Composing Using a Repeating Chord Progression

Most of the time I compose by first writing a melody, or at least a melodic figure. Sometimes I compose by first writing a chord progression. That is what I did when I composed Willow:

The chord progression is: C, G, Am, Em, F, C, Dm, G. This than repeats 4 more times beginning at :27,:48, 1:02, and 1:18. What I do is play the chord differently each time through (called a Variation). For example, the progression begins with a C chord. Here is an example of the C chord beginning each time through the chord progression (click on image to make bigger):

It’s still a C chord (C Chord= C, E, and G), but each one is a little different. I used the same technique in my arrangement of House of the Rising Sun.

The chord progression is: Am, C, D, F, Am, C, E, E, Am, C, D, F, Am, E, Am, E. It starts at 0:15. Each time through I make changes (variations). The first variation (0:39) I play the melody and chords in an upper register (higher). Second variation (1:00) I play faster (triplets). Third variation (1:20) faster yet (16th notes). Final variation (1:41) strumming.

-Rob

scores, tabs, mp3s available at http://www.robertlunncomposer.com

Composing Tip: Write Music as if You are in the Audience.

Here is a nice Christopher Rouse interview I found on youtube. For those who don’t know who he is, Rouse is a composer who has won a Grammy and Pulitzer and is currently Composer-in-Residence with the New York Philharmonic. My personal favorite works (in case you are wondering) are the Trombone Concerto (depressing, but good) and Gorgon (imagine the orchestra as a rock band). 

My favorite quote from the video is:

“To me as a composer, I try to write as though I am listening to it, and the music is by somebody else…”

One of the difficulties when writing music (or any kind of creative activity) is to get some distance from it (seeing the forest instead of the trees). This can be difficult because you (the composer) are intimately wrapped up with the piece. You know its inner workings (and desires, but I digress…).

Here are a couple things I do:

1. I will shut my eyes and listen to the computer playback. I find if I shut my eyes I won’t look at the sheet music and the music will be more of a surprise (at least as much as it can be).

2. I will conduct and “hear” the music in my mind. I will often do this with a metronome to make sure the rhythms are the way I want them to be.

Here are a couple general questions I will ask myself:

1. Will the audience be able to follow what is going on in the music from beginning to end?

2. Is the musical journey interesting?

-Rob

scores, tabs, and mp3s available at http://www.robertlunncomposer.com

Composition Tip: How to avoid the "blank page" syndrome

It is very easy to waste many composition hours by looking at a blank piece of staff paper (or a computer screen) trying to come up with something to write. As a student I had this problem, as an adult I don’t.

Why the change? Life got busier (kids, work, etc.) and I don’t have as much time to compose so I try and make the most of it. When I was a student I had endless amounts of free time.

Here is what I do:

1. I usually have an idea of the general character of the piece. For example, I want to compose an “uplifting” solo bassoon piece. “Uplifting” to me means that I probably won’t be using minor scales but will instead stick with major thirds and melodies that ascend.

2. Once I know the general character of the piece I will begin to improvise (brainstorm) and come up with (at least) 20 different ideas (melodies, chord progressions, motives). This stage is usually completed in 15 to 20 minutes. Don’t want to over think this stage.

3. Then I’ll go through my ideas and pick out a couple that I like and start developing them into tiny (10-15 measures) pieces. If this part is a struggle I will go on to the next idea I like.

4. The next day I’ll pick “the one” and then start brainstorming more ideas, this time related to “the one.”

I hope this helps,

-Rob

Composition Tips: Thoughts by Will Bottje

Composition Tips: Thoughts by Will Bottje

Will Bottje is a great composer and a former teacher. I once asked him if he had any ideas on the process of composition and the next week I had this:

(notes from Will Bottje) a partial answer to a rather involved question.

How do you compose (How does one compose?) Decisions, decisions.

1. Before any notes or sounds are down- pre-compositional decisions

a. the medium, vocal, instrumental, electronic, etc.

b. an intended level of difficulty (student, good student, professional, etc.)

c. possible approaches to ‘technique’, i.e. some type of traditional formal procedure, ‘open’, serial, minimal, tonal (more or less), some or many random or indeterminate elements, etc. (or a mix of several of these).

d. some notion as to length, perhaps, though this can be open-ended

e. perhaps sense of mood or textural relationship. If a vocal work, selections of a text which seems stimulating. (When a beginning is decided on then many of these things may follow).

f.  your knowledge of the medium you’ve selected–to explore the ‘outer fringes’ of technique or to use it (them) more or less traditionally. Traditional isn’t necessarily bad if you don’t know the medium well, at least at first. Good music can be written in a relatively straightforward manner!

g. note (extensive score reading from all periods and styles of music can help develop a foundation for instrumental and vocal usage). But one can never know it all!

2. Beginning:

a. a motive (melodic), harmonic sequence, rhythmic feeling–a gesture of some sort, or even a longer line. Perhaps, in some cases, there is a planning ahead (i.e. a triple fugue in which three themes are designed first, before moving to entire fugue- or a satisfactory theme and harmonic setting-etc. for a set of variations.

b. what follows next:

repetition ( including transposition, etc.) this may depend on form.  More of it (at least some sort of recognizable relationship)? A contrast, (anywhere from slight to extreme) including change of tempo, change of texture, register, color, etc.

c. ones relationship to redundancy–how much, how little–to come back to something already established, or to proceed into more new material?

d. if a more or less ‘established’ procedure begins to evolve or has been already chosen–where am I in the general scheme of things? If you don’t know yet that may be OK, too.

e. the kind of ‘ears’ and minds you think you want to ‘reach’?

3. Continuity

a. is element of ‘balance’ beginning to emerge or is it unimportant or predetermined by form decided upon.

b. does material so far seem to be moving to some goal (i.e. cadence, point of rest, climax, place of change) or is it ‘on-going’ a kind of through composed feeling?

c. does it seem to be heading for something rather long in scope, or comparatively short?

d. do the various elements of each section seem to ‘set off’ well those of the contrasting sections?

4. The larger View

a. Has material ‘grown’, ‘evolved’ developed or become ‘more meaningful’ since it started?

b. Is there a satisfactory sense of conclusion and ‘resolution’ (not necessarily tonal), completion?

c. Is it part of a multi-movement series or should it stand by itself?

d. are you comfortable with the play between linear and harmonic elements?

e. do rhythmic elements seem convincing? (more complexity vs less complexity is always a problem). Partly this depends on level of difficulty that is being maintained.

-Rob

scores, tabs, and mp3s available at http://www.robertlunncomposer.com

Composer of the Month (July, 2012): Frédéric Chopin

Frederic Chopin was a Polish composer that lived from 1810-1849. The majority of his pieces are for the piano. 

Chopin, unlike many of his colleagues, used generic titles for his pieces. In Chopin's compositions you find titles such as, Ballade, Prelude, Sonata, Waltz. etc., it was as if he were writing pure music and not trying to hide any compositional deficiencies by giving overly-creative titles (I've done that on more than one occasion, but I digress). 

I also love the unabashed virtuosity. Virtuosity is exciting, it keeps the audience awake and on their toes. 

My absolute favorite Chopin piece is the Ballade in G Minor. This piece is in my top 5 of all-time favorite pieces. My favorite performance is by the Russian virtuoso, Vladimir Horowitz.