Here are the highlights from the above replay: Part 1 — Simple Harmonization 0:00: Essentials of chords — Blocked, Broken/Arpeggiated, Inverted, Embellished Arpeggiations, and Embellished Blocks 6:55: How (nearly) all tonal melodies embellish the tonic chord, with “If I Listen With My Heart” as a specific example (audio on YouTube) 10:50: The “quick and dirty” method […]
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Hymn Arrangement Study Party, Part 1: Workshop Replay (9/28/21)
Here are the highlights from the above replay: 0:00: Welcome, Introductions, and Reviewing Ryan Murphy’s arrangement of “If I Listen With My Heart.” See — Sally DeFord’s Original Version PDF Ryan Murphy’s Arrangement PDF Tabernacle Choir recording (YouTube) 11:20: How DeFord makes her melody easy to remember using Rhythmic Motives 20:00: Introduction to “Melodic Voices” […]
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How to Make an Easter Hymn from Pachelbel’s Canon
“I don’t know how you could possibly write music!” It’s a refrain I hear often, even from talented musicians. And I can understand why they say that. Writing music might seem like organizing thousands of isolated pitches and rhythms. For example, my latest arrangement included 2320 notes, 1273 rhythms, and 281 rests. That’s daunting. But there is another way, and […]
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The Musical History of “O Savior, Thou Who Wearest”
This week a friend asked me to write an arrangement of “O Savior, Thou Who Wearest a Crown” for vocal duet with piano accompaniment. Dealing with Bach can be a little daunting, so I decided to look at the where the music came from for the LDS version of that hymn.
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Why are Alto and Tenor Parts so Boring?
Why do altos and tenors often get saddled with parts like this? Don’t composers know that singing the same two notes over and over again is boring? To understand what composers are possibly thinking, let’s dive into some music theory . . .
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