Melody

Melody is one the most important dimensions of composing, yet also one of the most difficult to pin down and define. What makes a good melody? Most people know it when they hear it, yet like describing the taste of salt it's often difficult to say exactly what makes a melody "good." Much of the process of creating melody is artistic and creative, but there are some practical and definable aspects as well.

When composing songs it is often difficult to know if the harmony or the melody should be written first, or if both should be written at the same time. I've experimented with all these methods, and there's no right answer. Every song is different, but for the purposes of this article I'm going to analyze a melody I wrote in my head and then later transcribed and harmonized. Here's the entire melody:



This melody was intended to be sung (it has lyrics), and so the range of notes is intentionally narrow, so it's accessible for most vocalists. The piano has a very wide range, of course, and instrumental melodies need not be confined to the same limits as vocal melodies. The lowest note in this song, the D immediately above middle C, appears in measure 8:


and is repeated two more times in measure 12:


The highest note in this song appears in measure 9:


In addition to the range, every melody has a contour. Some melodies use a lot of "steps" (adjacent notes) and others use a lot of "skips." Measure 5 provides a good example of both steps and skips:


The first interval is an ascending skip, in this case an interval called a perfect fifth. Then the next five notes are steps (adjacent), and finally the measure ends with a skip (a descending major third).

One of the most important dimensions of any melody is motif. A motif is a "signature" set of notes that identify a song (the opening notes of Beethoven's 5th Symphony are a well-known example of a motif). It holds a melody together and helps it make sense to the listener. Sometimes motifs are repeated exactly, as in measures 1 and 13:



Other times the rhythm and pitch of the motif are modified, or extra notes are added to make it sound different from the original (but still related), as in measures 1 and 5:




Rhythm is an essential characteristic of melody. Most people wouldn't recognize their favorite melodies if they were played using different rhythms. In general, songs should have a steady beat and the composer must decide how to use repetition and change to keep the listener interested. Rhythms don't have to be complex to be enjoyable, but there needs to be a good mix of consistency (similar rhythms) and variety (unexpected changes).

This short 16 measure melody was written in an A-B-A format. Measures 1 through 8 introduce the theme, measures 9 through 12 are quite different to provide contrast, and measures 13 through 16 reintroduce the opening theme and bring the listener back "home" again. The song "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" was written in A-B-A format, with "Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky" providing a mild contrast to the identical first and last lines.

Another dimension of melody that a composer must consider is whether and how to use repeated notes, such as the ones used in measure 12:



Typically the melody is simply the highest note played, but occasionally composers and arrangers will place the melody in a lower register while playing an ostinato (repeated theme) or quieter notes in the higher registers to ensure that the melody still stands out.

Learning to write good melodies requires experimentation and trial and error. Like other aspects of composing, sometimes good melodies come in a flash of inspiration and other times they are the result of painstaking hard work and patience.

The Process of Composing

Composing piano songs requires a balance of art and science, theory and practice. Every composer's approach is a little different, and songs come in different ways. Some songs come all at once, and it's hard to explain the feelings that accompany that kind of inspiration. But most of the time songs require extensive work over a period of weeks or months. Sometimes I write songs entirely by ear, and other times I employ music theory techniques such as moving from one key to another via a circle of fifths progression. In this article I'm going to give an overview of the steps I typically take when writing a new song.

When I began composing several years ago I purchased an electronic keyboard with a midi interface and hooked it up to my computer. I wanted to be able to play sections of music and have them "automatically" notated. However, I quickly discovered that, for me, the most difficult part of transcribing music composed "by ear" into standard notation is capturing the correct rhythm. Midi software can record the right notes, but I found it difficult to play smoothly enough to allow the midi software to record the correct rhythms. So I decided to purchase a program called "Sibelius" to help me write music. It was expensive (around $400), but of all the software programs I tried it was the easiest and most powerful. (There is a program called Finale that was my second choice.)

At first I attempted to compose in Sibelius by sitting at the computer and arranging notes, but I quickly discovered that I produce higher quality music when I'm sitting at a piano than when I'm sitting at a computer. So I started writing songs with a pencil and music paper, then used Sibelius to notate and create the final arrangement.

I'm currently working on a song called "Surrounded." I started writing it about two months ago, and have only written 17 measures so far. Normally I would finish writing the song on paper before transcribing it into Sibelius, but I decided to use the measures I've written so far to illustrate the process I use for composing. Here is a scan of the music I wrote while sitting at my piano:



In the initial writing stages, for purposes of speed, I typically focus on the melody and just use chord symbols for the left hand. (In a future blog entry I'll address the question of which should come first, melody or harmony.) Occasionally I write down a specific harmony part that uniquely identifies the song, but most of the time I wait until later in the process to develop a more complete harmony.

Here's a screen shot of Sibelius in the initial writing stage:



Here's what the song looks like after I've finished entering the melody notes:



Then I add chord symbols and create a rough harmony so I can play the song in Sibelius and make sure it sounds the way I want it to:



Once this step is completed, the next step is to complete the harmony part (which I'll discuss in more detail in a future blog entry).

Chord Progressions

Chord progressions provide the harmonic foundation for most popular music, and they can also work well for writing or improvising instrumental piano songs. In this article I'll introduce some basic chord progressions and some ideas for adding flavor and variety to your songs.

The basic chord progression in many Christmas, religious and folk songs is called a I-IV-V progression, because it uses major chords built on the first, fourth and fifth tones of any major scale. This chord progression is displayed below:


Playing the above chord progression can be a little awkward for the left hand (since it has to jump around a lot), so here is the same chord progression with inverted chords (this example uses G7 instead of G, as the V chord is most often a V7 chord):


Any chord can be inverted (meaning that the notes can be played in a different order) for a slightly different sound and to add variety to music. Typically a song will end with the root of the chord in the bass. For example, a song in the key of C will end with a C chord in the root position of C-E-G. But that same C chord can be played with its notes in a different order (E-G-C or G-C-E) throughout a piece.

Songs in a minor key can use chords similar to the I-IV-V7 progression, but minor chords are notated with lower-case roman numerals. Here is a i-iv-v7 minor progression:

The basic chord progression in jazz music is the ii-V7-I progression:


It's important to write and play chords within the usable range of the piano. Sometimes low notes can sound a bit "muddy," as in the following example:


This problem can be solved by playing the chords an octave higher (the right hand can be moved an octave higher as well to avoid conflicts with the left hand):


Another way to solve the problem of "muddy" lower tones is to remove the third, which determines if a chord is major or minor and tends to be the "muddiest" of the three tones in a major or minor chord:


Another useful chord technique is called chord substitution. Two examples of C chord substitution appear below. The first involves using an Em chord instead of C, since Em and C share two notes. The second involves using an Am chord instead of C (since again, Am and C share two notes). This technique can add variety and interest to your chord progressions:


In certain contexts major 7th and minor 7th chords can be substituted for major chords to give songs a more contemporary sound:


Here are the chord progressions used in a few popular songs:

Viva la Vida (Coldplay): IV-V-I-iv
Back to December (Taylor Swift): I-iv-IV-V
I Just Wanna Run (Downtown Fiction): i-III-v-iv
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen): I-IV-V-vi-IV-V-iii-vi
You Found Me (The Fray): iii-V-IV-V-I

When improvising, I often use the following I-IV-V-vi-V-IV-I progression to provide the harmonic structure:


Try experimenting with your own chord progressions and see what unique harmonies you can come up with!

In the Key of White

In my last blog entry I talked about improvisation as a foundation for composing instrumental piano songs, and I suggested using the black keys (the pentatonic scale) to begin experimenting with this technique. Today I'd like to talk about improvising on the white keys using either a major or minor scale, and I'll introduce some basic patterns I use when improvising.

A scale is simply a group of notes drawn from the chromatic scale, which is the mother of all scale and includes all 12 notes used in western music. There are a number of different types of scales that can be built on each of the 12 "keys," but the most common types of scales are major and minor. If you play each of the white keys from one C to the next, you're playing a C Major scale:



If you play each of the white keys from one A to the next, you're playing an A Minor scale.

The C Major scale, like all major scales, has a set of accompanying chords built on each of its notes. All major scales contain 3 major, 3 minor and one diminished chord. These chords can be referred to generically by roman numerals (which can be applied to any key), but they also have specific names. Upper case roman numerals denote major chords, lower case numerals indicate minor chords, and a degree symbol indicates a diminished chord (however, since I don't know how to type a degree symbol I will simply use the letters "dim"). The key of C major contains the following chords:

I - C Major (C)
ii - D minor (Dm)
iii - E minor (Em)
IV - F Major (F)
V - G Major (G)
vi - A Minor (Am)
vii(dim) - B diminished (Bdim)



The order the chords are played in can make all the difference in the world, and in my next entry I'll talk about chord progressions in more detail. For now I want to introduce a few common patterns I use while improvising. The first pattern is the "block chord" pattern and simply involves playing the notes of any chord from the C major or A minor scales. This pattern is quite simple and can be a good place to start:



The only problem with the above pattern is that it can become a bit tedious and boring after a while. If you want to mix things up a little, here is another pattern that I use quite often. I call it the "root-fifth-octave" pattern:



This pattern can be used with any of the chords. So for the C chord it involves hitting a C, then hitting the G five notes above that, then hitting the next C above that. The rhythm may vary and it doesn't matter which order the notes are played in. The advantage of this pattern is that it isn't likely to "clash" with any of the right hand melody notes, since it is somewhat indeterminate (neither major nor minor). It can be a good pattern to use when you are focusing on writing a melody and just need a generic harmony foundation to build on so you can get a general idea of what the song you are writing will sound like.

Finally, the pattern below is one that I call the "ballad" pattern, and it works well with slower songs:

Piano Improvisation

I've decided to post a series of articles explaining the process I use for composing instrumental piano music. Over the next several weeks I hope to provide you with the skills and confidence you'll need to begin writing your own music, regardless of the number of years you've been playing. I believe that EVERY pianist can and should learn how to compose as a foundational part of their musical fluency, because it provides a practical way to understand basic theoretical concepts and it can be a very enjoyable creative outlet.

Today I'd like to spend some time talking about improvisation, since it's one of the most important components of my composer's toolbox. While improvisation is a foundational part of jazz music studies, classical training often overlooks this important skill. Mozart, Beethoven and many other past composers were superb improvisers, but today's classical training often neglects this important aspect of musicianship.

The word improvisation means "to compose and perform or deliver without previous preparation." This definition is slightly misleading, because it implies a "tabula rasa" in which someone creates something our of thin air without any prior training or thought. But all musical learning can serve as "preparation" for improvisation, and performing "without previous preparation" simply refers to the fact that no DIRECT preparation has occurred. In other words, the musician isn't playing something that's been previously written down or memorized. One approach to improvisation would be to play random notes and learn "by ear" which ones sound good together. This may work for some, but I've found that my best improvisations are usually based on chords and scales, the foundation of all music.

In future blog entries I'll discuss the details of chords and scales and key changes, but for now I want to discuss the emotional side of improvisation. I find that playing piano has a tendency to melt my stress away. Sometimes I play familiar songs from my repertoire, and other times I site read new material. When I want to create and express what I'm feeling in my own way, though, improvisation is my preferred option. With time and practice I've learned to express what I'm feeling in musical form. I might use a hard-driving, bass-heavy rhythm as the foundation for my improvisations when I'm feeling angry, frustrated or anxious. Or I might move to the higher registers of the piano and play a delicate lullaby-sounding song when I'm feeling peaceful. I prefer to be alone when I improvise, because it helps me feel a little more free to experiment and make "mistakes." When I improvise for an audience I usually resort to common patterns and tend to avoid potentially risky key changes. The results may sound better, but I don't learn as much.

The best way to begin improvising is to start with a technique I introduce to all of my piano students early in their lessons. The black keys on the piano make up a pentatonic (5-note) scale, and if you play anything with a steady rhythm using only the black keys you can produce improvised music that, well, sounds like music, even if you are a beginner. You can experiment with sounds and patterns without worrying about "too much dissonance." The amount of dissonance you can handle is a personal preference, and there are no mistakes in improvisation (only unexpected turns), but a knowledge of chords and scales can help keep you from wandering too far into "modern music la la land," which is why the black keys are a "safe" place to start.

Spice Up Your Playing with Chord Style Piano

Have you ever gone to a nice restaurant or a mall and heard a pianist playing beautifully without any sheet music at all? She might have memorized every note of the piece you are hearing, or she might be playing by ear, but chances are she's using chord style piano to help her play the harmony parts. Chord style piano is used by many pop/rock artists and performers, and it is also a learning style that is well-suited to adult piano students who can more easily comprehend the intellectual framework it provides.

When I was growing up, we had a piano that didn't serve much purpose other than to hold lamps and picture frames. Every once in a while I would sit down and plunk out a melody, playing mostly by ear. I even learned a few basic chords and added harmonies to simple songs. That's about as far as I got before deciding as an adult to finally take piano lessons. I wanted to learn how to play the piano "right," so I ignored those little symbols above the notes on my sheet music--symbols like "Cmaj7, D, G7, Bb7#9"--and learned to play notes exactly as they were written on the treble and bass clefs. I made good progress over the course of a few years, but learning was sometimes slow and frustrating. Then I was introduced to chord style piano and discovered that a knowledge of chords gave me a "map" to the piano and let me pick and choose notes that would sound good in a given song. I combined this knowledge with the classical piano skills I had already learned, and soon was regularly receiving compliments on my playing. Chord style piano even helped me site read and play classical music better, because I had increased confidence and my hands were already familiar with many of the shapes and movements found in other piano styles.

Here's a very brief description of how chord style piano (sometimes called "popular piano") works. Think of a simple song like "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." This song consists of 3 chords: C, F, and G7. These letters are both names of chords and the names of the root note each chord is built on. The C chord contains three notes: C, E, and G. The F chord also contains 3 notes: F, A and C. The G7 chord contains 4 notes: G, B and D and F. These notes could be written on the bass clef using standard notation (with stems and rhythm values), but in chord style piano the bass clef is eliminated or ignored and the left hand part is simply notated with letters and other chord symbols. This type of notation is very common in jazz and popular music. It can be found in "fake books," in music marked "Piano - Vocal - Guitar" and in most non-classical arrangements. Advanced chord style pianists with a good knowledge of theory can even look at music without chord symbols and determine which chords to play.

The pianist who is learning to play chord style piano has three key challenges to overcome. First, the pianist must memorize a variety of chords. Basic 3-note chords are either major (happier sounding chords) or minor (sadder sound chords). Beyond these, there are diminished chords, augmented chords, and extended chords such as G7 (mentioned above) and F13 (a chord that contains 7 notes in its original form, although sometimes certain notes are dropped to improve playability). While the sheer number of possible chords may seem overwhelming, they follow consistent patterns, so the same hand shape can be used to play several chords. As an example, the same hand shape used to play the C major chord can be used to play D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished. The only thing that changes is the note you start on. Also, since chords are the building blocks for songs, once you learn a C chord you can use it in thousands of other songs that call for it. It is helpful to learn some of the theory behind how chords are constructed, to make it easier to find the right notes for a given chord. There are also chord reference guides that show pianists which notes to play for each chord.

The second challenge the chord style pianist must overcome is that of variety and interest. Playing the same chords the same way in a song--especially if the chord is only played once during a measure of music--is boring and unsatisfying for both pianist and listener. Fortunately, chords can be much more versatile than a written bass clef, because the pianist gets to choose how he wants the song to sound, and can either plan what he will play in advance or make up the left hand as he goes. An experienced chord style pianist rarely plays a song the same way twice, creating interest by inverting, arpeggiating, and playing chords in different places on the keyboard. Chord notes can also be dropped to create different sounds (as an example, try playing just the C and G notes of a C chord). Chord notes can be played with just the left hand or with both hands, and if the pianist isn't satisfied with the chords for a given arrangement, he can experiment with others that may sound better (this is called chord substitution). For example, Cmaj7 can sometimes be substituted for C to give songs a jazzier sound, and Em can sometimes be substituted for C to create variety. He can also vary the rhythm in the left hand, playing eighth notes instead of quarter notes, for example, or syncopating the rhythm. The right hand can add additional variety with run-ups, trills, fills, slides, octave melodies and glissandos. There is no end to the possibilities chord style piano allows. This is personal, expressive, creative piano at its best! Just remember to keep a steady rhythm while playing. Experiment with different sounds and techniques, and let your ears tell you when you've found something that works.

The third challenge the chord style pianist must overcome is that of her own perception and the perceptions of others. Unfortunately, chord style piano is sometimes touted by dishonest web scams as a way to "play piano instantly," "learn to play piano in just 10 days" or "learn to read music in 30 minutes." These utterly ridiculous claims of overnight success would be laughable if so many people weren't fooled by them. Chord style piano is a valid technique for improving your playing, but it can't take the place of years of correct practice. On the other side of the equation, many classical/traditional piano teachers think that chord style piano is "cheating." This may be a valid claim for classical music, since chord style piano is usually not well-suited to that type of playing. However, when playing songs like "Moon River" or "As Time Goes By," chord style piano can allow the pianist to produce far more satisfying results than when playing notes exactly as written. Too many piano students get stuck on the mental process of reading and playing notes, and never really teach their fingers how to play quickly and creatively. Chord style piano allows pianists to make use of notes but not be entirely at the mercy of the arranger. It also reduces sheet music expenses, since a chord style pianist can experiment with a variety of styles using the same piece of music. Ultimately, the best defense against those who think chord style piano is "cheating" is simply to ignore them. As long as you are satisfied with the results you are getting, that's what matters.

Chord style piano can also provide a great foundation for successful improvisation. Ironically, improvisation was a common practice by classical era composers such as Mozart and Beethoven, but it is typically marginalized by modern classical piano teachers. At first, learn to improvise over a standard chord progression (such as C-F-G7-C), and then experiment with creating your own progressions, planning them in advance or making them up as you go. When you invent a new melody and play it over your chord progression, you're improvising. Jazz musicians do this all the time, and it's a great exercise for songwriters too. Another improvisation technique involves taking an existing song like "Silent Night" and playing its exact chord progression with the left hand while making up a new melody in the right hand using scale notes. This may seem intimidating at first, but keep in mind that the improviser never makes mistakes--she just takes unexpected turns. The goals is to create, learn, experiment, develop your own style, express yourself and most of all to have fun.

So how do you learn chord style piano? Get a chord reference book, get some arrangements of your favorite songs, find a competent teacher who is willing and able to instruct you in this style, and start playing. With time, effort and consistent practice, chord style piano can bring you a lifetime of enjoyment.

An Introduction to Classical Guitar

I was at my favorite guitar store a few days ago and noticed that there were only seven or eight nylon string guitars among dozens of steel string instruments. This makes sense, since most popular music features steel string guitars, but nylon strings have a unique, warm tone that is often overlooked by new guitarists. I learned to play on a steel string acoustic guitar, but when I heard a soloist perform a rendition of "Carol of the Bells" on a nylon string classical guitar, I was hooked.

A classical guitar, sometimes called a Spanish guitar, is different from an acoustic guitar in several ways. All of the strings are made of nylon, but the lower three strings are steel-wrapped. Nylon strings are easier to play than steel strings, making them a good option for new guitarists who have not yet developed calluses on their left hand fingertips. Also, since classical guitars are generally strummed or plucked with the fingers rather than with a guitar pick, a classical guitar has a wider neck than an acoustic guitar. This makes it easier to isolate individual strings with the right hand. A classical guitar may also feature different internal construction, since nylon strings have much less tension than steel strings. Finally, a classical guitar usually does not have a protective plastic pick plate.

The classical guitar is rich with tradition and has a repertoire that includes baroque compositions written for other instruments but adapted for guitar such as those by Bach. Renaissance music originally played on the lute such as "Greensleeves" is also part of the standard repertoire. Then there are songs such as Malaguena that were written specifically for the classical guitar. Fernando Sor, Mauro Giuliani and Matteo Carcassi are three well-known classical guitarists who composed pieces for solo guitar during the early part of the 19th century. In the early 20th century, Andres Segovia popularized the classical guitar as a concert instrument. In 1940, Joaquin Rodrigo wrote a concerto for guitar called "En Aranjuez Con Tu Amor." The second movement of this piece, written as a memorial to victims of the Spanish Civil War, is--in my opinion--one of the most hauntingly beautiful pieces of music ever written. However, in addition to traditional repertoire, the classical guitar can also be used to play folk, new age, latin, gospel, jazz and many other styles of music. It has also found its way into popular music, such as in Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven" and the popular 1960's hit "Classical Gas."

Classical guitarists traditionally read standard notation (looks like piano music, but without the bass clef). Beginning classical guitarists may choose to fast-track their studies by using guitar tablature (tab) which makes many songs--including the traditional classical repertoire--more accessible to those unfamiliar with standard note reading. However, most classical guitar pieces are notated with standard notation, so I highly recommend that anyone interested in playing the classical repertoire learn to read notes at some point in their skill development.

A classical guitarist traditionally plays while sitting, using a foot stool to elevate the left leg. The classical guitar rests in the guitarist's lap, with the guitar neck pointing up at about a 35 degree angle. This position may feel strange for guitarists accustomed to a horizontal neck. However, it allows the guitar to sit securely so that the left hand can concentrate solely on playing. It also allows the guitarist's left wrist to be held straight rather than bent. This playing position can take a while to get used to, but I've found that I'm able to play for longer without wrist fatigue and I am more relaxed when I play. I have even started using this position for some of my steel string acoustic and electric guitar playing.

Classical guitarists typically shape their right hand fingernails in a way that allows them to easily pluck strings with their nails. This creates a sharp attack and allows for more volume dynamics than just plucking with the fingers. Personally, I enjoy a finger-plucked tone, but the best players typically use their fingernails in concerts and recordings. The sound of the classical guitar can be varied by playing in different locations with the right hand. Strumming towards the bottom of the strings, away from the fretting hand, produces a hollow, tinny sound that works well for certain pieces, while strumming over the fretboard closer to the fretting hand produces a soft, harp-like tone. Classical guitars can also be played in a percussive, flamenco-like style to produce a distinctly Spanish sound.

If you enjoy great music with history and tradition, you'll find what you're looking for in the classical guitar. If you've never pictured yourself as a classical guitarist, you may be surprised by how much fun it is to play. You don't have to change your name to Giovanni and develop a taste for fine wines and cheeses to enjoy playing the classical guitar. With a little dedication, you may even find that your electric solos and acoustic fingerstyle playing will improve. Whatever your musical interests, give the classical guitar a try and find out what you've been missing.