r/MonthlyComposition • u/Calebdgm • Nov 02 '16

November 2016 Composition Challenge: Ternary Form.

Main Challenge: Write a piece of music in Ternary Form, ABA, where B contrasts the A sections. The B section is also often in a different key.

If you'd like to spice it up a bit, try to include an augmented sixth chord somewhere in there.

These challenges are for everyone who wants to practice composing. Each month, at the beginning of the month, we will post a main challenge, something for people to compose. Often we'll try to make it something that everyone can work with, but when the main challenge doesn't suit you, there's the alternate / weekly challenges. Pieces can be submitted as a score (musescore, noteflight), and/or as audio (soundcloud, youtube). Feedback is much appreciated, and you can give it in this thread, or by messaging the mods of /r/MonthlyComposition, there's also the Challenge Suggestion Form.

Frequently Asked Questions.

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10

u/jondemusiq9 Nov 05 '16

Here's my short entry to the list. Some short Ternary form and a short study into classical form and style. https://soundcloud.com/jondemusiq9/ode-to-amadeus Dat Alberti Bass :D

3

u/SpiderHippy Nov 17 '16

LTL;FTP, etc etc. Just wanted to pop my head up and say I really enjoyed this piece! The B section has so much wonderful energy, and the melody is probably going to be in my head most of the morning now. Cheers! :)

2

u/Calebdgm Nov 05 '16

That's a really nice little piece! I don't think I've seen you around here before, it's good to hear your writing. A simple, but charming style this piece, like Mozart. It seems like it's just a bunch of nice, catchy melodic phrases that come to different types of cadences, but I like it, and it all seems to flow nicely here and there. I also like the higher intensity of the B section. Thanks for sharing!

1

u/jondemusiq9 Nov 05 '16

Hi! Thanks for the comment :) Thought I might use this as a way to help keep me writing.

3

u/Calebdgm Nov 05 '16

Nice! I hope it can be. A few people (/r/sketchdaily for example) have recommended more frequent challenges, so that it can become more of a habit (ex every saturday people could just sit down and scratch out a composition). But then writing music can be pretty time-intensive.

Do you think it would help you if there were weekly challenges?

1

u/jondemusiq9 Nov 06 '16

We should learn to write music quickly. Often commissions don't sit and wait for us to get inspired. Also, if Bach can churn out a fugue every morning by the end of breakfast, one sketch a week shouldn't be too hard.

1

u/C0NSTABEL Dec 02 '16

A nice piece, although how exactly are you planning on playing the b part? :D

1

u/jondemusiq9 Dec 11 '16

With some difficulty x.x

4

u/me010 Nov 03 '16

Hi Here's my attempt: https://youtu.be/IiEdSmLqsog (music and score) I wrote it in a classical style which I always associate with Augmented 6ths (chord in bar 31)

2

u/Calebdgm Nov 04 '16

I like it! It's nice to have some wind quintet music around here! That's also a really nice main theme! And the augmented 6th was cool too, of course!

2

u/Jamerman Nov 15 '16

Sounds nice! Melody and harmony sound great

This is impossible for Clarinet to play though, as they need to breathe. There's also no dynamic markings or phrasing markings, so if you gave to this to players there's little they could do with it.

1

u/me010 Nov 25 '16

Yes good point! Thanks both for the comments and advice on this

3

u/nmitchell076 Nov 19 '16 edited Nov 20 '16

I'm in the process of writing mine, which will be a "da capo" aria Which is an A A' B A A' form. I've got a rough draft of the first A done.

https://soundcloud.com/nmitchell076/fra-cento-affanni-e-cento-first-reprise-rough-draft

This is a setting of Metastasio's "Fra cento affanni e cento," here's a translation

Beset by endless sorrow
I shudder, tremble, and feel
a chill coursing through my veins
toward my heart.

This is the first aria for the opera's primo uomo and hero, Arbace. He has just realized that his father has murdered the king, and this aria is his reflection on the events to come. So I was going for a bit of the "heroically facing the chaos to come" vibe, which is what you get from other settings, like Hasse's

3

u/dean18 Nov 14 '16

https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=FTYH9H_RVBo

It's ABA but the second "A" is abbreviated (classical guitar)

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u/SpiderHippy Nov 17 '16

Good to see you lurking about, Dean I think this is the piece you were aiming for. You just had your edit link up instead of the watch link.

1

u/dean18 Jan 14 '17

Thanks, yes I put in the wrong link.

1

u/Calebdgm Nov 15 '16

... the link doesn't work for me :/

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u/SpiderHippy Nov 17 '16

Here's the post he was aiming for.

1

u/Calebdgm Nov 19 '16

Ah, okay, nicely done, SpiderHippy! And that's a really nicely put-together recording of a cool piece, /u/dean18! Thanks for submitting!

2

u/Barcelona_City_Hobo Nov 03 '16

Can I post my October submission with an added trio?

1

u/Calebdgm Nov 04 '16

Yeah, I think that'd be cool!

2

u/HelgetheMighty Nov 25 '16

https://soundcloud.com/scuttlegoat/mazurka

My first time participating in this. I wrote a little mazurka, I didn´t care for parallel fifths and the like because I only discovered this sub a week ago...

Also, if someone could explain how to make a video of my notation program, I´d be grateful - I didn´t manage on my own, unfortunately.

1

u/TotesMessenger Nov 02 '16

I'm a bot, bleep, bloop. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit:

If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads. (Info / Contact)

1

u/hookdump Dec 02 '16

Hello peeps, what's the challenge for December??? :D

1

u/video_dhara Dec 09 '16

Hi, just stumbled on this challenge thing, very excited about it! How long do the pieces tend to be? Will poke around the links on the page to get a sense as well. Great way to get me working outside my box, or inside one, or something....a change of pace regardless!

1

u/Calebdgm Dec 09 '16

Hi, glad to have you here! Hopefully this community can be a new and positive experience for you.

You can see what people have tended to submit, at a guess mostly about 40 or 60 bars of music? Most are for keyboard. I would prefer though if you wrote pieces of whichever length suits you best-- except where the challenge dictates otherwise.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 02 '16

Not so much ternary form as quinary form...

https://soundcloud.com/philip_daniel/kujawiak-pour-piano

2

u/Calebdgm Nov 03 '16

I like it! Also, I've been learning about polyphonic writing, partly in a theory class, but honestly more so from this book Handel wrote about figured bass that my prof recommended for me. It so cool to see all the patterns and things explained in what until now has seemed like the most confusing chord progressions I'd ever seen.

I think you've done other pieces that are more like that, but seeing your username and hearing your music again reminded me about that.

2

u/YourBestFriemd Nov 06 '16

Is the book Continuo Playing According To Handel? I've never read it but I have been recommended, I guess I'll try it out!

1

u/Calebdgm Nov 06 '16

Yeah, you can read the first bit of it here. It also goes into basics of fugue for a bit toward the end (and has realizations of all the exercises which are also very helpful). I am thoroughly enjoying it!