12 Tone Composition Competition.

[Kevin]

After a popular thread elsewhere I would like to invite the members to take part in a composition using this medium.

I think that if I were to put boundaries on the work it would stifle it so therefore anything goes.

So that time is not a problem I will keep this open until the end of the year, so, no rush!!

Enjoy and send your music to me by e-mail and I will publish all of them at the end.

[michaelm]

I've been very busy working on several pieces and cleaning up old stuff, but I'll give it a go; I'll have to do some reading and listening on the topic; new to me and not exactly clear.

[Kevin]

It is a foreign language to me so I am hoping for guidance on the other thread!!

[Ed Sharpe]

Well something from off the back brunner. The intro and coda is not Dodecaphonic, but the three middle sections are.

Solus Vir
www.scoreexchange.com/scores/113752.html

[Kevin]

Very, very interesting stuff Ed. (As I am sure others think as well) Can I hear some electronic effects being used as well? Tell us more!

[Ed Sharpe]

Solus vir is based on the row:

B Bb D Eb G F# G# E F C C# A

At bar 24 (middle of page 3) you can see the row used in its “prime form” in the four string parts. Each part plays the row in it own repeating rhythmic pattern, thus the cello takes two bars to play the row, the viola just one and a half bars, the second violin three bars and the first violin 12 bars.

The trumpet part makes use of a technique called “tri-chords”: The row is grouped into four groups of three notes: [ B Bb D] [Eb G F#] [G# E F] [C C# A]. These groupings are treated as a “chord”. Exempli gratia the first tri-chord is [ B Bb D] . With tri-chords one can use any of the notes in the chord in any order as many or as few times as one wishes before moving on to the next chord. Thus in bar 24 the trumpet first play the three notes of the first tri-chord. In the second half of the bar the trumpet only plays two of the three notes of the second tri-chord ( G F#). in the next bar the trumpet moves on to the third and fourth tri-chords.

At letter {B} (bar 36) when again have the strings each playing the row in individual rhythmic patterns. But this time they are not playing just the prime form. The row is played in various forms and transpositions: Such as inverted, retrograde and retrograde inverted and transposed versions of the prime and inverted, retrograde and retrograde inverted row.

As for the recording this a quite a bit of processing going on. Each of the strings are run through a surround sound plug-in that moves their panning from right to left and back again every X seconds. Each is set at a different rate so that they move around in the stereo field at their own rate. The strings as a whole then are sent through a flanger plug-in thus altering their sound.

The trumpet I would have to go back a look at to see what all I did to it. But off the top of my head I ran it through two or three reverbs and then through a plug-in that expanded it across the stereo field. I also did a “send” of the trumpet signal to a separate channel with a delay on it.

[Kevin]

Thank you for the in-depth run through of the piece Ed. I for one, am going to look through it in depth once I get some time from everything else. I am sure that goes for other members her as well.

[Ed Sharpe]

Well do not spend too much time on Solus Vir, it is not a good example of what all dodecaphonic can be. just an example of some of the things you can do.

[Deleted]

I wonder if the results of this competition would be more interesting if all of the compositions had to be based on the same tone row. This way we could see the numerous approaches available to dodecaphonic music.

[Ed Sharpe]

Aug 1, 2011 22:47:28 GMT @hdavidm said:

I wonder if the results of this competition would be more interesting if all of the compositions had to be based on the same tone row. ...

i had the same thought. An excellent idea.

[Kevin]

Sounds like a very good idea. To make it even more interesting I will post one!

[Kevin]

Here is your row:-

f,f#,g#,c,c#,g,a,d,e-,e,b-,b

(I hope that is correct!)

[Deleted]

I wish everyone well with this composition competition but for me, this is not a method that I am at all familiar with and also, currently, I am busy with other pursuits. However, I will keep on eye on all of this from the sidelines and follow what transpires.

[juan]

Good idea (making the starting row mandatory and common). I had considered having a go at the 12 tones competion but coming up with my own row was hampering me. To have the row predefined makes it easy to start. I'm still not sure I will join - at least in an immediate future - but now, if at some point I feel motivated enough, I know it will be easier for me to start something and just focus on row manipulations. Even if at the end I don't participate myself, I'll keep watching this space.

[juan]

Oh, and by the way, Mr Riley: how did you come up with your row? A) Purely random, or B) there is some sort of musical reasoning, i.e. you think it lends itself to some melody, or there is an underlying harmonic structure, or some kind of symmetry, or whatever the musical logic might be, or C) just intuitive (not totally random, nor totally calculated but something in between).

Just answering A, B or C will do, no need to elaborate as not to give away clues as to hidden possibilities of your row that participants should want to discover by themselves.

[Kevin]

Purely random I am afraid to say! There was no higher power involved in this, just plucked notes out of the air. Why do you ask Juan, is there something else there?

[juan]

Nothing at all, Mr Riley. Just curiosity.

Because when I started to read more deeply on the subject, I learned that some composers have used rows whose pitch classes have been selected according to some logical, musical system that would make the music come out with a tighter unity and a stronger harmonic logic, while still being atonal and seemingly random to a layman.

I found myself trying to "invent" a row that way, i.e. not randomly, but systematically and strategically, so to speak, so that the composition would have a more compact organization. (As an aside, I did not think seriously to participate at that point, and still I'm not very sure I will, it is just that my musical mind can't help starting spinning when it sees a challenge, at least as a thought that is running on the backgroung).

But that is neither here nor there, the point is I found I was not happy with the totally random approach and I started to imagine systematic, well planned rows. Of course, I guess you can also take a random row, and I'm sure that a search would show compositions to exemplify that approach.

To sum up, since I gave some thought about the seemingly innocent process by which a row is picked up, I was curious to know how you selected your pitches.

I consider myself fully answered, and I thank you for that.

[Ed Sharpe]

Aug 3, 2011 7:43:45 GMT Kevin said:

Here is your row:-

f,f#,g#,c,c#,g,a,d,e-,e,b-,b

(I hope that is correct!)

Quick analysis; the row contains six different intervals five of which are a half step up.

Intervals
5 half steps up
1 whole step up
2 tritones
1 whole step down
1 major third up
1 perfect fourth up

Attached is a pdf of a matrix showing the 48 permutations of the row.

Attachments:

[Kevin]

Thanks for that Ed. Now for the un-initiated what do we do next? In fact the question does not just apply to Ed but to anyone with experience of working with the medium.

[Ed Sharpe]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-tone_technique

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pieces_that_use_serialism_and_twelve-tone

musike.cmpr.edu/v001/roman-eng.pdf

www.academic.muohio.edu/mus189/expressionism/


www.carolingianrealm.info/Music.php?MusicID=29

www2.nau.edu/~krr2/12tone/12tone1.html

library.thinkquest.org/27110/periods/twelvetone2f.html


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serialism


My music

Use of the "tri-chord" concept, not the tone-row.

www.scoreexchange.com/scores/89516.html

www.scoreexchange.com/scores/32585.html

www.scoreexchange.com/scores/80456.html

www.scoreexchange.com/scores/30104.html

www.youtube.com/user/ewsharpe?feature=mhee#p/u/3/1169A2YeIiI


Use of Tone-rows

www.scoreexchange.com/scores/20562.html [Intro and coda only]


Both Tri-chords and Tone-rows
www.scoreexchange.com/scores/113752.html

[Ed Sharpe]

if you have specific questions I will try to answer.

[juan]

Let me try and adventure a possible matter most newbies would find difficult to deal with. Assuming you have become a makeshift teacher of sorts (you can, of course, disagree, and by makeshift I don't mean you lack of experience or qualifications and it is not intended as a demeaning word, it is just I don't find the right word right now - unofficial teacher is perhaps more what I mean).

As usual, I disgress. I would think the basic concept i.e. row, permutation matrix and basic row manipulations (inversion, retrogradation...) are fairly easy to grasp.

The next logical step would be how to derive the harmony from the row, with some short, concise examples. I'm sure most newbies would find tips on that matter very useful.

[Ed Sharpe]

Define “Harmony”.

In all honesty I am not sure I understand the question. Are you asking how to make “normal” triads [Major, Minor, Aug, Dim] ? Within the framework of a dodecaphonic tone-row? Normally one does not. “Harmony” is just the vertical structure that occurs in time as two or more voices move through time horizontally. A bit strange, that last sentence was. Simply, at least for me when I am working with dodecaphonic techniques, the emphasis is on the horizontal lines of each voice (instrument); any resulting vertical structures are simply a by-product of the horizontal lines.

Note: the notes in the row can be stack on top of each other. Using the tone row supplied by Kevin [F, F#, Ab, C, C#, G, A, D, Eb, E, Bb, B] let us describe a short four part “harmonization” of the row. While I will refer to the four voices as Soprano (sp), Alto (al), Tenor (te), and Bass (bs) do not think of the as a human choir, this could as easily be for string quartet.


sp:  F#--C#-----Eb----------->

al:  Ab----->A------>Bb------>

te:  C------>D------>B------->

bs:  F------>G------>E------->


So all 12 notes are used from the prime form of the row.

But one could use the 12 notes from the prime form of the row in the bottom three voices while the top voice preformed the row inverted:

sp:  ------F--E--F--E---D---Bb---A--Eb ...

al:  --->C---->C#---D-Eb--Eb--Eb----->

te:  --->Ab------->A---Bb----B------->

bs:  F-->F#----->G---E--------------->


In the above example the Soprano is playing inversion of the row, note the first two note are repeated, this is allowed, short “motifs” may be repeated immediately before moving on in the row. The bottom three voices are “harmonizing” using the prime row. Note that the Alto repeats the Eb several times. Also note that unlike traditional four part harmony one note of the triad is NOT doubled.

One could have all four voice each playing its own “version of the row”.



sp:  F-->F#--->Ab-->C-->C#--->G-->A->D-->Eb->E->Bb-->B-------->

al:  F--->E->D-->Bb-->A--->Eb-->C#-------->Ab-G-F#--C--B------>

te:  B-Bb-B-Bb---E-Eb--E-Eb-->D------A--G--C#-C-C#-C-Ab-F#-F-->



In the above example I only have three voices playing, the Soprano is playing the prime form of the row, the Alto is playing the inversion of the row and the tenor is playing the retrograde of the row. Note how the Tenor repeats “two note cells” of the row several times.

[juan]

Sorry, Mr Sharpe. I don't know how to do quotes.

No, I did not mean "harmony" in the sense of conventional triads (major, minor, augmented, diminished...)

It use "harmony" in the broadest sense (not tonal harmony or functional harmony), just the vertical sonorities that would derive from the row if developed vertically as opposed to horizontally, not writing a melodic line using the row and attempting to "harmonize" it by ways of triads. That would be a rather odd thing to do.

I hope I'm not confusing you further, and thanks for your detailed answer. I see that you just answered just what I meant! Apologies if my use of certain terms don't agree with yours, and no hard feelings, I hope.

[juan]

Half remembered another "harmony" technique for dodecaphonic works, but I guess I'm still confusing my words.

It is called "collapsed row" (or something along that lines). As I understand it, one takes, say, the first group of three or four notes from the row but makes a "chord", then the next group, and so forth; only, they don't need to be used as "blocky chords" but the different notes can move with certain freedom, or they can be arpeggiated, or turned into textures, so another version of the row can play a "melody" on top, or just be an "abstract" vertical sonority without "melodic contours".

Sorry if I'm still giving you the impression that I'm denser than you already knew. Forewarning: in case you ask for precise definitions as to what I mean by "chord", "blocky chord", "melody", "vertical sonority", "rhytym" and so forth, I'm afraid I'm not game... Too much of strange Byzantine-ness in my life already.

[Ed Sharpe]

Aug 4, 2011 22:30:25 GMT juan said:

Half remembered another "harmony" technique for dodecaphonic works, but I guess I'm still confusing my words.

It is called "collapsed row" (or something along that lines). As I understand it, one takes, say, the first group of three or four notes from the row but makes a "chord", then the next group, and so forth; only, they don't need to be used as "blocky chords" but the different notes can move with certain freedom, or they can be arpeggiated, or turned into textures, so another version of the row can play a "melody" on top, or just be an "abstract" vertical sonority without "melodic contours".

What you are describing is what I call Tri-Chords (Tri = three). Where you group the notes into a set of four three note tri-chord (one could also make a set of three four note chords).

With the chord one can use any or all of the notes in the tri-chord was many times as they wish before moving to the next tri-chord. I listed several of my own works that use this technique in a previous post.

Ed

[steve]

Aug 1, 2011 19:10:06 GMT Ed Sharpe said:

As for the recording this a quite a bit of processing going on. Each of the strings are run through a surround sound plug-in that moves their panning from right to left and back again every X seconds. Each is set at a different rate so that they move around in the stereo field at their own rate. The strings as a whole then are sent through a flanger plug-in thus altering their sound.

The trumpet I would have to go back a look at to see what all I did to it. But off the top of my head I ran it through two or three reverbs and then through a plug-in that expanded it across the stereo field. I also did a “send” of the trumpet signal to a separate channel with a delay on it.

What is the name of this awesome surround sound plug-in?

[steve]

I am working on something along these lines where different versions of the row (or I might just juxtaposing different rows!) are stacked vertically to create the "harmony". When I get a enough of the piece together I'll post a sample, or else if inspiration should strike at an opportune moment, the whole piece.

[Ed Sharpe]

Aug 5, 2011 21:44:32 GMT steve said:

...
What is the name of this awesome surround sound plug-in?

Off the top of my head I think it is the Sonitus Surround Panner. (Comes with Sonar Producer).

[Kevin]

Well I hope I am going in the right direction here Ed. Let me know if it is way off the mark please!

Attachments: