I found the following article to be excellent at explaining these and giving examples: -audio-23381 Basic Ternary Form (ABA) One being a basic ternary form (ABA) and the other being a ternary form with a bridge (ABACBA). To make our lives easier, we’re not going to create a custom form for the piece, we’re going to use 2 tried-and-true formulas. Now that we’ve identified what’s in our snippets, let’s talk about where we can take them. The time signature is 4/4, the tempo is 100 bpm, and the chords are Am x3 E7 The Formulas The second idea is a syncopated 8th idea in the key of A minor. Time signature is 4/4, tempo is 70 bpm, the chords are G D | C D The first idea is a dotted 8th (therefore syncopated 16th) chord idea in the key of G. The more you study quarter, 8th, 16th, and other note values, the easier it will be to create continuity and contrast, as we’ll see in the next part. I find that identifying the rhythm is the most important part, but many find it to be elusive because of a lack of understanding of how to notate rhythms. What are the chords used in the piece, if any? What chords could be used? The fourth component is the chord progression. Maybe you can’t tell and you’ll just have to ask yourself what the mood of the piece is. Is it in a major or minor key? Maybe it’s one of the other 5 modes. Is it half of a measure? Maybe 6 bars long? Knowing this can give you an idea of how much more material you need to write and how long you’d like the piece to be. Now that we know where the pulse is, we can determine how long your idea is. There’s a very helpful website that allows you to tap the tempo and it will tell you what the metronome marking is! It’s a good idea to have a metronome on hand to figure this out. We have to decide if the underlying pulse of our piece is slow, medium, or fast. The first component we’ll look at is tempo. I believe that this fear is entirely unfounded, and we only have to gain by asking ourselves questions about the components of our music. Many people are afraid of analyzing their music for fear of ruining the spirit of the music. In the video, I share two examples of snippets that I may expand upon for this challenge. Feel free to use my ideas as a starting point - but give me credit if you plan on selling your song! What is a snippet?Ī snippet is a short musical idea whether it be a germ, cell, motif, chord change, anything unfinished and not very long! It can be as short as two notes with a distinctive rhythm, or a verse without a chorus, or any other unfinished piece of a song. In the video, I demonstrate how to take the challenge by using some of my original music. In a nutshell, the challenge is to take a short instrumental idea, write one or two contrasting sections, plug them into a formula, and finish writing your song in one sitting. The Snippet Challenge & Simple Instrumental Song Forms Inspired by my research on speed composing, I decided to make a challenge out of my problem. I had been putting off turning them into real pieces until now. Over the years, I’ve written tons and tons of short musical ideas. Have lots of unfinished ideas? Learn how to take a short instrumental idea and finish writing your song in one day.
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