Theory and practice of music composition...

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Before going further with our systematic discovery of the elements of music composition, the important point to understand is that a time signature or a measure, is a way to cut a composition into separate units, so as to give it a time structure.

In theory, one could write any composition using any time signature. A waltz could be written in 4/4 or in 5/8 without much difficulty. However, the written representation of the music would not fit at all its real time structure, based on 3 beats.

As we explained it, the beat is defined as the time unit on which the composition is structured. It is the first time division of you composition. It often corresponds to the way you tap you foot on the ground to follow the music.

The second time division assembles a few beats together to create a longer unit, so as to structure your composition. It is called a measure and defined by a time signature. The next division is the various parts of a form of music, like the verse, chorus, introduction, ending,... or any way to divide a piece of music or group several measures together.

To determine the time signature to use for a composition, listen to the melody, sing it or play the rhythm intuitively and count the number of beats that seem to create a repeating pattern. The waltz example is quite easy: one beat out of three is accentuated, which creates a measure based on three beats.

The most common choices are 2, 3 and 4, but you can find 5 or 6 or any other combinations. The easiest way to find it is to listen to which beats are accentuated. They normally mark the beginning of the measure, giving the impression of a new starting cycle. Determine the number of beats between two marked beats.

This number will determine the numerator of the measure (the "3" in the 3/4 time signature). To select the denominator, it is a bit more arbitrary. If a measure has two beats, you can as well decide that it is 2/4, 2/2 or even 2/8. The only difference will be the rhythmic values that will be used to display the notes. If each measure contains two notes, in the first case you will have two quarter notes, in the second case you will have two half notes and in the third case you will have two eighth notes.

According to your choice, the tempo will be different. If you want 60 notes per minute, you will have respectively a tempo of 60 per quarter note (2/4), 60 per half note (or 120 per quarter note) (2/2) or 60 per eighth note (or 30 per quarter note) (2/8). But if you listen to each version of the score, you will not be able to hear any difference, because it is only an arbitrary way of representing music graphically.

The general rule we may try to get from observation is to select the measure so as to have a balance of the rhythmic values used. If the score contains very fast rhythmic values (high rhythmic density), you will favor 2/8. If it is very slow, you may favor 2/2. But you will find examples to the contrary, so that one composer may use one way and the other another way... So you are free, too!

Our last article on music composition spoke about the division of the beat by 2, 3, 4 (or more) equal elements. These are the rhythmic harmonics.

If you take the case of a 4/4 measure (4 beats of one quarter note), you can fill them with 4 quarter notes to create a regular series of notes. This would be harmonic 1, each beat being present and giving a regular pace. A music composition using this from the beginning to the end would be rather monotonous, at least on the rhythmic side of it.

How do you introduce rhythmic variety in your composition? Two directions are possible, by using the principle of rhythmic harmonics.

You can first vary the rhythm of the melody by using the rhythmic harmonics. On the other hand, you can add one or more instruments that will accompany the main melody by using rhythmic harmonics of the melody. We will explore these two methods with practical examples.

This may seem quite simple to you, even idiotically simple. It is, indeed, but it is a practical method that you can use to build melodies and accompaniments. Read the following with the firm intention in mind to be able to apply it to your own melodies.

Improving a melody with rhythmic harmonics

Let's take a simple example: a melody built on a scale going up and down.

Listen to the example...

The principle of rhythmic harmonics is that they are built from the division of a given duration, in this case the quarter note. The fact that the division is exact creates a natural similarity. 2 in place of 1, 3 in place of 1, etc. The values that establish an easy to observe similarity are 2, 3, 4, 6 and 8, mainly.

Let us enter some rhythmic harmonics 2 in this melody, while keeping the same note sequence. Harmonic 2 is a division of the duration by 2, it is then an eighth note. We get for instance:

Listen to the example...

By listening to the melody, you can still notice the main beat. You notice that there are sometimes two notes played for a beat and it adds some interest and diversity to the melody. What I mean here is that the occasional presence of harmonic 2 has not altered the general perception of the basic tempo of the melody. At several points, the melody plays quarter notes that continue to define the general tempo.

hat happens if all quarter notes are replaced by eighth notes, which means that harmonic 1 is replaced by harmonic 2? We get the following:

Listen to the example...

There are no more references to the quarter notes and you can no more listen to the contrast of rhythmic values. The rhythmic monotony becomes the same as in the first example, except that the melody is played twice as fast.

The interesting point to notice is that the missing of harmonic 1 (the quarter note) has removed the idea that there was an harmonic 2 and the notes themselves may as well be considered as quarter notes played faster, exactly like an harmonic 1 at a faster tempo.

In other words, this harmonic principle is something completely relative. You perceive harmonic 2 in relation to harmonic 1. If this last one disappears, the "1 to 2" relationship also disappears.

To get an interesting melody, you can mix various rhythmic harmonics. Variations are practically infinite. Here is another example:

Listen to the example...

By listening, you will notice that it is still easy to find the main beat. We use here an alternation of harmonics 1, 2 and 3.

As the principle of harmonics is relative, we could also consider the first example as being harmonic 4 of the full measure. A note that would fill a full measure ( a whole note) would be harmonic 1 and the 4 quarter notes would be harmonic 4.

This provides another way to use the harmonics. Let us use harmonic 5 of the measure on measure 2, giving a tuplet of 5 notes instead of 4:

Listen to the example...

Listening to it shows that the effect is quite different than the other examples. We have the impression that the second measure takes a faster tempo and that the next measure slows down again, without establishing a natural link between harmonics 4 and 5.

As it can be observed, the 4/5 ratio is not perceived as well as ratios of 1/2 or 1/3, and it introduces a break in the rhythmic flow of the melody, which is perceived as a lower understanding of the melody. We do not expect that tempo change, as it does not seem naturally related to the previous measure. This is even more obvious as there is no other instrument to enforce harmonic 4 of the measure.

These phenomena can then be used to compose a melody. Create for instance a sequence of notes you like. Add them into a series of quarter notes in Pizzicato (you can do that even with the evaluation version of Pizzicato).

Then create several variations by introducing rhythmic harmonics 2, 3 and 4 (16th notes).

Next time, we will show examples of the other use of harmonics: other instruments playing rhythmic harmonics of the harmony. Until then, use these principles to create a few original melodies!

Dominique Vandenneucker
Designer of Pizzicato.

See also the frequently asked questions on page http://www.arpegemusic.com/clients4.php

If Pizzicato does not start on Mac OS Sierra, do the following.

- Keep the Pizzicato folder on the desktop (not in the Applications folder)
- Right click on the Pizzicato application (inside its folder) (or left click + Control) and choose to show the package content
- Go inside Contents / MacOS and double-click "Pizzicato".  It should start after a few seconds.

• Fill in 2 beamed 16th notes (C and G for example)
• With the note head tool, (Pizzicato Professional, main palette, the tool with several note heads) click these notes and select the half note head symbol.
• To distribute them correctly in the measure, disable the automatic justification ("J" box, in the score tool bar) and move the second note in the middle of the measure.

• Black color: it is the default choice and all notes are drawn in black
• Voice color: Pizzicato handles up to 8 rhythmic voices and each voice has a specific color. In this mode, notes are colored to represent their rhythmic voice.
• Track color: in the instrument view, you can select a color for each staff with the last column of the "Various effects" configuration. Notes are displayed with the color of their staff.

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Free upgrades

Buying one version of Pizzicato gives you the right to about 3 years of free upgrades.

If your license number is superior to 19000, you can download the lastest upgrade 3.6.2.3 for Mac and Windows by clicking here.

Advanced upgrades

At any time, you can upgrade to a more advanced version of Pizzicato, for a special upgrade price. See the upgrade order page by clicking here.

Pizzicato in the US and Canada

You can always contact Blair Ashby, at Broadlands Media, Inc. for any information you need on Pizzicato and the way to use it. Located in Denver, Colorado, Blair is the official representative of Pizzicato for the United States and English speaking Canada. You can visit the site and buy Pizzicato directly at www.writing-music.com email: info@writing-music.com

Read the full Pizzicato music course on page http://www.arpegemusic.com/manual36/EN090.htm

We have seen that there are 7 notes named C, D, E, F, G, A, B. The next note is again called C and the sound generated vibrates exactly two times faster than the sound generated by the first C. This interval from the first to the second C is called an octave. In a more general way, an octave is the interval separating a note from the next note bearing the same name, such as for example from G to the next G. Here is an example with C:

This series of notes from C to C is called the scale of C. As this diagram is repeated higher and lower, we will limit ourselves to explain the contents of the notes from C to C. The same explanation is valid between two successive C.

These notes correspond to the white keys of a piano or organ keyboard. You can easily locate them by observing that the black keys are laid out by groups of 2 and 3 between the white keys. The C are the keys which are just to the left of a 2 black keys group. Here is an illustration:

The white keys located between the 2 C follow the same order as on the staff:

The black keys of the keyboard are also notes that can be played. They are located between specific white keys. With 7 white keys and 5 black keys, you thus get 12 different notes. The thirteenth note is again a C and the same diagram is repeated...

...To read the full lesson, see the lesson on music The scale and the accidentals on our site...

With Pizzicato Composition Light:

• Discover intuitive music composition

• Music composition for everyone

• Music course to help you compose your music

• Only about $49 !

With EarMaster Pro 6, improve your music abilities:

• Interval singing
• Interval identification
• Chords identification
• Rhythmic dictation
• Reading and playing rhythms
• Rhythmic imitation and rhythmic precision
• Melodic dictation

1. Pizzicato Light is an introductory version to learn music, make exercises, write small scores (1 or 2 pages) and use basic MIDI and audio recording features. You can start practicing the music keyboard and make your first steps into music composition. [20 euros as a package, 15 euros as a download]

Note: The reference prices are in euros. To see the price in other
currencies ($US, $CA,...) go to the following page and select the
currency in the basket page: http://www.arpegemusic.com/products.php

2. Pizzicato Beginner is a general purpose score editor, that contains most of the tools you need to write, print and listen to music scores for the choir, solo instrument or small orchestras up to 16 instruments playing together. [99 euros as a package, 67 euros as a download]

3. Pizzicato Notation is a full score editor that offers you all the notation features found in any other Pizzicato versions. It contains all the tools you need to write, print and listen to music scores, from the soloist to the full orchestra. [199 euros as a package, 129 euros as a download]

4. Pizzicato Guitar contains all the tools you need to write sheet music for the guitar or other fretted instruments like the banjo, the bass, etc. You can use a tablature or TAB, or a standard staff. A guitar fret board window helps you entering the notes and you can create chord diagrams. [39 euros as a package, 29 euros as a download]

5. Pizzicato Choir helps you write and print nice sheet music for the choir. Learn to sing your voice while Pizzicato plays the other voices. Increase your knowledge of music theory with the full music course included. [39 euros as a package, 29 euros as a download]

6. Pizzicato Soloist contains all the tools you need to write music for a solo instrument. You can print nice solo sheet music, whether for the brass, woodwind, string instruments or any solo instrument written on one staff. [39 euros as a package, 29 euros as a download]

7. Pizzicato Drums and Percussion is specifically designed for music notation of drums and percussion instruments. You can use up to 8 staves, each one with 1 up to 16 lines to which you can assign a percussion or drum instrument. [39 euros as a package, 29 euros as a download]

8. Pizzicato Keyboard contains all the tools you need to write music for keyboard instruments like the piano, the organ or the synthesizer, with up to 4 staves. [39 euros as a package, 29 euros as a download]

9. Pizzicato Composition Light introduces the concept of intuitive music composition for a small budget. This is where you can start exploring music composition like never before, up to 8 instruments. [49 euros as a package, 39 euros as a download]

10. Pizzicato Composition Pro offers you the most advanced tools for intuitive music composition, with no limits to the number of instruments. [149 euros as a package, 99 euros as a download]

Finally, Pizzicato Professional contains every function available in the 10 versions already described. You can use all the features for music notation as well as all the tools for intuitive music composition and combine them in the same software. [299 euros as a package, 195 euros as a download]

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Godelieve Cuylits, clarinetist (Belgium) - "I transpose, reduce scores and help our conductor to write his own arrangements on paper"
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