Sharing my composition with others
I was able to share my work with my music teacher.
He felt that the work had developed well and that I had tried hard.
He felt that I could improve my song by adding some words and this is something that I am going to think about.
My teacher said
"This song could be improved by adding words and thinking about the message you are trying to convey through those words.
"
Songs reflect emotion. In this way my tune lends itself to more positive, jolly emotions.
I now need to work on writing skills
I have read about the different types of songs
Strophic This is the simplest and most repetitive song form. It’s sometimes called ‘verse-repeating’ or chorus form and describes a song where each successive verse or chorus has the same music, so one section of music is repeated throughout. Hymns and folk songs are good examples of this.
Strophic songs repeat the same music for each verse, and so by definition, the lyrics of strophic songs have a repetitive structure and metre. However, the lack of musical variation tends to place the focus back onto the lyrics, and for this reason strophic structures can work very well for songs with a strong narrative. You may be familiar with the carol While Shepherd’s Watched their Flocks By Night which tells the Christmas story from the shepherds’ perspective; further examples include the folk balladBarbara Allen, a tragic love story; and Austrian composer Franz Schubert’sDer Fischer (‘The Fisherman’), a setting of a Goethe poem.
Verse and chorusThis is one of the most commonly used structures in modern popular songs. There are two main sections - a verse and a chorus - which are alternated throughout the song. Verses often have different words each time they appear, whilst the choruses are usually the same each time. Therefore the verses sustain a narrative, as with a strophic song, but the choruses often invite audience participation. Well-known examples include the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, or folk songs such as The Gypsy Rover(also known as The Whistling Gypsy). In these examples, the verse and chorus are heard in roughly equal measure, but it’s the chorus we tend to remember as it is repeated exactly each time.
ABBA form When verse-chorus songs from musical theatre were adopted by jazz musicians, it was the chorus that became the basis for their performances and the verses were more rarely heard. Most usually, these choruses use an AABA form, with each section being 8 bars in length (A = 8 bars, A = 8 bars, B = 8 bars, A = 8 bars adds up to 32 bars, which is where the name comes from). The letters indicate patterns of repetition, so an initial phrase is introduced (A) and then repeated, usually with different words (A), then there’s a new phrase (B), before returning to the opening phrase to round the whole thing off (A).
In Over the Rainbow, the song made famous by Judy Garland’s performance in the film The Wizard of Oz, the B section (‘some day i’ll wish upon a star’) is made distinct by using faster moving notes with alternating pitches – a contrast to the slower movement and gentle contour of the main part of the melody. There is often a change of key for the B section too, which is then resolved by a return to the ‘home’ key for the final A section which rounds off the chorus.
Bridge/Pre-chorusModern pop songs tend to vary the basic alternation of verse and chorus, perhaps by having more than one verse in succession, but also by inserting an additional section known as a pre-chorus or bridge as a link between the verse and chorus. By delaying the chorus, the pre-chorus builds a sense of anticipation which is resolved at the start of the chorus.
In the Oasis song Don’t Look Back in Anger, the pre-chorus (‘so I start a revolution…’) begins with three repetitions of a short phrase, one step removed from the ‘home key’ of the verse. It then introduces some quite new and unusual harmony that is underlined by a change in the drum pattern and greater intensity in the string accompaniment. Then the start of the chorus is emphasised by a long, high note in the vocal and a return to the ‘home key’ which marks it as the key moment in the song.
He felt that the work had developed well and that I had tried hard.
He felt that I could improve my song by adding some words and this is something that I am going to think about.
My teacher said
"This song could be improved by adding words and thinking about the message you are trying to convey through those words.
"
Songs reflect emotion. In this way my tune lends itself to more positive, jolly emotions.
I now need to work on writing skills
I have read about the different types of songs
Strophic This is the simplest and most repetitive song form. It’s sometimes called ‘verse-repeating’ or chorus form and describes a song where each successive verse or chorus has the same music, so one section of music is repeated throughout. Hymns and folk songs are good examples of this.
Strophic songs repeat the same music for each verse, and so by definition, the lyrics of strophic songs have a repetitive structure and metre. However, the lack of musical variation tends to place the focus back onto the lyrics, and for this reason strophic structures can work very well for songs with a strong narrative. You may be familiar with the carol While Shepherd’s Watched their Flocks By Night which tells the Christmas story from the shepherds’ perspective; further examples include the folk balladBarbara Allen, a tragic love story; and Austrian composer Franz Schubert’sDer Fischer (‘The Fisherman’), a setting of a Goethe poem.
Verse and chorusThis is one of the most commonly used structures in modern popular songs. There are two main sections - a verse and a chorus - which are alternated throughout the song. Verses often have different words each time they appear, whilst the choruses are usually the same each time. Therefore the verses sustain a narrative, as with a strophic song, but the choruses often invite audience participation. Well-known examples include the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, or folk songs such as The Gypsy Rover(also known as The Whistling Gypsy). In these examples, the verse and chorus are heard in roughly equal measure, but it’s the chorus we tend to remember as it is repeated exactly each time.
ABBA form When verse-chorus songs from musical theatre were adopted by jazz musicians, it was the chorus that became the basis for their performances and the verses were more rarely heard. Most usually, these choruses use an AABA form, with each section being 8 bars in length (A = 8 bars, A = 8 bars, B = 8 bars, A = 8 bars adds up to 32 bars, which is where the name comes from). The letters indicate patterns of repetition, so an initial phrase is introduced (A) and then repeated, usually with different words (A), then there’s a new phrase (B), before returning to the opening phrase to round the whole thing off (A).
In Over the Rainbow, the song made famous by Judy Garland’s performance in the film The Wizard of Oz, the B section (‘some day i’ll wish upon a star’) is made distinct by using faster moving notes with alternating pitches – a contrast to the slower movement and gentle contour of the main part of the melody. There is often a change of key for the B section too, which is then resolved by a return to the ‘home’ key for the final A section which rounds off the chorus.
Bridge/Pre-chorusModern pop songs tend to vary the basic alternation of verse and chorus, perhaps by having more than one verse in succession, but also by inserting an additional section known as a pre-chorus or bridge as a link between the verse and chorus. By delaying the chorus, the pre-chorus builds a sense of anticipation which is resolved at the start of the chorus.
In the Oasis song Don’t Look Back in Anger, the pre-chorus (‘so I start a revolution…’) begins with three repetitions of a short phrase, one step removed from the ‘home key’ of the verse. It then introduces some quite new and unusual harmony that is underlined by a change in the drum pattern and greater intensity in the string accompaniment. Then the start of the chorus is emphasised by a long, high note in the vocal and a return to the ‘home key’ which marks it as the key moment in the song.