked - the melody on top of the Bm-G. I then found another motif I liked which is the descending scale under the moving bass notes. This became my A section. In the B section I messed around with bringing back the second motif in the key of Eminor in two different ways. The first way it turns around back to repeat the B section and the second way it leads back to the key of Bm. The form of the piece is AABBA
Things I found easy: coming up with the original motif ideas. I was sitting outside enjoying the first real day of spring here in Bulgaria. I just survived my first winter here and it wasn't easy for this southern california girl!
Things I found hard: developing the ideas into something original but not weird. I think the piece is a little peculiar - a work in progress. I will record it tomorrow and submit that so you all can hear what I'm talking about. I prefer the real guitar to the god awful sound of the guitar in Sibelius - it sounds like a harpsichord with no soul, lol
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Debbie I am looking forward to hear it, midi is alright if you cannot record. It doesn't look like an exercise by the way, we weren't supposed to create a masterpiece :D
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Gokce Turkmendag I couldn’t help it. It just came out
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Debbie Really looking forward to the recording - it looks very interesting and the title certainly has a spring like feel about it
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Debbie That score looks spectacular. Can't wait to hear it played!
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Debbie
Thanks for sharing! I though to myself: If I study hard, one day perhaps I will manage to write pieces almost so well as Debbie
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