Com Posicion Tonal

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© Alan Belkin, 2008.

1

A Workbook for Elementary Tonal

Composition

by Alan Belkin

[email protected]




1

Introduction

This little workbook is supplied in response to a pedagogical need. Students of musical

composition need guidance in making the transition from harmony, counterpoint, and

orchestration courses into actual composing. Even though the exercises given here are ina fairly simple tonal style, the techniques used are basic to all composition. Also, many

composition students today are interested in film music, and a solid grounding in tonal

composition is an absolute prerequisite for that domain.

The exercises are based on a course I gave some years ago at the University of Montreal,

called, simply, Tonal Composition. The first half of that course (more or less

corresponding to the material given here) took one semester. In the second semesterstudents went on to write in simple model tonal forms.

Needless to say, doing these exercises will not make one a composer, but experience

shows that without these skills, much time will be wasted later in remedial work. Also,real talent is usually obvious even at this level.

One novelty, which I have never seen elsewhere, sets this workbook apart from otherscurrently available: I furnish exercises in writing transitions. Not only are transitions

essential to any substantial musical forms; the skills involved in writing them are basic to

all musical composition.

This workbook is not a substitute for a textbook in basic tonal composition, but a

complement to it. My own series of online textbooks can be found online, free, at:

http://alanbelkinmusic.com/

(Some of the explanatory text here is taken from these online books.)

Here is the table of contents for my book on musical form. The book can be found at:

http://alanbelkinmusic.com/bk/index.html

Introduction

Introduction: Why this book?

Stylistic assumptions

Forms and form Using this book as a textbook

Sources

A final noteBasic Notions

Foreground vs. background

Flow vs. break; continuity vs. surprise

Articulation and degrees of punctuation






2

Rate of presentation of information

Stability vs. instability

Progression

MomentumBeginning

Psychological functions of structural elements Structural requirements for the beginning of a musical work

Some typical starting gestures

The opening as a distinct sectionElaboration/Continuation, pt. 1

Organization of this chapter

General requirements for successful continuation

Transitional technique: the basis of satisfactory musical flow

Contrast

Suspense

Points of reference

Climax

Elaboration/Continuation, pt. 2

Flow

Major contrasts

Creating suspense over larger spans of time

Long range points of reference

Gradations of climaxEnding

How can the composer conclude the piece convincingly?

Resolution: the main issue

Rounding Off Ending gestures

The ending as a distinct section: the codaForms: a Glossary

Introduction

Specific formsConclusion, acknowledgements, bibliography

Prerequisites

A student attempting these exercises should, at a minimum, have completed a year of

tonal harmony. (Note that I do not mean analysis of tonal harmony but, actual writing ofmusic. Analysis can be useful, but it is no substitute for actual practice.) At least asemester of introduction to the basics of writing for instruments will also be very useful.




3

Instructions and Guidance for the Exercises

N.B. All exercises must be written with real voices and instruments in mind. All

necessary performance indications – tempo, dynamics, articulation, etc. – must be

furnished, as these are a concrete part of actual composition. Exercises must be heard! Aim for idiomatic writing for instruments.

Part 1: Review of Elementary Harmony

A (2 exercises) harmonise for 4 part choir, in keeping with the given beginning:

- determine the cadences

- compose the bass line

- fill in the middle parts

B (4 exercises) Add a figured bass to the given melody, in keeping with the given beginning (instrumental style, the harmonic rhythm may vary):

- determine the cadences

- compose the bass line

In these exercises, aim for clear tonal direction, well prepared, flowing modulations,smooth voice leading, and a bass line which is harmonically solid and melodically

interesting

Part 2: Motives (4 exercises)

For each exercise, continue the accompaniment to the end of the phrase, using the same

motive.

In these exercises, aim for:

- logical and coherent use of motives

- logical harmonization of motives; coherent treatment of dissonances

- control of rhythmic momentum

Motives add to linear coherence. A motive is a short, memorable pattern, which is

repeated and varied. Usually motives are melodic/rhythmic patterns. Such patterns createassociative richness. Motives stimulate the memory, and thus can be used to createconnections going beyond simple short term continuity. Conversely, introducing a

characteristic motive and then ignoring it usually creates distraction and weakens the

overall effect.

Dissonance formulas, apart from the most basic ones (passing and neighbour notes in

neutral rhythm), in effect create motives, requiring continuation.




4

The standard ways of using motives are listed in many texts and are not worth detailing

again here. However one distinction I have found useful is between "close" and "distant"

variants of a motive. The frequent repetition undergone by most motives requires more orless continual variation to maintain interest. The key point is whether an attentive listener

is more struck by the novelty of a given motivic transformation or the association with

the original. Certain motivic variants, for example retrograde, augmentation anddiminution, often upset the rhythmic flow; they may be easy to seize visually, but whenheard are often quite dissimilar to the original form.

Part 3: The Construction of a Phrase

(For more detailed information on the following forms, please the glossary in my book on

musical form, at: http://[email protected]/bk/F-7.html

A (3 exercises) Continue the given melody to the end of the phrase, developing the

original motive. Add figures to the bass line.

- Determine the harmonic implications of the bass line;

- Analyse the use of dissonance in the given motive;- In the melody, find the richest note which corresponds to each change of harmony

and incorporate the motive(s) around it.

A single phrase demonstrates in a microcosm all the basic elements of a musical design.A phrase must have a beginning that provokes interest; it must develop coherently,

inviting increasing involvement on the part of the listener, and it must supply a sense of

resolution at its end. The degree of finality implicit in its punctuation will depend on the

phrase's position in the whole piece.

B Additional exercises: Compose three phrases, following the harmonic schemes given

below: invent a motive, and develop it throughout the phrase. (You may use inversions

of the given chords.)

1) I V VI IV II V I

2) I III IV V I V I3) I IV II V VI III IV V I

Part 4: Grouping Phrases

A – the Period (3 exercises) Continue the given beginning to an open cadence as

indicated; then add a second, consequent phrase, based on the same material, finishing

with a closed cadence, to form a period structure. Only a (figured) bass is required inaddition to the melody.

In these exercises, aim for:

- coherent motivic development and logical harmony in a 2 phrase period.




5

- an interesting melodic line, with solid harmony.

A period contains two phrases, in a question and answer relationship. This relationshiplargely results from the cadences: the first is open, and the second closed. The listener

hears the second phrase in the light of the first, and the antecedent-consequent

relationship is evident at least at the start and at the end of the second phrase. As in asingle phrase, over the whole period the listener should be drawn in quickly, experience agradual intensification, and feel closure at the end.

B – the Double Period (4 exercises)

- Bring the given opening to a half cadence, or else to a full cadence in a closelyrelated key.

- Add three more phrases to make a double period: the beginning of the third phrase

should echo the beginning of the first phrase, and the fourth should echo the

second phrase. The final cadence should clearly be the strongest of all.

-

Add a figured bass to clarify the harmony.

The double period is a highly symmetrical - and therefore stable and predictable -structure which also gradually develops in intensity. However the tension is prolonged

over four phrases. The three internal cadences are subordinate to the final cadence, which

provides a proportionately stronger release.

Because the structure is stable and reinforces memory, a double period is especially

useful for presenting new material; it is more often found in exposition than indevelopment.

Part 5: Transitions (3 exercises)

For more detailed information on transitions, please refer to my online book on musical

form: http://alanbelkinmusic.com/bk/index.html

Smoothly connect each of the 1st ideas (represented by the first two bars) to the 2nd idea

on the same system. The transition may be any reasonable length; it is not limited to one

bar. You may develop the ideas to be joined at more length as well, if desired.

The difficulty of making a convincing transition lies in balancing the number of things

which change and the amount of time available. Depending on where the transition

appears in the form, it may need to happen quickly, or there may be quite a lot of timeavailable. In either case, the goal is to prepare the new idea convincingly, camouflaging

the joint.

Contact: [email protected]







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Part 1: Review of Elementary Harmony (A) 6



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Part 2: Motives10



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Part 4: Grouping Phrases (B) 15



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© Alan Belkin 2008

Part 5: Transitions16

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Com Posicion Tonal