Project 12: Two-part inventions

Inventions are a great way of providing familiarity in a piece without causing repetition.  Augmentation, imitation, inversion and diminution all provide the opportunity to take a short motif and reuse the same idea throughout the piece.  I wanted to explore the use of each of these ideas in order to better understand their possibilities in terms of musical composition as a whole.  

Imitation

Imitation could really be described as the umbrella under which other methods such as inversion, augmentation and retrograduation fall.  It has been described as;

“The repetition of a melody or melodic group in close succession, but in a different voice; the repetition of a melody at a different pitch level in a polyphonic texture.”

Benward & Saker (2007:361)

However, the imitation does not have to be a direct copy of the original melody, but could be augmented or inverted to apply a different take on the piece. 

It seems that musical imitation has occurred for many years and was particularly popular during the renaissance period.  My experience of composing rounds and catches demonstrated the use of such methods and of course, Bach’s Fugues take these to a whole new level.  Bartok’s Mikrokosmos Vol I-VI (1926 – 1939) contains a number of pieces using imitation, inversion and counterpoint, which are quite interesting, but it is clear to see that imitation is an extremely widely used method for both elongating pieces and aiding familiarity in all musical genres across the world.  Of course, in chamber choir music, imitation is often used across the voices to create texture whilst retaining vocal harmony (or sometimes dissonance) throughout. Josquin Des Prez Ave Maria (1825) is an excellent example of this kind of choral imitation.

Most of today’s vocal music is heavily based on the idea of repetition to form a repeating chorus and usually familiar verse patterns.  I would probably struggle to find a handful of pieces of modern vocal music that do not contain repeats.  As the singer and the listener, the familiarity of the piece must remain throughout to ensure that the central theme continues and that the piece remains catchy and memorable.    

Augmentation and Diminution

The practice of simply doubling or halving the original note value of a melody or phrase is one that has once again been used in a wide variety of genres for many years.  Bach, Beethoven and Chopin have all made excellent use of augmentation in their pieces.  In today’s ‘pop’ genre, augmentation is often used to add a harmonic line for another voice or choir. 

Inversion

The term ‘inversion’ can be one of two things at this stage in the course.  The first, ‘contrapuntal inversion’ sees two or more melodies working together, repeating and reflecting each other's motifs throughout the piece. For example, a motif heard by the higher voice would later be repeated.  Invertible counterpoint can also make use of varying intervals, e.g. if the original melody rises by a perfect 5^th, then the inverted melody could fall by a perfect 3^rd, 6^th, 8^th etc. until the required level of texture and consonance/dissonance is achieved.

Melodic inversion is the practice of turning the melody, or phrases in the melody, on its head.  For example if the melodic interval was rising a perfect 3^rd, then the inverted melody would fall by a perfect 3^rd. 

Both of these techniques are demonstrated within Bach’s Fugues, especially in Bach’s Fugues of G-minor and B-flat major (1722).  However, like most of these transformations, they continued to span many genres and time periods.  The Beatles Paperback Writer (1966) begins with a series of vocal counterpoints, inverting and augmenting the melody into three parts.   The rock group R.E.M. also make good use of counterpoint in their pieces, both vocally and in the use of different instrumental parts. 

When researching these musical transformations I came across a lot of information relating to Retrograduation and Stretto, especially during the renaissance period and as seen widely in Bach’s Fugues and Inventions. 

Retrograduation or Cancrizans are the idea of reversing the entire melody in pitch and rhythm.  Simply ‘flipping’ the motif or melody can provide double the amount of music whilst maintaining familiarity for the listener and player alike.  However, this system is somewhat frowned upon by many composers, believing it to be a ‘cheat’ and not a true expression of the melodic flow of the piece (Slepian, 1947:311).

A Stretto is a device that is seen largely in rounds and pieces with multiple voices.  It is the process of layering a central motif of the piece so that multiple voices play the same motif at staggered moments, e.g. the second voice plays the motif when the first voice has almost finishing playing its motif.  Once again, Bach’s Fugues and Inventions are rife with these intricacies. 

Project 11: Inventing Free Counterpoint

This project was a very good exercise in defining how two separate melodies can intertwine successfully together.  Unlike previous compositions, I have tried to allow each melody to find its own way, rather than be locked into a pattern using consonant triads as a base. 

In my first example I chose to use the Vibraphone and the Flute to explore the magical properties of both.  Despite using melody (A), I notated this piece in F-major and have left this piece with dynamics to reflect the free nature of the styles. 

As can be seen from the example below, I have tried to allow each melody to ‘come to life’ when the other is resting or using long slurred sections.  Of course devising two separate melodies had its challenges in terms of dissonant and constant notes, but I have tried as much as possible, to leave a slight feeling of dissonance towards the end of the piece.  In the fifth bar of this piece, I have designed both melodies to move in unison, using varying pitches to create an overall crescendo feel the piece. 

In my second attempt at free counterpoint I chose a piano as the main instrument, allowing the bass and treble clefs to play each separate melody.  Once again, due to the ‘free’ nature of this composition, I have left the dynamics blank. 

In contrast to my last piece, I have tried to use a range of fast notes in the form of motifs using quavers and semiquavers, often slurred with a staccato on the last note.  I have used elements of imitative counterpoint here too, allowing the melodies to repeat and reflect ideas and motifs throughout. 

In my third attempt at free counterpoint I chose to use the alto saxophone and the bassoon, accented by the use of the cymbals. I feel that all too often the saxophone is portrayed with a jazzy nature whilst the bassoon is usually given a comedic personality.  Therefore, I wanted to experiment in bringing these instruments together and attempt to display a different side to each character.  In this instance, I decided to aim for a more solemn, anthem-like feel, using the instruments to give a Scottish feel to the piece.  I also added cymbals, as they are often considered too brash to have a place in more delicate compositions. 

Overall I feel that this piece works well and the slight tones of dissonance (mainly given by the mismatch of instrument tones) help to achieve the Celtic feel I was hoping for.  Given the instruments used, I have applied a range of dynamics essential to maintaining a flow and not allowing one instrument to ‘lead the section’. 

The descant recorder has a reputation to being very childlike and not blending well with other instrument.  Therefore, in this piece I wanted to make a large feature of the recorder and find a melodic line and suitable accompaniment that would display the harmonic properties of this simplistic instrument.   In order to do this, I chose to use the xylophone as the second instrument as the high tones of the instrument compliment the recorder well. 

I based this piece on a simple waltz rhythm, passing the ‘oom-pah-pah’ between instruments in order to keep it constant throughout.  I have then used a very simple, repeating pattern of quavers to add interest and familiarity to the piece.  As both instrument have the potential to be very loud, I chose to use very simple dynamics, moving between forte and fortissimo.  Overall, this is probably one of my favourite compositions so far and I hope to elaborate on this melody in a later piece.  

Part 4: Exploring Counterpoint

Counterpoint and Dissonance

Further to my previous research and projects focused around counterpoint, I am keen to further explore the ways in which counterpoint can be used.   It seems that essentially, counterpoint can be thought of in two ways; the first as a strict study of rules and methodologies (i.e. species counterpoint); and the second, which is seen as the more creative method of devising two or more intertwining melodies regardless of harmonic value.  However, I question whether contrapuntal composition must incorporate both of these ideas, exploring both creative movement and harmonic rules simultaneously.  This idea is backed up by Belkin (2009), who states,

“…"strict" counterpoint can be useful. However, as the student advances, many of its pedagogical restrictions become stultifying constraints.”

(Belkin A. 2009)

Therefore, much like in my previous projects, I plan to experiment with both ideas surrounding counterpoint to see the varying results if a piece is composed entirely independently, entirely cohesively or incorporating both ideas.

Once again, in terms of dissonance, my previous studies of atonality and the use of dissonance in music have really opened my mind to challenging the constraints of the diatonic system.  From a very young age our ears are trained to respond positively to consonant tones and negatively to dissonant tones.  

“Preference for musical intervals of simple frequency ratios such as the octave, fifth and fourth, might simply reflect education or immersion and exposure to Western musical practices.”

 (Lots & Stone, 2008)  

Studies conducted by Zentner & Kagan (2008), using 4-month-old infants in their tests, seem to also reflect the same of the perception of consonance and dissonance in children.

“The origins of the perception of consonance and dissonance in music are a matter of debate. The present study examined the hypothesis of an innate preferential bias favoring consonance over dissonance by exposing 4-month old infants to consonant and dissonant versions of two melodies. Infants looked significantly longer at the source of sound and were less motorically active to consonant compared with dissonant versions of each melody. Further, fretting and turning away from the music source occurred more frequently during the dissonant than the consonant versions. The results suggest that infants are biologically prepared to treat consonance as perceptually more pleasing than dissonance.”

Zentner & Kagan (2008)

So, with this in mind, my inability to be able to ‘leave alone’ these dissonant tones could simply be a learnt behaviour from childhood which has shaped my understanding of music.  If this is the case, I will continue find it extremely difficult to be happy with any of my compositions that make use of dissonance as my brain will constantly tell me it is ‘incorrect’.  However, this said, I still plan to try and go against my musical grain to compose a mainly dissonant piece at some stage during this course, but possibly allowing for the structure of the more dissonant diatonic triads (augmented and diminished).

Tuned Percussion

I am really looking forward to using tuned percussion in future compositions because of its rhythmic, yet harmonic properties. I have listened to a number of solo and group compositions using some of the instruments listed to give me a further idea of their character.   These can be found in my listening log.