Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. – Maya Angelou
SUMMARY
- This week had a lot of music theory. It was interesting to learn about different time periods and how music evolved. I found some of the Hookpad tutorials interesting, I use Garage Band now and its similar,but not exactly the same.
PRACTICE ROOM
- I used this video to learn how to tune my dad’s old bass guitar.
- https://youtu.be/ZX2_gxiDymE
CLASSROOM (THEORY & ANALYSIS)
- As babies we can recognize tunes we heard in the womb.
- Pentatonic compositions are common throughout all cultures.
- A mode is effectively the mood of the song. It could be happy sad or intense.
- Blue-notes are a note that is flattened for expressive purposes.
- All modern music is written diatonically
- False relations is when one phrase ends in a minor and the next starts in a major
LAB (THEORY PRACTICED)
- For my walk I thought about how I write my music, what is my creative process. Do I grind it out, and push through until I get something? Does it all hit me at once and I have to get it out of my head? Do I organize my music writing process? Do I use a combination of all of these things? I am still learning this about myself
STUDIO (SONGWRITING)
Melody Composition Terms
- Theme – a longer more flowing melodic idea.
- Motive – a short rhythmic idea
- Period – made up of eight measures
- Phrase – four measures is a phrase
- Antecedent (Question) Phrase – first phrase
- Consequent (Answer) second phrase
- Scale Degrees
- Tonic – The base or home note that determines the key of the song.
- Steps – any movement using half or whole steps
- Leaps – any movement using intervals larger than a whole step
- Conjunct motion – melody built primarily out of steps
- Disjunct motion – melody primarily using leaps
- Repetition – the use of repeated material to create a link between two phrases of a period
- Contrast – two phrases that contain different material to create tension or interest.
- Variation – a phrase that includes some recognizable material and some new material.
Melody Resources
Mr. Le Duc’s Key of C Major Notes and Chords Chart (PDF)
WHAT I LEARNED and PROBLEMS I SOLVED
- Hookpad – I learned that some of the work is the same as Garage Band, and some of it isn’t. I will have to pay attention to make sure I am using the correct keys when writing a song. I also found learning how to play a new instrument is a slow process and I will have to have patience.