Musical Composing

Many musical composing contests have their deadlines in April. Often a student or adult does their best work when under pressure to finish a project whether it is memorizing the recital piece or getting ready for a competition by.putting those finishing touches on a song. This month I want to give some advice on arranging a song once you have composed the melody or if you are working on a hymn arrangement using that melody.

Teachers are mentors who want to help a student achieve the best for them. Some students have higher goals and always excel. A student must be willing to accept helpful, contructive criticism at all stages of learning. Teachers are there to HELP. I want to H (help); E (encourage); L (listen); P (plan for progress). Practice does make progress.

When we hear some music for the first time we have an impression of it. Do we want to hear it again? Did we like the performance? When my students have played a new song for me that they were composing for a contest, certain spots struck me immediately that didn't sound right. When they wrote the piece out, we could see that there were problems that we could solve. There were structural mistakes that could be corrected. For instance, songs must have balance. One musical phrase must answer another, just like a conversation. If I asked a question, I expect a logical answer back. For instance, "What is your favorite color"? "I had pizza for lunch." When arranging or composing each phrase that follows the other is important and needs to make musical sense.

One of the basic ideas in musical form is that of symmetry or balance. As a rule, the initial phrase is balanced by an answering phrase. The first is called the antecedent phrase, the second, the consequent phrase. The first phrase states a musical idea and the second follows in consequence. These two related phrases are called a Period. A Double Period consists of four phrases. One general rule is: Each phrase should be four measures in length. Several short motifs can make up one four measure phrase. Then another four measures, followed by more phrases composed, arranged or built in the same way. There are always exceptions to rules. The hymn, "Come Thou almighty King" has three measures in a phrase; "Praise the Lord, the King of Heaven" has five measures per phrase; "Man of Sorrows" has two measures to a phrase. There are many forms of composition. It is important to start by using a simple, even melody and then harmonize it carefully and perfect using chords that fit and have a cadence. When you have mastered something simple, then go on and on and on.

It is important to be able to identify the chords you are using. Another important rule is: Never double the third of the chord. For example, if your melody note is an E in the right hand, do not use an E in the left hand chord if the chord is a C major chord. The middle note of a C chord is C-E-G. The middle note is the most powerful, it changes the whole chord. If you lower the third the whole chord becomes minor. One note IS important. Amateur arrangers often make this mistake until they really hear the sound they are creating.

Before composing or arranging, it is important to have something to say musically. To write out something that has the same chords that have been standard, or have nothing "new" to say is a waste of time. Many times, some piece is difficult to play, not because it is really difficult, but because it is really just written very ackward for the hands. It is wrong to have both hands playing the same note with thumbs. The hands need their space at the keyboard. Use an octave higher sign instead of writing endless ledger lines in the treble clef. Why make something appear harder than it is? Use other notes of the chord to harmonize instead of repeating similar sounds. Make me want to play your piece again because it flows with my fingers instead of hurts to reach tenths together as chords. Use natural hand positions and keep to the fingering of the scale of the key you have selected. Mozart composed a piece that looked impossible to play. When asked how he played it, Mozart showed him that he played one note with his nose! We only have ten fingers, so use the notes they can perform wisely. Make every single note have a purpose. Less is always better. Think how ridiculous someone looks if they have a gold necklace, a necklace of pearls, a ruby pin and a ring on every finger. We must know when enough is enough.

When a theme is repeated, do something different. Play softer, louder, change the harmony, play embellishments around the melody, play the melody an octave higher, play a retrograde, don't bore the listener. No one likes to hear the same thing repeated over and over again. My husband calls that nagging!

Our goal should be to create arrangements with style and substance woven together with originality. Learn to name the chords used in your composition or arrangement. Would you dare put something in a recipe of food if you didn't know what you were using? It could be poison! Poison in music is using double thirds, parallel octaves, step wise motion not followed by a jump or opposite phrase in another musical direction. We must make music not a mess of notes!

"Beginnings are alike, it is ends which differ. One drop falls, lasts, and dries up, .but a drop: Another begins a River." The hardest part of anything is...beginning! So begin again and again, making a beautiful river of notes. Make music that will last forever and not become obsolete or old fashioned in style...just classic! Use the talents you possess...for the woods would be silent if no birds sang except the best. Robert Schumann stated that" tell me where you live, and I will tell what kind of music you write". We must listen to good music and keep on getting better everyday by studying other great composers and arrangers. Beethoven said, "a day without learning something new is a day lost." Guillaume de Machault said these important words in 1350, "He who writes or composes without the true inner fire, without himself feeling the emotion he tries to describe, he had better not say anything at all, for he will always be a phony." Lowell Mason, the great musician. composer and educator who put music in the public schools of America, said, "He is not best educated who knows the most but he is best educated who knows best how to learn."

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