For our first task on Sibelius we were tasked with creating a chord progression with a bass line. Initially we had to just write for piano, but if we finished that we had to add other instruments such as violins and Cellos. I successfully finished the first 4 bars of the chord progression. I wrote in the key of C, and used the chord progression ‘vi, IV, I, V’. The bass notes in the composition for both the piano’s bass clef and cello were simply just the root notes of the chord being played. Unfortunately I did not get to add the other instruments, as I didn’t I was very slow at first with understanding the software.
SIBELIUS COMPOSIITON WEEK 1– A section of string quartet
In the first week of my composition I managed to chose a key to write in as well as a chord progression. The key I wrote in was Eb major, with the flat notes (B, E and A). The chord progression I used was ‘iv, I, vi, V’. I also managed to add the instrumental parts for each of the other instruments to the composition, which included the 2 violins, cello and viola I added. I got the viola and the cello to play the piano chords root note. I got the 2 violins to play the third and fifth of the piano’s chords. As well as that I also got to add the parts when the instruments come in. At the end of the composition I made all instruments apart from the piano fade, I will change this as I think that should take place at the end of the composition. Instead I will keep the thick texture when all the instruments are playing, and then go into the B section.
The A section starts with violin2 and then after 4 bars the cello joins in, and then them 2 play together for another 4 bars. The piano then joins in after and them 3 play together for 8 bars. The viola then plays with the 3 other instruments for 4 bars. And then the 1st violin joins in making this the thickest part in texture so far.
Next week I will also add rhythm to the composition by adding different note types to the composition such as quavers and crotchets. This will make the composition overall more interesting and will add rhythm. For a melody I would like to use a harp to create a beautiful melody, I would like it to be moderately high in pitch with a slow tempo to create a majestic atmosphere. Next week I will also input the chord progression for the B section, of which I will think of on my keyboard at home. I want the texture of the B section to be thicker with more instruments and be louder in dynamics. To do this I will have most or all of the instruments playing at the same time.
SIBELIUS COMPOSITION- WEEK 2
For week 2 of my I started by adding my B section chord progression into Sibelius, I also used voice leading on the chords to make the composition flow better. After I did this I decided it was time to add rhythm to the piece, I did this by using the notes with in the chord and playing them in an arpeggio style. I made it so each chord in the A section has the same repetitive rhythm until we meet the B section, where the rhythm is more intense. I made the B section more intense and darker by having faster notes using more semi-quavers. I made it seem darker by using minor chords within the Eb major scale. I am happy with the chords and rhythm for the B section however the A section is far more repetitive than I would like it to be. To change this I could go at it two ways, I could repeat the A section twice or I could make instruments drop in and out a bit more. I think I am going to make instruments make instruments drop in and out, because I have repeated the B section twice in the composition already, and repeating the A section would make the piece longer than it has to be. I also want to change the A section rhythm because it more intense than I would like to to be, as my creative intention is to make the beginning is to create an atmosphere to think in, using similar techniques to Olafur Arnolds. Such as rubato and an ascending or descending repetitive pattern in pitch.
So next week I will use slower notes such as crochets or quavers for the A section to create a peaceful A section. If I have enough time I would also like to add dynamics to at least one section of the composition to create different tones in the piece, I already have an idea for dynamics. I want the B section to be played at a forte dynamic level to create an intense mood, but if that doesn’t work I’ll play it at a medium dynamic level. I would also like to finish my composition with a peaceful outro that fades at the end of the composition.
SIBELIUS COMPOSITION- WEEK 3
I am very near ending my composition project, I have few steps to do until my work is final. This week I decided to add a rhythmic pattern for the bass clef of the piano A section and B section, both bass clef patterns are just made up of quavers. I did this because the composition is busy enough as it is. For the A section I decided to play the root of the chord, the fifth of the chord and then I played the chords 3rd an octave higher and then finally returned to the fifth. This pattern repeats for the Entire A section, but it switches at the B section. For the B section bass rhythmic pattern I decided to play the root of the chord, then the fifth and then the root an octave higher, then I went back to the fifth. During the session I also added a melody on the violin, the melody is very gentle to reflect the piece of the moving image. I also added organisation management tools, such as the text for the A and B section so that it is clear when both end and start. Finally in the session I got to add rhythm to the violin, the violin 2 parts are now just made up of minim’s that change note after each 4 quavers in each bar. The note it changes to relies on what the middle and top note of the chord playing is.
My total time of the piece is not a total of four minuets, so my plan to fix this is to add an intro to the composition and outro, this should total my composition to 4 mins. For the outro I might just have the piano playing whole chords with the violin melody, then I might have the piano fade away with diminuendo and end with the last notes of the melody. It is very important I add articulation and dynamics before the deadline, to do this I will add dynamic markings over the places I see fit. I will also add slurs, specifically on the melody, violin and maybe piano. The piano notes in the treble clef are so busy that I might have to cut piano out of some sections in the piece, then make it come in after the cut, I will make sure each cut fits by making the piano decrease in dynamics before fading.
SIBELIUS WEEK 4
This week I added an intro and outro to my composition which brought the running time to a good time length which I am happy with. For the intro I just played whole chords on the piano with the root playing in the bass note and then I added the strings in. For the outro I ended with the melody and the piano in a fade of dynamics which brought the piece to an end. I then added dynamics where i thought was fit, I decided to make the composition to play at a quite tempo at the start and for it to progressively get louder. The A section is loudest when all the instruments play, but I added a diminuendo before the B section for transition to be contrasting but still fit. I then did the same dynamics style with the B section where it was louder in the middle and gets quitter at the end. After this I changed the rhythm of the strings by adding ties on the viola which closely resembles the tempo score which was my main goal. I then added slurs on the piano for articulation which had 2 slurs in each half of the bar to give it a flowing legato play style. At this point I was running out of time so I added articulation to the cello by making it mainly play with Archo, which made it sounds more fluent. But I made it play pizzicato when the piano dropped out in the A section, I did this to avoid repetitiveness, make it sound nice, experiment and seem more professional. Luckily it worked. I then exported it to logic and saved the scores individual parts to this page.
I then synced it to the video to find out it finished in perfect time with it which was very lucky. I changed the instruments on logic to what they were on Sibelius to make it sounds nicer and more like an actual ensemble. I then exported it as a file and tried to upload it to YouTube. Unfortunately YouTube crashed which prevented me from uploading so I will do this next time. To improve my composition I would add more articulations to instruments to make it more professional and I would also fix an issue I have with the dynamics were it soars from piano to forte in 2 seconds, which is very intimidating to listen to as it increases in dynamics so rapidly. I would also add articulation to the viola and melodic violin to make them flow more, because there are some audible gaps in the track which sound bad.
If I was given more time on this project I would think more about dynamics and why I want them there, to build tension or create calm sound. I would also add more articulation to the instruments, the main one being slurs on the melody to make it smoother. I would also use the sustain pedal on the piano at parts to make it flow smoother. The one thing I would change is a bad spike in dynamics that is shocking to listen to, this is because the crescendo I used is to short so it increases in dynamics very fast.