Music 211-2 Project II: Composition with Chromatic Harmony

Draft Due for Meeting: schedule with instructor for Wednesday Feb. 28
Project Due: Monday, March 12 (even if you are absent)
Performances: Wednesday, March 14

For this project you are to compose a 1-2 minute duet for your own instruments. You will turn in a draft of your piece first in order to
ensure you are on the right path; later you will turn in the finished projects, and finally perform the piece in class.

1. Choose a partner.
2. Design the basic structural elements for your piece consisting of the following elements:
--the specific instruments you will use (e.g. bass clarinet and soprano voice)
--the meter and tempo
--the cadential structure (i.e. how many phrases and what kinds of cadences)
--the Roman numerals of the chord progressions for each phrase
--the 2 main motives employed

For the draft, please note the following:

--the main key can be anything except C major, C minor, or A minor
--there must be two modulations (neither of them direct, and you must begin and end with the same tonic)
--there must be at least one secondary harmony, at least one +6, o3, or N6, and at least one CT chord or altered dominant
--in class we will discuss ways to plan your cadential and harmonic structure
--even though it is a draft, it should nonetheless be neat and professional

3. Bring your completed draft to your meeting with the instructor on February 28
--instructors may schedule meetings on additional days at their discretion

4. Compose the piece with the following elements:

--the phrase/cadence structure specified/corrected from your draft
--the harmonic structure specified/corrected from your draft
--the 2 main motives developed throughout
--appropriate score information as relevant to your piece
(for all instruments: title, composer, date of composition, instrumentation, tempo, expression, dynamics, articulation)
(for piano/vibraphone/harp: pedaling)
(for voice: text, vowel, or IPA)
(for various instruments: bowing, tonguing, sticking, or other technical information if needed to clarify)

For the final draft, please note the following:

--for transposing instruments, it is highly recommended you compose in C; once you have finished and turned in your piece,
you can produce a transposed part for performance
--you must have at least 3 copies (or parts) of the final project: 1 to turn in, 1 to play from, and 1 for your partner to play from
--in class we will discuss motivic development, implied harmony, and other relevant compositional concerns

5. Turn in your draft as well as an analyzed copy of your score on March 12

--the score you turn in should have cadential and Roman numeral labels in green or blue (NOT red)
--scores may be neatly handwritten, printed with a notation program, or employ a combination of the two if your notation
program has limited capability; strange notational elements due to notation program limitations are not acceptable; if you are
unsure about something, ask your instructor

Evaluation:
Your piece will ultimately be graded with regard to fulfilling the project guidelines, creativity, general stylistic appropriateness,
harmonic logic, and neatness. The draft will be worth 10 of the total 50 points.

See reverse for some compositional tips 

Compositional Tips:

--keep in mind the principles discussed throughout the year such as melodic forms, general harmonic organization (sequence,
prolongation, progression, extension, the PDT model, etc.), and chord substitutions (e.g. chords with FA in the bass have a
large number of harmonic permutations; though IV might be your initial idea, there are many chords with similar function)

--keep your motives relatively short and simple (3-5 notes), and give them memorable rhythms

--note that the ways to develop a motive are literally infinite, but they should remain audible

--note that most melodies have pitches repeated; every single rhythmic value doesn't have to have a new pitch

--as you write, you may want to label motives to help keep track of the structure and provide coherence through recycling of material

--TALK TO YOUR INSTRUCTOR IF YOU NEED HELP