e up with music in my head I go to the piano to try and re-create it. I feel like it’s a creative and positive experience of constructing something. But I have never thought of taking an approach of removing the antithesis of my musical idea. It’s like saying “all the world is music, and within it is my idea. If I just peel away what doesn’t look like my idea, then the art will reveal itself!
This approach to composing is a philosophical shift for me, one that I will consider the next morning I wake up and hear music.
Posted in Composition | Tagged: creativity, Musical Composition | 2 Comments »
Posted by Pamela Szalay on November 8, 2012
Last week, I featured a simple activity in polytonality for a beginning pianist (A spooky surprise from a simple transposition). However, the basic premise is one that can serve advanced musicians: playing with musical ideas and being open to new sounds can lead to musical innovation.
For six-year-old Alison, the discovery was that she could make a song sound very different by playing in two keys at the same time. More advanced students may not consider this news, but they may not consider it desirable either. The sound resulting from experiments with polytonality can be perceived as harsh, dissonant and simply wrong. However, those who are willing to persist and experiment might find that playing with polytonality can not only change how you listen to music, but how you arrange, improvise and compose.
As a musician or composer seeking new ways of expressing yourself, one thing that can hold you back is a concept called “premature closure”. Although you may often toy around with musical ideas, you may be quick to judge and discard them, too. In actuality, you could be missing opportunities to develop your sound by rejecting ideas before fully exploring them.
My proposal is that you entertain the “wrong” note a little longer, avoiding premature closure. If you are willing to explore a little further, perhaps mingling in a few other related (or unrelated) ideas, you might push your way towards something not only different, but refreshing.
Fans of Dave Brubeck, a legendary pianist and composer who brought polytonality to jazz, would argue that his polytonal technique made music dreamy rather than dissonant. Apparently, he became quite accustomed to playing with his hands in keys a minor 3rd apart. Go ahead and listen to this excerpt of a live radio broadcast where Brubeck naturally moves from one to two keys: Polytonal Blues
To me, Brubeck’s technique is an anecdote for musical boredom and well-worn habits. While there is, of course, more to the art of using polytonality that just moving your right hand, it is important to recognize that our attitude about what is “right” can determine how far we will travel down an unfamiliar musical pathway. If we can tolerate some “wrong” notes, and entertain some strange sounds in our ears for a while so that we might understand them better, then I believe we are taking solid steps towards maximizing our creative potential.
Posted in Advanced, Composition, Jazz | Tagged: Brubeck, creativity, Jazz, music education, Musical Composition, Polytonality | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Pamela Szalay on October 30, 2012
I love the way kids are naturally creative. Alison, a new student of mine who is just 6 years old, had taken about three lessons when she stumbled upon a spooky way of playing the song “Hot Cross Buns”, simply by following her own curiosity.
Alison was willing to share her budding skills as a composer and pianist on the video below. The result is a model for a very short but fun activity to do with young beginners which will help them explore music and composition.
The story behind the “Spooky Transposition”
Alison initially learned the song “Hot Cross Buns” on the three black keys and did very well. I decided to show her how the song could be transposed to C-D-E, and she made the change easily. At the end that lesson, I suggested that she continue playing the song at home with just one hand at a time. I also mentioned she could try it hands toge