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Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Development

I don't know how to compose beyond the 32-bar AABA or AABA song. I can write an intro to one of those, so that's another 8 measures, or a tag ending of another 4, but I don't know how to develop thematic material. The best I've come up with is 3 32 bar structures in a row, with related material. As I've said before, I'm surprised that I can write music at all, so I should be happy with that.

Maybe I should do a rondo, with an "ABACABA" form, or stick to my suites, or simply write phrases longer than 8 measures.

5 comments:

Vance Maverick said...

If you don't have a teacher working with you on this, I would suggest picking a model that you can study in detail and imitating it more or less closely. (Example: the familiar Clementi sonatina in C, op. 36 no. 1.)

Jonathan said...

I don't have a composition teacher. I like the Clementi idea. It takes me back to childhood piano lessons.

Vance Maverick said...

It's short enough that you can work out what literally every note is doing.

Jonathan said...

I can hear it just by looking at it for me most part and can see immediately what is happening in some parts. I think my own music is more complex since this is most just I, V, and IV. That's the best place to start for me, though, precisely because I haven't analyzed classical music before. Short and simple.

Vance Maverick said...

Well, complexity doesn't reside only in harmony. Note for example how the right hand in bars 5-7 is rewritten in the recapitulation -- two basic transformations.