Writing Techniques of Composition

Writing Technique of Composition

Writing technique is the method of expression in writing, which is the effective artistic means adopted by the author to express his meaning. Writing skill is limited by the author's world view, artistic view, and at the same time, it plays a role in his writing practice, for the service of writing activities. The following is what I have organized for you to compose the writing skills related content, just for reference, I hope to help you.

Before composing a song, we first need to determine how many sections of the song (one section of the body, two sections of the body, three sections of the body), two or three sections of the body is more common.

Compose using chords adding passing tones. It is suitable for writing the harmony first, and then adding the melody. The melody of this kind of tune is very harmonized with the accompanying chords, and the direction of the melody's harmony is more obvious, however, it is usually shorter in length.

1. Use pure natural scales to compose. It is more suitable for writing long sections of the melody, the melody first, and then write the harmony. For example: major natural scale: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 minor natural scale: 6 7 1 2 3 4 5.

2, using a variety of characteristic scales to compose. That is, you can improvise one or several variations in the natural scale melody you compose.

3, with the help of a variety of musical instruments to compose the scale characteristics. For example, the Yunnan instrument hulusi, bawu only an octave plus a tone, so when composing, you need to take into account the range of this instrument.

4. Imitate the way of speaking pronunciation. That is to say, when you read the lyrics, read the lyrics of the staccato, the melody of the high and low ups and downs and the Chinese character pronunciation of the high and low ups and downs are the same. As in singing and speaking! Compose according to the four tones of Hanyu Pinyin. These would apply to the lyrics first, then the song.

5, composing with the method of scale modulation. That is, the scales form the melody according to the same law and pattern, to do the scale upward, or downward, that is, the melody after the imitation of the previous melody!

6, the composition of the time will often use some melodic repetition, the song will be sung catchy, it is easy to be remembered by the people at once the melody of the song! Such a song is often very good, such as the climax of many songs, that is, the chorus part, is often used repeatedly!

7, around a musical theme, a tone, or a small section of the melody for different developments. By musical theme I mean that one main melodic motif that you have when you compose, which you can continue to develop smoothly by wrapping around it.

8. Take a tone as the center, move up the scale, and then move down the scale the same distance. Of course the order is interchangeable. Written out on the score, the notes are seen to rise and fall on the axis of symmetry of this tone, as if it were a reflection in a lake, the top and bottom are completely symmetrical. This makes the tune sound more focused and less scattered.

9, we used to study ancient poetry, there is a rhetorical method called: thimble. It is like a game we often play "idiom solitaire", the first word of the next word is the last word of the first word.

10, like to play the guitar, you can get some inspiration from the guitar improvisation Solo method!

11, from other existing styles of music to find inspiration. For example: Peking Opera, Northeast Chinese Opera, and so on. Draw from it the scales and nice melodies you need!

12, the favorite songs or other music wonderful pieces, collected together. Take the best parts of these and put them together, that is, take the essence and turn it into your own music.

13, the inspiration to write a good recording of the work, and constantly modify, and then select the most satisfactory part of the finalized tune to add decorative notes, rounded notes, continuous notes, rests and so on.

14, try practicing in different moods, and emotions, your work will feel different! Depending on the mood, you may be able to make a piece with a change of key.

15, to do the lyrics embodied in the style and the style of the song is the same, that is, the lyrics of the correspondence.

Expansion:

The basic theory of composition

I. Harmony

Harmony is the study of the effect of multiple tones *** with the same sound, the law of learning. If the melody is compared to the "bone" is the "meat", only with the harmony, the sound only become full, harmonious, beautiful. The status of harmony is very important, and it can be regarded as the foundation of all music theories. Many music masters have made outstanding contributions to harmony. However, it is not easy to learn it well because of its vast content and many rules. The professor in the novel "You Have No Choice" (by Liu Sora, "New Era Controversial Works") claimed that he had studied harmony for eight years and still could not learn it well, which shows the difficulty. However, it is worthwhile to try to master the basics of harmony. Here is a brief introduction to some important basic concepts and terminology.

(1) Triad

The chord formed by superimposing the root note with the upper third and the upper fifth is called a "triad". The triad is the most basic chord in terms of its function and is the most used. According to the structure, there are "major triads", "minor triads" and "diminished triads" (only one). According to their function, they can be divided into "dominant chords" (triads in which the dominant is the root), "dominant chords" (triads in which the dominant is the dominant) and "subordinate chords" (triads in which the subordinate is the dominant). In addition, each triad has two inverted chords. The main, dominant and subdominant chords are called "major triads" and the other four are called "minor triads". The other four chords are called "sub-triads". These four sub-triads belong to the "dominant" and "subdominant" groups. The seven tones of the natural scale constitute all the primary triads as follows:

Root Function Type Symbol

1 Major chord Major T (or Ⅰ)

2 Secondary chord (Subordinate) Minor SⅡ

3 Tertiary chord (Genus) Minor DⅢ

4 Subordinate chord Major S (or Ⅳ)

5 Genus chords Major D (or V)

6 Subordinate chords Major S VI

7 Seventh chords Minus D VII

Except for the D VII, which is a diminished triad, the rest of the six triads are concordant chords.

(2) Seventh chords, ninth chords, altered chords

The chord formed by adding a third (the seventh of the root) to a triad is called a seventh chord. The seventh chord is a dissonant chord. The most commonly used seventh chords are the "dominant seventh chords" (dominant chords forming a seventh chord). It is not uncommon to find heavy dominant chords and diminished seventh chords. If you add a third to a seventh chord (i.e. the ninth of the root note), you have a ninth chord. Ninth chords are also dissonant chords. If one of the tones of a chord, other than the root, changes to a different tone, this chord is called an altered chord. Ninth chords and altered chords have a special coloring and are not easy to grasp, so they are less used; they do not appear in simple works.

(3) Harmony

Harmony consists of a soprano, an alto, a tenor and a bass. and "bass". In the score of the harmony, the soprano part is at the top, the bass part is at the bottom, and the alto and tenor parts are in the middle. Therefore, the soprano and bass voices are often referred to as the "outer voices", while the alto and tenor voices are called the "inner voices". The soprano part is generally the main melodic part; the two inner parts are mainly configured for harmony, and are often called the "filler parts". Harmony in the conduct, connection, the inner voices require full and smooth, no interplay between the voices. The bass part is always the lowest sound in the harmony, determining the root sound, so it not only plays a fundamental role, but also leads the direction of the harmony, its role is very important. The writing of "four-part harmony" is one of the most important skills in composition, and should be the starting point for any work, big or small (after the main theme is determined, the harmonic writing is started). Instrumentation crystallizes the harmonic texture. (Because different instruments belong to different parts, so the total score can be written according to the harmonic part, can also be written according to the instrument grouping: such as strings part, brass part, woodwinds part ...) Different composers of the harmonic style to the; different: or rich and magnificent, or mellow and generous, or clear and transparent. For example, Wagner's works are known for their splendor.

(4) Harmony, connection, "resolution"

Harmony in the process of the music to constantly change, change, suspension; the voice should also be appropriate transition, connection. This is why it is essential to write harmonies. The basic characteristic of harmonic progression is from "stable" to "unstable" and then to "stable"; from "harmony" to "dissonance". The alternating cycle of "harmony" to "discord" and back to "harmony". The diagram of its functioning is: T-S-T, T-D-T or T-S-D-T, which is the meaning of the so-called "circle of functioning" mentioned several times in the novel You Have No Choice. The novel also mentions the term "resolution". This refers to the way in which dissonant chords (e.g. seventh chords) transition to consonant chords in the progression, the basic rule being that the voices transition to the nearest consonant, e.g. 7→1, 4→3, etc., while the consonant remains unchanged.

(5) On the "strength" of the harmony

In "You Have No Choice," Samson, a senior student, is eager to imitate Beethoven, but he spends all day imitating Beethoven's "strength" because of Beethoven's "strength of the world. But because Beethoven's "power is so great," he spends his days slamming on the piano in search of "power". One of his catchphrases was "Shit, power!" Typically, intensity refers to the strength of the sound, and is expressed in Italian as "p" for "weak", "f" for "strong", "s" for "strong", and "p" for "weak", and "f" for "strong". "p" is for "weak", "f" is for "strong", "sf" is for "extra strong", and so on. But the strength here is another concept, otherwise the "strength" of the piano with the feet must be more than Beethoven. The "strength" in the novel mainly refers to the strength of the sound effect, that is, the strength of the harmony. The strength of the harmony is probably related to the resonance spectrum of the series of overtones contained in the chord. The strength of the harmony is probably related to the resonance spectrum of the series of overtones contained in the chord, and therefore to the number of voices and their intervals. Generally speaking, minor triads are not as strong as major triads, single intervals are not as strong as complex intervals (intervals of more than an octave), and consonant chords are not as strong as dissonant chords (with the exception of diminished chords). That's why Samson "added a seventh chord to a ninth chord".

How to learn harmony:

(1) Understand the basic concepts without memorizing the rules. There are many rules in harmony, but there are few limitations. Moreover, if you remember these "forbidden rules", you won't make a big mistake, so you should remember the "taboo" first.

(2), insist on doing exercises. Music is different from mathematics, science and chemistry, it is no absolute standard, exercises are not a kind of answer. Only by doing more and more practice will you memorize and improve.

(3), listen to more famous songs. This is actually the most effective means. Beginners can listen to more simple, good to understand and listen to the tune.

The form of the song

The form of the song refers to the structural form of the music. There are "single-part", "two-part", "three-part", "variations", "sonata", "scherzo", "scherzo", "scherzo", "scherzo", "scherzo", "scherzo", "scherzo" and "scherzo". "Sonata" and "Rondo" and so on. Each thematic section is represented by "A, B, ...". For example, the pattern of "two-part" is "AB"; the pattern of "section" is "ABA", and the third section is "A", which is basically the same as the first section. A is basically the same as the first paragraph. Children's songs are mostly two-part or even one-part; popular songs are mostly three-part. And the "round dance" is often used in the cyclorama.

Third, polyphony

"Polyphony" is relative to the "main key". If there is only one melodic voice, and the other voices only play a supporting role, this kind of music is called the main key music. If there is more than one melodic voice, and the voices are independent of each other horizontally, and vertically form a harmonic relationship, forming a harmonious organic whole, then such music is called "polyphonic music". In polyphonic music, the melody of each voice part is called the "main melody" and "secondary melody" in order of priority. There is only one main melody. Polyphony is an important compositional technique that is widely used, and its theoretical basis is harmony. The "fugue" is one of the modes of polyphony, and Bach developed the technique to its fullest extent.

Four, counterpoint

Counterpoint is one of the "polyphonic music" writing techniques. It is based on the theory of harmony, so that the voices are both harmonious and relatively independent. For example, the chorus (trio, quartet) is written in counterpoint. Counterpoint and "strict counterpoint" and "imitation counterpoint" points. Russian and German music theorists respected and abided by strict counterpoint.

V. Melody

Melody is the tune. It is the fundamental characteristic of a piece of music that distinguishes it from other pieces of music, like the style and rhythm of a building. The "phoneme" constitutes the "motive", which is further developed into the theme to form the melody. Specifically, a melody is formed by the combination of certain "tone patterns" and "rhythmic patterns" according to a specific rhythmic pattern. Melody is visual: it is embodied in the melodic line (the line of note heads). Some early musicians pursued the "beauty of the melody line", believing that a good melody should also be visually beautiful. Melodic composition depends on genius, inspiration and practice. Melodic writing is very skillful, and its development techniques are various and rich. Commonly used developmental techniques include: repetition, modulation, imitation, tightening, expansion, change, contrast, and variation. Most of the concepts are explained through demonstrations and audiovisuals. (See Music Appreciation Lecture (3)).

Sixth, orchestration

Orchestration is an orchestral writing technique, so it is also known as the "orchestral method" or "instrumental method". But for all the band's performance and even the accompaniment of popular songs are inseparable from the use of orchestration, so learning a little orchestration knowledge is very practical value. Learning orchestration is to solve the following problems: the sound principle of various instruments, timbre, volume and performance method, etc. - the volume of various instruments to match the relationship between - the correct choice of instruments in order to correctly express the theme and style of the work.

Let's take an example: I wrote a violin concerto. But the violinist comes to me with the score and says, "I can't play it. I am convinced that there is nothing wrong with the writing: it is melodic and harmonically rich. What is the problem? There could be three. One is that the clef is not in the right range, the upper or lower limits are outside the range of the violin. Secondly, I wrote the triad as three notes, whereas the violin can only play two notes at the same time, so of course the player can't play it. Thirdly, the chord intervals are too large: one note is on the G string (the fourth) and the other is on the A string (the second). In the middle of a string, you let him (her) how to pull?! Another example is that a township enterprise bought a bunch of foreign music and formed an orchestra and rehearsed a program, and then invited an expert to come and give guidance. But the conductor looked after shaking his head, said he could not help. The reason is that (1) the number of instruments does not match, some more than a large orchestra; (2) do not talk about orchestration, to engage in a large concert, which is a professional musician is difficult to do.

The reason for the failure of the above two cases cover out of ignorance of the orchestration of common sense. In addition, in the popular song accompaniment, if not the appropriate use of orchestration can also appear some problems, such as "chaotic", "the main" and so on. However, the pronunciation, timbre, functional characteristics, and playing skills of electroacoustic instruments are very different from traditional instruments, and they are self-contained, so the traditional orchestration method is basically not suitable for purely electroacoustic bands.

Basic Music Theory of Composition

According to the definition of the French music industry, the style of composition can be divided into three categories:

1. ANAORPHOSE: This style emphasizes that the main body of the music is almost unchanged, and that what changes is only the listener's feelings;

2, METAMORPHOSE: This style requires the music to produce a gradual change, and the dominant idea is that music is just like a life, which will gradually produce changes and deformations due to metabolism. Although the musical expression of the last chapter ends, the musical expression of the next chapter is the natural evolution of the last performance, this change is not sudden, is a gradual process. This is METABOLE;

3. CORRESPONDANCE: This style is relatively more free, by the listener each one to find the echo relationship of different musical parts.

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