Getting past the "Church Modes"

[FMiguelez]

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Reginald Smith-Brindle has a handy, easy to read introduction to 20C composing. Can't find the title, something like 'Musical Composition'

Of course!! I forgot about this one. This is an AWESOME little book. I love Brindle's no-nonsense approach. He doesn't go into too much detail (that's what the other texts are for). Instead, he talks about how you can compose using the usual techniques, but he gives you great ideas and pointers. For instance, he talks about writing with the whole tone scale, and how to avoid monotony and keep it fresh, etc.
He talks about polytonality, writing for choir, a bit on serial writing, etc.

The book is very small (like smaller than A4, and 188 pages), but totally worth it.

The complete title is just "Musical Composition", by Reginald Smith-Brindle.

Check it out!!

[Tritonemusic]

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[philbrown]

Just for future reference, here is a link to a followup thread with links to download the scale diagrams discussed above:

http://www.unicornation.com/phpBB2/view ... hp?t=25924

[leigh]

I really like Smith-Brindle's "Musical Composition" a lot, too. His "Serial Composition" has a lot of useful stuff in it that can be applied to non-serial music.

I'm a big fan of Russo's "Composing Music" because of the restrictions. Sometimes I find having a limited number of choices helpful in getting something going. I'll take one of his exercises, start working out an idea at first using his restrictions and pretty soon it's developed into something substantial because I have enough experience to take it beyond the restrictions.

Here's an example of a piece for piano, violin and cello I wrote that originated in his exercise based on Scriabin's Mystic Chord (recorded using DP!). I mostly followed his restrictions and also used Messiaen's added value rhythmic idea to enhance the spacey feel:

http://leighdaniels.com/pub/TableOfStars.mp3


**Leigh

[aranos]

I really like Smith-Brindle's "Musical Composition" a lot, too. His "Serial Composition" has a lot of useful stuff in it that can be applied to non-serial music.

I'm a big fan of Russo's "Composing Music" because of the restrictions. Sometimes I find having a limited number of choices helpful in getting something going. I'll take one of his exercises, start working out an idea at first using his restrictions and pretty soon it's developed into something substantial because I have enough experience to take it beyond the restrictions.

Here's an example of a piece for piano, violin and cello I wrote that originated in his exercise based on Scriabin's Mystic Chord (recorded using DP!). I mostly followed his restrictions and also used Messiaen's added value rhythmic idea to enhance the spacey feel:

http://leighdaniels.com/pub/TableOfStars.mp3

**Leigh

I love it! Many thanks

[lando8872]

We use these all the time in Jazz, in fact most modern jazz/fusion is all based on the Minor/Major scale or Minor Major harmony rather than the Basic Diatonic approach of the major scales.

We use numbers instead of names as it's easier to learn in terms of numbers or modes rather than thinking about every scale.

Minor major Modes -

1 - Minor Major
2 - Sus Flat Nine
3 - Major sharp 5 or Just augmented
4 - Major sharp 11
5 - Dominant sharp 5
6 - Minor 7 diminished or half diminished because there's a Dominant 7th still
7 - Altered , because all the tones are altered

This makes it easy to think about and not have to focus on hundreds or "modes", you just learn the numbers and play.

So he's got a good point although I didn't realize Classical people would be more familiar with these as the jazz guys.

2-5-1 in the key of Cminor -

1- D half dininished
2 - G7 altered
3 - C minor/major 7

[FMiguelez]

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You're talking about "chord scales", right?

Do you mean those numbers as the scales you use for the voicings of chords and melodic writing for the harmony of the moment?? (so you stay diatonic or use altered forms, depending on what you need)?

[lando8872]

exactly,
on the 2-5-1 minor progression in C-7 that I wrote, you could just play C-7. This would be ok and a bit boring but works. But when you play those modes it's a lot cooler
After you learn the modes it's always the same and becomes second nature like we think about our major scales. Helps with composing for sure. It's basically the root of "upper extensions" or "altered Chords" whatever term they use. But the root is in those modes and which one to use.

[lando8872]

2-5-1 in the key of Cminor -

1- D half dininished (play F minor major)
2 - G7 altered (Play A flat minor major )
3 - C minor/major 7 (Play C Minor /Major)

Of course the voicings as chords are right there in the names EX -"Sus Flat Nine" second degree of the scale.

[leigh]

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Ok, Kubi. This is what I found (they were almost growing trees out of them )

Ludmila Ulehla- Contemporary Harmony. Romanticism Through the Twelve-Tone Row (This one is my favorite one. DEEP like hell)
Leo Dallin- Techniques of 20th Century Composition
Stefan Kostka- Materials and Techniques of Twentieth Century Harmony.
Vincent Persichetti- Twentieth-Century Harmony
Walter Piston /de Voto Harmony (This one is mostly about traditional harmony, but has good introductory chapters on 20th century stuff.

There's also the Schoenberg one, but that one is at my studio.
And I lent someone a very good one whose title I can' remember that is an analy deep analysis ( ) of Bartok's techniques/music. Man, I am SO getting it back now, like tomorrow.

The Berklee ones are just called Harmony 1 through 4, and Advanced Modal Harmony, and Reharmonization Techniques. These, at the time I was a student there, were not really books per se, they were like packages you got at the start of the semesters, but I'm almost positive they sell them as books now through Berklee press at their bookstore. These were more like contemporary harmony targeted at Jazz music, but very good ones. It was always great to compare these against the regular textbooks to see how some things were similar, but with different contexts.

We can add to that list the ones you recommended.

I found this link to the Ulehla:

http://www.amazon.com/Contemporary-Harm ... 896&sr=1-6

Anyone wants to recommend a few others?

Hey FM!

I just got Contemporary Harmony and what a fine book! Thanks for telling us about it. I'm especially excited because I'm working on a modal piece now and the chapters on modes and modal harmony are really going to help me. I like the focused analysis examples; they make it easy to find the important points quickly.

What's the name of the Bartok technique book (hope you got it back!)?

**Leigh

[FMiguelez]

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Hi, Leigh.

I'm glad you are digging that book. It's deep, ain't it?

Unfortunately, I could not get my Bartok book back. The person whom I lent it to moved, and I don't think I'll find him any time soon. Oh well, there goes my book...
To tell you the truth, I hardly remember the title now. It was so long ago... but this looks very familiar, so I think it is this one (too bad I can't look inside, otherwise I'd be able to tell you for sure):

http://www.amazon.com/Bela-Bartok-Analy ... 0912483334

I remember it had very very detailed analysis of his techniques, and there were extensive Shenkerian analysis going on too.

But hey, you WILL be VERY busy studying the Ulehla anyway

[leigh]

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Hi, Leigh.

I'm glad you are digging that book. It's deep, ain't it?

Unfortunately, I could not get my Bartok book back. The person whom I lent it to moved, and I don't think I'll find him any time soon. Oh well, there goes my book...
To tell you the truth, I hardly remember the title now. It was so long ago... but this looks very familiar, so I think it is this one (too bad I can't look inside, otherwise I'd be able to tell you for sure):

http://www.amazon.com/Bela-Bartok-Analy ... 0912483334

I remember it had very very detailed analysis of his techniques, and there were extensive Shenkerian analysis going on too.

But hey, you WILL be VERY busy studying the Ulehla anyway

FM,

Thanks for digging up the link. This Bartók book looks cool, too, so I ordered it! And the URL has "dp" in it so it's doubly cool. Ulehla is already fun. The info about cadences and about chromatic root progressions in a modal context is going to be very helpful in my new project.

Thanks!

**Leigh

[pjmnash]

Wow!
You ARE Obssesive-Compulsive with Scales!
I'm in the mode for love--even when it's mixolydian. ."
Is this your MIDI life crisis?
I suppose you can even Tuna Fish?
I use the church modes too. Even have the Liber Usualis. (It's in Latin--but it's all Greek to me.)
I also tend to overly gather information and scales etc. but in the end, USING THEM is what's important?
Compose, compose, compose--or consider the alternative-
decompose.
From a wise old lady in Texas who studied with a Medieval scholar at the University of California,
pj nash
P.S. I love the gypsy minor and the arabic scale.

[donreynolds]

Ummm.. Yeah!! Wow!! that's a lot of work.

[syntonica]

Wow! But true OCD-like behavior would be putting all those scale sheets into plastic sheet protectors... not that I would know anything about that...

And thanks for the downloads! uhhh... and as soon as I get some more sheet protectors, I am printing them out.