Tag: hymns

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Hymn Arrangement Study Party, Part 2: Workshop Replay (10/05/21)

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 for harmonizing melodies — “Which chords tend to harmonize which scale degrees?”
  • Part 2 — Richer Harmonization
    • 25:30: How counterpoint gives a richer understanding of harmony than “chord progressions”
      • 25:30: . . . from a theoretical point of view
      • 29:45: . . . from a music history point of view
    • 36:26: Contrapuntal gestures in Sally DeFord’s original version (PDF) of “If I Listen With My Heart”
    • 47:45: Contrapuntal gestures in Ryan Murphy’s arrangement (PDF)
  • 🎉 56:50: A special invitation to get feedback on your own arrangements and compositions (see below)
  • Part 3 — Q+A
    • 58:15: How conscious are composers/arrangers of contrapuntal gestures?
    • 1:05:15: What are parallel fifths?
    • 1:07:40: What resources exist for learning contrapuntal gestures?
    • 1:10:29: What is a half cadence?
    • 1:17:10: D-sharp vs. E-flat in bar 15 of DeFord’s original vs. the corresponding instances in Murphy’s arrangement

Make Your Arrangements Magical

Musical magic isn’t just for Sally DeFord or Ryan Murphy. You can make it, too!

Schedule a free, 60-minute “Sorting Hat” call today. We’ll discuss your music, identify ways to make it more vivid and moving, and explore what the Wizarding School for Composers can empower you to achieve.

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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 —
  • 11:20: How DeFord makes her melody easy to remember using Rhythmic Motives
  • 20:00: Introduction to “Melodic Voices”
  • 37:30: How DeFord gives her melody a strong sense of direction using “Step Progressions” and “Guide Tones”
  • 54:10: Q+A
    • 54:10 How to incorporate a cappella sections into arrangements
    • 1:03:50 How much of the melody to include in an accompaniment
    • 1:10:15 When to feature which vocal parts in the arrangement
    • 1:17:45 A resource to reinforce these concepts: The free “Write Memorable Melodies—Today” PDF . . . download below!

P.S. — By popular demand . . .

By popular demand, the discussion in yesterday’s workshop will be continued in a “Part 2” workshop on October 5, 2021, at 1 PM Mountain/3 PM Eastern. Click here to join that “Part 2” workshop and get the zoom link.

 

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Pachebel, of Pachebel’s Canon fame

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 Pachelbel’s Canon and its friends reveal the centuries-old secret.

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