Monday, 9 October 2006

Lesson-51: Harmony - The Basic Composing Tool - Part-2

So, to recapitulate once again, each of the vertically integrated notes in a harmonised music (e.g. four part or three part harmony) form the Chords….!



So please visualize the composing a song as a composing of chords structured one after another…!

What you are composing is not a single line song, but you are composing the whole orchestrations simultaneously…!

Though conceptually it looks simple, to compose in that fashion, you need a tremendous knowledge and control of complete concept of WCM.

Usually, in our film composing, what the composer forms the melody with his harmonium etc is (the first level composing to get approval from Director/Producer) the single line composing.

But while writing for orchestration, it will be the harmony writing of balance parts (three or four or multiple parts of harmony as required)!

IR writes such hundreds of notes forming chords and harmony in a flat half an hour approximately….!

Absolutely unbelievable speed……!

Each individual instrumentalists copy their parts separately while he goes on composing…..and so when composing is over, the full song is ready for rehearsal….!

You may feel that the simulatensous composing of multilines is complicated, but if you understand the basic principles and rules of chords and part writing based on Harmony, atleast the framework is very clear and starightforward…!

So what I am trying to make you visualise is a Top-Down approach of a song composing….!

To compose you shall follow Harmony Part writing…!

Part writing consists of forming Chords in succession !

Single Chord formation consist of writing notes vertically in the inter-related way.

That inter relation (in vertical direction) is all about the individual notes and the Chemistry / Physics/ Mathematics…of their INTERVALS….!

So, the fundamental learning block is “Interval”…and their quality…!

Now you can appreciate, why we were so much elaborating and stressing about the Intervals, while learning Major and Minor scales, in our earlier lessons …!

So, we will reinforce our knowledge of intervals, then learn the concept of chords and then the very minimum basics of Harmony writing…! In that order….!

I want to create some interest in you regarding Harmony subject, by requesting you to visualize the subject as a strategic key to unravel the mystery of composing a song in WCM way……which is the IR’s way…!

Listing and explaining of various rules of harmony is beyond the scope of my present effort…!

(A simple way to say that is “beyond my knowledge and capabilities”….! )

Becasue, The subject is so vast and amazing…to make anybody puzzled….

But our aim is, as usual, to understand the basics, concepts…in the mathematical way ….. and in a simple way….!

That will help you to appreciate the IR’s effort in a better manner…!

And who knows…one day some of you will get into the subject so deep to become a composer in future……!

To carry on the torch of IR…into another generation….!

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