Composition tactics and form
From StickiWiki
Composition. The craft of remembered parts, or at least fragments of parts. A sketch of an idea. It is not that difficult to write songs when you view composition as a wide open subject. We should all have blind confidence in our respective musical personalities. As long as there is a reasonable degree of technical control, each idea has the potential to be workable. So even if the part turns out to be boring, you can slowly morph it into a suitable idea. The trick is to end self-censorship, with clear intention. A vague feeling/perception can be crystal clear.
- Realization and discovery>translation/intention>the unfolding.
- The simple two or three part song. Just assemble some satisfactory musical statements into a rigid format. Any combination of the three parts will do, with varying degrees of repetition. Sometimes the second time around you will want to shorten a part, or embellish it. Maybe a 1-2-3 format will be perfect. Or 1-2-3-jam-1. Another common one is 1-2-1-3. Thats the idea anyhow.
- Inventing a personal descriptive wording system. Any description ranging from - omnidirectional black forest rays, meaning a dark twisted musical atmosphere with interlocking flat 5ths and unison lines that are harmonized in a way that influences a kind of floating consciousness. To a 17th century overtone of madness, meaning a classical style with augmented thirds in the right hand and moving left hand motors. Remember that this is a totally individual thing and these are only examples. You could be using colors/feelings or whatever to help transcribe musical creations. Later on it can be analyzed for musical socialization.
- Written notation, and conceptualizing away from the instrument. If given proper attention, this kind of process can yield a harmonic statement unlike anything else.
- Playing in the style that is on the radio station on planet Quazorb or any solar system without commercial intent.
- Using traditional harmony in a unique way.
- Switching physical approaches. Going from crossed to uncrossed can be mind altering. Or just switch the role of each hand. Also, covering the whole fretboard with a unified technique. And then there is the tightly compacted notes of two handed bass/treble playing.
- Premeditating an overall sound/feel of exactly what you would like to hear. If writers block occurs then this may help for freeing creativity. Style and flow are the only guide. Structure and compatibility of ideas can be figured out later. Remembering all the cool parts is crucial. Repeat a new part longer than normal to retain it.
- Staying on a particular scale pattern and trying to compose using a visual/interval method. Its useful to attempt to exhaust all the shapes.
- Writing from another perspective. Detach the personality, and be something else. Create from an outside source. It could be creating an aura around the body, or filling a room with colors, or anything else. Material objects will also work, and it is amazing to utilize nature in this manner.
- A variation- choose other musicians and write as if you were them. It can be really productive, the goal is not to play someone else's lines, but to take on their headspace.
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