Let us Write an Interactive Fugue

Hello all,

We have a great opportunity in this online group! Has anyone thought about cooperative music making? Let us say four people come together and start writing a fugue (or a string quartet). Each one will be one of the voices of the four-part fugue. They will be free to develop individually yet have an obligation to the group, to cooperate and to create meaning as a group. As a bonus, this will be a great way to introduce newcomers to writing a fugue. It can even be extended to include more than 4 people who will be able to make suggestions or ask questions. I think such an interactively created fugue will have unprecedentedly greater interest and originality in the separate parts.

I would dare someone to start this fugue by suggesting the subject. And then others will suggest counter-subjects. If only there was a way to notate music without staffs and in simple text. so that it could be possible to include musical ideas in discussion without the need for staffs and notes. I suggest using the CDEFGAB way and deciding that a small c is an eighth note and a capital C is a quarter note and an underlined capital C is a half note. An underlined small c is a 16th note, while dots are dots next to the note, e.g. C. would be a dotted half-note. Sharp and flat are written out, e.g C sharp. Now that I have the notation method explained, let me give an example from a universally recognized piece of music which if you want we can also use as the fugue subject: CCGGAAGFFEEDDC (J. Lee Graham did so instructively 2 days ago).

While this is an idea expressed commonly within musical circles, one essential problem arises. It is very difficult for people of any sized group to write music together that doesn't sound like it's just been cobbled together from scraps and fragments. It takes understanding of the other participants contributions that can, frankly, be very hard if not impossible for the other members to obtain. While a novel idea, it suffers from lack of coherency and lack of understanding parts other than the one you write.

It would be much easier to write a piano sonata or something much simpler as a group. Although I have a hard time if I come up with a great idea during such an event where I would keep it for my own composition. So I find it hard to work as a group in this sense, anyway, so......... yeah...............

Hi luderart,

This concept has already been considered in the musical challenges and games section and is pending further approval. Here is the link so you can see some of the suggestions, including my own:

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/new-ideas-games-4931.html#post65149

Also, please read my reply to your post under 'philosophical ideas and composing'. Thank you,

Regards

Pravin

It seems to me that assigning only four voices would make people feel left out. Now, a string quartet with people assigned parts of it at a time instead of a line (voice) would make it not only easier to put together, but more open to others ideas.

Just some thoughts.

Jo Nomad

To stop it from being disjointed, have each composer explain what he was doing when writing his part. Self-analyze his work, so it's easier for the next person to follow it "correctly".

To get us started, I am willing to contribute a theme (or a melodic fragment) of my own, written in the notation I described above (in the initial post) for you to build on. I will only add that the eighth rest will be a comma (,), and a quarter rest a semicolon(:(.

It is in E flat major or C minor. It's time signature is 4:4. It begins above middle C. Here it is:

ggfgaG,GDFCEBDA

(Let me add that the sequence after the comma is in a stepwise descending order lest one think it goes to a higher octave.)

I leave it for you to decide whether it should be part of a fugue or a sonata.

I also take it upon myself to propose a rule (open for your challenge) for this cooperative composition project:

Let us leave it open what theme is accepted and built on. Several themes may be proposed, several continuations may likewise be proposed, but I believe one will prevail in the end as the one accepted by the majority.

Hi all,

Can someone please move this post to the games and challenges section? I think it would be more appropriate there, given there is where the idea *originated* lol - but kudos to getting people interested luderart.

Regards

Pravin

I think what I suggested is a serious collective compositional challenge and not a game. That is why I posted it here.

Won't work

Hi Luderart,

Yes, I understand the seriousness of your project. But games and challenges is a combined section - scroll down a bit in the forum - you'll see that. So it can be as serious as you (or the collective) would like it to be; but it is after all something that, as a collective enterprise, would be more suitable to that part of the forum.

O.K. I agree Upstart. But is it possible to move it there? If so, let someone move it there.