Project 3 - Three or more Percussion Instruments

Project 3: Three or more Instruments

Compose two larger compositions making sure they are based on a principal idea and there is a defined structure.

The Invasion

The idea for this piece is to recreate the atmosphere of an invasion. I have used a ABC structure using time signatures of 4/4 for sections A and C and 7/8 with 3 2 2 grouping for section B. Sections A and C portray the arriving and leaving scenes, reason for which a metre 4/4 is used which is like a non-stop engine while section B portray the confrontation itself and uses a more irregular metre with grouping 3 2 2. Each of the sections has some bars that are piano which try to convey certain insecurity. For this, the following 3 things apply: a) another instrument (Ratchet) is introduced with the same leading role but higher pitch that the snare drum; b)  Both instrument voices are separated creating a dialog between both instruments and c) the volume of all the instruments is lowered and the cymbals are not played when the rest of the instruments are p or pp. Congas are used for a simple accompaniment because of their low pitch and cymbals are used to highlight some of the music accents.

Section C is composed of three of the bars in section A although the have a different order being the last bar exactly the same than the first one with an additional tremolo.

Alone

This rhythmic music is based on a Solea rhythm, which is a ¾ time signature with accents in the 3^rd beat in first 2 bars and accents in the beat 2 and 1 in the last two bars. Handclap and maracas have an accompaniment role to reinforce the accents of the rhythm while the congos have the leading role together with the timbales (for the last 8 bars). The middle 4 bars (9-12) slow down the pace of the music, its like an interlude where all instruments have simple patterns, each of them focusing in one of the beats of the bar. Timbales, which have a higher pitch than the congos fill those beats that are not accentuated while the congos is otherwise. The last 8 bars get busier and busier with the congos and timbales interchanging some of the rhythmic motives. 

 

Project 2 - Percussion Duets

Project 2: Duets

Tell me

This little duet explores a dialogue between two instruments, the side drum and the the Tenor drum. Because of the dialogue feature, I found easier to write both instruments for each bar as I was going along instead of writing the whole piece for one of them and fill gaps with the second instrument (I tried this but it didn’t work). I use a lot of up beat tempo for the tenor drum as it is interrupting the speech of the other instrument. In the first 2 bars, this happens in the first beat while in the next 2 bars this happens in the second beat. In Bars 5-6, both instruments alternate 1 beat each indicating that they are reaching to a agreement which happens in bar 7 when they basically play the same rhythm with one instrument filling the gaps of the other instrument.

Execution Day with Accompaniment

This is the piece I composed in the first project but in this case I have added a second percussion line that uses the tenor drum for accompaniment. The volume of this accompaniment line follows the main line but always slightly below.

Funny

This is a little composition where two instruments are used to play with a single melody. It uses a 5/8 metre. To reinforce the 3+2 time in the 5/8 metre, I use each instruments for durations of 1 or 3 quavers during the 3-quaver part and 1 or 2 quavers during the 2-quaver part. Therefore, a duration of 2 quavers with the colour of a single instrument is not allowed during the 3 quaver section (this keeps the music piece more symmetric and balanced). During the first 4 bars, the rattle and the ratchet pass ideas to each other and in most cases one of the instruments fills the silences of the other instrument creating a single melody. In the next 4 bars the rattle has a bit of a secondary role to end up in the last 4 bars where both instruments are protagonists with almost two phrases that complement each other.

No Escape

This piece has an ABA structure and uses a 7/8 metre. The idea would be for this piece to play along a persecution scene in a movie. In the first and last 3 bars, the grouping in each bar changes as 3 2 2 / 2 3 2 / 2 2 3 (therefore the motif is repeating the group 3 2 2 2) and could fit when the police is trying to find the suspect. The middle section has a grouping of 3 2 2/ 3 2 2/ 3 2 2. Because of this and the increased use of more semiquavers and demisemiquavers, this middle section comes across as a rounder section that could fit with the moment when the police identifies the robber and the persecution itself starts. The handclap has been used as an accompaniment instrument to reinforce the accents of the moving grouping pattern.

I got Musical Composition from Brindle (1986) and below are some of the key tips on composition he gives:

• To improvise well, the performer needs to know about melodic phrase construction, formal principles, stylistic dictates and idiomatic limitations.
• Get to know many scores and find out how the music is made and why and reapply techniques (rhythm cells, melodic lines, harmony, counterpoint, etc)
• Start to compose with scribbling of any ideas (chords, melodies, rhythmic patterns, etc) on the blank page to make the task less daunting.
• Vision first: If we can’t start it is generally because we don’t have a vision of what we want to create.
• Take concrete decision to make a start: kind of music, instrumets, movements, forms, establishing theme, etc.
• Consistency: the basic character of the music must be uniform throughout
• Save Time with Theory: knowing the exact building blocks of our trade is a great saver (what scale are we working with, what key or mode, what chords fall within the scale? etc).
• Too much detail when we begin a piece can be a handicap (start with a memorable and simple theme).
• Melodic music: Write the melody first (at least the main parts) and then build the harmony around. Don’t work on both at the same time since too early concentration in harmony can obstruct the melodic flow. Same is true for music that begins in other ways (chord progression, texture, etc)
• The beginning is the most important moment of all. Come back to it regularly and improve it.
• Before you play, think, imagine in order to avoid falling into certain patterns we are accustomed with.  After months, you won’t need to play what you are writing to know how it will sound.
• Good music can be written which does not abide formal principles but in general, which abandons formal principles to the point of formlessness is doomed to failure.
• Good form ensures that the emotive message is convincing, unified and complete.
• Statement and Change: Form is about keeping unity while introducing change to keep the interest (remember example of acropolis in athems: Parthenon – Erechtheion). This is the basis of all successful conventional music forms: The alternation of something familiar and something new (Statement and Change); for example ABACADA or ABACABA (A = recurring material anb B,C,D, periods of change)
• Using repetition wisely will save you work and produce coherent work. If there is no repetition, the music is almost certain to escape the memory.
• Rhythm motif: Beethoven used to repeat a lot simple rhythm cells combine with changes in pitch, new counterpoints, etc.
• If the emotive flow is to even, interest will lapse, if changes of emotion are too abrupt, the unity will be destroyed. Allowed change depend on whether the material is placid (less change needed) or emotional.
• Techniques to keep form while improvising (improvisation on a ground bass, on a theme, or using a skeleton harmonic). Think for a moment before beginning, searching for some idea, however brief, then apply repetition and change!
• Form and mathematics are generally interlinked although sometimes we are not aware of the mathematical progressions that make music structured to the ear of the listener.