Listen and watch the full performance:
Motivic Development Table for Ockham's Razor
Click on the button below to download the motivic development table. In pairs, complete the table, writing out musical quotes and referencing bar numbers.
2 techniques per pair (to be delegated in class)
Compose your own motif: Composition Activity
Once you have completed the Ockham's Razor Motivic Development Table, click on the button below to download a motivic development table to use for your own motif.
Step 1: Compose a short melodic motif.
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Keep the motif simple ie. between 3 - 12 notes (remember, Beethoven's symphony no. 5 motif is only 4 notes and yet it's so memorable and effective!)
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Experiment with a selected range of notes to find a motif you like before writing it down on pen and paper
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Keep in mind that you will be transforming this motif with composition techniques
Step 2: Transform your motif!
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Have a look again at how Paul Stanhope transformed his motif through transposition, inversion, fragmentation etc.
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Now have a go at doing the same to the motif you just composed.
Here are the definitions again:
Transposition: Change the pitch overall (intervallic relationships remain)
Rhythmic Augmentation: Increase the duration of the note values
Rhythmic Diminution: Make the durations shorter
Inversion: Upside down verse (strict or 'loose')
Retrograde: Motif written out backwards
Fragmentation: Use only part of the motif
Interpolation: Inserting a note between the main notes of the motif
Interval expansion: Increasing the size of intervals in the motif
Interval contraction: Decrease interval size
Motivic Composition Plan: Activity
Click on the button below to DOWNLOAD a motivic composition planner template. You may draw it on paper if you prefer.
PART 1: Planning the Comp
You are now to plan out a short 16 bar composition for 2-3 instruments based on your motif (and a few different versions of your motif).
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Choose 2 or 3 transformed versions of your motif from your motivic development table
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Plan out where you would place these + your original motif on the composition planner (original motif must be stated at the start at least once before introducing the altered versions)
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Think about the dynamics, texture and mood. Keep it brief for this exercise
eg. Bar 1-4: Texture - sparse, Mood - cheeky
PART 2: Inputting Planner info onto Sibelius
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Once you have completed the planner, create a Sibelius/Finale file and transfer the information on your planner to notation.
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Listen to the playback of the composition. If you like, you can make changes to your composition in order for it to flow a little better or sound smoother eg. changing the last note of the retrograded motif, or perhaps creating a staggered entry/exit of your motif to avoid repeating the whole motif, etc.