#1, Introduction, the first two meaures of Ravel's Pavane for a dead princess
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Let's create a minimalist exercise along the lines of those found in William Russo's "Composing Music," and limit our note selection to just what's found in the first two measures of Maurice Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte."
For now, get to know the first two measures. We'll explore tonality, chord selection, harmony and melody later. If you're singing or playing an instrument that doesn't allow for chords, sing and/or play the notes. https://youtu.be/0IdV_GPtNKM Please note: As we move forward, the notes we work with may or may not be the notes you'd select, and very much may avoid the melody. We're after notes to work with, and not necessarily the melody of any given song. Sometimes, in order to explore a relationship notes have with each other, we might necessarily need to avoid anything melodic.
Back to Ravel's song. Starting with just these notes, we'll begin composing in a very limited fashion. We'll begin with something small, and as we "take it out," we could end up with anything from a new pop song to a new movie score. This time, please approach things playfully. With Ravel, we're here simply to learn how to steal a little inspiration from great works of art.
Please remember, starting small, with limitations and restrictions, allows for its own forms of inspiration, and composing in this fashion (this exercise is a "minimalist" one) ends up being freeing through the restraints: Stick with me, and you'll see.
William Russo's "Composing Music" introduces minimalism through a series of songwriting exercises aimed at those familiar with a little music theory. As I write these updates, the reader is supposed to be unfamiliar with any music theory whatsoever.
In the spirit of the Buddhist adage "a jug fills drop by drop," I'll be teaching music theory in small steps as we go. Here's a drop: C major has no sharps or flats. A C major scale is C D E F G A B C. At the moment, I'm not worried about why, so I won't describe a C major scale in any other fashion. I just want the reader to hang onto this drop for today: C major is C D E F G A B C, with no sharps or flats. Another drop: F major has one flat, which is B flat. An F major scale is F G A Bb C D E F. These two drops are more than enough for one day, and if you forget, don't worry, the drops will be in blue so you can find your place again. Please feel free to write with questions about music theory; I'd love to use real world questions as a way to clarify.
Minimalism composers like Philip Glass and John Adams (the musician, not the former president) paved the way for, among other things, electronic dance music. One might fairly say that without minimalist composers creating new modes of expression with new technology, we might not have electronic dance music or hiphop (at least in its current state) at all.
https://youtu.be/DQJaJuMTouE -- In "Shaker Loops," by John Adams, "loops" refers to what it might in a sample being used in a hiphop beat. He's using violins to speak in the language of electronic blips and drips that https://youtu.be/lrk9bk4ctHQ have been changing the way we write music and https://youtu.be/MnpP8sdPVHM what we expect from musicians. At first, the relationship between, say, a Phillip Glass violin concerto https://youtu.be/z7ZPWiUXYPg?list=PLBB71EDE56C6C7AB7 and Jurassic 5's "Concrete Schoolyard" might not be readily apparent, but https://youtu.be/NAMy2wgwVh0 stick with me and https://youtu.be/Wod-MudLNPA we'll get there drop by drop.
Back to Ravel: We're after the notes in the first two measures, which are, in the first measure, C D B A, and in the second measure, G A B B A A. (Gabbaa Gabbaa hey!) We'll go over measures, time signatures and note values later. For now, please just listen to and sing along the first two measures--what will sound as the first ten notes played by the flute. We're in C major, which means no sharps and flats, and we're in 4/4, or what's referred to "Common time," or the most common time signature. See that "C" to the right of the treble clef in the sheet music? That "C" refers to "Common time" and not being in C major.
A quick note about music selection: Because everyone, including both atheists and religious people, are invited to learn about music and music theory, I stick with secular music for inspiration. I do not want to alienate my nonreligious readers by using, for example, the Psalms in these exercises.
Let's create a minimalist exercise along the lines of those found in William Russo's "Composing Music," and limit our note selection to just what's found in the first two measures of Maurice Ravel's "Pavane pour une infante defunte."
For now, get to know the first two measures. We'll explore tonality, chord selection, harmony and melody later. If you're singing or playing an instrument that doesn't allow for chords, sing and/or play the notes. https://youtu.be/0IdV_GPtNKM Please note: As we move forward, the notes we work with may or may not be the notes you'd select, and very much may avoid the melody. We're after notes to work with, and not necessarily the melody of any given song. Sometimes, in order to explore a relationship notes have with each other, we might necessarily need to avoid anything melodic.
Back to Ravel's song. Starting with just these notes, we'll begin composing in a very limited fashion. We'll begin with something small, and as we "take it out," we could end up with anything from a new pop song to a new movie score. This time, please approach things playfully. With Ravel, we're here simply to learn how to steal a little inspiration from great works of art.
Please remember, starting small, with limitations and restrictions, allows for its own forms of inspiration, and composing in this fashion (this exercise is a "minimalist" one) ends up being freeing through the restraints: Stick with me, and you'll see.
William Russo's "Composing Music" introduces minimalism through a series of songwriting exercises aimed at those familiar with a little music theory. As I write these updates, the reader is supposed to be unfamiliar with any music theory whatsoever.
In the spirit of the Buddhist adage "a jug fills drop by drop," I'll be teaching music theory in small steps as we go. Here's a drop: C major has no sharps or flats. A C major scale is C D E F G A B C. At the moment, I'm not worried about why, so I won't describe a C major scale in any other fashion. I just want the reader to hang onto this drop for today: C major is C D E F G A B C, with no sharps or flats. Another drop: F major has one flat, which is B flat. An F major scale is F G A Bb C D E F. These two drops are more than enough for one day, and if you forget, don't worry, the drops will be in blue so you can find your place again. Please feel free to write with questions about music theory; I'd love to use real world questions as a way to clarify.
Minimalism composers like Philip Glass and John Adams (the musician, not the former president) paved the way for, among other things, electronic dance music. One might fairly say that without minimalist composers creating new modes of expression with new technology, we might not have electronic dance music or hiphop (at least in its current state) at all.
https://youtu.be/DQJaJuMTouE -- In "Shaker Loops," by John Adams, "loops" refers to what it might in a sample being used in a hiphop beat. He's using violins to speak in the language of electronic blips and drips that https://youtu.be/lrk9bk4ctHQ have been changing the way we write music and https://youtu.be/MnpP8sdPVHM what we expect from musicians. At first, the relationship between, say, a Phillip Glass violin concerto https://youtu.be/z7ZPWiUXYPg?list=PLBB71EDE56C6C7AB7 and Jurassic 5's "Concrete Schoolyard" might not be readily apparent, but https://youtu.be/NAMy2wgwVh0 stick with me and https://youtu.be/Wod-MudLNPA we'll get there drop by drop.
Back to Ravel: We're after the notes in the first two measures, which are, in the first measure, C D B A, and in the second measure, G A B B A A. (Gabbaa Gabbaa hey!) We'll go over measures, time signatures and note values later. For now, please just listen to and sing along the first two measures--what will sound as the first ten notes played by the flute. We're in C major, which means no sharps and flats, and we're in 4/4, or what's referred to "Common time," or the most common time signature. See that "C" to the right of the treble clef in the sheet music? That "C" refers to "Common time" and not being in C major.
A quick note about music selection: Because everyone, including both atheists and religious people, are invited to learn about music and music theory, I stick with secular music for inspiration. I do not want to alienate my nonreligious readers by using, for example, the Psalms in these exercises.
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