66 !!Chapter 5
Historical Compositional Forms
Music comprises melody, harmony, rhythm, variation, arrangement, and
orchestration.The crucial factor in a well-crafted composition is form.Unsys-
tematic writing does not create unity or identity.Repetition and variation are
the most used compositional techniques to create form and symmetry.This is not
to intimate that traditional form must be adhered to in modern popular
composition. The value of receiving a traditional musical education is that
it provides composers with a background, which has a practical purpose
when writing commercials and film music.
A comprehensive musical education exposes composers to most forms
of traditional music. It also provides an opportunity to learn the harmonic
and melodic rules of most historical periods. Just as pianists have to prac-
tice to become proficient instrumentalists, composers must compose to
develop compositional and arranging skills. Approaching an assignment
becomes easier when a variety of musical skills have been developed.
Composition cannot be taught. Whatcanbe learned are compositional
‘‘tools’’ that, used properly, help develop a composer’s basic talent. When
master carpenters make furniture, they use a variety of tools. Through
years of apprenticeship, they learn how to master the use of a drill, a saw, a
hammer, and so on. The same principle applies to well-trained composers;
knowledge of harmony, rhythm, melody, and arranging helps to generate
and craft a variety of compositional ideas.
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Musicians’ Brains Wired Differently
By Seth Hettena, Associated Press Writer (2001)SAN DIEGO (AP)—The brain waves of professional musicians
respond to music in a way that suggests they have an intuitive sense
of the notes that amateurs lack, researchers said Wednesday. Neu-
roscientists, using brain-scanning MRI machines to peer inside the
minds of professional German violinists, found they could hear the
music simply by thinking about it, a skill amateurs in the study were
unable to match.
The research offers insight into the inner workings of the brain
and shows that musicians’ brains are uniquely wired for sound,
researchers said at the annual meeting of the Society for Neurosci-
ence.
Neuroscientists often study how we hear and play music
because it is one of the few activities that use many functions of the
brain, including memory, learning, motor control, emotion, hearing
and creativity, said Dr. Robert Zatorre of the Montreal Neurological