Writing for String Quartet

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Writing

For

String

Quartet

An Introduction to

Composing for the Brodowski Quartet



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Welcome to this year’s Young Composer of Dyfed scheme.

Once again our Resident Composer is Peter Reynolds who has joined forces with our Resident

Ensemble to produce this workbook which we hope will help you along your journey of composition.

And now let me introduce our Resident Ensemble for 2011 - 12. The Brodowski Quartet

comprises David Brodowski , Catrin Win Morgan (violins), Felix Tanner (viola) and Vanessa

Lucas-Smith (cello). Originally from Germany, Wales, Scotland and England (indeed Catrin was

brought up in Llangadog) they now live in London and indeed have been described by one critic

as the “new kids on the London scene”.

Find out more about the quartet at their website www.brodowskiquartet.com where they will

be keeping a blog about their residency with us here in West Wales

http://brodowskiquartet.posterous.com/.

You can download an Introduction and Guidelines to submitting a piece for the Brodowski

Quartet; a registration form for a tutorial and the application form that needs to accompany

any composition you submit from our website www.ymmd.org.uk

Dates for the Diary

Friday 9 December 2011. Deadline for registering a one-to-one tutorial with Peter

Reynolds

Friday 10 February 2012 Deadline for submissions

Week of 19 March 2012 A selection of the compositions submitted will be

performed by the Brodowski Quartet at a series of Schools

Showcases

Saturday 24 March 2012 Young Composer of Dyfed Celebration Concert at Neuadd y

Dderwen, Rhosygilwen

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 029 2019 0176

Cathy Morris

Administrator

http://www.brodowskiquartet.com/



http://brodowskiquartet.posterous.com/


http://www.ymmd.org.uk/








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Introduction

Composing for the String Quartet

Most of our resident ensembles over the last few years have been groups that didn’t even exist

beyond about fifty years ago, but the string quartet has been around for over 250 years. Youmight think that during that time composers might have exhausted all the possibilities of writing

for this combination of instruments, but it has such an immense wealth and range of sounds and

possibilities that, each year, composers come up with something new for it. This is now your

chance.

What is a string quartet?

A string quartet consists of two violins, a viola and a cello

The group normally sit in a semi-circle, so that they can keep eye contact with one

another when they play

String instruments are not like a keyboard or piano where it is possible to play a melodyand accompaniment – instead they are essentially melodic instruments, designed to play

single lines.

The string quartet came into existence because of this: it is group of many possibilities,

from playing a simple melody that the other instruments accompany, through to perhaps

writing four individual melodic lines that simultaneously fit together.

When you depress a note on the piano, or play a note on a woodwind instrument there is

no way of changing the sound of that note. String instruments though can make all sorts

of different and fascinating sounds that make it one of the most colourful ensembles of

all time.

In this book you will find a list of the sounds and techniques that a string quartet is

capable of and which you can include in your compositions if you wish.

Do I have to write for the whole string quartet?

How do you write something for each of the four instruments? Oddly enough, writing for four

string instruments is easier than writing for one, two or three! This book includes lots of

examples of ideas and techniques that other composers have used in writing for the group. In

previous years, there have been other opportunities to add your own instrument to the line-up,

but this year we are asking everyone to write for the string quartet alone because the group is so

rich in the number of sounds available.

If in doubt - just ask.

In the pages that follow, you will find:

- Technical tips on writing for violin, viola and cello

- Some ideas for getting your piece going

- Dos and don’ts on the presentation of your scores and performing parts



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A Player’s Perspective

A Brief History of the String Quartet

1750s - The String Quartet is bornPieces for two violins, a viola and cello composed called divertimentos, serenades and

quartettos.

Composers employed by aristocrats to write chamber music for pleasure and

performance by aristocratic amateurs, see picture below

1780s – Composition style of the quartet established

Haydn composed his Op. 33 Quartets

Mozart composed six quartets dedicated to Haydn

Private performances by aristocratic amateurs with an invited audience organised in

courts and palaces

At one Viennese gathering Haydn and Mozart performed together in a quartet

1800s – Aristocrats could no longer afford to pay the composers

Composers began to arrange profit making concerts to make moneyProfessional musicians paid to perform String Quartets in concert halls

1820s – Composers wrote more demanding music for the professional musicians

Instrument makers developed string instruments and bows to meet the demands of

the music and aid projection in the concert halls

1900s – Purpose built concert halls for Chamber Music

For example, the Wigmore Hall in London, built in 1901

A greater demand for listening to the String Quartet repertoire

Thus the professional String Quartet is established



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The Basics

THE VIOLIN

Range

The Strings:

G, D, A, E

Clef - written in the treble clef as in diagram above

Bowing:

Arco – indicates to play with the bow

Players assume it is arco unless it is marked pizz, to pluck

Once you have written pizz remember to write arco where the pizz should end

Have you considered?

Each string has different characteristics. Therefore you could insist that a player plays on a

specific string by writing the Roman numeral of the string above the passage.

A melody that can be played low on the D string could be played high on the G string creating a

dark, rich tone.

Roman Numerals for Violin Strings: E = I A = II D = III G = IV

Role of the 1st Violin

Among the four players, the first violin may get the most attention and acclaim; many quartets,

for example, are named after their first violinists.

- The Virtuoso of the quartet

- Mostly plays the melody

- Occasional accompaniment role

- Generally plays in the higher register of the Violin

- Usually has the most notes!



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Violin Joke

Q. What's the difference between a violin and a viola?

A. There is no difference. The violin just looks smaller because

the violinist's head is so much bi er.

Role of the 2nd

Violin

It is a versatile role – the 2nd

violin could be described as the Chameleon of the String Quartet

and is demanded to play many different roles- Countermelody – supportive role to the melody, mostly the 1

stviolin

- Dialogue – alternating interjections with the other parts

- Melody – sometimes taking over the melody

- Accompaniment – blends in with harmony and accompanies the melody

- Harmonically – bridges the gap between the higher register of the 1st

violin and the viola

by adding warmth and depth to the texture.

Is it so bad to play 2nd

Violin?!

A comic Fi rst Violin Tale

Ignaz Schuppanzigh (1776-1830) was the leader of the first ever professional

string quartet, the ‘Razumovsky Quartet’. It was said that Schuppanzigh was a

handsome young man, but in adult life became seriously obese. Towards the end of his life, his fingers grew so fat that he was unable to play in tune.

Beethoven composed a short comic choral piece dedicated to him called

‘Praise to the Fat One.’



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THE CELLO

Range:

The Strings:

C, G, D, A

Clef - Usually written in the bass clef.

For higher music use the tenor clef and for even higher the treble clef.

Down and Up bows

Down bows are heavier (moving from the frog to the point) and are generally used on the strong

beats of the bar, with up bows for upbeats. You don’t need to indicate bowings unless for a

specific effect. Think Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ which has a repeated down bow motif.

Role of the cello

- provides the bass line

- an accompanying instrument responsible for the stability and structure of the music

often in control of the flow

- Through the centuries the cello has been liberated by composers taking advantage of its

vast expressive qualities and allowing the cello to take many a beautiful melody with the

other instruments providing accompaniment.

Cello Joke

Q. How do you get a Violin to sound like a Cello?

A. Play in the low register with a lot of wrong notes!



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EXTENDED TECHNIQUES

Expands the vocabulary of the instruments to add greater expression and variety

Adds unusual sound worlds and tones to the music

Expresses something other worldly

Stretch the instrument to the max

Always ask yourself WHY you are using a particular effect / technique. As players, we see a fineline between an imaginative use of an effect and an effect for its own sake. Always have a

reason, and make it clear in the score where you want the effect. Some pieces have a short

explanation of any effects and how the composer would like them performed at the beginning of

the score.

WHAT HOW EFFECT

Sul Tasto Bow over the fingerboard Wispy, warm, gentle

sounds

Sul ponticello Bow very close to the

bridge

Glassy, metallic sounds

Col legno Using the wood of the

bow to tap the string

Percussive effect, with a

high pitch

Glissando Sliding the finger up or

down the string

A smooth rising or falling

of pitch

Mute

con sordino – with mute

senza sordino – without

mute

Attach mute to the bridge Dampens the vibrations to

create a softer, more

muffled sound

Practice Mute Attach a larger mute to

the bridge

An extreme version of the

standard mute. Very quiet



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Extreme vibrato A wider, less controlled

version of vibrato

Bending of pitch hysterical

sounding

Non vibrato Playing deliberately

without vibrato

Sparse, pure tone colour

Bartok pizz

(noted by a circle with a

vertical line at 12 o’clock

above the note in

question)

Plucking hard allowing the

string to hit the wood of

the fingerboard

A sharp, loud snap

Left hand pizz

(noted by a + sign above

the note)

Plucked with the left hand Facilitates a quick change

between arco and pizz

(where the pizz is an open

string) Sometimes bowing

and plucking is possible at

the same time.

Bowing on the tailpiece Bowing lightly on the

tailpiece

A ghostly whisper

Tapping Using your hand to tap the

shoulder or body of the

instrument

A tap or knocking sound to

add rhythm or effect

Bow behind the bridge Bowing behind the bridge

where the string is very

short

An unpleasant screech!

Microtones Playing less than a

semitone

An out of tune effect,

quite painful sounding

Harmonics Pure - Touching the string

lightly with the left hand

at various points of the

string

Stopped – lightly touching

the string (usually) a

fourth higher than the

stopped note being held

down

Pure, flute-like quality.

Especially effective in soft

dynamics

For a full comprehensive diagram of how to write Harmonics for string instruments visit

http://www.composershop.com/public/Strings%20harmonics%20table.pdf





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Practical Considerations are important!

For players it is essential that you have:

A CLEAR SCORE – The clearer, the simpler, the better.

‘arghhhh!’……….



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PAGE TURNS

Try and arrange your pages so page turns can be facilitated easily and at the least disturbing

points. A semiquaver rest won’t suffice!

PROGRAMME NOTE

It doesn’t need to be long but a little education can go a long way and really help the audience

enter into your world.

For example we recently performed a quartet by Simon Holt who uses the poem shown below as

the inspiration for his work ‘Two movements for quartet.’

Composer’s Note

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air –

Between the Heaves of Storm –

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –

And Breaths were gathering firm

For that last Onset – when the King

Be witnessed – in the Room –

I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable – and then it was

There interposed a Fly –

With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –

Between the light – and me –

And then the Windows failed – and then

I could not see to see –

Emily Dickinson

Two movements for string quartet is the second part of my proposed five-part cycle ‘a ribbon of

time’, the first part being Sunrise, yellow noise for soprano and orchestra. It is a cycle of pieces

using the poetry of Emily Dickinson as its starting point.

The two movements take their titles from the above poem: ‘Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –

and ‘The Stillness in the Room’ respectively. More or less all the material for the piece is derived

from the opening viola solo of the second movement. It is approximately 15’ in duration.

Simon Holt, April 2001



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Now you’ve read our guide to the String Quartet – visit our Blog Page

http://www.brodowskiquartet.com/2011/07/14/young-composer-of-dyfed-blog/

Why visit our blog page?

Ask us a question directly

See musical examples of different styles of composing for String Quartet

Watch a visual guide to sound effects

And lots more to come....

We look forward to meeting you in Wales

David, Catrin, Felix and Vanessa (The Brodowski Quartet)






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Composition hints and tips

Techniques for making a start on your composition

There’s nothing worse than sitting in front a blank piece of manuscript paper or a computer

screen, trying to find that first idea that will get your piece started. Many of the composers whohave written the string quartet in the past have lots of “tricks of the trade” for structuring their

pieces so that inspiration doesn’t flag. In the sections that follow, we’re sharing some of these

with you. You should be able to adapt them to your own pieces or perhaps use several elements

from them to come up with some individual of your own.

How do I write for four string instruments?

In the previous section we’ve given you a taste of some of the range of sounds and techniques

that you can draw on, but how do you combine these in a piece for four instruments? Here a few

thoughts:

The four voices of the string quartet more or less correspond to the four voices of a choir:

soprano (violin 1), alto (violin 2), tenor (viola) and bass (cello). This means that if you

were to transcribe more choral music, each of those parts would fit the quartet with

virtually no need for adjustment (example: Hen Wlad fy Nhadau) and most piano music

(often written in four parts) will do likewise (example – opening eight bars of Beethoven

Sonata in C, Op.2/3).

Remember – you do not have to give all four instruments something to do all the time. In

real quartet writing the group often break into trios, duos and even solos.

Who has the melody? Any of the instruments that you choose. Remember, having the

tune is not just confined to the first violin.

Are you a keyboard player or percussionist? If you are, then you’ll know that as soon as

you play a note, it begins to decay. But strings are sustaining instruments – they can

prolong a note indefinitely (but don’t use this as an excuse for lazy part-writing!)

Keys. Whether or not you are thinking in terms of writing your piece in a key, string

instruments respond more happily to simple sharp keys (G, D etc) on account of their

open strings.

- The most straightforward major keys are: E flat, B flat, F, C, G, D, A & E

- The most straightforward minor keys are: C, G, D, A, E, B

- More awkward are A flat and B major and F and F# minor

- The most difficult major keys are: D flat, G flat, C flat, F# and C#

- The most difficult minor keys are: B flat, E flat, A flat, C#. G# and D#



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In C - Terry Riley

Californian composer Terry Riley, more or less, invented minimalism with this piece in 1963.

Look at his piece In C on page 16 and you will see it fills only one side of a piece of paper and

doesn’t look like it would last more than a minute, but it can last as long as an hour and is packed

with rhythmic energy. The way it works is very simple:

- It is written on one side of a piece of paper and consists of 53 separate musical

fragments.

- Each player can play one of these for as long as s/he wishes before moving on to the

next.

- All fragments are in C major (or at least on white notes) except for some about two

thirds of the way through which use F#s or B flats.

- There is no way to predict when a player will move on to the next fragment or howquickly, so the performers have to listen and respond to one another in a

improvisatory manner which recalls jazz.



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Composing using a sequence of chords:

Fratres – Arvo Pärt

Estonian-born Arvo Pärt is one of today’s most popular classical composers, renowned for

the hypnotic tranquillity of his music. Fratres (meaning Fraternity) has a mysteriousritualistic feeling about it.

- It is based on a sequence of

chords, repeated seven times.

- A sense of continuity is achieved

through a very simple way of

varying the chords.

- The first time the chords are

heard, they are played in a very

high ethereal register of the

string quartet and then, with

each repeat, they sink into a

lower register until their final

dark mysterious repeat.

- The sequence is, more or less,

made up of four-part chords and

the interest is maintained by

revoicing them each time they are heard (for instance, transferring the cello, viola or 2nd

violin voice to the top line and so forth).



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Composing using an ostinato:

Shostakovich String Quartet No 8 (second movement)

Russian-born Dmitri Shostakovich wrote thischilling and dramatic piece in just three days,

dedicating it to, “the victims of fascism and

war”. An ostinato is a rhythmical pattern or

phrase that is obsessively repeated.

- Shostakovich using four or five very simple

repeated rhythmical patterns (or

ostinatos) to build up an exciting, driving

texture, full of drama and excitement.

- Ostinato 1: a simple forward propelling

idea in violin 1

- Ostinato 2: heavy repeated chords in the

other strings

- Ostinato 3: the DSCH (D-E flat-C-B) idea

(these were Shostakovich’s own initials.

- Until we get to the big tune (about a

minute into this) all the music comes

from these three ostinatos.



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Texture:

Bartók String Quartet No.5 (second movement)

Eighty years ago, the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók reinvented the sound of the string

quartet as we know it. In some of the slow music from these quartets he evokes throughunusual textures and sounds the strange sounds of night.

- This music that is about creating

an atmosphere – about making

time stand still – so it is not

important to move it forward in

the conventional kind of way.

- The second violin plays a tremolo

on its lowest note throughout

- The first violin has quick, nervous

upward and downward scales

(each of these moves through

the notes between the interval of

a tritone (or augmented 4th

)

- The viola has several disjoined

pairs of pizzicato notes (a little

like one of those night insects

that we can all hear, but not see)

- The cello has fragments of

melody, pulling the music

together and giving it direction.



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Rhythm:

Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet (First section)

This is music that is driven forward almost by rhythm alone in a very systematic, almost

mathematical kind of way – but the result is raw and earthy in the mood it creates.

- There is no changing harmony at all: the cello keeps on repeating the same three

notes (E flat, D flat, C), the viola has just one note (D), the second violin always

has a descending C# scale (starting on F#) and the first violin has a melody in G –

its like having three different keys going simultaneously.

- Each of the four instruments has an idea of its own which is just repeated but,

because they are all different lengths, they never come together at the same

time.

- The violin melody is 23 beats long

- The viola and cello accompaniment is 7 beats long

- The second violin has a very odd and complicated sequence.

- You’d have to repeat the sequence many dozens of times before we arrive back

at the original starting point.



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The Presentation of Scores and Performing Parts

In General

Much valuable rehearsal time can be lost discussing practical notational problems in the

score, rather than the music itself. So much time is wasted working out whether thispassage should be played staccato or legato, or deciding whether it should be mf or pp

when the musicians should be concentrating on interpreting the work in front of them. This

is not only a waste of time (and money!), but both musicians and composer often find this

process frustrating and annoying!

Score

A score is just a way of communicating your creative ideas as clearly as possible to the

musicians. There are lots of different ways to do this. Some scores are just a list of

instructions to the musicians. Handwritten scores or computer-generated scores are both

fine. If you want to experiment with unconventional notation or graphic scores, that's finetoo.

If you decide to use Sibelius software, please don't be restricted by your knowledge of the

software - if there's a sound or an idea that you want that you can't get the computer to

notate, print it out and write in any extra symbols by hand. This can also be useful if you

want to include a free or improvised section in the piece.

1. The most important thing here is that the score is clear and legible. If you are not

using Sibelius or a computer program the score should be presented in black ink (not

pencil) and should include both bar numbers and rehearsal letters. Remember, aneatly written hand copy is often as good as something printed off the computer.

2. The ideal format is A4 portrait, not landscape or any strange configuration of paper

3. Scores and parts should be presented in loose leaf format (not bound please, as we

often have to make copies).

4. Tempo markings are essential. ‘Adagio’ or ‘Allegro’ are ok, but also use metronome

markings as well if you feel confident of doing this. Remember a score that sounds fine

on Sibelius playback will often go slower in live performance.

Parts, instrumental or vocal

1. Exactly the same principles apply. If you are not using Sibelius or a computer program

parts should be clearly written in black ink. Bar numbers and Rehearsal figures are

absolutely essential.

2. Remember that performers have to turn pages. Page turns should be carefully

arranged with at least one bar's rest on either side of the page turn otherwise players

will have to stop playing (and perhaps lose their place) whilst they turn the page.

Composers who are using computer programs such as Sibelius or Finale will still have



to arrange this carefully when they extract parts from a file. The computer does not do

this automatically! You will have to arrange these turns by using format applications in

the program.

Phrasing. slurs and dynamics

1. Please be clear about how you intend the music to be performed. Phrasing, slurring

and dynamics are an integral part of any score and as important as the notes

themselves.

2. Be clear about how the music should be slurred. In fact, this is more important than

giving vague phrase marks to performers. Composers do not need to give specific

instructions about up-bows or down-bows, but they must be clear about how

individual notes or phrases should be slurred.

3. It is pointless protesting to musicians that particular passages are too loud or soft if

dynamic markings are absent. Be very clear about dynamic markings in the score and

parts.

4. It is vital to check each instrumental part with the score, even if the parts have been

extracted from Sibelius. This is especially true with transposing instruments.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 10 February 2012

Students interested in submitting a composition may register for a one to one tutorial with

our Resident Composer in the New Year. Registration forms will be available from all Heads

of Music across the three counties or via Cathy Morris, Administrator.

The deadline for registrations for a one-to-one tutorial is Friday 9 December 2011

Writing for String Quartet

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