This
tutorial is intended primarily for Music 2 Core Composition
which has a maximum time limit of 2 minutes but can also be
applied to Music 2 Elective Composition (3 minutes) and Music
Extension Composition (2 pieces/movements with a combined time
of 6 minutes).
Tasks
are provided for motivic construction, aspects of pitch, harmonic
development and planning as well as consideration of the use
expressive techniques such as dynamics, tone colour and articulation.
Guidelines
are presented for the three main phases of composition including
pre-compositional development of ideas, assembling the composition,
and revision and preparation of the final draft.
Pre-compositional development of ideas
This section highlights the importance of having an underlying
compositional idea and shows the following steps involved in
the compositional process.
The
importance of an underlying compositional idea
Perhaps the most important aspect to consider in the lead up
to composing a work is the question of what the piece will be
about or what the impetus for the composition to exist is. This
question deserves some thought because composing the work could
become a struggle without a clear idea of its underlying musical
intent.
Once
the underlying idea is sorted out, the decision making process
becomes clearer because having a reference point makes it easier
to decide what the content will be and what extraneous material
can be edited out.
The
underlying idea for a piece may be just about anything, but
it’s easier if it is something relevant to the person
undertaking the task. Examples include ritual and dance in Stravinsky’s
Rite of Spring, a homage to the holocaust in Schoenberg’s
Survivor from Warsaw, or the white culture’s
engagement with aspects of a new land in Peter Sculthorpe’s
Mangrove and Kakadu.
It
could concern memory, illusion and reality or the exploration
of conflict. It could involve a response to a stimulus such
as a poetic image, another piece of music, an aspect of nature
such as the subtle changing of light or the evocation of an
image such as Ross Edwards’ Mountain Village in a
Clearing Mist. It could be a response to an aspect of one’s
daily life such as the mechanistic experience of a factory production
line. It could be involved with a process such as synthesis-
bringing things together, or with emergence- letting an idea
emerge from obscurity into clarity. It may be about interpreting
personalities in a group and the attempts to communicate.
Whatever
it is, it helps if there is something to refer to because composing
is about communication and sound can be a powerful metaphor
for this. Composing is also about making decisions and if there
is clear intent the work will be more coherent and focused.
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