Lesson with Oboehazzard

tsk tsk tsk... there are two 2nds in there....

Is this better? I could only find one second. But were you referring to the repeated E? I changed that too.

Originally Posted by oboehazzard

Is this better? I could only find one second. But were you referring to the repeated E? I changed that too.

not, not the repeated notes...

look at the end of measure 3.
and again at the end of measure 8 (look carefully at this one).

Missed those. Woops.

I would like you to compose a phrase, 12-16 measures long, that has a "high point". I want to sense that the phrase is LEADING to that high point, through the use of motifs.

Think of using some long notes in your theme as well! I noticed that your other themes were rather unrelentingly 1/4 and 1/8th note driven. How about a few half notes here and there? and not just at the end of a phrase! how about a triplet of 1/4 notes? how about incorporating some rests INTO the the theme?

Take your time on this.

You should not be able to write this exercise out in one sitting.
You should take the time to go over the thematic material, note by note, interval by interval.

I hate using my music as an example, but if you go over the opening theme of my Symphony in C you'll get an idea of what I mean. there are notes that are stretched, motifs that are repeated, intervals that gradually widen with repetition, longer notes, breathes, runs of shorter notes, all leading to a climax, then back down. When I wrote that theme I wrote it monophonically... one single line.

Do the rules of exercise 3 apply to this as well?

Also, is there any way you could post an excerpt of the theme? A Finale File, or an IMG file?

I would say yes, continue for now with the no 2nds rule.. but you may add 7ths.

I'd like you to create a theme that is not "classical" in form. I don't want you imitating my music or that of anyone else, necessarily, but I want to see you start looking for notes, colours, rythmes, that break from a strictly classical-era mold.

I'm including an annotated version of the main theme of my symphony so you can see how and where intervals are prominant, and how and where elements are repeated.

Obviously, this doesn't follow the "no 2nds, no 7ths" rule I've given for your exercise.

You'll notice that a hefty chunk of "theme 1" is actually an integral part of "theme 2". It is "time shifted" so that the emphasis falls on different notes than the first time you hear the theme, but it's still there. This creates a sense of unity.

Obviously, the music continues, after what's on this page, so you're not getting any sort of "final cadence" to the theme.

I actually went over the 16 measures and it came out to be 18 measures. I led up to the high point, and then released the tension and ended it pianissimo like the beginning, so it comes full-circle.

ok, pretty good.
Now let's discuss "climax".
I notice that your climax was dynamic only.
You actually return to the same note as the climax in the final part of the melody. Why?

A side-note: measure 4, there is a rather important shift of register, and that makes it sound like a separate entity, a "countermelody" rather than an integral part of the melody. While motivically it IS related (and well-done, BTW), the register change is still an important effect. To me, it breaks the linearity of the melody you are building.

Also at measures 5 and 8 you repeat those high Cs, the effect is a bit static.

Remember that repeating a note or "note area" within a very short span (a few beats) gives the ear an "echo effect", but repeating the same material, even in different dynamics, at a longer interval creates insteead an effect of staticism - of not having left the area in question..

In strict tonal counterpoint, you learn to avoid returning to the same notes within short periods of time for this very reason. By this I don't mean a repeated note, but rather that a phrase returns to the same note within a few beats. or a measure or two.

Sometimes, the best thing when constructing a theme is to draw it graphically, to get a sense of where the highpoint will be and where the low points will be.