Composing Phrase by Phrase 8

Cadential Phrasing

Hello and welcome or welcome back to my Composing Phrase by Phrase blog series! I'm composing a new work and each post details some of the thoughts I have about how and why I constructed each phrase as I did. Will the composition be successful in the end? Maybe! I hope so! But even if not, I hope that reading about the process will help you (and writing about it will help me!) have a more clear idea about how to approach the problems and questions of composing a new musical work.

Last week, I ended on a bit of a cliff hanger. The second phrase of the composition formed a consequent to the first phrase. I needed the composition to continue, of course, so I wanted to find a way to leave a door open for more material to come. The solution I settled on was what might be called a deceptive cadence. This term has specific meaning in the context of tonal theory, but the general idea is applicable: one expects a certain cadence or ending and then gets something else instead. Here are the expected and actual cadences side by side.

expected and actual cadences

Without tonal harmony's fairly strict hierarchy of harmonic progressions, the expectation is created by the direction of the musical line. In this case, a descending chromatic scale is used at the end of each four bar unit to lead the ear into the beginning of the next four bars.

leading chromatic lines

This direction is reinforced in the arrangement with a shift from a melody-harmony-bass texture to a harmonic planing texture. The repetition of the four bars in sequence (that is to say, the repetition is done within a different harmony) helps reinforce the expectation as well. A strong descending scale at the level of the measure is mirrored by a descending structure at the level of the phrase. Without the aid of stylistic practice, the mind's ear nevertheless develops an expectation based on the way what it has heard is repeated. Creating, fulfilling, and thwarting those expectations is a big part of the most memorable compositions.

Alright, now let's look at the phrase itself.

phrase 3, mms. 17-26

It's a bit of a feisty one, this phrase! In function, this and the next phrase are forming a cadential section. Just like phrases have cadences at the end of them, phrase groups have "cadences," too. They come in a variety of guises. This one is a dramatic interruption of a relatively stable and consonant pair of phrases, an escalation of the smaller interruption brought by the viola in measures 2 and 6. Ratcheting up the energy like this helps prepare a pleasing fulfillment brought by a return to familiar material.

So what's in it, exactly, this third phrase? Cello and viola are paired, rhythmically and sometimes pitchally in unison. They are mashing out a B-flat major-7th chord, a usually lightly spiced sonority whose heat is turned up by the accented double and triples stops. Because of the speed required, the cellist's triple stopped chords physically require the player to crush the bow into the three strings to get the three notes out in time. This combined with the open strings and the dissonant chord type combine to create a gnarly crunching sonority.

When the viola and cello switch from chords to a motivic statement, the material is drawn from the viola's interruption in measure 2. For comparison:

m.2 viola motive and mms.19-20

The two violins are almost but not quite in sync with each other. They are playing a similar motive, one which is a development of the viola's interjection shown above. Permit me a quick dive into the nerd box: The minor seconds have been replaced with their inversion, the major seventh. These are placed at two points in the harmony. The second violin starts at the chord's 3rd, D, and adds a C-sharp on top of that. The first violin actually starts on F-sharp, an augemented fifth smashed on top of the B-flat major-seventh chord below it. It adds an E-sharp on top of that, which is the same as the BbMaj7th's perfect fifth. In this way, the violins kind of mirror each other: one starts on a chord tone and adds a dissonance, the other starts on a dissonance and adds a chord tone.

mms.17-18, violins, chord and non-chord tones

All together, the two halves clash against each other, and the rhythmic offset in the violins helps create another layer of instability and tension. The register of material is placed fairly high into the violin and viola's range which brings a taut brightness to the tone of the material, almost a shrieking kind of sonority (but not as shrieking as Penderecki's Threnody, for contrast). The interjection can be heard either as an interruption of violence, which, you know... gestures broadly Or it can be interpreted as a rough and tumble practical joke. Like on Johnny Knoxville and crew on Jackass. Either way works for me.

Anyways. The reason I brought up the nerd box was because the chord was chosen deliberately. Recall that one of the composition's goals is a big section in B-flat major. We already had some foreshadowing of the B-flat from the viola in measure 2. Now that foreshadowing is repeated, perhaps insisting upon itself. Of course, the future B-flat major section is far more calm than this. Take that as you will.

One other reason I chose the B-flat chord is because it leads well to a resolution on the previously expected A-major-with-extensions-to-taste chord. We already had a descending chromatic scale used as a leading motif. This B-flat to A harmony change is basically just a big extension of that.

Alright, that about brings me up to the word count for today! I hope you learned a little bit about composing today. If you liked what you read, consider following the blog on your RSS feed. If you really liked what you read, consider joining my Patreon! I post audio samples of the scores here on the blog as well as scores and videos of compositions not featured here. Either way, thanks for reading! Hope to see you next time!

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Composing Phrase by Phrase 6

Second Theme

Hello and welcome or welcome back to Composing Phrase by Phrase, a phrase by phrase breakdown of a composition in progress! Last week, I made the jump from unaccompanied melody to string quartet. In the process, I added space to the original theme in order to help support a longer composition. What comes next? Two things - planning out a form, and starting to fill that form in.

Planning first. I've got two points right now. The first is the revised version of the original theme, which looks like this.

First Theme excerpt

The second is the Bb major contrasting theme I wrote couple weeks back. I haven't done a string quartet version of that bit yet, though, so let's get into it. Here's the original...

Second Theme original

...and here's the string quartet version.

Second Theme quartet

The first thing to notice is I evened out and maintain a consistent meter. I did this because the revised first theme is even more wonked out than the unaccompanied version. The original form of the first theme is metrically uneven, but it was also rhythmically consistent. The addition of harmonic highlights adds a layer of rhythmic depth the original doesn't have, and even though it's not a lot a lot, it adds enough off-kilterness I felt it would be good to balance that out in the second theme.

Another point of balance is the arrangement. The revised first theme is given to the first violin and harmonized by the second violin. For the second theme, I turn it upside down - the theme is given to the cello and harmonized by the viola. The two violins add a high sustained tone on top to give a nice pad of color the theme can move against. It's a little bit like... Bob Ross's wet-on-wet painting. You establish a base and by adding color before the base dries, you get nice mixes and blends you which would otherwise be very difficult to achieve.

Other than the meter, the melody is basically unchanged. The original had a rest at the end of the four-bar antecedent and another at the end of the consequent. I took the opportunity to fill this space with a line that leads the violins away and back to their high harmonic pad. The phrase, altogether, has the following arrangement: mm.1-2 cello/viola melody with violin pad; m.3 all four instruments harmonizing together; m.4 cello and viola cadence, violins lead back to repetition of antecedent. Here's a visualization of the effect in the score.

Trading Foreground

This technique of shifting the listener's attention to different parts of the ensemble is extremely important as works get longer and longer. This instance is a very localized example. Symphonies and operas and the like will do the same across large swaths of the composition. The very best will have this kind of foreground shifting at the phrase level, as well, so I'd say it's good I practice that where I can.

The eighth measure is also worth taking a look at. The original theme simply and sensibly cadenced and left it at that. In this case, it felt right to reharmonize the expected closed cadence to an unexpected open cadence (nerd-speak: a deceptive cadence using the V of vi). That created the space for a phrase extension, passing the ending curlicue between the violins and viola/cello pairings before everybody comes together for a unison statement of the curlicue, helping reinforce the actual cadence as the actual authentic cadence.

Now, I've got two points, it's time for a third. When I originally planned out the form, I thought I was going to go for a sonata form. In brief: Exposition (Themes 1&2 or more expose themselves); Development (Themes run from the police); Recap (Themes 1&2 or more return, now reformed and functional members of society). That's not what I ended up with, which is fine. Revising is part of the creative process. You'll have to just wait and see where it goes.

Nevertheless, I did another arrangement of the original theme in full, unchanged. It looks like this.

Theme 1, full statement

The arrangement gives the melody to the first violin, harmonizes it with the second violin and viola, and the cello holds down the bass. The result is a rich, full-bodied sound that is especially resonant given the key-signature uses lots of pitches that align with the instrument's open strings. There are very few harmonic alterations in this statement, barring a couple of chromatic bends in the consequent, because this was intended to be the expository statement of the theme in full after a somewhat chaotic and disjointed introduction.

I'd also like to draw attention to a rhythmic element in the cello. One thing I was always on the look-out for were ways to help massage the blocky regularity of the original theme. The first two measures of the section show one way to do this. The overall meter is 5/8 (musical units are grouped in fives). The melody and its harmonization are entirely eighth-notes. The cello is given quarter-notes. Now, I could have arranged the cello's part in an alternating quarter/dotted-quarter pattern, like this:

alternative arrangement

Instead, I opted to keep the quarter note rhythm consistent. The consequences of this is, the cello's rhythmic pattern runs over the bar-line and creates a two-bar musical line under the melody's 1+1 phrasing. This type of metric overlapping would probably be called polyrhythm, but this is such a simple case I'm more inclined to call it a basic polymeter: the melody is in 5/8, the bass is in 5/4. Whatever you call it, the effect is the same. The longer bass line helps glue two units of the melody together into a single structure.

As a nod to classical balance, I opted to make the second half of the theme metrically similar. This also helps drive the music towards its cadence a bit better.

Ok! I think that's plenty for today. If you enjoyed reading, consider following the blog on your RSS feed for weekly updates. If you really enjoyed it, consider joinging my Patreon, where I post audio samples of the blog excerpts along with other compositions that don't make it to my website. Either way, thanks for stopping in!

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Composing Phrase by Phrase 7

Bigger Phrases, Bigger Consequents

Hello and welcome or welcome back to the Composing Phrase by Phrase Blog! I've been working on a composition and writing my thoughts on the compositional questions that come to mind for each phrase. Last week, I laid out three big points I wanted to hit in the composition. This week, it's time to start elaborating on those ideas and filling in the phrases. First stop: the beginning.

Refresher - here's the opening phrase.

String Quartet phrase 1

It's two four-bar units, each in a 2+2 format. The head of each unit uses the first bar of the composition that kicked this whole project off. The second half of each unit introduces a new element for contrast and to open up space that allows for a longer form composition. In addition, the two four-bar units aren't repeated exactly. Measures 5-8 are played at a different scale degree than the opening. The goal, again, is to open up more compositional space for a greater time scale.

The original composition had an eight-bar phrase which was comprised of two four-bar units. To achieve a longer section, I'm thinking of bigger phrase groups. If I've got a section that 32 bars long, and it's coming to a closed cadence every 8 bars, it's going to feel a little stunted, especially if those 32 bars are followed by another 32 that follow basically the same format. Repeating the opening material with harmonic alteration brings the whole phrase to an eight bar unit that ends with an open door to lead the ear onward.

All together, that sets the table for a 16-bar phrase in an 8+8 format. What are the next eight measures> I'm glad you asked! These are the next eight measures.

the next eight measures

Like the opening, these phrases begin with material from the original sketch (measure 9 from the sketch) before peeling off in a different direction.

String Quartet 9-12

Original 9-12

It's also written with two four-bar units. Unlike the opening, however, these don't follow a 2+2 call and response kind of plan. The melody remains in the first violin, harmonized by the second. The cello gives light support with plucked bass notes while the viola provides some harmonic glue in the form of repeated eighth-notes. It's a fairly standard classical arrangement, all told, although I'd get some strong side-eye from 18th century composers if they saw the harmonies I was using.

like this

Moving on. The second half of each four-bar unit uses a descending chromatic scale that leads the ear into the next four measures. Like measures 1-8, measures 9-16 repeat the melodic material at a different harmonic level to allow for another open cadence. We're only on the second phrase of the piece! We've got a ways to go before we can shut the door and move to a different room.

A couple points of note. The second melody of the measure happens to use a lead strongly reminiscent of the second theme.

mm.9-12, violin

second theme

This is entirely happenstance. Happy happenstance! But a happy accident nonetheless. I suspect that, if I had tried to plan this, it would have come across stilted and contrived. Maybe it still does, but much less so, I think. The descending chromatic scale also relates to the half-step motif heard in measure 2. This is less of a coincidence.

There's also this little melodic blip (that's official music theory language, for you) that pops in from the viola on the third measure of the phrase.

Viola interjection

This doesn't mean anything structural quite yet. At the moment, it merely provides a slight shift in attention within the arrangement: the second violin backs off a moment to provide light filler with the bass, while the viola takes the role of harmonic support for the melody. It's also worth noting the viola is generally moving in contrasting motion against the violin - there the violin is descending, the viola is ascending.

There's another textural shift in the fourth bar of the phrase. We move away from three distinct layers of music (melody+harmony, filler, and bass) to the whole ensemble playing the same material, albeit in harmony instead of in unison. This kind of technique might be called planing, especially as it shows up in early 20th century music, although it's really an evolution of a much older style of harmonization called fauxbourdon (in France) and its related but technically distinct practice, faburden (in England).

Anywho. While I am avoiding talking about music theory in detail for the sake of a broader readership, I will say that this whole sixteen-measure phrase unit follows a long harmonic scheme. Chords don't change one bar at a time, but rather in two or four-bar units. The following score highlights the harmonic changes.

Harmonic Plan, mms.1-16

One last thing before I sign off. The end of measure 16 sounds like it's aiming for an A-chord of some kind. A-major, if the key signature is any indication. If I followed that line, the next bar would look something like this:

16-17, expected resolution

Instead, I do this:

16-17, actual resolution

We'll have to get into what I do with that next time, though. For now, I hope you enjoyed learning a bit more about the compositional process! If you liked what you read, consider subscribing to the blog for weekly updates. If you really liked what you read, consider joining my Patreon. Members get audio realizations of scores in the blog, as well as compositions not featured here. Either way, thanks for reading!

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Composing Phrase by Phrase 5

How to Draw an Owl

Hello and welcome or welcome back to my Composing Phrase by Phrase blog series! We're chugging right along, finished up phrase 4 last week. This week, I'm going to quickly touch on phrase 5 and take a turn towards the future incarnation of this piece.

Honestly, there's not a lot about phrase 5 I haven't already said about phrase 2. I'm looking for an idea that is complimentary to phrase 4. That is to say, it has some contrast with the phrase before it, but not a lot. Here's the phrase I came up with:

phrase 5

The most obvious new thing about this phrase is how its consequent is the same as phrase 4's. The antecedent is different is all. This is a marked difference from the first section, whose endings only contain similarities instead of repetitions.

Other than that, about the only thing I want to point out about this phrase is how its beginning recalls material from the first section, specifically measure 9. While it's not a precise repetition, the use of something familiar in this section helps ground the listener in the idea of "Yes, these two parts belong together." That can be a challenge when minuet/trio forms get much longer. With smaller works, it's not so necessary.

phrase 2 and 5 comparison

Oddly, I've struggled with ways of expanding this phrase without disrupting the balance of the section. I think it's because in the small format I have right now, hearing phrase 4 in its entirety again, even with an intervening complimentary phrase, is somehow too much. It's not unheard of for trio sections to be shorter than the "minuet" section, sometimes significantly so. As a cellist, the gavottes from J.S. Bach's 5th cello suite comes to mind.

Moving on!

What comes next? We're going from five phrases to six, technically. There's a bit of a problem, though. I could keep adding complimentary phrases... eventually, that's going to get old. Complimentary phrases merely add a little spice at a point where the ear wants something new. The big way around that is to write contrasting phrases. Difficulty is, the more an idea's elements contrast with what comes before it, the more you need to work on transitioning the material from one point to the next.

There's also the question, "Can the idea itself support a longer form?" Right now, the answer is "No." Take a look at the first section again:

First section (not revised)

Even though there's metrical diversity, there's very little rhythmic diversity (almost none, really). The idea has a very narrow range and contains a fair bit of motivic repetition within itself. There's also no breathing room. The tune is singable, sure, it just requires fast lungs. Keep on going on like that and you get musical hyperventilation (maybe desireable for effect, just make sure you plan for it).

It's worth taking a look at why the idea has the traits it has. For one thing, it started from a place a pedagogy. There's absolutely nothing wrong with writing works aimed at students and amateurs, and in fact I wish more composers would do so. It does add constraints to your idea making that maybe aren't suitable for long form compositions.

For another, it's written for unaccompanied cello/string-instrument-of-choice. String instruments, among other things, do not require the player to breathe beyond what's necessary to stay alive. The fact it is unaccompanied, too, means the instrument has to fill many roles all at once: melody, harmony, rhythmic interest. In this tune, as in much fiddle music or Bach's aforementioned cello suites, the composition fills all these roles by having the instrument fill almost every inch of compositional space. There are other solutions to this problem, they're just not the default.

So what do? The first step is to take the music ideas I have and start to blow them up. Uh, like a balloon, not an explosive. First off, I'm going to move away from unaccompanied string instrument to string quartet. This takes the pressure off the one instrument to do it all, girlboss style, and spreads the musical roles across several. It also immediately expands the possibility of many musical elements: texture, density, and range being the biggest change.

Second, I'm going to take the basic motives I have and just literally add space between them. Like this:

phrase 1 with rests

Then, I'm going to fill in the rest of the owl a little bit. Like this:

How to Draw an Owl

Er, I mean, like this:

phrase 1, revision 1

There are a lot of things to go over, here. Before getting into nitty-gritty-kitty-litter, some structural stuff first. For the antecedent, we've got violins playing chunks from the first phrase of the original idea, with a few changes here and there which I'll explain next week. Then, the viola (inner voices, unite!) picks up the consequent with a new idea - a repeated A with a bit of Bb added as spice. To help overlap these two chunks, I've extended the ending of the violin's idea just a little bit with a new rhythmic feature, a dotted-eighth+sixteenth-note+eighth note rhythm. These kind of "phrase joinings" help shift the listener's ear from one part of the ensemble to another without creating a disruptive break in the musical flow.

Phrase Joinings

In this case, the Bb is also added for a specific reason. For the finished work, I'm going to keep the contrasting material I wrote for phrase 4 and 5 in Bb-major. Putting the Bb in, even just a dash of it, from the beginning will help tie the future section together with this beginning. It's easy to belabor this kind of thing, so I'm not going to hammer on the foreshadowing.

As far as the musical density goes, I'm keeping things fairly light at the beginning to give plenty of head room for dynamic changes later. Violin 2 harmonizes the melody in violin 1; when the viola enters with its motive, it is only sparsely accompanied by pizzicato in the cello and violins. The aim is a sort of buoyant feel to everything which I'm reinforcing with staccatto markings (read: space between played notes) and accents on weak and off-beats.

Ok, that's a big shift! Some of the concepts I'm bringing up, like musical density, will make more sense as I present more of the composition. I think that's fodder for a completely different blog series, though. In the mean time, if you enjoyed reading, consider subscribing to the blog to keep up with future updates! And if you really enjoyed reading, maybe support me on Patreon? Supporters get access to recordings of the work in progress, as well as other compositions and scores.

Either way, thanks for reading!

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