 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: clarinetplayer21
Date: 2015-12-22 01:57
Hello fellow composers. Recently I have tried my hand at music composition. Specifically for a wind ensemble. Its not turning out well. I know what I want it to be, but I can't get it out onto the music program. I have some ideas but I feel like I'm just copying from other composers and its not what it should be? When I put the melodies throughout the song I feel like they just don't 'fit'? Also, how does one choose a key signature? What do you do when an instrument doesn't 'fit' in your song? For me the sax, trumpet don't fit in. Any advice guys? Anything would be helpful.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2015-12-22 02:53
clarinetplayer21 wrote:
> What do you do when an instrument doesn't 'fit' in
> your song? For me the sax, trumpet don't fit in. Any advice
> guys? Anything would be helpful.
Typically, the composer decides on the instruments he wants to use first, then writes music that *does* fit. By "wind ensemble" do you mean a band with all the standard wind, brass and percussion instruments but with only a small number of players on each part? Or do you mean something with a more limited instrumentation?
You don't need to use every instrument all the time.
What do you mean by "I can't get it out onto the music program?" Do you mean you don't know how to notate it? Are you using notation software (Finale, Sibelius or their cut down versions) or a sequencing program that you play the music into on a MIDI keyboard or by singing into a mic?
Karl
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Author: clarinetplayer21
Date: 2015-12-22 03:11
By me saying "wind ensemble" I mean like what you would see in a high school or some collage bands with standard brass, winds, and percussion with some exceptions of less common instruments at times. ex: contrabass clarinet, alto flute, that kind of stuff. I know you don't use all instruments but I feel some instruments don't fit anywhere and I can't exactly "cut them out". I will typically put my "ideas" on a instrument I know well or play myself then put it on the instrument that gives the sound I want. I use muse score 2 as it's free and easy to use. I know how to use the program but I can't really get what's in my head on the program correctly but I could just need more exeperimenting on my part with returns and such.
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Author: Matt74
Date: 2015-12-22 03:50
Use the instruments you don't want to double other parts, and mark them p or mp. (Composers seem to do this all the time.) It's perfectly legitimate to have some instruments or parts sit out for a while in a tune.
- Matthew Simington
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Author: clarinetguy ★2017
Date: 2015-12-22 19:38
Dominic, I commend you for your composing efforts. I tried to do some composing when I was in high school, but didn't have much success. A lack of music theory knowledge (chords especially) really held me back.
Since then, I've written a fair amount of music, but little of it has been performed. That's just how it goes!
Your questions are very common from young composers. First of all, try to learn some basic music theory. It will take some motivation on your part, but it's possible. There was a discussion about the best textbooks in August 2014.
http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=411620&t=411569
I'd suggest starting small. Instead of composing for a wind ensemble, a nice goal, but a challenging one, write a short piece in three-part form for solo clarinet. Use melodic ideas that speak to you, and don't worry if you're completely original. It often takes a long time for a composer to find his or her individual style or voice. As you gain experience, you can then try writing for small ensembles, such as a clarinet trio or a sax quartet.
You also asked about key signatures. If you're writing for your fellow students, stick with keys that are most comfortable for high school winds, concert B-flat, E-flat, A-flat, and F (although very talented students should be able to play in other keys as well). If you write for strings, think C and sharp keys like G, D, and A, although talented high school players should also be able to play in F and B-flat.
Good luck!
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Author: dubrosa22
Date: 2015-12-24 00:57
Transcribing other people's music is a good way of learning how to write down the music you hear in your head.
Also reading existing composition scores or playing them part by part via your notation software.
V
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2015-12-28 00:45
I found Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov's treatises on orchestration tremendously helpful. The first edition was published in 1912. Maximilian Steinberg assembled and edited it, from Rimsky-Korsakov's manuscripts and notes (mostly from 1873-1874) and from an outline and incomplete draft of the book the composer began in 1905-1907. The edition Dover used for this reprint was published by Edition Russe de Musique in 1922, in two volumes. Dover has combined both volumes into one.
Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, "Principles of Orchestration, with musical examples drawn from his own works, in two volumes bound as one." Edited by Maximilian Steinberg; translated into English by Edward Agate. New York: Dover, 1964 (trade paperback).
This edition is also available in a number of later Dover reprints. Rimsky goes into great detail about the uses and limitations of various instruments. For example, his advice on writing for the trombone, an instrument I don't know how to play, saved me from writing a stupidly impossible passage that would have required a trombone player to trill between second and fifth position!
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2015-12-28 17:43)
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Author: BflatNH
Date: 2015-12-28 17:06
I've heard it said that "composition is transcription" meaning that you need to hear it in your head first, then 'transcribe' it in your compositions.
Listen to build a tonal vocabulary on how contrasting instruments are used and balanced e.g. clarinet over horn. Sometimes the instruments combine to provide a 'new' instrument, e.g. clarinet and oboe in unison.
For me, smaller sections come to mind first, then I work in the transitions, counter melodies, etc. which can be done by different (non-fitting) instruments. The contrast can keep the main melodies fresh for the listener. If things don't fit together, put the fragment aside as a 'note' to be used in another piece. You will have many ideas, and it is important to get them on paper before you forget.
Sometimes you can have the instruments that don't fit separately handle the melody, in a different key, tempo, etc so that they all contribute to the whole. If you simultaneously have 2 themes in the same range, then the different instrument sounds can be used for melody/counter melody.
I give every part 'a taste' (unique solo phrase) so they can feel the spotlight even for a few measures, to honor their musicianship.
Post Edited (2015-12-28 17:08)
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