Full secret composer moods Flashcards
What are the 4 key points for creating adventure moods?
1 - To compose adventure music, construct a bold melody to play on top of an energetic rhythmic vamp. To find your notes, use any Lydian mode. In the D Lydian mode, your notes will be D, E, F#, G#, A, B and C#. Use these notes in any order or octave to create your melody and your vamp. When modulating to a new key, use this same scale.
2 - For your melody, use instruments that can perform powerful, sweeping lines, such as the French horns and violins. Don’t be afraid of holding some of the notes for a few beats. For your rhythmic vamp, use the basses, the tuba, the bass trombone, the timpani and the snare drum. Fill the vamp with syncopated rhythms to create forward momentum. One continuously repeated bar is sufficient to create an energetic vamp.
3 - Generate additional excitement by having the violins play a constant, staccato, eighth note pattern (when they are not busy playing the melody). Intersperse this pattern with occasional, fast ascending runs doubled by the flute and piccolo. When the violins are busy playing the melody, the brass can take over the job by playing constant, urgent, staccato attacks. This works particularly well with the French horns and trumpets.
4 - To add additional harmonic color, compose a contrasting section that makes use of Major 7th chords and Major chords altered with a Major chord with flat 7 and flat 5. To add some brightness to your instrumental colors, use the crash cymbals, the suspended cymbal and the triangle roll. Use the harp glissandos to add an element of magic.
What are the 3 key points for ancient times moods?
1 - To depict ancient times in your music, use instruments that have a simple and primitive quality to their sound. Use ethnic sounding woodwinds that have a unique and breathy tone. Use ancient sounding percussion such as finger cymbals and primitive marimbas.
2 - Use a scale that conveys times past or civilizations long gone. A very effective scale for this is the Phrygian scale (a/k/a Phrygian mode). The notes of the C Phrygian scale are C, Db, Eb, F, G, Ab, Bb and back to C:
3 - Use high violins to softly play an open chord containing the root and perfect 5th of the scale. You might also want to add the octave above. When using the C Phrygian scale, these notes would be C, G and, optionally, the C above.
Hold this chord to sustain an ethereal atmosphere. Our primitive sounding woodwinds and percussion can play short melodic lines underneath this atmosphere.
What are the 5 key points for drum loop action?
1 - When composing action music, you can increase the intensity of motion by using drum loops. Choose at least two different loops to work with. They should have a noticeably different feel from each other. This will allow you to build contrasting sections into your music.
2 - To compose the music on top of these drum loops, use one diminished scale for most, if not all, of your notes. Create fast string patterns that can mimic and complement the rhythmic patterns found in your drum loops. Simple scales that are harmonized using the notes of your diminished scale work very well.
3 - Use the French horns to play bold, dramatic lines. This will create a nice contrast when played over the rapid drum and string patterns. The trumpets can alternate with the strings by playing fast, harmonized patterns of their own.
4 - Create a rhythmic vamp to bring additional excitement and momentum to the music. Use the basses, cellos, timpani, piano and trombones. The rhythm of this vamp can be in sync with the drum loop to reinforce the downbeats, or can contrast the loop by adding syncopation on the offbeats.
5 - Add additional colors such as the anvil, metallic percussion, xylophone and scraping the inside strings of a piano. Use these sounds sparingly and scatter them throughout the piece. Some of these percussion sounds, as well as the trumpets, can add occasional accents to the rhythmic vamp.
What are the 5 key points for fear mood?
1 - When composing action music, you can increase the intensity of motion by using drum loops. Choose at least two different loops to work with. They should have a noticeably different feel from each other. This will allow you to build contrasting sections into your music.
2 - To compose the music on top of these drum loops, use one diminished scale for most, if not all, of your notes. Create fast string patterns that can mimic and complement the rhythmic patterns found in your drum loops. Simple scales that are harmonized using the notes of your diminished scale work very well.
3 - Use the French horns to play bold, dramatic lines. This will create a nice contrast when played over the rapid drum and string patterns. The trumpets can alternate with the strings by playing fast, harmonized patterns of their own.
4 - Create a rhythmic vamp to bring additional excitement and momentum to the music. Use the basses, cellos, timpani, piano and trombones. The rhythm of this vamp can be in sync with the drum loop to reinforce the downbeats, or can contrast the loop by adding syncopation on the offbeats.
5 - Add additional colors such as the anvil, metallic percussion, xylophone and scraping the inside strings of a piano. Use these sounds sparingly and scatter them throughout the piece. Some of these percussion sounds, as well as the trumpets, can add occasional accents to the rhythmic vamp.
What are the 5 key points for light comedy moods?
1 – To quickly establish a fun feel, use the raised 4th of the current key prominently throughout the melody.
2 – Use a rhythmic vamp that alternates quickly between the root chord and Major chord found one whole tone above the root (a C Major chord alternating briefly with a D Major chord). That alternating D chord emphasizes the raised 4th in the key of C.
3 – Use light, colorful orchestration such as pizzicato strings, woodwinds and bells.
4 – Change keys and instrumental colors often. Don’t have the same instrument play the same melody for too long. This helps to keep the music fresh.
5 – When writing fun, happy music, use the raised 4th prominently.
What are the 3 key points for melancholy?
1 – To express melancholy in music, use a slow tempo to create sad melodies and harmonies. Create a repetitive pattern for either the melody, counter melody or harmony (or all three).
2 – Choose any natural minor scale and only use the notes of that scale to compose your melodies and harmonies. Use harmonies that are made up of 4th, 5th, 6th or 7th intervals to create an unresolved sound. This applies not just to the notes within the harmony, but from the harmony to the melody. Emphasize harmonies that express dissonance such as the tritone, the major 7th and the flat 9.
3 – Keep the orchestration simple so that more attention is drawn to the individual notes of the harmony and melody. Use instruments that are well suited for this fragile emotion such as the cellos and the oboe. When using the cellos for the melody, keep the range to approximately a fifth below Middle C up to a fifth above Middle C.
What are the 4 key points for mystery?
1 – To create music with a sense of mystery, use an augmented chord as your basic harmony.
2 – To maximize the mysterious properties of the augmented chord, use a major 7 on top of it. You should also play an augmented chord simultaneously with another augmented chord, provided both chords are created from the same whole tone scale.
3 – Use instrumental colors that help create a feeling of mystery such as low trilling flutes, oboes or English horns, soft violin chords, muted French horns and the celesta.
4 – Use sudden swelling and diminishing of sound volume to create moments of uncertainty.
What are the 3 key points for pastoral?
1 – To express the beauty of nature in your music, use lush strings to provide the harmony and delicate woodwinds to play the melody. Using the full-bodied tone of the clarinet for the melody helps to balance the richness of the strings.
2 – For the harmony, use a lush chord structure such as the Major 6/9 chord with a Major 7th. This chord structure can be used throughout the piece by simply modulating to different keys. In the key of F major, start with the F note an octave and a half below Middle C. Immediately above that F, add a C, and then an A. Above that A, add the notes D, G, C and E. Modulating this chord structure down a whole step, and then back up again, works very well.
3 – After all your chord changes have been chosen, compose a melody using only the notes from the harmony. Make the rhythm of the melody a combination of slow and fast moving notes. This mirrors the duality of nature – it is both restful and active. To continue this element of duality, place pauses in the melody. These pauses can be filled with ascending and descending violin lines played in bowed tremolo fashion. This will allow one group of instruments to remain active while another group rests.
What are the 4 key points for sneaking around comical mood?
1 – To compose music that depicts sneaking around in a comical setting, use the flute in the low to medium register, playing half-step trills. This creates an air of light mystery, but with a playful touch.
2 – Use the diminished scale to create melodies and counter lines. Use this scale to create a sneaky, tiptoe effect. This works especially well in the bassoon and pizzicato cellos.
3 – Use descending chromatic half steps to create a sly, comical sound. This works very well with clarinets and solo violin(s).
4 – Use light orchestration that also feels humorous. The best choices for this are the pizzicato strings, the xylophone, the bassoon, the clarinet and the solo violin(s).
What are the 5 key points for wild comedy mood?
1 – To compose music that depicts wild comedy, use a fast tempo and fill the music with many unexpected twists and turns. This applies to the melody, harmony, rhythm and orchestration.
2 – For the melody, use the notes of any Major triad, but also use the notes a half step below each note of that triad. If you are in the key of C, the notes of your major triad would be C, E and G. The notes a half step below them are B, D# and F#. After you present a theme, modulate up a minor 3rd to repeat the theme in a new key.
3 – For the rhythm of some of your melody, use a pattern of a dotted eighth note followed by a sixteenth note, and then two eighth notes. This creates a silly gallop.
Later on, vary your 4/4 rhythmic feel by superimposing 3/8 patterns over it. This produces a fast oom pah pah, oom pah pah feel tugging at the flow of the 4/4 . To heighten the silliness, quickly switch from the 3/8 oom pah pah, oom pah pah feel, to a 2/8 oom pah, oom pah feel.
4 – Use colorful and inventive orchestration to keep the music as lively as possible. Trumpets, trombones and violins work well for humorous melodies. Keep the accompaniment steady, yet light. Use pizzicato basses and cellos to play fast, lively bass figures.
5 -Use the trombones for playing colorful accents, such as off-the-beat chords, and articulating the raised 4th moving to the perfect 5th. (In the key of C, this would mean an F# moving to a G). Make liberal use of the xylophone for melody, counter lines and comical slides down the bars.
What is a great dramatic opening, that creates a rush of excitement?
Chromatic trumpet chords ascending, you can sandwich the chromatic jumps with the root chord to keep the key tonality
Where is it good to modulate to for adventure music?
Major 3rd up although maintain the same scale. Usually Lydian
How would you create rising excitement in adventure music?
After main modulation can use major 7th chord half step up from modulation to change mood slightly then continued repeating a half step up over several bars
Which chord creates fantastic suspense in adventure before retuning to main theme and how do you use it?
7 flat 5 and F#7 flat 5 then modulate to root of chosen chord for repeat of main theme then at end modulate up minor 3rd for last part of theme
How can you provide fwd momentum in a vamp?
Strong accent of off beats on percussion, upbeat trombones, staccato 16th horns
