Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on "Advanced stylistic techniques" from the unit, "Composing to a brief: extending ideas.

" By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to use advanced musical techniques to enhance your composition in a way that suits your chosen style.

Here are some of the keywords that we'll use in today's lesson.

We'll be looking at using extended chords, and these are chords with added notes beyond basic triads.

We'll look at using a pedal note, which is when you have a sustained or repeated note.

We'll be looking at syncopation, which is a rhythmic feature when you use rhythms that emphasize the offbeat.

And finally, modulation, which is a harmonic feature when you change the key of the music.

In this lesson, we'll start by looking at some advanced stylistic techniques, and then, spend some time applying these techniques to your own composition.

As you develop your composition, you can start to use some more advanced musical techniques to add depth and interest to your piece.

Some of these features, like extended harmony and syncopated rhythms, can help to make your music sound more sophisticated and more stylistically convincing, like they really suit the genre that you're working in.

They should though be used purposefully to enhance your ideas and help meet your chosen brief, rather than just thinking, "I'm gonna add some of these in randomly.

" So let's start with chords.

Chords can be altered or extended to add color and interest to your harmony.

Here's a basic C major triad, let's have a listen.

Now, this chord can be altered or extended in a number of different ways.

You can suspend a chord.

A C major with a suspended 4th, which is when you move the 3rd of the chord up one note, sounds like this.

And you can also suspend it by using a suspended 2nd, when you move the 3rd of the chord down one note.

Now, you can also try adding notes to the basic chord.

Here's a Cmaj7 chord, which is C with an added 7th, which is the 7th scale note above the triad, it sounds like this.

And you can keep adding extensions onto the chord.

A Cmaj9 chord has an added 7th and an added 9th, and you can continue by extending even beyond this to make 11th and 13ths.

Let's have a listen to a Cmaj9.

So these are all variations of a basic C major chord, but with added color and interest.

Each chord alteration or extension creates a different kind of harmonic feel.

And when you combine these with different inversions and experimenting with voicing these chords in different ways, you can really change the color of your chords.

Here's some examples.

Compare these following two chord progressions.

The first chord sequence is gonna use simple root position triads.

It's gonna go C, E minor, F, then G.

Let's have a listen.

So there's your simple chord progression.

Let's see what we can do by altering and extending these chords.

We're still gonna use the basic C, E, F, G, but this time, we're gonna hear Cmaj9 with an added 7th and 9th, we're gonna hear Em7/B, that means it's an Em7 chord with the 7th added as an extension, and the note B is gonna be in the bass, so it's gonna be in an inversion, a second inversion.

Then we'll hear F/A, which means the F chord, but with an A in the bass, so in first inversion, and finally, Gsus4, which is a suspended chord with the 3rd of the note moved up one.

Let's have a listen.

So that variation of the same basic chord sequence adds a lot of color and interest by playing around with the inversions as well as the extensions and alterations of the chord.

In this example, we've created a bit of a more interesting bass line that descends by a step from C to G.

So have a look at this chord.

How would you describe it?

Would it be a Dsus4 chord, a Dm7 chord, or a Dm9 chord?

The answer is b, it's a Dm7 chord, a standard triad with the 7th scale step added on top.

Another harmonic feature that you can use as well as altered and extended chords is a pedal note.

A pedal note means a repeated or sustained note, which is often in the bass, that remains constant while harmonies and melodies change above.

You can see some music here for an example of a pedal note in the bass, and it's a tonic pedal, which means it's using the tonic note of this scale, in this case B-flat.

Let's have a listen to this example of a pedal note.

So hopefully you heard that constantly repeating bass notes of a B-flat while the chords and melodies changed on top.

Pedal notes can also be used at a higher pitch.

We call that an inverted pedal when it's higher than the music compared to when it's lower.

Another advanced stylistic technique that you can use is modulation.

Composers will often modulate to a different key to provide contrast and a sense of development.

If you're working in a classical style, then the goal of modulation is usually to sound smooth, often using a shared chord between both keys, then a perfect cadence in the new key to move to a key that's closely related to the original.

In pop music though, modulation are often a bit more direct.

A common example is going up a semitone in the final chorus, this creates a sense of being sort of lurched upwards to a new tonal space.

Here's an example.

In this classical style example, you're gonna hear the key modulate from G major to D major, which is a closely related key.

To get that modulation sounding smooth, here's what we do.

There's a D chord in bar 6, which is shared between both keys, both G major and D major use the D chord.

Then, there's an A chord, and this A chord, which is just from the key of D major, not the key of G major, and it acts as the V chord in D major, which creates a perfect cadence when it's followed by the I chord in the new key.

So by using this shared chord and then a perfect cadence, it creates a smooth modulation.

Let's have a listen.

Here's an example in a different style.

In this example from a pop song, you will hear the chorus repeated with a modulation up a semitone.

You can see the chords labeled here, it starts in the key of A minor, and then when we hear the chorus repeated, it's gonna go up a semitone, so the first chord, and the key is now the key of B-flat minor.

Let's have a listen.

♪ Every ending is when new things begin ♪ ♪ So here's to all the memories ♪ ♪ The ones we'll always keep ♪ ♪ In every step that lies ahead ♪ ♪ They're ours to hold so deep ♪ ♪ So here's to all the memories ♪ ♪ The ones we'll always keep ♪ ♪ In every step that lies ahead ♪ ♪ They're ours to hold so deep ♪ ♪ So here's to all the memories ♪ ♪ The ones we'll always keep ♪ ♪ In every step that lies ahead ♪ ♪ They're ours to hold so deep ♪ ♪ So here's to all the memories ♪ ♪ The ones we'll always keep ♪ ♪ In every step that lies ahead ♪ ♪ They're ours to hold so deep ♪ <v ->So thinking about this harmonic features,</v> what feature can you hear in the following clip?

Is it a, modulation, b, use of suspended chords, or c, a pedal note?

Have a listen.

The answer is c, a pedal note.

Now, let's have a think about rhythm and see how we can use some advance rhythmic techniques to make our piece more interesting.

Syncopation is when you place emphasis on weaker beats in the music, which disrupts the expected rhythmic flow and adds character.

It is widely used in pop and jazz music, and it gives it a sense of groove and appears across lots of other musical styles as well.

Let's have a listen to an example of what syncopation sounds like.

Listen to this comparison of a melody without syncopation, followed by one with added syncopation, and think about how this affects the feel of the music.

You can see the sheet music for this in front of you.

Without syncopation, the melody looks quite regular with the notes all falling on the beats.

When you have syncopation added, there are ties to show how the notes are placed in between the main beats of the music, so the music not only sounds different, it looks different as well.

Let's have a listen.

Here's the first example without syncopation.

And now, let's hear an example of this melody with added syncopation.

So syncopation adds rhythmic interest and often can give a good sense of groove, which is really important in lots of musical styles.

Let's have a listen to a new musical idea.

Now, when you hear this, I want you to label how some of these advanced stylistic techniques have been used in this composition.

Can you spot any uses of an extended cord?

Can you spot any uses of a suspended cord?

Can you spot use of a pedal note?

What about a modulation to a new key?

And can you see any use of syncopation?

Let's have a listen.

Then, pause the video and label those advanced stylistic features.

So how did you do?

Did you spot the following advanced stylistic techniques?

In the piano harmony parts, you can see a pedal note, and it's an inverted pedal, the repeated note D at the top of the piano part for that whole first line of music until the last beat.

You can see some extended chords.

The first chord that's played in the piano is a Bm7, there's a G6 chord as well.

In the fourth bar, there is a suspension, an Asus4 chord that then resolves to a normal A chord.

Towards the end of the piece, you might have spotted some use of syncopation.

It feels like the rhythm has been slightly disrupted here, and we can see the use of ties, which is often a giveaway for use of syncopation.

Finally, at the very end of the piece, we can spot some accidentals and we hear that it feels like it's moved to a new tonal center.

This is a modulation to the related key of A major.

Now, let's have a look at applying some of these techniques to your own composition.

Now you've seen how these advanced compositional techniques can be used in compositions, you can apply them to your own work.

Think though about your brief and what style your piece is in.

Which of these techniques would actually be appropriate for your piece?

So how do you think you should apply advanced compositional techniques to your work?

Should you, a, use as many of them as possible, b, try to avoid using them, or c, only use them when stylistically appropriate for your composition and for your chosen brief?

The answer is c, think about the different advanced musical techniques that you've learned about in today's lesson and think, "Which of these are appropriate for the genre or the style that I'm working in, and which of these will help my piece to meet the brief even more?

" So why might you want to do it though?

Why might you want to use any of these advanced compositional techniques in your composition?

A, to get more marks for your coursework, b, to add interest to your composition and help establish your chosen genre more convincingly, or c, to make your composition longer?

The answer is b, we should use these techniques to add interest to our composition and help establish our chosen genre.

We won't necessarily always get more marks for using these features, particularly, if they're not used in a way that's appropriate to your genre and your brief.

Now, it's over to you.

Spend some time developing your composition.

Think about whether the use of the following techniques could improve your work, the use of extended and altered chords, use of a pedal note, modulation to a new key, use of syncopation, or any other advanced musical technique.

Pause this video and spend some time developing your composition.

So, now you've spent some time developing your composition, how did it go?

How have you improved your composition in today's lesson?

Jun says, "I used some extended chords in my chord sequence and I added some syncopation.

" Laura says, "I used a pedal note in my bridge section and I added a modulation to my final chorus.

" Jacob says, "I tried using extended chords and syncopation, but they didn't suit the classical style of my piece.

" And it's really important to be critical about how you use these techniques, Jacob found that they didn't quite work for him, so it's important thinking about whether they'll fit your style and help you meet your brief.

In today's lesson, we've learned several advanced compositional techniques, and these can add depth, variety, and interest to your composition.

Your use of harmony can be developed beyond basic triads through the use of things like extended chords, chord inversions, pedal notes, and modulation to new keys.

You can use rhythmic features like syncopation, and these can add momentum, energy, and variety to a composition.

All the techniques that we've learned about today though should be used purposefully to enhance the style of your music, rather than just being added randomly.

Well done for your work on using advanced stylistic techniques in your composition today.

I will see you in the next lesson.