Song composition. What is composition in music, literature, painting? History and modernity

The topic I want to talk about today is important for arrangers, composers and performers. On the one hand, it is quite simple to understand, but very difficult to master. The problem is complicated by the fact that despite the abundance of textbooks on - the number of books that consider this problem holistically is simply scanty. The most popular book is probably "The Logic of Musical Composition" by Nazaikinsky. And as you can imagine, what I want to talk about is a musical composition.

What is musical composition?

Here is one of the definitions of composition in any art - the construction of a work of art, organization, structure of the form of the work.

Also, the essence of compositional techniques is thus reduced to the creation of a certain complex unity, a complex whole, and their meaning is determined by the role they play against the background of this whole in the subordination of its parts.

That is, it is a structure, a form of a work, which has a certain logic at all levels and layers of a musical composition.

How does it manifest?

To describe it as simply as possible - it is best to go from the opposite, that is, look at when the composition falls apart. This is a fairly common mistake, even among experienced writers. How is the violation of the laws of composition manifested in music of any style?

First of all, this is manifested in the violation of connections between the levels of the composition.

Let me clarify what is meant by composition levels.

There is a micro level - this is intonation. As a rule, a good composition relies on a few basic intonations.

The melody level is the main theme or any construction of the period level.

How are micro and melody levels related?

Any even long melody will be based on the basic intonation, which will be guessed even in the most veiled form - this ensures the listener's interest, and on the other hand empathy and recognition.

The most popular mistake is the presence of a large number of intonations and the lack of communication between levels.

The third level is the macro level - the level of a small work or a part of a complex form (in this case, we can also talk about the supra-macro level - but the concepts are conditional, here everyone can use terminology convenient for him).

A well-built composition combines a constant process of renewal with repetition of certain elements - this is one of the most important rules of composition.

And although modern music is very often based on repetitions, you can see that competent producers and arrangers provide continuous non-linear changes in musical material through automation, small modifications, variations, etc.

It is the nonlinear change that is important here.

As a rule, inexperienced composers add any fresh idea at the junction of the form, for example, after 4-8, etc. measures. To create a coherent composition, it is much more valuable to introduce changes in the middle of measures and structures. And although there is a large amount of square-type music, even among the classics, you can almost always see a non-linear component in one form or another.

Thinking about the laws and tricks of musical composition, I will write a separate article, but for now we will continue.

So, logic manifests itself at all levels and layers, as I wrote above - this means that it will be not only in melody, but also in harmony, bass line, etc.

I will clarify once again that by logic I mean here, first of all, intonation connection. Since intonation can also be rhythmic, very often the rhythmic pattern will organize the construction.

Composition, as a process, covers all levels of the work. From the beginning of work on a piece until its completion, each composer somehow follows a certain logic of composition. Someone uses already proven schemes, someone simply copies those that are known to him - but perhaps there is only one approach to which a musician should strive - this is to create a unique compositional structure based on existing templates. In this case, the template here implies some well-known scheme of the musical form, which is used by the composer as a starting point for work. At the same time, the structure can be immediately realized by the composer, or it can be manifested as one progresses in the compositional work.

Lesson objectives:

Musical lesson material:

Ø L. Beethoven.

Ø M. Ravel. Water play. Fragment (listening).

Ø L. Dubravin, poetry M. Plyatskovsky. Snowflake (singing).

Additional material:

Portraits of composers.

During the classes:

I. Organizational moment.

II. Lesson topic message.

Lesson topic: “Musical composition. What is a musical composition ”.

III. Work on the topic of the lesson.

Trying to understand and explain any piece of music, we are convinced that its content is inseparable from the form, that the entire system of images, characters and moods reveals itself in the composition (structure of the piece). By the complexity or simplicity of the composition, by its scale, we judge the complexity and scale of the content, which can also be very different, then turning to the small problems of life, then setting global, universal tasks.

I remind you:

“We call in an artistic way that phenomenon in music, literature or the visual arts, which reflects some important event in life” D. Kabalevsky.

1. The image embodies some life phenomena of the personality, but the personality is always associated with the atmosphere of the era in which he lives.

2. The image always reflects the personality of the artist and the era in which he lives.

Great art, the art of great thoughts and deep feelings is capable of awakening his best qualities in a person.

“Music should strike fire from the human soul,” Beethoven himself said. His motto is "Through the struggle - to victory!" - very clearly expressed in the fifth symphony. It contains pictures of intense battles in the name of that bright life, the dream of which always lives in people and which they themselves want to create.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827)

"People build their own destiny!" - Beethoven asserted.

Beethoven's faith in life, in victory is amazing. It is difficult to find a person to whom fate would inflict so many blows: a bleak childhood (drunken orgies of his father, illness and death of his beloved mother, disgusted service from the age of eleven), constant turmoil, loss of friends and, finally, the most terrible blow - deafness. To understand the full extent of the deaf composer's misfortune, it is enough to imagine a blind artist. But Beethoven did not give up. He composed music. And what! "Appassionata", the Fifth, Ninth Symphonies, etc. In the most difficult hour he wrote: "I want to cling to fate's throat, it will certainly not succeed in bending me to the ground completely." Life has confirmed the composer's motto. He fought and won. I won because I fought.

Romain Rolland wrote: "He is the best, most militant friend of all who suffer and struggle."

Ø L. Beethoven. Symphony No. 5. I movement. Fragment (listening).

Vocal and choral work.

Ø L. Dubravin, poetry M. Plyatskovsky. Snowflake (singing).

IV. Lesson summary.

“The music of the symphony is so powerful and so strong that it turned out to be able to embody the struggle of all mankind against all the injustices that stood in its way. And not only the struggle, but also the image of the coming victory! "

D. Kabalevsky.

V. Homework.

Learn the song and prepare for the answer.

Lesson 21

Theme: Musical masterpiece in sixteen measures (period).

Lesson objectives:

Ø Learn to perceive music as an integral part of every person's life.

Ø Develop an attentive and benevolent attitude towards the world around us.

Ø To foster emotional responsiveness to musical phenomena, the need for musical experiences.

Ø Develop interest in music through creative self-expression, manifested in reflections on music, own creativity.

Ø Formation of a listener's culture based on familiarization with the highest achievements of musical art.

Ø Conscious perception of musical works (knowledge of musical genres and forms, means of musical expression, awareness of the relationship between content and form in music).

Musical lesson material:

Ø F. Chopin.

Ø L. Dubravin, poetry M. Plyatskovsky. Snowflake (singing).

Additional material:

Portrait of F. Chopin.

During the classes:

I. Organizational moment.

F. Chopin's “Polonaise”.

II. Lesson topic message.

Lesson topic: Musical masterpiece in sixteen measures (period).

III. Work on the topic of the lesson.

Writing on the board:

Today we will have another meeting with art: the world of feelings and thoughts, revelations and discoveries.

Did you notice that today's lesson began immediately with music? Is she familiar to you? What is this work? Who is its author?

D: - Yes, this music is familiar to us. This is "Polonaise" by the Polish composer Frederic Chopin.

W: - Right, really, this is "Polonaise", and you know what it is?

D: - This is a welcome procession dance, which was born in Poland and opened balls in different countries in the 19th century.

D: - This is a composer of the first half of the 19th century, a brilliant pianist. His music is distinguished by great virtuosity, grace, dance and dreaminess.

W: Well done, indeed, Chopin was called the most poetic composer. But I would like to remind you that the fate of this person was tragic, tk. most of his short (about 40 years!) life and the last days he spent in a foreign land, far from his beloved homeland, which he loved very much, missed it immensely and devoted all his music to it.

“Chopin is far from his native land,

In love with his beautiful Poland,

Remembering her, he said dying:

"I give my heart to Warsaw!"

Try to remember in which works Chopin “gave his heart”, which works did he composed? The posters on the chalkboard can help you, choose the one you want (there are several posters on the chalkboard with the names of musical genres):

D: - Fryderyk Chopin composed waltzes, mazurkas, polonaises, preludes, nocturnes.

U: - Well done, you did a great job with the task, correctly named all genres.

W: - Today the amazing music of Fryderyk Chopin will help us understand another secret of music - the secret of the musical form, about which we have been talking for several lessons. We will now turn to one of the simplest forms of music. Take a look at the chalkboard and read the title of today's lesson topic - “Musical Masterpiece in 16 Measures” (writing it down).

The artistic and pedagogical idea of ​​today's lesson was taken from the words of the French writer of the early 20th century, Romain Rolland, read them, think and tell me how you understand them in connection with the form of music we are going to get to know today?

D: - Probably, the form of music that will be discussed today is very small and simple.

W: - The piece that we will hear is called "Prelude No. 7". Remember what “foreplay” is?

D: - Prelude is a small work that plays the role of an introduction, or an independent miniature.

D: - Right. So the work of F. Chopin, which will sound today, is really very small, it fits on a small fragment of an ordinary page (I show it in the textbook, page 78).

Now you will hear this work, and you will complete a small creative task, dividing into 3 groups (you can in rows).

He will find and write down definitions from the dictionary of aesthetic emotions, reflecting the feelings and experiences of this work.

He will think and determine whether there is one musical idea or several of them. Find the climax of this piece, mark it with a raise of your hand.

He will guess what the composer could tell the listener about with this music.

So, let's listen and work.

Performance of the “Prelude” and poll and analysis of the children’s responses.

U: - Well done, you very correctly defined the grace and slowness of confidential intonation, the chord structure of sounding, the noble and light calmness of the music. In this small work, the noble historical traditions of European music have merged, combining both sublime spiritual and gentle dance origins.

It was as if we heard the composer's musical message. This message, as we have seen, is very laconic: in music it is called the period.

A period is one of the elements of a musical form, in the construction of which one musical thought is expressed. The period is divided into 2 equal offers. (Show them, write down the definition of the period in a notebook.)

Let's listen to this work again, but now with a message from the author himself.

Reading a fragment of Chopin's letter against the background of music:

“... My dear, distant, the only one!

Why is our life so arranged that I should be away from you, be apart from you? I remember the rustle of every leaf, every blade of grass, I see faces dear to me, I feel you, my dear homeland ...

Every night you come to me with an obscure melody of either a song or a favorite dance - a mazurka, and so I want this dream to never end ... ”

W: - So, what is the idea of ​​a musical masterpiece of 16 bars by Chopin?

D: - Love and memory of the Motherland, Poland.

W: - You probably remember, guys, from our previous conversations about the work of Fryderyk Chopin, that the love for the Motherland of this talented person was so great that after his death, at the request of F. Chopin, his heart was taken out of his chest and, like a sacred relic , forwarded to his homeland, to Warsaw. Today it is walled up in the wall of one of the main churches (temples) in Warsaw, and the following poetic lines testify to this:

“There is a church in Warsaw,

There, a wall hides a shrine to humanity -

Chopin's heart -

Silence is full of this heartbeat to this day! ”

… Here is such a short life, but bright, whole, in the name of love for the Motherland. Life is like a moment, a moment.

Today, at the lesson, one more work will sound, which will confirm the idea of ​​the transience of life.

Ø F. Chopin. Prelude in A Major, Op. 28 No. 7 (hearing).

This prelude is so small that all of it can fit on a small fragment of an ordinary page.

A period, a small complete musical narration, may contain all sorts of digressions, extensions, additions, but there is none of this in Chopin's Prelude. Its form is distinguished by a repeated structure: that is, the melody in the second sentence begins with the same motive as in the first, equal duration of sentences consisting of eight measures (in music this is called squareness), simplicity of textured presentation.

Musical composition (lat. Compositio - composing, composition) is a category of musicology and musical aesthetics that characterizes the subject embodiment of music in the form of a completed musical work, in contrast to the variability of folk art and the improvisation of some types of music.

The term "composition" is now widely used in various fields of human activity: in the visual arts (sculpture and graphics) and literature (motivated arrangement of the components of the work), construction (composite materials), etc. In art, this term is often identified both with the plot and system of images, and with the structure of a work of art. For this purpose, explanatory terms are used - architectonics, construction, construction. Finally, this term refers to works that include various types of art (literary and musical composition) or composed of fragments of works of different genres.

The musical composition assumes:

• author-composer and his purposeful creative activity;
• a work separable from the creator and existing independently of him;
• the embodiment of content in an objectified sound structure;
• a complex apparatus of technical means, systematized by musical theory.

Each type of art is characterized by a certain set of techniques, the assimilation of which is necessary for creative work. Music is one of the most labor-intensive art forms. Therefore, the creator of music - the composer - especially needs technical equipment. "Without skill in art," says D. Kabalevsky, "not a single step can be made." Moreover, he believes that in the composer's work, creativity itself occupies no more than ten percent, and the rest is technique - knowledge and the ability to apply techniques.

The term "creative method" is used to characterize the way of composing music, which is characteristic of a particular composer. All outstanding composers who wrote orchestral music had a well-developed internal timbre ear, i.e. internal ideas about the real sound. “Musical thought does not appear to me otherwise than in its corresponding external form; ... I invent the most musical idea at the same time as instrumentation ”, - this is how PI wrote about his creative method. Tchaikovsky. Internal ideas about real sounding allowed W.A.Mozart to polish the score of an orchestral composition to such an extent that it only remained to write down the musical text.

Thus, composition is a teaching about the interaction of all means of musical expression in a musical form (compositional structure). Like the texture, which acts as the organizing principle of the artistic space, the form-scheme becomes a side of the musical whole, associated with the laws of the temporal development of the work.

Of course, the composer's creative method is formed in the process of his own hard work. A composer can create and improve his composition with the help of internal ideas about real sound, use a workbook (sketchbook), as well as a piano or computer.
The beginning of work on an essay should be considered the formation of a general plan, in which three stages can be distinguished:

• definition of a musical genre and understanding of imagery (plot);
• justification of the classical form-scheme;
• choice of a creative method: composing (according to preliminary preparations or by gradual "building up") a figurative melody corresponding to this image of harmony, texture, polyphonically developed additional voices.

For a piece of music, such an aspect as accessibility for perception is extremely important. The composer's ability to take into account the patterns of auditory perception B. Asafiev calls "the orientation of the form towards the listener." It consists in riveting the listener's attention to the most important moments of the work, providing timely rest for hearing after a lot of stress, evoking certain expectations, justifying them or violating the inertia of auditory perception, directing perception along the necessary path, etc.

We meet the term "composition" almost every day. To a greater extent, it has to do with various branches of art: music, painting, literature, and so on. And now we will learn in detail what a composition is in its various guises, which aspects of it define it and how it is created.

Literature

In the industry, fine composition is defined as follows. This is the construction, distribution and correlation of parts, various episodes, heroes, their actions and other means of artistic expression within one work. When we talk about what composition is in literature, it is important to remember that all its elements are connected into a single whole. A literary creation can consist of landscapes, still lifes, portraits, dialogues and monologues, lyrical digressions, metaphors and hyperbole, exaggerations and understatements, and so on. All this as a whole adds up to a story, a novel, a poem, or just a small poem.

Music

Speaking about what a composition is in music, you can take absolutely any piece as an example, and it doesn't matter if it is a third grade study or a whole symphony consisting of several parts. In this case, composition is an objective comparison, distribution and expression with a certain intonation of sounds. The main difference between this type of art and folklore is the lack of improvisation. Musical compositions (more often they are called "opuses") are recorded on the stave. Moreover, the notes indicate not only sounds, but also shades, strokes, dynamics, rhythm and tempo.

History and modernity

As mentioned above, musical compositions are characterized by their stability and consistency due to extremely precise notation. The second important component of any opus is its author. A composer must perfectly know not only his instrument, but also solfeggio, as well as musical canons related to the style in which he creates. In the old days, the term "composition" was used to refer to only those works that were sustained in a single rhythm, tempo and tonality. They were short, but very beautiful, melodic. The first musical compositions recorded on the stave appeared in the Renaissance. At that time, the standards for writing music were obligatory for everyone - this is the exposure of the harmony, rhythm and meter. With the onset of the era of romanticism, modulations came into fashion - the transition from one key to another. Composers of the 19th and 20th centuries began to change in the course of the work not only the harmony, but also the size, tempo. So the musical compositions became more intense and bright. Today, there is no clear framework for composing music. The main thing is that, as a result, the work is pleasant to the ear.

Painting

It is the fine art that allows us to most accurately understand what a composition is. In their paintings, artists always convey to the viewer their idea, mood, a certain atmosphere. The types of pictorial compositions are known to everyone - these are landscapes, portraits, still lifes. Among the works of artists of the 20th century and our contemporaries, there are expressionist canvases, surrealistic and others. A drawing, whatever it may be, always conveys a mood to us through color, light and shadows, shapes (angular or rounded), as well as through the main acting objects or persons. For example, a graphic composition of geometric shapes is a set of various cones, pyramids, balls and cubes that have light and shadow and are always drawn in volume. A drawing based on this geometry can be more complex: houses, trains, churches. In short, everything that goes into perspective. In painting, prominent representatives who depicted non-standard compositions are the artists Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch and others.

Souvenirs as part of art

New Year's compositions are unique and unrepeatable in their own way. These are a variety of bouquets, arrangements, wreaths, mini Christmas trees and much more. Such creations look, frankly, fabulous. They consist of spruce branches, cones, ribbons, rowan bunches. Often, candlesticks are attached to them, and the candles themselves are placed in them. Also, a New Year's composition can consist of fake gifts (polystyrene wrapped in gift paper), bells, balls, bows, etc. Such creations can be bought in stores, or you can make it yourself. It is only important to take into account the main rule of composition - all elements must be combined with each other. This also applies to shapes, colors and sizes.

Do-it-yourself New Year's compositions

The simplest New Year's craft is a wreath stand for candles. It has a rounded shape and consists of the main attributes of this holiday - spruce branches, cones, and so on. Therefore, we need the following components: base - a circle of the required diameter made of thick cardboard or plastic; thin pine branches; cones; bunches of mountain ash (optional), miniature balls in red colors (or mini gifts with bows). We focus on the red color because there is a mountain ash in the composition. Place candles in the center of the base and fix them tightly. Then, in a chaotic order, glue all the elements. The main thing is to look beautiful. Voila! Our New Year's bouquet is ready!

Get inspired and create beauty

You can do such compositions with your own hands for any holiday or just in the mood. For example, on Halloween, something similar to New Year's is built from small pumpkins, ghost figurines, witch hats and cobwebs. Just for the Autumn Festival, you can make stunning compositions from autumn leaves, and take as a basis not only a round wreath, but also plain A4 paper, making interesting applications on it. Summer composition can contain fruits, berries, leaves, red and green ribbons. Well, motifs on a marine theme are easily created thanks to the turquoise color, shells and fishing nets.

At first glance, making music can seem like an incredibly daunting task. And the first question that arises for those who want to create their own melody is “Where to start?”. But the beauty of musical composition is that there are no clear rules, no restrictions that tell you where to start and how to finish your work. But of course, there are several methods to help you get started with the creative process.

While there are several approaches to composition, there are three things to keep in mind:

• Harmony
• Melody

These are the three foundational music. You can arrange them for yourself in any order, mix some of them, or ignore some of them altogether. Many composers experiment without considering harmony and / or melody or timing.

You can add one more element - swing. And while swing is usually referred to as jazz and improvised music, you shouldn't discard it if you are creating music of a different style.

It is also worth remembering that you must have some skills to create music:

1. Ability to read from notes.

This is the first and most important point. Even if you use some kind of program that writes the sheet music for you, you should be able to read from the sheet. And, of course, you must know musical literacy. This is the most basic thing that a musician should be able to do. You need to know what the pause mark looks like, which marks represent the various effects (staccato, tremolo, piano, forte, etc.).

2. You must know different styles of music

You may find it pointless to study other styles of music besides the one you like, and this is a huge mistake. Do not think that it is not for a harsh metalhead to listen to classical music - many rock stars have said more than once that they love and listen to classical music; the jazz lover shouldn't ignore the simpler musical styles, and the sophisticated classical listener shouldn't turn up his nose at rap and hip-hop. And not because all the music is worthy of attention, although it is. By listening to different styles, you broaden your horizons and learn new techniques in music. Also try not to just listen to music for the sake of pleasure, but literally “disassemble” it in your mind into separate instruments. Analyze what you hear. Try to figure out how to create this or that sound.

3. Know how the instruments sound

Strive to find out how each existing instrument sounds (at least the most common ones). You need to know how certain effects sound, "gadgets" and so on. Of course, you can say that you are not going to create complex pieces of music, but still knowing the sound of instruments will help you at least develop your ear and broaden your horizons. Well, maybe in the future you want to add others to one of your instruments.

Preparation

Listen to all your favorite songs and try to figure out if there is any pattern, something in common. Are there any contrasting passages? How many are there? How long are they? Are any techniques repeated? Is the rhythm of the melody repeating? What mood do these compositions create? How do they do it? Do they stick to the same key?

Analyze and take notes, which will then serve as a source of ideas for you.

Step 1: Style

Decide in what style you go to create music. Listen to compositions in this style and analyze what techniques are used, how often the whole composition adheres to the same meter (4/4, for example). Consider whether you will be doing something similar or experimenting.

Step 2: Form

Decide on the shape of your composition. Most musical compositions are composed of equal sections (repeating sections) or distinct from each other (contrasting sections). Decide on the length of the composition, with how many sections it will have. Remember that each style has its own set of common forms, such as the 32-bar AABA form in jazz or the blues period, consisting of three phrases, each containing 4 measures. You can use one of the existing ones or create your own. Just try not to make it too complicated.

Step 3: create your idea

Use a device to jot down your ideas. Play a few tunes that come to your mind. Or sing them. These tunes don't have to be perfect, nobody hears them but you.

Step 4: first musical motive

Now listen to what you recorded. Is there something you like that you could develop into a full melody? If you cannot choose something that you would really like, you can always refer to the already existing rhythms and notes. Remember that this sketch that you are creating at this stage does not have to be complicated. Your task is to create a foundation that you will develop.

Step 5: transform your motive

Now that you have a motive, you can do this: you can expand it, shorten it, play the other way around, repeat it. You can change it a little, or you can change it beyond recognition. By doing this, you create a musical phrase - a fuller thought or idea.

Step 6: contrast section

Almost all styles of music have a contrasting section that adds flavor to the piece. This function is performed by bridge in a pop or rock song, section B in jazz, development in classical sonatas. To write a contrasting section, repeat steps 4 and 5, trying not to play your main theme. You can do it in a different rhythm, give it a different mood, and so on.

Step 7: Putting It All Together

At this point you have a couple of contrasting sections, now you need to combine them. Think about the form in which you wanted to create your melody, will it suit it? Don't be afraid to change anything. See if your melody looks holistic, or if you need to add something else. Do you find it necessary to add something else?

Step 8: arrangement

Transform a melody into a full-fledged musical composition by adding embellishments and backing it up with a left-hand melody, for example (if you play the piano). Consider if you need to add other instruments or vocals. In general, do your best to make your composition sound the way it should. You can ask for help from the musicians you know so that they add something interesting to your composition.