Composing with Constraints: 100 Practical Exercises in Music Composition

Description

Composing with Constraints: 100 Practical Exercises in Music Composition provides an innovative approach to the instruction of the craft of music composition based on tailored exercises to help students develop their creativity. When composition is condensed to a series of logical steps, it can then be taught and learned more efficiently. With this approach in mind, Jorge Variego offers a variety of practical exercises to help student composers and instructors to create tangible work plans with high expectations and successful outcomes. Each chapter starts with a brief note on terminology and general recommendations for the instructor. The first five chapters offer a variety of exercises that range from analysis and style imitation to the use of probabilities. The chapter about pre-compositional approaches offers original techniques that a student composer can implement in order to start a new work. Based on lateral thinking, the last section of the book fosters creative connections with other disciplines such as math, visual arts, and architectural acoustics. The one hundred exercises contain a unique set of guidelines and constraints that place students in a specific compositional framework. These compositional boundaries encourage students to produce creative work within a given structure. Using the methodologies in this book, students will be able to create their own outlines for their compositions, making intelligent and educated compositional choices that balance reasoning with intuition. cover Composing with Constraints Copyright Dedication Contents Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction How to Use the Book Recommendations for the Instructor 1 Melody (Exercises 1–​20) Preliminary Notes Exercises Exercise 1: Focal Point Exercise 2: Using a Scale Exercise 3: Using a Scale and a Subset Exercise 4: Using a Scale with a Substitute Pitch Exercise 5: A Scale in a Given Order Exercise 6: A Scale in a Given Order with Ordered Rhythm Exercise 7: Concatenating Triads Exercise 8: Concatenating Triads of Any Type Exercise 9: Segments of Equal Duration Exercise 10: Segments of Unequal Duration Exercise 11: The Melody of an Image Exercise 12: Integer Notation Exercise 13: Integer Notation Collections and Subsets Exercise 14: Integer Notation Collections and Transition Subsets Exercise 15: Simple Probabilities Exercise 16: A 12-​tone Row Exercise 17: A 12-​tone Row in Palindrome Exercise 18: Intervallic Content Exercise 19: Using Melodic Motifs Exercise 20: Eliminations 2 Harmony (Exercises 21–​40) Preliminary Notes Exercises Exercise 21: Composing Transitions Exercise 22: Using Segments, Melody Becomes Harmony Exercise 23: Axis of Symmetry Exercise 24: Using the Harmonic Series Exercise 25: Using the Harmonic Series with a Pedal Tone Exercise 26: Just Triads Exercise 27: Using Integer Notation Exercise 28: Diatonic? Exercise 29: A 12-​tone Row Exercise 30: “Circle” Progression Exercise 31: Triads That Move in Thirds Exercise 32: Triads That Move in Thirds and Progressions within a Progression Exercise 33: Polychords, Triads over Triads Exercise 34: Polytonality Exercise 35: Pedal Tones Exercise 36: Ideas Using Parallel Modes Exercise 37: Clusters Exercise 38: Sequences and Patterns Exercise 39: Implied Harmonies Exercise 40: Contrafacts 3 Rhythm (Exercises 41–​60) Preliminary Notes Exercises Exercise 41: Transformations Using Simple Math Exercise 42: Using Segments Exercise 43: Using Segments per Measure Exercise 44: Non-​retrogradable Rhythms Exercise 45: Patterns within Patterns Exercise 46: Extracting the Rhythm of a Text Exercise 47: Why Meter? Exercise 48: Short, Long, Long, Short—​Using Morse Code Exercise 49: Ostinato Exercise 50: Playing with Hemiolas Exercise 51: Hemiolas and Melodic Construction Exercise 52: Polymeter Exercise 53: Metric Modulations Exercise 54: Using Rhythmic Motifs Exercise 55: Motivic Displacement Exercise 56: Isorhythmic Motets, Talea and Color Exercise 57: Repeat Signs, Loops, and Internal Spiraling Exercise 58: Composing with Unequal Rests and Pauses Exercise 59: Eliminations, Everything Coming from the Same Tune Exercise 60: Perceivable and Non-​perceivable Pulse 4 Texture (Exercises 61–​80) Preliminary Notes Exercises Exercise 61: Analyzing Chopin Exercise 62: Homorhythmic Exercise 63: Melodic Motifs Exercise 64: All the Same but Different Exercise 65: Phasing Exercise 66: Analyzing Debussy, Plaining Exercise 67: Liszt, Simple Harmonies, Complex Texture Exercise 68: Ostinatos Exercise 69: Letting the Performer Make Decisions Exercise 70: Aleatory Counterpoint Exercise 71: Micropolyphony Exercise 72: Counterpoint, Appropriating from Fux’s Species Exercise 73: Counterpoint “Tree”; 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and Others Combined Exercise 74: Same Chord, Different Color (Orchestration) Exercise 75: The Magic of the Unison and Timbral Modulation Exercise 76: Volume of Orchestration Exercise 77: Text Painting, Representing Text with Sounds Exercise 78: Heterophony Exercise 79: Using Stratified Layers à la Ives Exercise 80: Sound Masses 5 Form (Exercises 81–​90) Preliminary Notes Exercises Exercise 81: Planning Contrast Exercise 82: Composing with Modules Exercise 83: The One-​way-​trip Composition, Developing Variations Exercise 84: Theme and Variations Exercise 85: Spinning around A, Rondo? Exercise 86: Form as Process, Minimalism Exercise 87: Palindromic Structures Exercise 88: Available Forms à la Brown Exercise 89: Monolithic Structures Exercise 90: Game Pieces 6 Pre-​compositional Strategies (Exercises 91–​100) Starting a New Composition: Challenges and Possible Solutions Formal Plans Using Matrices and Vector Graphics Analysis and Stylistic Imitation Improvisation Connecting Worlds Soundscapes and Nature Repeat Yourself Using the Computer as an Assistant Exercises Exercise 91: Writing a Compositional Recipe Exercise 92: Using a Matrix Exercise 93: Deconstructing and Reconstructing I Exercise 94: Deconstructing and Reconstructing II Exercise 95: Creating a Compositional Plan Exercise 96: Bringing Ideas from Other “Worlds” to Your Music Exercise 97: Quotations as Triggers Exercise 98: Articulating Connections Exercise 99: Oblique Strategies by Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt Exercise 100: The Computer as Assistant Appendices A) Grading Rubric B) Sample Curricula C) Select Anthology of Scales and Musical Examples D) Table of Instrument Ranges and Transpositions Bibliography Index