Disclaimer: Hello guys, I'm aware of some unplayable passages on this arrangement. That's because this was a preliminary draft for a future orchestration that you can listen to here: ua-cam.com/video/cdD4psacIrc/v-deo.html Best regards!
Very interesting and well done video. If possible you could make a video on how to compose generally speaking. What I mean: do you write the melody or the chords first? Do you have the melody in your head or do you sit in front of a piano and start pressing the keys hoping something good will come out? How do you decide on the chords of a melody and how do you write a melody if you already have the chords? How do you choose a starting key, at random? How do you decide where to modulate? In short, explain a working method. Thank you very much for your videos!
Hello and thanks! those are such amazing and complex questions. For me, all those decisions depend greatly on the chosen music style. Every music style has it's own implicit rules and ways to do things, and the more familiar you are with one particular style, the more intuitive your decisions will get, till the point you simply "know" what will work and what not. Decisions on modulation depend on the musical form. Unlike in free improvisation, concrete musical forms (i.e. sonata form, rondo, etc.) have their normative spaces for modulation, so once you know each form's expectations it's not so much a matter of "where" but "how". Regarding melody: in short I'd say it depends. Sometimes you may come up with a melody out of your head, but most of the times melodies are rationally built out of smaller musical motives, through very specific crafting processes (even if they don't look like so once they are finished). Pressing keys hoping something good will come out might help you to find new musical ideas, but that'd be only a starting point. With regard to melody vs harmony, it depends on their preeminence for each passage: if I'm composing a tuneful melody for a tonally stable passage I'd most likely focus solely on the melody and harmonize it later. If I'm working on a more unstable section, such as developments or transitions, I might want to have a previous sketch of the harmonic plan before proceeding with the melody. There are a series of factors to consider regarding the initial key of a work. Firstly, not all the melodies sound equally good in all the keys. Secondly, not all the instruments are equally suited to perform well in all the different keys. And that's assuming we are dealing with equal temperament! There is also a subjetive aspect regarding each composer's preferences. On how to harmonize a melody and other questions, there are many good harmony textbooks out there that might help you with the basic principles, and they explain things better than I could probably do. I particularly like Walter Piston's, but that's only my personal preference. Best regards.
Decent lesson on structure, but not all was gravy. Some completely unplayable passages, and for me, the harmonies (harmonic progressions) are nearly all either weird or boring (about 50% of each). I'm missing the harmonic depth and subtlety in real 18th century music such as Couperin or Scarlatti.
I appreciate the feedback, thank you. My main goal here was discussing form. This arrangement is a preliminary sketch for a potential future orchestration, so there are indeed a few unplayable passages for a single pianist in it's current form.
@@Zarty-Music Make sense, thank you. The term Rondo makes me think of short masterpieces such as Couperin's La Muse Plantine or Rameau's La Livri, which are infused with heart-rending harmonic depth and quality. This is what I strive for in composing a Rondo. Most of the music from the late 18th Century seems to pale in comparison.
Disclaimer: Hello guys, I'm aware of some unplayable passages on this arrangement. That's because this was a preliminary draft for a future orchestration that you can listen to here: ua-cam.com/video/cdD4psacIrc/v-deo.html
Best regards!
This channel has shot toward the very tippy-top of the list of my most-valued channels with a velocity that breaks the sound barrier.
Hi Zarty! Could you please do a composition guide on composing a waltz? Waltzes are my favorite type of music and bring me excitement.
Hello, I might in the future!
@@Zarty-Music That would be amazing. Could you please do it in the style of Tchaikovsky or Shostakovich?
Such a great content! I´d like to see how to compose a suite
Very interesting and well done video.
If possible you could make a video on how to compose generally speaking. What I mean: do you write the melody or the chords first? Do you have the melody in your head or do you sit in front of a piano and start pressing the keys hoping something good will come out? How do you decide on the chords of a melody and how do you write a melody if you already have the chords? How do you choose a starting key, at random? How do you decide where to modulate? In short, explain a working method. Thank you very much for your videos!
Hello and thanks! those are such amazing and complex questions.
For me, all those decisions depend greatly on the chosen music style. Every music style has it's own implicit rules and ways to do things, and the more familiar you are with one particular style, the more intuitive your decisions will get, till the point you simply "know" what will work and what not.
Decisions on modulation depend on the musical form. Unlike in free improvisation, concrete musical forms (i.e. sonata form, rondo, etc.) have their normative spaces for modulation, so once you know each form's expectations it's not so much a matter of "where" but "how".
Regarding melody: in short I'd say it depends. Sometimes you may come up with a melody out of your head, but most of the times melodies are rationally built out of smaller musical motives, through very specific crafting processes (even if they don't look like so once they are finished). Pressing keys hoping something good will come out might help you to find new musical ideas, but that'd be only a starting point.
With regard to melody vs harmony, it depends on their preeminence for each passage: if I'm composing a tuneful melody for a tonally stable passage I'd most likely focus solely on the melody and harmonize it later. If I'm working on a more unstable section, such as developments or transitions, I might want to have a previous sketch of the harmonic plan before proceeding with the melody.
There are a series of factors to consider regarding the initial key of a work. Firstly, not all the melodies sound equally good in all the keys. Secondly, not all the instruments are equally suited to perform well in all the different keys. And that's assuming we are dealing with equal temperament! There is also a subjetive aspect regarding each composer's preferences.
On how to harmonize a melody and other questions, there are many good harmony textbooks out there that might help you with the basic principles, and they explain things better than I could probably do. I particularly like Walter Piston's, but that's only my personal preference.
Best regards.
@@Zarty-Music Thank you very much for your interesting answer.
Will you do a video on how to compose a Symphony? I saw that you composed one on your channel.
Hello, yes I'm planning to do that in the future!
@@Zarty-Music nice
Decent lesson on structure, but not all was gravy. Some completely unplayable passages, and for me, the harmonies (harmonic progressions) are nearly all either weird or boring (about 50% of each). I'm missing the harmonic depth and subtlety in real 18th century music such as Couperin or Scarlatti.
I appreciate the feedback, thank you. My main goal here was discussing form. This arrangement is a preliminary sketch for a potential future orchestration, so there are indeed a few unplayable passages for a single pianist in it's current form.
@@Zarty-Music Make sense, thank you. The term Rondo makes me think of short masterpieces such as Couperin's La Muse Plantine or Rameau's La Livri, which are infused with heart-rending harmonic depth and quality. This is what I strive for in composing a Rondo. Most of the music from the late 18th Century seems to pale in comparison.
Zarty-Music have you read gjerdingen 2007? Could help you out with idiomatic harmonic writing
@@oibruv3889 Hello. Yes I have, it's a fantastic resource!
@@Zarty-Music Have you studied partimento as well?