Musical composition 1, 2, 3

melodic considerations:

1. Sustained note (a longer note or a repeated note)
2. Rating Going Up
3. Rating moving down

The melody is harmony. Melodic notes are played one after another while harmonic notes (chords) are played at the same time. This article is primarily focused on giving a musician who lacks composition knowledge a quick study that will drastically improve their music composition skills.

It will help you to think in smaller units when you are creating music. You can get a lot out of a few notes. I’ll start by giving you a Major Key scale and then turn it into numbers for you. There are three ways to use numbers. Here’s the first one: Major Scale Numbering. (We will use the key of C major because there are no sharps or flats.)

CDEFGABC

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1

Below the scale are the numbers for each degree of the SCALE. A scale or melody is played one note after another. The notes of a chord are played at the same time. A basic chord is made up of: ROOT (1), Third (3), Fifth (5) if it starts on the “1” of the key (in this case, “C”). The chord notes would be C, E, G. If you start on any other note, the numbers would change. So, here’s something important to know about chord numbering: FOR A CHORD, THE LETTER NAME OF THE CHORD IS ALWAYS THE STEM (1), THEN COUNT UP TO 3, 5.

Example: C, E, G = C major triad D,F,A = D minor triad E,G,B = E minor triad

1, 3, 5 1, 3, 5 1, 3, 5

Therefore, a scale played melodically is numbered differently than a chord would be harmonically numbered.

Ok, now we can start composing using these numbers. Turn on your creative mind now.

The notes between 1, 3, 5 are the notes that add tension or a desire to move somewhere. Let’s say I want to play C, E, G(1,3,5) and then I want to replace 3 with 4, what do I have now? 1,4,5 (C,F,G)= C suspended 4th. If I start on the suspended chord, it will resolve to the 1,3,5 chord. This is voltage and resolution. A very important concept.

Now let’s look at the criteria we put in place by adding this 4. An INTERVAL is the distance between two notes. This is where things get interesting. The 1,3,5 (a group of three notes) has six different ways of joining those notes: 1,3,5…1,5,3…3,5,1…3, 1, 5…5,1,3…5,3,1. The intervals they create are: a 3rd, a 4th, a 5th, a 6th.

The 1,4,5 (three notes) has six different ways to play: 1,4,5…1,5,4…4,5,1…4,1,5…5 ,1,4…5,4,1. The intervals they create are: a 4th, a 5th, a 2nd.

Here’s a way to start using them compositionally. Start with a tune using just the 1,3,5 formula. Make it a little melodic line. Then create a response tune using just the 1,4,5 formula. Then go back to 1,3,5.

The notes in the previous paragraphs can be used for this exercise.

There are more variations than can be listed, so the trick is to learn the principles that work in creating music. Write the C major scale in two octaves: CDEFGABCDEFGABC on a piece of paper. Then write the following note, two octaves: DEFGABCDEFGABC D. Then NUMBER THEM 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13. Count all other notes from 1 and you have the possible notes for that chord name. Do this to the end of each note in the C scale.

Try this, choose three notes and put them in a group. Then choose another three different notes and place them in the next group. Then rearrange and move them around, but only play the notes in each group one group at a time. This will force new things to come out that you might not otherwise have thought of.

Thanks a lot. I have study materials on this if you are interested.

Joseph