A Practical Guide to Musical Composition Alan Belkin
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An Approach to the Pedagogy of Beginning Music Composition: Teaching Understanding and Realization of the First Steps in Composing Music
AN APPROACH TO THE PEDAGOGY OF BEGINNING MUSIC COMPOSITION: TEACHING UNDERSTANDING AND REALIZATION OF THE FIRST STEPS IN COMPOSING MUSIC DOCUMENT Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Musical Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Vera D. Stanojevic, Graduate Diploma, Tchaikovsky Conservatory ***** The Ohio State University 2004 Dissertation Committee: Approved By Professor Donald Harris, Adviser __________________________ Professor Patricia Flowers Adviser Professor Edward Adelson School of Music Copyright by Vera D. Stanojevic 2004 ABSTRACT Conducting a first course in music composition in a classroom setting is one of the most difficult tasks a composer/teacher faces. Such a course is much more effective when the basic elements of compositional technique are shown, as much as possible, to be universally applicable, regardless of style. When students begin to see these topics in a broader perspective and understand the roots, dynamic behaviors, and the general nature of the different elements and functions in music, they begin to treat them as open models for individual interpretation, and become much more free in dealing with them expressively. This document is not designed as a textbook, but rather as a resource for the teacher of a beginning college undergraduate course in composition. The Introduction offers some perspectives on teaching composition in the contemporary musical setting influenced by fast access to information, popular culture, and globalization. In terms of breadth, the text reflects the author’s general methodology in leading students from basic exercises in which they learn to think compositionally, to the writing of a first composition for solo instrument. -
Music Director Riccardo Muti Appoints Jessie Montgomery As Cso Mead Composer-In-Residence for 2021-24
For Immediate Release: Press Contacts: April 20, 2021 Eileen Chambers CSOA, 312-294-3092 Glenn Petry 21C Media, 212-625-2038 MUSIC DIRECTOR RICCARDO MUTI APPOINTS JESSIE MONTGOMERY AS CSO MEAD COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE FOR 2021-24 CHICAGO—The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) is pleased to announce the appointment of composer, violinist and educator Jessie Montgomery as its next Mead Composer-in- Residence. A winner of both the Sphinx Medal of Excellence and the ASCAP Foundation’s Leonard Bernstein Award, Montgomery has emerged as one of the most compelling and sought-after voices in new music today. Appointed by Music Director Riccardo Muti, she will begin her three-year tenure on July 1, 2021, and will continue in the role through June 30, 2024. Described as “turbulent, wildly colorful and exploding with life” (Washington Post), Montgomery’s music includes such frequently performed works as Banner (2014), Starburst (2012) and Strum (2006; rev. 2012), which have collectively been programmed almost 500 times to date, with more than 100 live and virtual performances of Starburst in the past year alone. As Mead Composer-in-Residence, she will receive commissions to write three new orchestral works for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, one to premiere during each of her three seasons in the role. In addition, she will curate MusicNOW, the CSO’s annual contemporary music series, and will receive commissions for a number of new chamber pieces to premiere in the series’ 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. MusicNOW will also present the Chicago premieres of some of her existing works. Founded in 1998, MusicNOW strives to bring Chicago audiences the widest possible range of today’s new music. -
How Its Styles and Techniques Changed Music Honors Thesis Lauren Felis State University of New York at New Paltz
Music of the Baroque period: how its styles and techniques changed music Item Type Thesis Authors Felis, Lauren Rights Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States Download date 26/09/2021 16:07:48 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12648/1382 Running head: MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD 1 Music of the Baroque Period: How its Styles and Techniques Changed Music Honors Thesis Lauren Felis State University of New York at New Paltz MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD 2 Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Abstract 3 Introduction 4 A Brief History 4 Doctrine of Affections 5 Musical Style 6 Baroque Dance 7 Baroque String Instruments 7 Baroque Composers 8 Arcangelo Corelli 9 La Folia 9 Suzuki 10 Process of Preparing Piece 10 How I Chose the Piece 10 How I prepared the Piece 11 Conclusion 11 Appendix A 14 Appendix B 15 Appendix C 16 Appendix D 17 Appendix E 18 MUSIC OF THE BAROQUE PERIOD 3 Abstract This paper explores the music of the Baroque era and how its unique traits made it diverge from the music that preceded it, as well as pave the way for music styles to come. The Baroque period, which is generally agreed to range from around 1600 to 1750, was a time of great advancement not only in arts and sciences, but in music as well. The overabundance of ornamentation sprinkled throughout the pieces composed in this era is an attribute that was uncommon in the past, and helped distinguish the Baroque style of music. -
The Ethics of Orchestral Conducting
Theory of Conducting – Chapter 1 The Ethics of Orchestral Conducting In a changing culture and a society that adopts and discards values (or anti-values) with a speed similar to that of fashion as related to dressing or speech, each profession must find out the roots and principles that provide an unchanging point of reference, those principles to which we are obliged to go back again and again in order to maintain an adequate direction and, by carrying them out, allow oneself to be fulfilled. Orchestral Conducting is not an exception. For that reason, some ideas arise once and again all along this work. Since their immutability guarantees their continuance. It is known that Music, as an art of performance, causally interlinks three persons: first and closely interlocked: the composer and the performer; then, eventually, the listener. The composer and his piece of work require the performer and make him come into existence. When the performer plays the piece, that is to say when he makes it real, perceptive existence is granted and offers it to the comprehension and even gives the listener the possibility of enjoying it. The composer needs the performer so that, by executing the piece, his work means something for the listener. Therefore, the performer has no self-existence but he is performer due to the previous existence of the piece and the composer, to whom he owes to be a performer. There exist a communication process between the composer and the performer that, as all those processes involves a sender, a message and a receiver. -
MUSIC RIGHTS PRIMER Introduction
THE COMMITTEE ON ENTERTAINMENT LAW OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK January, 2003 The Committee gratefully acknowledges the contributions of prior chairpersons, Noel L. Silverman and Victoria G. Traube, and of H. Joseph Mello, the initial editor. MUSIC RIGHTS PRIMER Introduction This Primer is intended to assist lawyers who are not actively engaged in the music sub- specialty of entertainment law, but who, from time to time, may be involved with matters pertaining to that area. It is also intended for law students and non-lawyers who have an interest or involvement in the entertainment industry. We envision this Primer to be used primarily to explain the different rights that fall under the generic term “music rights”, and to delineate generally which rights are necessary for projects or product in this medium. It is not intended as a replacement for an exhaustive treatise and should not be considered a substitute for specialized legal representation required to resolve the complex issues that often arise in transactions involving music rights. Rather, it is designed to highlight issues and to provide the basic understanding of the foundations of a music project. Specialists in the field should be consulted when additional legal assistance is needed. They can easily be found in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, and to a lesser extent, in other parts of the country. This Primer deals with music rights in the United States only. While many of the principles discussed below apply in other countries as well, there may be significant differences, and resolution of foreign issues is outside the scope of this Primer. -
Glossary for Music the Glossary for Music Includes Terms Commonly Found in Music Education and for Performance Techniques
Glossary for Music The glossary for Music includes terms commonly found in music education and for performance techniques. The intent of the glossary is to promote consistent terminology when creating curriculum and assessment documents as well as communicating with stakeholders. Ability: natural aptitude in specific skills and processes; what the student is apt to do, without formal instruction. Analog tools: category of musical instruments and tools that are non-digital (i.e., do not transfer sound in or convert sound into binary code), such as acoustic instruments, microphones, monitors, and speakers. Analyze: examine in detail the structure and context of the music. Arrangement: setting or adaptation of an existing musical composition Arranger: person who creates alternative settings or adaptations of existing music. Articulation: characteristic way in which musical tones are connected, separated, or accented; types of articulation include legato (smooth, connected tones) and staccato (short, detached tones). Artistic literacy: knowledge and understanding required to participate authentically in the arts Atonality: music in which no tonic or key center is apparent. Artistic Processes: Organizational principles of the 2014 National Core Standards for the Arts: Creating, Performing, Responding, and Connecting. Audiate: hear and comprehend sounds in one’s head (inner hearing), even when no sound is present. Audience etiquette: social behavior observed by those attending musical performances and which can vary depending upon the type of music performed. Benchmark: pre-established definition of an achievement level, designed to help measure student progress toward a goal or standard, expressed either in writing or as an example of scored student work (aka, anchor set). -
Gender and Creativity in Music Worlds • Day 1
INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM Budapest | 8-9 January 2020 MusicaFemina International Symposium is a forum for researchers, music professionals and local communities in Central and East Europe to explore relations of gender and musical practice in four interrelated programs. Gender and Creativity in Music Worlds is a two-day conference including lectures, panel discussions and roundtable discussions. The panels focus on the role of gender in music education, the relations between gender and music in the Central and East European region, and issues of gender within the music industry. At the roundtable discussions, performers, composers and managers will address issues of creativity from a gender perspective. For the first afternoon of the symposium, we invite experts from the Hungarian music world (composers, performers, journalists and music historians) to a series of roundtable discussions in order to talk about the issue of gender in the Hungarian music scene (entitled Hang-nem-váltás? / Changing Tonality?). The discussions will be followed by a special edition of Ladyfest Budapest Extra, an underground event, in Három Holló Café, with all-female bands from Germany, Poland and Hungary performing. The final event of the symposium will be the opening concert of the Transparent Sound New Music Festival, preceded by a brief discussion. Please register until 20 December, 2019 • Registration: https://forms.gle/VjykhB5qUmf1gjgd9 For further information please visit: atlatszohang.hu/musicafemina Gender and Creativity in Music Worlds • Day 1 08 JANUARY -
Modern Art Music Terms
Modern Art Music Terms Aria: A lyrical type of singing with a steady beat, accompanied by orchestra; a songful monologue or duet in an opera or other dramatic vocal work. Atonality: In modern music, the absence (intentional avoidance) of a tonal center. Avant Garde: (French for "at the forefront") Modern music that is on the cutting edge of innovation.. Counterpoint: Combining two or more independent melodies to make an intricate polyphonic texture. Form: The musical design or shape of a movement or complete work. Expressionism: A style in modern painting and music that projects the inner fear or turmoil of the artist, using abrasive colors/sounds and distortions (begun in music by Schoenberg, Webern and Berg). Impressionism: A term borrowed from 19th-century French art (Claude Monet) to loosely describe early 20th- century French music that focuses on blurred atmosphere and suggestion. Debussy "Nuages" from Trois Nocturnes (1899) Indeterminacy: (also called "Chance Music") A generic term applied to any situation where the performer is given freedom from a composer's notational prescription (when some aspect of the piece is left to chance or the choices of the performer). Metric Modulation: A technique used by Elliott Carter and others to precisely change tempo by using a note value in the original tempo as a metrical time-pivot into the new tempo. Carter String Quartet No. 5 (1995) Minimalism: An avant garde compositional approach that reiterates and slowly transforms small musical motives to create expansive and mesmerizing works. Glass Glassworks (1982); other minimalist composers are Steve Reich and John Adams. Neo-Classicism: Modern music that uses Classic gestures or forms (such as Theme and Variation Form, Rondo Form, Sonata Form, etc.) but still has modern harmonies and instrumentation. -
Musical and Literary Composition: the Revision Relation
Musical and Literary Composition: The Revision Relation CODY RIEBEL Produced in Dan Martin’s Fall 2012 ENC1102 Introduction Compositional research has determined why and how writers think, plan, write, and revise, to name just a few processes. Janet Emig has stressed that writing is a unique process between forms of language and composition (“Writing…” 122). Therefore, several modes and variations of writing have distinct characteristics yet to be examined. Composition in music is an incredibly diverse process that requires more examination. Writing for musicians isn’t exactly a routine process. Inspiration, improvisation, and emotion are just a few of the factors characteristic of their processes that set it apart from other types of writing. Revision in musical composition is also a unique part of musicians’ writing. However, musical revision still involves some of the same types and methods of revision used by writers. Revision in writing has certainly been explored in multiple aspects. Strategies for revising have been examined, but revision methods in various disciplinary writing processes have not been connected. To understand musicians’ writing processes, the most important piece of their processes must first be understood: revision. This examination should prove relevant towards what we have already analyzed about writing and revising and serve to answer the question, “What is the relationship between the revising processes of musicians and writers?” A valid comparison would prove valuable to understanding musical composition and determining methods to improve musicians’ writing habits. Revision seems to dominate the composing process of most musicians. The initial explanation involves the multiple reasons composers need to revise their work: molding the text with the melody, trying to fit words in a specific meter, and accommodating other variables unique to musical revision. -
What Is the Sound of Classical Music? WELCOME to THE
Life on Tour in the Classical Age of Music During the 18th century it was fashionable for wealthy young men to finish their education with a grand tour of Europe’s SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2016 cultural capitals. Exposure to art, languages, and artifacts developed young minds and their knowledge of the world. Mozart was just 7 years old when he set off on his first grand tour with his parents and sister, designed as an opportunity to showcase young Wolfgang and sister Nannerl’s talents. What might it be like to go on tour in the 1760s? TRAVEL CHALLENGES The Mozart family traveled about 2,500 miles — In addition to carriage breakdowns, which meant delays for the distance from New York to Los Angeles — in a days while repairs were being made, the cold chill during the cramped, unheated, incredibly bumpy carriage. rides led to lots of illness. Rheumatic fever, tonsillitis, scarlet TM Travels by boat across rivers and the sea were fever, and typhoid fever were experienced by Mozart family WELCOME TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE’S CONCERTS ! equally unpleasant! members, who were bedridden for weeks at a time. TuneUp! Here we go on the next leg of our journey through 400 years of orchestral LODGING HIGHLIGHTS music. Next stop: the Classical Age of Music! You’ll hear right away how The family stayed everywhere from a cramped Wolfgang and Nannerl performed for some of Europe’s most different the music of this age sounds from the Baroque Age we visited last time. three-room apartment above a barber shop to distinguished royalty and at some of the world’s loveliest Buckingham palace! palaces. -
The Classical Period
The Classical Period 1750-1820 (1825) 1 Historical Themes Industrial Revolution Age of Enlightenment Violent political and social upheaval Culture 2 Industrial Revolution Steam engine changed the nature of European life Move to a more urban society Time of great growth and economic prosperity 3 Age of Enlightenment Emphasis on the natural rights of people Ability of humans to shape their own environment All established ideas were being reexamined, including the existence of God. 4 Violent political & social upheaval Seven Years’ War American Revolution French Revolution Napoleonic Wars Power shifted from aristocracy and church to the middle class Social mobility increased 5 Culture France was the leading cultural center of the continent (esp. fashion-Paris) Austria (Vienna) & Germany were the centers of musical growth Improved economic conditions led to more people seeking “luxury” Music was viewed as “an innocent luxury” Demand for new compositions was great 6 The Classical Style 7 Characteristics Contrast of Mood Rhythm Simpler textures Simpler melodies Dynamics 8 Contrast of Mood Large thematic and tonal contrasts unlike the single-mood compositions of the Baroque Dramatic, turbulent might lead to carefree, dance-like Change could be sudden or gradual 9 Rhythm Flexibility of rhythm adds variety Many rhythmic patterns unlike repetitive rhythms of the Baroque Unexpected pauses, syncopations, frequent changes from long notes to shorter notes Change could be sudden or gradual 10 Simpler textures Homophonic unlike the polyphony of the late Baroque Change from one texture to the next could be sudden or gradual 11 Simpler melodies Tuneful, easy to remember unlike the complex, ornamented melodies of the Baroque Mozart-“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” Melodies were balanced and symmetrical (2 phrases of same length) like “Mary Had a Little Lamb” 12 Dynamics Expressing shades of emotions led to gradual dynamic changes Crescendo and decrescendo vs. -
TIRESIAN SYMMETRY (Cuneiform Rune 346) Format: CD
Bio information: JASON ROBINSON Title: TIRESIAN SYMMETRY (Cuneiform Rune 346) Format: CD Cuneiform publicity/promotion dept.: 301-589-8894 / fax 301-589-1819 email: joyce [-at-] cuneiformrecords.com (Press & world radio); radio [-at-] cuneiformrecords.com (North American radio) www.cuneiformrecords.com FILE UNDER: JAZZ / AVANT-JAZZ Saxophonist/Composer Jason Robinson Takes a Mythic Journey with New Album: Tiresian Symmetry featuring Robinson with All-Star Band: George Schuller, Ches Smith, Marty Ehrlich, Liberty Ellman, Drew Gress, Marcus Rojas, Bill Lowe, JD Parran A ubiquitous and often pivotal figure in the stories and myths of ancient Greece, the blind prophet Tiresias was blessed and cursed by the gods, experiencing life as both a man and a woman while living for hundreds of years. In saxophonist/composer Jason Robinson’s polydirectional masterpiece Tiresian Symmetry, he doesn’t seek to tell the soothsayer’s story. Rather for his seventh album as a leader, he’s gathered an extraordinary cast of improvisers to investigate the nature of narrative itself in a jazz context. The music’s richly suggestive harmonic and metrical relationships elicit a wide array of responses, but ultimately listeners find their own sense of order and meaning amidst the sumptuous sounds. For Robinson, a capaciously inventive artist who has flourished in a boggling array of settings, from solo excursions with electronics and free jazz quartets to roots reggae ensembles and multimedia collectives, Tiresian Symmetry represents his most expansive project yet. “I was attracted to the myth of the soothsayer, who tells the future even when it’s not welcome information,” Robinson says. “But on a more technical level I was intrigued by the numerical relationships.