These next three tracks were from my Berklee Online Winter Semester, Week 6 in Compositional Voice Development in Film Scoring.

Timpani Melody was an exercise to “…compose a musical idea that incorporates more than one meter… consider how the meter change interacts with other aspects of the music. Where in the phrase does the meter change occur? Is the meter change paired with a change in harmony or counterpoint?” I assigned 7|8 (3+2+2) to the tonic chord, and whenever the chord changes, I changed the meter also.

Increasing Intensity was an exercise to “…compose a musical idea that employs syncopation.” I set up the accents in the percussion and strings to really make it clear that the ostinato is in 4|4. For the chords, I incorporated a “rhythmic acceleration” because in addition to most of the attacks being on unexpected beats, the note values get shorter and shorter and the attacks move earlier and earlier in the measures in each phrase.

Percussion Groove was the end-of-the-week assignment to “…write a one-minute piece using a meter or rhythmic idea you’ve never used before.” I explored an idea that I’ve wanted to try for a while: fitting a measure of 5|8 and a measure of 7|8 together in a measure of 12|8. My A section alternates between 5|8 and 7|8 and explores the different subdivisions of each. The first phrase alternates between 7|8 and 5|8 and the second phrase alternates between 5|8 and 7|8. I arranged them so that in the first phrase there is an underlying 3 2 2 pattern that repeats four times followed by a 3 2 pattern that repeats four times, and in the second phrase there is an underlying 2 3 pattern that repeats four times, followed by a 2 2 3 pattern that repeats twice. For the B section, I switch to a more straightforward 12|8, but I emphasize all of the different even groupings that can fit into 12|8: groups of six 8th notes, groups of four 8th notes, groups of three 8th notes and groups of two 8th notes. After four measures, the A section material returns and is layered on top of the continuing B section material, so all of the different ways of dividing 12 8th notes are played simultaneously.