tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post7627928213758855309..comments2024-03-28T22:40:25.196-02:30Comments on → Music Composition Weblog ←: Thematic Growth, part 3Clark Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13153382609775397798noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-67684985779679300802023-03-28T14:31:50.888-02:302023-03-28T14:31:50.888-02:30This table is really valuable! It can be easy to f...This table is really valuable! It can be easy to find yourself in the middle of a piece, unsure of how to continue, and I find the answer is almost always to develop what you might already have. One that is mentioned in this table that I don’t often think about is transposition/mode change. Once you tick “keyless” in their document setup when writing post-tonal music, it can be easy to forget that most writing still has some sort of pitch centricity or mode. Switching this can change the character of the piece dramatically. Before equal temperament, different keys actually had different sounds (and therefore emotional connotations associated with them). Sources such as Schubart’s Ideen zu einer Aesthetik der Tonkunst (1805) list characteristics associated with each key. This source describes C major as “Completely Pure. Its character is: innocence, simplicity, naïvety, children's talk”, while it describes Ab major as “Key of the grave. Death, grave, putrefaction, judgement, eternity lie in its radius”. Of course, with the rise of equal temperament these characteristics became less justifiable, and even more so with post-tonal writing as pitch content is often not regulated to a major or minor key. However, a key change can still alter the mood/atmosphere of a post-tonal composition, especially when highlighting a climactic point of a piece.<br /><br />You can view a list of these major/minor key descriptions <a href="https://wmich.edu/mus-theo/courses/keys.html" rel="nofollow">here!</a><br />Emma Hamiltonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-58805352690805540412012-04-11T10:19:55.775-02:302012-04-11T10:19:55.775-02:30This chart has been a great help this semester. I ...This chart has been a great help this semester. I find a lot of the times I want to develop my ideas and I do some variation, but I always end up forgeting things I can do, and here are most of the things in one place. AWESOME!Kyle Andrewshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16387133202601753851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-75626023999313852132012-03-31T04:50:31.137-02:302012-03-31T04:50:31.137-02:30Charts are awesome. Ideas presented in a logical o...Charts are awesome. Ideas presented in a logical order.. kind of like a composition.. <br /><br />I've bookmarked this page. So helpful!Bekah Simmshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02497105701024316871noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-60640779945814573732009-12-07T21:39:45.425-03:302009-12-07T21:39:45.425-03:30I have a hard time developing ideas. I wish I had ...I have a hard time developing ideas. I wish I had seen this while writing the three character pieces at the beginning of term! During the first project I had a lot of issues with trying to stretch an idea and develop it. Not so much when setting the text, because it really guided the process, especially with opportunity for word painting and such. But with my character pieces, in particular the second one, there were some great ideas that really could have been developed. Maybe some day I'll go back to some of them.squinlanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06963894469014044471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-7350295161935191482009-09-22T14:36:50.217-02:302009-09-22T14:36:50.217-02:30These "Thematic Growth" blogs are great....These "Thematic Growth" blogs are great.. through writing in the past I have had some success in keeping ideas interesting through several of the mentioned approaches (changes in register, texture, rhythms, mode, etc). However, I have a tendency to develop ideas that are relatively short and have a distinct melodic/rhythmic element that persists.. these blogs have made me want to try different approaches, such as a much longer initial idea (as mentioned in blog #1), or have ideas that are completely based on texture, for example. Thanks!Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03894623564177641952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-52429664433520183422009-04-14T16:16:00.000-02:302009-04-14T16:16:00.000-02:30I love this! It's definitely helpful, and I will k...I love this! It's definitely helpful, and I will keep this in mind when I encourage my students to compose their own music. It also guides our thinking tremendously!Jenn Vailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12895780910753217427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-87068917509472548622009-04-09T17:13:00.000-02:302009-04-09T17:13:00.000-02:30This was definitely a beneficial post. I think thi...This was definitely a beneficial post. I think this is something I really need to work on. I guess where I haven't had much experience with composing jumping from idea to idea without really developing it to its full potential is something that occurs somewhat frequently.Melissa B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06292923248917126973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-72782632791972738872009-04-04T17:01:00.000-02:302009-04-04T17:01:00.000-02:30Too many of us turn a blind eye to development. Th...Too many of us turn a blind eye to development. There is so much to learn about developing ideas. Many of us don't realize that we can base large sections of our works on single ideas or motifs. I found writing in a chorale prelude helps me realize that for both the theme and accompaniment is derived from a set motif.<BR/>If ever lost I find it helpful to look at works such as the Bach Inventions, or Beethoven's symphonies to see how well these geniuses can develop ideas and extract so much musical material from short simple motifs.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12881244808934681738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-2556402684016772292009-03-18T22:42:00.000-02:302009-03-18T22:42:00.000-02:30This is really helpful, Clark, and it makes it a l...This is really helpful, Clark, and it makes it a lot easier to tinker with things when all these options are put out in the open so we can pick and choose. <BR/><BR/>...And the lightbulb joke is stellar too.Jessica Blenishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01003274845241275286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7298312567843426829.post-59452859134990364592009-03-16T17:26:00.000-02:302009-03-16T17:26:00.000-02:30Thanks for reposting this! I know it is important ...Thanks for reposting this! I know it is important to develop ideas before putting them aside and moving on to something else, but the biggest problem I am generally faced with is how to go about devloping this material. Sometimes I just draw a blank. This post gives me plenty of options that will help the musical development of my new composition!Jill A.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07734737866523568590noreply@blogger.com