Composition, simply put, means to record the music you have thought of that has not been composed by previous people using simple notation or staff, etc., to express your own melody. However, many people have a misunderstanding in their thinking and include arrangement within the scope of composition. In fact, the two are two completely different concepts. Simply put, composing is to come up with a melody out of thin air, while arranging is to add various tones and chords according to the melody to express the composition.
The precise definition of composition is compose, which means "organization". What is an organization? It means integrating, assembling, creatively arranging and using materials. Therefore, strictly speaking, according to the standards of Western music, melody creation does not necessarily belong to true composition. The strict arrangement and organization of materials and the final playable music is composition.
According to the definition of the French music industry, composition styles can be divided into three categories:
1. ANAMORPHOSE: This style emphasizes that the main body of the music remains almost unchanged, and only the listener changes.
2. METAMORPHOSE: This style requires music to produce a gradual change. The dominant idea is that music is like a life, which will gradually change and deform due to metabolism. Although the musical expression of the previous chapter has ended, the musical expression of the next chapter is a natural evolution of the previous one. This change is not sudden, but a gradual process. This is METABOLE.
3. CORRESPONDANCE: This style is relatively free, and it is up to the listener to find the echo relationship between different music parts.
Basic concepts and terminology of composition
1. Harmony
Harmony is the study of the effects and laws of multiple tones sounding at the same time. If the melody is compared to "bone", then the harmony is the "flesh". Only with harmony can the sound become full, harmonious and beautiful. Harmony is very important and can be said to be the foundation of all music theory. Many music masters have made outstanding contributions to harmony. However, harmony content is vast and there are many rules, making it difficult to learn well. But mastering the basic knowledge of harmony is the most beneficial and is worth a try. Here is a brief introduction to some important basic concepts and terminology.
1. Triad
The chord formed by superimposing the root note, the third tone above and the fifth tone above it is called a "triad". Triads are the most basic chords that constitute the function of chords and are the most commonly used. According to structure, triads include "major triad", "minor triad" and "diminished triad" (only one). According to function, it can be divided into "main chords" (triads with the tonic being the root tone), "dominant chords" (triads with the dominant tone) and "subordinate chords" (triads with the subordinate tone). In addition, every triad has two inversions. The three chords of tonic, dominant, and subordinate are called "positive triads", and the remaining four are called "subordinate triads." These four subtriads belong to the "dominant function" group and the "subordinate function" group.
2 Seventh chords, ninth chords, and changed chords
The chord formed by superimposing a third (the seventh tone of the root) on the third chord is called a seventh chord. Seventh chords are dissonant chords. The most commonly used seventh chord is the "dominant seventh" (a seventh chord formed by a dominant chord). Heavy dominant chords and diminished seventh chords are also often encountered. If you add a third to the seventh chord (that is, the ninth tone of the root note), it becomes a ninth chord. Ninth chords are also dissonant chords. If a note in a chord other than the root note is transformed into another note without following the original rules, such a chord is called a "changed chord". The functions and colors of ninth chords and chord changes are relatively special and difficult to grasp, so they are rarely used; they basically do not appear in simple works.
Three Harmony Parts
Harmony is generally composed of four parts: "treble", "alto", "tenor" and "bass". In the harmony staff, the treble is at the top, the bass is at the bottom, and the alto and tenor are in the middle. Therefore, the two voices, the treble part and the bass part, are often collectively called the "outer voice part", while the alto and tenor parts are called the "inner voice part". The treble part is generally the main melody part; the two inner parts are mainly used to configure harmony, and are often called "filling parts". When the harmony is progressing and connecting, the inner voices must be substantial and stable, and no overlap between voices is allowed. The bass part is always the lowest in the harmony and determines the root note. Therefore, it not only plays a basic role, but also leads the direction of the harmony, and its role is very important.
The writing of "four-part harmony" is one of the important skills of composition. Regardless of the size of the work, it should be used as the starting point (after the main melody is determined, the harmony writing begins). Orchestration materializes the harmonic texture. (Since different instruments belong to different parts, the score can be written according to the harmony part, or it can be written according to the grouping of instruments: such as string parts, brass parts, woodwind parts...) Different compositions The harmony styles of families often vary: some are magnificent, some are powerful and generous, or some are clear and transparent. For example, Wagner's works are famous for their magnificence.
The progression, connection, and "resolution" of the four harmonies
The harmonies must be constantly transformed, changed, and suspended during the course of the music; each part must also transition appropriately for this purpose ,connect. So this is the basic skill of writing harmony. The basic characteristics of harmony progression are the alternating cycle from "stable" to "unstable" and then to "stable"; from "consonance" to "dissonance" and then to "consonance".
The pattern of its function is: T-S-T, T-D-T or T-S-D-T. This is what the so-called "functional circle" mentioned many times in the novel "You Have No Choice" means. The term "resolution" is also mentioned in the novel. This refers to the way dissonant chords (such as seventh chords) are transformed into consonant chords during progression and connection. The basic rule is to transition the sounds of each part to their closest consonants, such as 7→1; 4→3 , etc.; while the consonance remains unchanged.