Short Hymn

This is my mainly completed hymn. I like it basically the way it is. I would just like people to see if they think there are any technical errors they can find. I know I have no words; working on that with a friend. Also if someone can come up with a way to make the end not sound like it could be repeated for several verses.

Some people know that I love Debussy and Ravel and impressionist stuff. But with choral music I hate any sense of modernism at all. I t has to be purely rennasaince or baroque. My favorites have to be Bach, Handel, Byrd, and Tallis.

You should listen to some choral music by that Canadian guy, Murray Schaffer

Here's what I've done for lyrics.

I do not have a new enough version to open that up. My finale is 2004b.

This is especially for Jen, but it can be for anyone who does not have finale.

I can't open Herr Schubert's file, either. Must be Finale 2006. I can't believe there are 15-year-olds on here with Finale 2006 (and a computer that will load it with GPO). Rich parents, I suppose. Ah well...I have a feeling we might be in for a surprise with those lyrics when they come to light.

Will, what did you mean by "technical errors?" If you're looking to make this proper and traditional, there are several voice leading and harmony errors. Is that the sort of thing you meant?

If only I had the complete version. I bought the common man's version, Print Music which only cost me 30 dollars in a deal with a fellow composer.

Yup, J. Lee, that is exactly what I meant. I do not even have enough compositional theory training to even be able to tell where they might be. This is why I asked. If you could point them out to me maybe I could learn something about it.

I always compose everything by ear. I haven't the slightest ideas about counterpoint, melodic developement, voice leading, harmony, etc. I wish I did and I hope to start reading books and studying soon, but everytime I get into one of those books I just feel overwhelmed and it seems like it isn't going anywhere. Oh well, I have a new counteroint book that I am going to give a try and I hope it works out well.

It worked, but as others have hinted, a foundation in harmony (at least) is needed - that can be had by studying a traditional 4-part hymn book along with an awareness of certain rules (though I'd be happier to call them guidelines - they became rules when examining bodies spotted the chance to make a bit more cash): no parallel fifths* and octaves; avoid doubling the 3rd in 4-part chords if at all possible; leading note rises to the tonic unless just quitting it, preparing discords etc etc. Many of these rules came from the days of polyphony/counterpoint as part of training aimed at teaching polyphonic composition to barely musical people. Also in those days the majority of performers of this music were musically untrained so it had to be easy to sing.

I did notice a couple of points, if you want to be strictly traditional. At about 27 seconds, there's a seventh that was unprepared. Nothing wrong with that but it does place the style at around Brahms or later; and a couple of places where the interval of a fourth jars, possibly because of the chord layout itself or you've opted for a second inversion - at 44 seconds for instance.

I'm not exactly sure what happens there. I have no notation software. I've had demos but it's always been far too slow for the kind of person who grabs a wad of music paper and pencil given a flash of inspiration (and they're too few to miss the chance)! The propect of having to wait for a computer to fire up or wrestle with the quirks of the software does not appeal.

My introduction to Sibelius was a warning. I often start without barlines/time signatures. Sibelius, for all its astronomic cost, wasn't going to let me do that! I hate a slave that dictates the way I do creative things!

Anyway, good luck,
M

I can't open Herr Schubert's file, either. Must be Finale 2006. I can't believe there are 15-year-olds on here with Finale 2006 (and a computer that will load it with GPO). Rich parents, I suppose. Ah well...I have a feeling we might be in for a surprise with those lyrics when they come to light.

hehe...can you say...birthday?