Music Composition DUMmIES

Ideas such as these can work well if your intention is to convey rhythmic and

tonal interdependence between the two voices. In these examples, the voices

are basically married by the rhythmic phrases they share. Even when they

move in opposite directions they still feel closely connected.

When writing parts like this, the tonal blend of the instruments you choose is

critical. If the instruments have too strong of an independent tonal quality,

their combination can spoil the marriage presented by the musical composi-

tion, unless they play in unison, in octaves, or in larger instrumental sections.

Independent Voices......................................................................................

Sometimes the feeling you want to convey in your music is one of two tonally

related, but rhythmically independent melodic ideas. In a case like that you

might be weaving two entirely different melodies together — or the same

melody at different times. You can use instruments with contrasting tonalities

or ones that blend well for this sort of thing.

One way to create this sense of independence is to have both voices play

variations of the same melody, but stagger the starting points. This creates

an interlaced, tapestry-like effect, as seen in Figure 16-4.

One of the challenges of this “staggered” type of approach is the danger of

becoming too hopeful that your entire melody will hold up to harmonic

scrutiny when it overlaps itself. You may find that there are some disso-

nances to be resolved by altering a few notes in one or the other melody

line from time to time.

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4

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4

4

1

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∑

2

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3

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Voice 1

Voice 2

Figure 16-4:

Same

melodic

lines,

different

starting

points.

200 Part IV: Orchestration and Arrangement