(part 15 of 20)
More Advanced Composition
After a good number of simple pieces have been composed, pick one and try adding more detail. Think of the melody and bassline as a skeleton. The task now is to flesh it out with organs, meat, and…flesh…or if preferred, think of the simple melody/bassline composition as a sketch that an artist would draw before turning it into a detailed and colorful painting.
One possible way to add detail is to make the bassline more intricate. Let it move around more, add passing tones, give it some interesting rhythmic variety, and add occasional chords. Also, try dressing the melody up a bit: add rhythmic variety, and perhaps add a single note/small chord underneath the melody here or there to highlight an important point in the melody.
Instead of moving directly from section A to section B, or repeating a section immediately, try writing a brief transition to bridge them. This could be something new that connects the two parts in a complimentary way; it could be made from a bit of the melody or from a texture in the bass; or it could be something unexpected that wakes up the listener, like an interruption.
As experience is gained, take things further. Use the suggestions for improvisational techniques (More Improvisation Techniques) as the basis for different compositions. For example, try composing in a variety of keys and tonalities,* try writing an ostinato in the bass, a melody could be passed to the left hand in another piece, lots of chords could be used in another, or arpeggios, and more than two voices could be used. Also try to write dances of different types. Try composing in different musical styles.
Writing counterpoint is great for building technique. A good way to get started is to select a completed two-part piece, and add more and more passing tones in the bassline until it’s a melody in its own right–resulting in two equal voices in free counterpoint.
And of course come up with other ideas. Search for unique sounds, rhythms, harmonies, and textures. As before, keep these pieces short and with simple form until more experience is gained.
Note:
*When composing using modes or other less familiar scales, it is critical to fully internalize the tonality being used. The best way to become fluent with unfamiliar tonalities is to improvise with them. It’s crucial to really feel the tonal center, and to anticipate how the various scale degrees change harmonic “colors.” Many people get lost with modes because they haven’t internalized them; they wander off thinking they are in phrygian when really they’ve shifted to natural minor.
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Index
- Introduction
- Why Piano?
- Improvisation:
- Notation:
- Related Skills/Knowledge:
- Composition: