FridayAfternoons–aComposer’sguide

Acollectionofclassroomcomposingactivities,basedonideastakenfromtheFridayAfternoonsSongCollection

DavidAshworth

IntroductionInthelatestroundofFridayAfternoonscommissionsthefocusis,understandably,verymuchonthesongs.However,thereismuchtobegainedbyalsolookingmorecloselyatJonathanDove’scompositions.Hisaccompanimentsaremuchmorethansimplechordal‘vamp-alongs’;theyarecarefullycraftedvignettes,withmanyfeaturesofinterestforaspiringcomposers.Inthisresource,welookatsomeofthesefeatures,andsuggestwaysinwhichstudentsmightmakeeffectiveusetheseideasintheirownwork.Dependingonthestudentsandthecontext,thesecompositiontasksmaybequiteprescriptive,moreopenendedorsomewhereinbetween….Someoftheactivitiesmayleadtocompositionofcompleteworks.Othersmaysimplyprovideideasforelementsofacomposition.Teachersandstudentsshouldfeelfreeto‘pickandmix’withthesesuggestions–takingfromthemwhattheyneedasappropriate.Theteachercanadapttheseresources,andguidestudentsinusingthemintheirwork.TheyareintendedforusebystudentsacrossKeyStages3to5.Someactivitiesarequitestretchingandchallenging–othersaremorestraightforward.Althoughnotatedexamplesareusedtoillustratesomeoftheprocedures,studentswhoarelessconfidentwithstandardnotationcanmakeuseoftheunderlyingideas,withteacherguidanceandsupport.DownloadthePDFversionsofthefullscoresfromtheFridayAfternoonswebsiteandusethemalongsidethisresource.

1.ComposingideasfromMusicontheWaters

Usingkeysignatures‘creatively’Whatisgoingonhere?ThekeysignatureoffivesharpsclearlysuggeststhekeyofBmajor,butthepiecenevercomestorestonthishomenote.InsteadmostphrasesendwithanF#,whichwehavetoregardastheroot.OtherphrasesendonaC#,suggestingthedominantinthekeyofF#.Ifwethinkofthispieceasusingamixolydianratherthanamajorscaleitbecomeseasiertounderstand.Thiswayofwritingautomaticallyensurestheflattenedseventh,insteadofhavingtowriteitasanaccidentaleachtime.Themixolydianisapopularscaleusedacrossmanygenresofmusic,includingbluesandfolk(SheMovedThroughTheFair),Classical(GriegPianoConcertoinAminor-thirdmovement)andPop(Beatles-NorwegianWoodandRadiohead-MorningMrMagpie)

ActivitySetupacompositiontask,wherestudentsuseoneofthefollowingkeysignatures:

Wehavelabelledthese1to5.TheyshouldusethechartbelowtoselectakeynotetomakemusicineitherMixolydianorDorianmode:Label Mixolydian–rootnote Dorian–rootnote1 D A2 A E

3 E B4 C G5 F C

VocalostinatoThewaythevocalbackingpartsworkinthispieceisinteresting–theyoverlapandrise/fallsuggestingamusicalinterpretationofwave-likemovement.Themotifbeginsonthedominant(C#)andendsonthetonic(F#)Overlappingatashortonebeatintervalisveryeffective,givingasenseofforwardpropulsion.Intheabsenceofanyconventionalharmonicprogression,thishelpstocreateaninterestingandeverchangingtextureofharmonies.MorelikeDebussythanMozart.Unlikeaconventionalchorus,thebackingvocalspermeateratherthanpunctuatethesong.Sothe‘message’ofthesongiscontinuouslyandsubliminallyinthebackground.Canyoufindexamplesofpopmusicwherebackingvocalsfunctioninasimilarway?

ActivityAskstudentstoaddtexturallayerstoacomposition,usingtheaboveapproach:

• Deviseashortrepeatedmotif,overlappingafteronebeat.• Beginningonthedominantandendingonthetonicworkswell,butother

configurationsmaybeconsidered.• Usingasequencerpianorolleditorcanfacilitatethisprocess.• Donotworryiftheintervalsbetweenanyverticalpairingofnotesseemsto

clash.Thedissonanceislikelytobetoofleetingtobeaproblem.However,sustainednotesmayneedtobechosencarefully.

ThepianoaccompanimentIntherighthandtherapidsemiquaversaregentleandsustained,buildupanimpressionisticwashofsound.Again,thewaterthemedmusicofDebussyspringstomind,forexampleRefletsdansl’eau

Therighthandpatternisanunchangingostinato,usingthefirstfournotesofthevocalostinatomotifshownabove,butplayedattwicethespeed–adiminutionfromquaverstosemiquavers.Againstthispattern,thelefthandplaysapatternwhichusuallyrisesandfallsinastepwisepattern.

ActivityThispianoaccompanimentprovidesanexcellentmodelforacomposition.Studentcanbegiventhetaskonwritinganaccompanimentforpiano,guitarsorotherinstruments,foroneormoreplayers,whichhasthefollowingfeatures:

• Deviseashortarpeggiostylepattern,thenrepeat,butvaryoneofthenotes,toaddalittleinteresttotherepetition.

• Deviseanaccompanyingbassorlefthandparttogowiththis.• Movethelefthandparttodifferentintervals–useatrialanderrorapproach

toseewhichcombinationsworkbest.Theexamplebelowhasbeencreatedusingtheaboveapproach.Eachbarisrepeatedseveraltimes,beforefurtherdevelopingtheprogression.

2.Composingideasfrom“Legend”

TheaccompanimentThelefthandostinatofigurecommandsattentionandbearsrepetitionbecauseofitsarrestingrhythmandthedistinctively‘bare’soundofthechords.Thesearechordsusingonlyrootsandfifths-guitaristscallthisthepowerchord.ItchugsalongsteadilyontherootnoteofD,butnoticehoweffectiveitiswhenitsuddenlychangesatbar23,whereitclimbsathird.ThisanintervalbetweenchordswhichisusedfrequentlybytheFridayAfternoonscomposerJonathanDove.FollowingtheDtoFchange,itlaterfallsathirdDtoBthenlaterBtoG[climbsa6thratherthanfallingathirdwhichessentiallygivesthesameeffect].ParallelmovementratherthandiatonicprogressioncanbefoundinmanyworksofpopularmusicfromTheHouseoftheRisingSun,EleanorRigby,theworksofBowiethroughtomanyRadioheadtracks.ClassicalcomposerssuchasVaughanWilliamsalsofavouredthisinterval.Consider,forexample,theopeningtoSeaSymphony,whereanopeningbrassfanfaremovesfromachordofBbminortoDmajor.Thisisanimportantmotifwhichisusedextensivelythroughoutthepiece.Lateratbar53hitsthedominantchordofAbriefly-thensoonfallsagainthethirdstoFbeforefinallycomingtorestonD.

ActivitiesExperimentwith‘powerchords’onpianoorguitar.Powerchordsdonotnecessarilyhavetobeplayedforcefully-itrefersmoretotheuseofchordscomprisingcombiningnotesofroot/fifth/octave.Thesechordsaretonally‘ambiguous’–theyareneitherfullymajornorminor.HerearethenotesforaGpowerchord–sometimesreferredtoasG5orG[nothird]

• Movethesechordsaroundandletyourearsdecidewhichtoretain.Frequentlyreturntothekeychordanduselotsofmovementinthirds.

• Savetheuseofthedominantforadramaticorimportantpointinthe

composition.

• Keeptherhythmofthepatternsimple,butinteresting–achallenge!

Call/responseandfollowingthetuneNowlet’sturnourattentiontohowtherighthandfunctionsinthispianoaccompaniment.Therighthandpartdoesoneoftwothings:

• Itsetsupadramaticcall/responsewiththelefthandpartduringtheintroduction,interludesandending

• Itdoublesorharmonisesthemelodyduringthevocalsections.

ActivitiesUsethismodelasatemplateforanoriginalcomposition.Usethediagrambelowforguidanceonhowtodothis:

ThemelodyThemelodyforthissongcomprisesfourphrases:

• PhraseA:afourbarphrasestartingontherootnoteofD• PhraseB:transposesPhraseAupathird,withanalteredending• PhraseC:transposesPhraseAupafifth• PhraseD:agentlydescendingphrase

Theaccompanimentprovideslotsofspacetomakethemelodystandout,horizontallyandvertically:

• Therearefourbarinterludesbetweeneachofthephrases.• Thebassostinatoispitchedwellbelowthemelodicline.• Thepianodoublesorharmonisesthevocalline

ActivitiesSetupacompositionprojectwhichusessomeorallofthesefeatures.Thiscanbeforanycombinationofinstrumentsand/orvoices.

3.ComposingideasfromMadMoon

TweakingchordsAswithMusicontheWaters,thispieceisinmixolydianmode.ThekeysignatureofthreesharpssuggeststhekeyofAmajor,butthehomechord,usedextensivelythroughmuchofthepiece,isEmajor.Tooffsetthepossibilityofthischordbecomingtediousthroughoverrepetition,Dovetweaksoneofthenotesintheostinatopattern,replacinganEwithanF#.Thisdevicehasbeenusedbycountlessbluespianistsandguitaristsinstandard12barbluesshuffleaccompaniments.

ActivityAskstudentstowriteachordalvampusingoneofthesechords,plusthechordwithanalterednote,asshownbelow.Theyshouldthentransposethepatterntootherchordspriortoarrangingthechordsintoasequence.Thechordsshownareintendedforusebyaguitarist,butcanbeadaptedforkeyboarduse:

Theexamplebelowshowsthebeginningsofapiece,usingtheGchordillustratedabove.ThepatternhasbeentransposeduptothechordsofCandD.NoticetheDtranspositionhasbeenadaptedslightlytofacilitateguitarfingering.

Making‘wild’musicDoveintroducesa‘howling’chorusstartingatbar11inthispiece.Thissectioncontrastswiththemoreformallystructuredversethatprecedesit.Itsoundsmoreabandonedandanarchic.Thisispartlyachievedthroughthepitchandrhythmchoicesandisreinforcedwiththeportamentomarking.Thissenseofwildabandonisanimportantelementinarangeofpop/rockmusicfromacrossthedecades.ItisthereinLennon’sTwist&ShoutthroughtoMotherwiththePlasticOnoBand,thesoulmusicofJamesBrownandWilsonPickett,countlessHendrixguitarsolos,Radiohead’sParanoidAndroid…thelistgoeson.

ActivityWeareaskingstudentstoputasidemorestructured,formalconsiderationsofmelody,rhythmandharmony;toforgetthe‘rules’andrespondmoreintuitively.Obviouslythemoodsorscenesthemusicaretryingtoconveyhavetobe

appropriateforthistypeofmusicmaking–seastorms,highenergydancepieces,infactanythingonadramatictheme.Havingputtogethersomeappropriatebackingtracks,studentscandeviseideasbysingingoverthetoporusinganinstrumentcapableofproducingwailing,slidingsounds.Fretlessstringinstruments,pitchbendonakeyboardoraguitarbottleneckwouldbegoodchoices.Althoughtheresultsshouldsoundwildandanarchic,thereismoretothisthanrandomshoutingandscreaming.Musicallyitwillhavetomakesomesortofsenseintermsofhowitfitswiththebacking.Forexample,noticehowDoveachievesthisbymakingsurethatthephrasesendonnotesfromtheunderpinningB7chord.Studentsdon’tnecessarilyhavetothinktooanalyticallywiththis.Theycanbeguidedbytheirears….

WorkingwithchromaticpatternsFrombar19beginsadelightfulinstrumentalsolowhereatwonotefigurefallsandriseschromaticallyoverasimpletwochordaccompaniment.Youwouldexpectapassagesuchasthistosoundhighlydissonant.However,itisnotperceivedbytheearassuch.Theclashingintervalsarefleeting,andthesenseofstructureandordershiftsfromconsiderationsoftheharmonytoaperceptionofastrongsenseofpatterncreatedbythemovingmelodicfigure.Theideasoundssimpleenough,butcareandthoughthasgoneintochoosingwherethenotesland,particularlyatthepointofchordchangeinthelefthand.Forexample,thejudicioususeofaquaverrestatthebeginningensuresthattherepetitionofthesequencecomesexactlyatthebeginningofanewbar!

ActivityInthisactivity,studentsaregoingtocreateapatternwhichmoveschromaticallyoverasimplechordaccompaniment.Studentscanbeginby‘doodling’onaninstrumenttofindashortthreeorfournotefigurewhichsounds‘good’whenitismovedchromaticallyupordown.Thesechromaticpatternscanbetrickytoplay,sosomestudentsmightwishtousethepianorolleditorinasequencertofacilitatethisprocess.Guitaristsmightwanttobeginwithapatterninthemiddleofthefretboard,whichtheycanslideupanddownonefretatatime.

Theexamplebelowshowsthisprocess.Readingthetablature,ratherthanthenotation,makesitclearhowthechromatictranspositionisworking.

NoticehowthechordsaboveareathirdapartandhowthenotesatthebeginningofthethirdbararethenotesfromaBbminorchord.Thisisbydesign–notaccident.Sostudentswillneedtochoosechordscarefullythatfitwiththewaythechromaticprogressionismoving.Abitofaplanningchallenge,butmanystudentswillenjoyrisingtothedemandsofthispuzzlesolvingactivity.ChordsmovinginthirdsissomethingofaDove‘hallmark’whichwehaveobservedinotherpiecesfromtheFridayAfternoonscollection.Thelefthandaccompanimentvampisdeliberatelysimple,sothatitdoesnotdivertattentionawayfromthechromaticallymovinglineplayingaboveit.However,agentlesyncopationaddsadegreeofinterest.Thisembodiesausefulworking‘principle’foraspiringcomposers-whenamelodyorharmonyissimple,youcanaddinterestbythinkingabouttherhythmicelement.

DavidAshworth,October2016