Lesson video

Hi, my name's Mr. Pate, and welcome to this lesson on refining and developing musical ideas, from the unit, Composing to a Brief: Creative Starting Points.

The outcome for this lesson is, I can refine and improve my musical ideas by making effective choices about texture, timbre, and other musical details.

Here's some of the keywords that we'll be using in today's lesson.

We are gonna be doing a lot of refining, and refining is the process of improving and developing composition ideas through small, deliberate changes.

We'll be thinking about timbre, and this is a description of the sound or tone of an instrument, and instruments can have different techniques that could be played, which can give them a different timbre.

We'll be thinking about the use of accompaniments.

The accompaniment is the musical part that supports the main melody.

We'll be thinking about changes in texture, and texture is a word that just refers to the combination of different layers of sounds in your piece.

Finally, we'll look at some articulation, and articulation describes the way that a note is played.

We'll start by understanding how to refine musical ideas.

Then we'll look at applying refinement and development techniques in your own composition.

When you are composing, you'll create and develop a whole range of musical ideas.

When we refine these ideas, this involves improving your existing material to add interest, create contrast, and to better reflect the chosen genre.

Making small changes at this stage can really have a significant impact on the overall composition.

Some things you can change when you are refining your composition ideas, might be changes in texture and timbre as this can add variety and interest to your composition.

When you change texture, that might involve adding or removing layers.

It might involve adapting the accompaniment patterns, what's happening in the background, or it might involve moving between different textures.

For example, moving from homophonic, which is melody and accompaniment, to polyphonic, with multiple melodies happening at once.

Changing a timbre could mean changing the instrument that plays a certain part of your piece, or it could be just changing how that instrument is played.

For example, you might have a guitar part playing a picked melody that then changes to strumming chords, or maybe you change the articulation.

A lovely long legato line might change to use of staccato and short detached notes.

Let's have a listen to an example of how can be refined.

Listen to the first draft of the A section from Izzy's composition.

This one's been composed to fit the brief of an instrumental composition for an outdoor springtime celebration.

Have a listen.

Now you've heard Izzy's first draft, she then spent some more time refining her ideas and thinking about how she used texture and timbre in her composition.

Let's now listen to her updated version.

While you listen, I want you to think what has she changed and how have those changes affected the overall feel of her composition?

So what did you think?

What changed and how had it affected the composition?

Alex says, "Izzy has changed the texture in this composition.

The first eight bars used block chords played in a waltz style underneath the main melody, whereas bars 9 to 12 have a counter melody played in the piano.

" Sam says, "The timbre of the violin part changes to include different articulations.

There's use of staccato and legato and even some use of chords in the violin parts.

" Jun says, "The changes that Izzy has made adds variety to the piece and gives different phrases a different musical character.

" As you continue to develop your composition though, it's important to be aware of the brief that you are working to.

Subtle changes and refinements can help you to communicate the intended mood, character, and style of your piece.

For example, you might use thicker or more layered textures to add intensity or excitement.

You might add darker or brighter timbres to change the mood, and you might use different articulation.

Staccato can add tension, accented notes can add emphasis or drama.

Izzy says, "The sections of my piece with staccato articulation remind me of jumping lambs or rabbits - perfect for an outdoor, springtime celebration, the smoother legato lines flow almost like a spring breeze.

" So her musical decisions have been linked back to what her brief was and what her initial ideas were for this piece.

Regularly checking in on whether your work meets the requirements and revisiting your chosen scenario will help you stay focused and on track for your brief composition.

When you are refining your piece, these refinements can also be influenced by the stylistic conventions of your chosen genre.

For example, pop styles may add layers gradually.

They might introduce backing vocals or harmonies, or they might vary the accompaniment patterns, like something playing block chords might change to an arpeggiated texture.

Jazz styles may contrast swung and straight rhythms.

They might change instrumentation during improvised passages, or they might vary articulation like legato phrasing, accents, ghost notes and more.

Folk styles might include ornamentation like grace notes and slides.

They might use drones or simple harmonies or vary the accompaniment patterns like changing from a strummed guitar to a finger-picked guitar part.

So when you are composing, how often do you think you should consider and revisit the brief for your composition?

Do you think A, just at the beginning, B, just at the end, or C, regularly throughout the composing process?

The answer is C.

It's important to check back on your brief regularly throughout the composing process to make sure that you're on track and to make sure that the piece you are composing meets those requirements.

Jun is composing a piece of film music in response to a brief based on a scene of divers exploring an underwater world.

Let's have a listen to the first draft of Jun's composition.

So after this first draft, Jun then spent some time refining and improving his composition, particularly considering his use of texture and timbre.

Let's have a listen to the updated version.

Now, while you're listening, I want you to think what has he changed and how has this affected his composition?

How far do you think that Jun's composition meets the brief he's chosen?

Remember, it's divers exploring an underwater world.

Let's have a listen to the updated version of Jun's composition.

Then pause the video and consider your answers.

So what did you think?

What has Jun changed in this new version of his composition?

How's this affected it and does it meet his brief?

Aisha says, "Jun has introduced greater variety and texture with parts entering and dropping out to add interest and to create a sense of movement and change.

" Sophia says, "Jun has changed the timbres using some synthesizer and string parts, as well as just the piano.

He gave the piano accompaniment part more variety, sometimes playing broken chords as well as block chords.

" Andeep says "The improvements that Jun has made makes his piece sound more magical and mysterious, which is appropriate for the undersea exploration brief that he's chosen.

" So by spending some time refining his piece, using different textures, experimenting with timbres and other musical elements, Jun has improved his composition, by making small changes, he's made his piece better, and he's also made it more appropriate to the brief that he's working to.

Now, let's look at applying refinement and development techniques to your own composition.

Refining your composition involves making small changes to improve your musical ideas, and these changes can add variety, contrast, and interests, helping your piece to better reflect the brief.

When we refine things, it often involves adjusting musical elements like the use of texture, timbre and articulation.

When you are refining your composition, it's important to consider how the choices that you make reflects the stylistic conventions of your chosen genre.

It's also important to think how those choices communicate the intended mood or character and how they create contrast and variety between sections.

So how might you refine your ideas?

Well, you might do it by adding or removing layers.

You might change instrumentation or tone color.

You might vary articulation or change the accompaniment patterns.

These decisions will help shape a more effective and convincing final composition.

So what does refining a musical idea mean?

Does it mean A, adding lots of new sections, B, improving existing material, C, making the piece longer, or D, starting again from scratch?

The answer is B.

When we refine musical ideas, we're not looking to add lots of new sections or make the piece really long, we're thinking about what's already there and how we can improve it.

So why might a composer change the texture in a piece of music?

A, to change the key, B, to make an idea louder, or C, to add variety and interest.

The answer is C.

By changing the texture, it can really add variety to your composition and make your piece interesting.

Now it's over to you.

I'd like you to spend some time refining and improving your own composition.

While you're doing it, consider how you will vary the use of texture, timbre and other musical elements to add interest to your composition, remember to refer back to that brief that you've chosen, and always make sure that you are working towards a composition that meets those requirements.

Pause the video now and spend some time refining your composition.

Now you spent some time refining your composition, how have you improved your composition piece this lesson?

Sam says, "I created more variety in my piece by changing the textures, adding a guitar part to thicken out the chorus and removing layers to make a more intimate sounding bridge section.

This makes my song sound more emotional, which is appropriate for the brief that I've chosen.

" Laura says, "I considered my choice of instruments carefully and experimented with different timbres.

At times, the violin parts now use pizzicato, and I've included a range of articulations.

I also changed which instrument plays the main melody, moving it between parts to create a better balance across the ensemble.

" These are great ways of refining your composition, adding interests, but also keeping in mind how it can best suit the brief that you are working towards.

In today's lesson, we've learned that developing a composition involves refining ideas, not just extending them, varying the use of texture, and timbres can help to change the character of a piece.

Effective compositions balance consistency with subtle variations, and refinement of your ideas can help make a piece more stylistically convincing and engaging.

Thanks for your work refining your composition in today's lesson.

I'll see you again in the next one.