Oct 9, 2019 | Composition, Daily Film Scoring Bits
Two Bar Structures Lots of music nowadays is very heavily orientated on structures that are multiples of two bars. Often themes are presented in an 8 bar form which can be subdivided into two groups of 4 bars which can again be subdivided into two 2 bar groups. While...
Jun 12, 2019 | Composition, Daily Film Scoring Bits
Chord Arpeggios Arpeggios or respective broken chords can be a great tool for accompaniment patterns or sources for melodic gestures. On accompanying figures they help to establish a sense of harmony but also keep a steady rhythm going. On melodies they help to...
Mar 20, 2019 | Composition, Daily Film Scoring Bits
Melodic Steps and Leaps One very old but also very useful rule for melodic writing is that a melodic leap in one direction should be followed by a melodic step in the other direction. Consecutive leaps in the same direction sound very dramatic and have the potential...
Jan 23, 2019 | Composition, Daily Film Scoring Bits
Composing Melody First vs. Composing Chords First Neither composing chords first and then finding a melody on top of them nor the other way around are optimal composition principles. In both ways you’re lacking ultimate control over what you’re writing. For example...
Aug 8, 2018 | Composition, Daily Film Scoring Bits
Melodic Shaping One of the things you should keep an eye on when writing music is the form of your melody. Very often, inexperienced composers fall into repeating short-breathed almost identical 2-bar phrases. While it is perfectly fine to do that once in a while and...