Introduction to the ABRSM Grade 8 Composition

Question:

 In the ABRSM Grade 8 Music Theory exam, the composition question is worth 20
points. You will be given a choice of two questions, which will both consist of a given
opening for you to continue.
You will be tested on your ability to create a composition with a good harmonic
foundation, an interesting and well-developed melody, effective modulations and correct
notation. The melody must be suitable for the chosen instrument.
In this section of the course you’ll learn:
• how to analyse and describe the most important ideas of the given opening of your
piece
• how to adapt those ideas to create a meaningful whole, with structure, sound harmony,
and well-shaped phrases
• how to make your piece sufficiently complicated – because a simple piece at grade 8 is
not going to get you top marks, even with a pretty tune.
When you have read through the course and are confident you know what is expected of
you, you should start by outlining the whole structure of your composition. You will be
able to answer the following questions, which will help you to create a solid plan for your
composition.
1. How long is your finished composition going to be? Choose either 12 or 16 bars. The
minimum is 12, and longer than 16 is allowed, but will take you more time to finish!
2. Secondly, what form will your composition have? E.g. ABA, or ABAB. (The letters “A”,
“B” and so on are used to identify sections of music which are the same, or very closely
based on the same idea. Having two contrasted sections is ideal for this length of
composition, but it is up to you which form you choose).
3. What length of phrases? (Four-bar phrases are recommended, since they create
balance.)
4. How many modulations? (2-3 main modulations are recommended. Your piece can
“pass through” several keys though).
 

Summary:

Analysis of the Given Opening

Every note or symbol that you write should have a justification – if I asked you “why did
you write that G# there?” for example, you should be able to say: because
• it’s connected to something else
• it’s a contrast to something else, or
• it’s structural
Connection
A connection has a strong, audible similarity to something which has already happened.
Contrast
A contrast creates variety – the contrast needs to be strong enough for a listener to
detect.
Structural
The note is required because of the harmony or phrase structure. E.g. for a good
cadence or modulation.
When you begin to compose, your first notes must be connected to the given opening.
The contrast stage will come later in the piece, and the structural elements will be at the
cadence and modulation points. For now, let’s focus on finding a connection with the
given opening.
 

How to Find the Important Features of the Given

Opening
1) The rhythm. What sort of note values have been used- long, short, dotted, a mixture?
Is there anything unusual? Are rests a feature?
2) The melodic intervals. Does it move by step or leap? If both, is there more of one type
or is it evenly balanced? Does it use any unusual leaps such as an octave, 7th, or
augmented 2nd? Are any of the notes chromatic alterations, or do all the notes belong
firmly to the key?
3) The harmony. Which chords underpin the given opening? How quickly does the
harmony seem to change? Are the chords used straightforward, or do they have
something interesting added in, such as added 9ths or chromatic alterations?
4) The performance directions. What speed is it going at, and what’s the general
character of the piece – lively, sad, romantic, aggressive or something else? Do the
dynamics change gradually, or are there rapid contrasts? What dynamic level has the
music reached by the end of the given opening? What sort of articulation has been
used?
 
In this given opening, the rhythm is spiky and built with dotted notes and rests. It moves
only by step, including a chromatic step. The entire opening would fit with a tonic A
major chord (the B# is an appoggiatura). It is at a lively tempo, and the staccato, accents
and “giocoso” indication show that it is quite quirky and humorous in character.

Adapting a Melodic Idea

There are several ways in which you can adapt a melodic idea to create some new, but
connected, material. Here are the main traditional ways that composers do this.
 
Diatonic sequences.
Pick a phrase or part of a phrase – at least 3 or 4 notes for best results – and then
change the starting note to a different step of the scale. Bar 1 has been sequenced over
and over again here, to illustrate the point, using the B minor harmonic scale:
 

In each sequence, the rhythm is the same, and so is the size of the steps between each
note – it moves up by two steps, then falls by a third.
But – the quality of the intervals isn’t the same in each case. The first two notes
sometimes form a minor 2nd (e.g. bars 2 and 5), in others they form a major 2nd (bars 3
and 4) and even an augmented 2nd (bar 6).
Keep an eye out for any augmented/diminished intervals, because they will often need
special treatment to soften their harsh sound.
 
Inverted sequences
Keep the rhythm the same, but where the original moves down, the sequence moves up
by the same intervals, and vice versa.

 
Rhythmic Imitation
Isolate and reuse the most characteristic bit of the rhythm of the given opening. Things
to look out for include triplets or other tuplets, dotted and double dotted notes,
syncopation, very fast notes and rests. In this example, the triplet figure could be used to
seed some new ideas:

You could repeat the triplet pattern to produce something like this:

 
Retrograde Rhythm
Retrograde means “backwards”. Write out the same rhythm, but back-to-front. You do
need to be careful using this technique however, because if the rhythm contains a dotted
note, you are likely to create some unwanted syncopation. If you reverse the rhythm
shown above, you’ll end up with a semiquaver + dotted quaver (16th note + dotted 8th).
This is a syncopated rhythm, because the longer part of the group falls on a weaker beat
than the short part. If syncopation is going to be feature in your composition, this isn’t
necessarily a problem, but you should avoid using one-off syncopated bars as they will
be out of character with the rest of the piece.

 
Swapped Rhythms
Instead of reversing the entire rhythm (as in retrograde rhythm), instead reverse or mix
up the order of the grouped rhythms that occur on each beat. Now the triplet is on beat
3, and the dotted rhythm is on beat 1. Swapping the rhythm is a great way to change
things up a bit, without creating unwanted syncopation.

 
Augmentation and Diminution
Augmentation means “double the note values”, and diminution mean “halve the note
values”. This technique is useful if you want to create a middle section which is
contrasted in mood, but connected rhythmically.
 
Reuse an Uncommon Interval
In almost all music, the most commonly used intervals are 2nds and 3rds. They create
smooth, melodious melodies, are easier to sing or play, and easier for our ears and
brains to process.
Intervals which are found in chords, namely 4ths and 5ths, are also relatively common,
but used much less than 2nds and 3rd.
Even less common are 6ths and octaves. Octaves are useful when you need to move
into a different range because you are running out of notes. A leap of an octave is also a
good way to create an increase of tension or excitement.
The intervals which are most rarely seen are 7ths, augmented and diminished intervals.
When you analyse the given opening, take particular notice of any intervals which are
unusual. They will be the ones which add character to the piece, and so should be used
a few more times as you write the rest of the composition.
 
Creating a Contrast
The beginning of your composition exists to introduce the general melodic theme(s) of
the whole piece. The middle section is where it gets interesting - this is the place to
create a contrast with the beginning, to change key and to liven things up in terms of
tension and drama.
To create a contrasting middle section, you can use a combination of some of the
following techniques. The following ideas are not exhaustive and correspond to section
B, in the organisation pattern A-B-A. Don’t make B a complete contrast though, – you
still need to keep a lot of elements sufficiently connected. It if changes so much that it
appears to have no link with the first section, that is too much.
 
Modulation
Use the middle section to move to a related key.
E.g. Major - Relative Minor - Major
or Tonic – Dominant - Tonic
 
Dynamics
You could have contrasting dynamics in each section, or change the frequency of
dynamic change.
E.g. Loud – Quiet – Loud,
or Gradual changes – Rapid Changes – Gradual changes
 
Tessitura
“Tessitura” means “overall range of pitches used” – is the piece written for the low or
high end of the instrument’s range, or somewhere in the middle?
E.g. Medium – High – Medium
or Low – Medium – Low
 
Rhythm and melody
You can change the overall note values e.g. crotchets into quavers (quarter notes into
eighth notes) to increase the tension. Changing a melody that moves only by step into
one which moves by larger intervals is another idea.
E.g. Quick – Slow – Quick
Or No syncopation – Syncopation – No syncopation
Or Steps – Leaps – Steps
 
Articulation
E.g. Slurred - staccato – slurred etc.
 
How to Practice
Take a melody and then alter one thing at a time. Keep on making small changes, until
the original melody becomes unrecognisable. Then ask yourself at what point did things
fall apart, and are there some changes which seem to unglue things more severely than
others?
 

Making Phrases
You will need to connect your ideas together, to make complete phrases. A phrase is a
bit like a sentence or clause in writing, with some kind of punctuation at the end. A
phrase needs to end with a cadence.
• STOPS: perfect (V-I) and plagal (IV-I) cadence.
• PAUSES: imperfect (any chord-V) and interrupted (V-VI) cadence.
Within a phrase, you can have a number of mini sub-phrases, and they don’t have to
end on cadences. Cadences are only needed at the end of your main structural sections
– the ones we named A and B.
Aim to end a phrase with a longer note, or a rest. This helps to communicate to the
listener that there is a natural pause. A rest is useful as a breathing space for wind
players too.
The melody notes which fit the last chord in each cadence should fall on the strongest
beat. For example, in an imperfect cadence, you can choose any chord to precede V,
but chord V itself should fall squarely on the first beat of the bar.
In the following composition, the phrases have been marked out in boxes. You can see
that the end of each phrase uses a standard cadence. There are quite a few imperfect
cadences here, which is fine, since they imply that the music has not finished yet. You
would want to avoid using too many perfect cadences at the end of each phrase though,
as it will interrupt the flow of the music.
Also notice that the phrases all begin on an upbeat, to mirror what happens at the start
of the piece. It’s not essential to do this, but something to consider which will help to give
your composition a feeling of balance.

 
Planning Modulations
Modulations are not required, but strongly recommended. You are unlikely to get a high
mark in the exam if you don’t modulate. I would recommend writing two to three main
modulations, spread at even intervals (i.e. don’t write two modulations in the first quarter
of the piece, and then no more!)
Keys that are closely related to each other are easier to work with.
These are:
 the relative major or minor
 the dominant
 the subdominant
In the key of C for example, the most closely related keys are A minor, G major and F
major.
You can also modulate to the closely related keys of the closely related keys, as
illustrated below. The centre of the diagram shows the “home key”. The next layer of
keys are the closely related keys, and the outer layer are the keys related to the middle
layer.

 
The Supertonic Modulation
One very common and easy to use modulation technique is the supertonic modulation.
To do this, move from the tonic to the supertonic major key, then to the dominant major
key, then back to the tonic. The supertonic and dominant chords can also take an added
7th for added interest.
E.g. C major > D major > G major > C major
or A minor > B major > E major > A minor.
 

How to Modulate
The easiest way to modulate is via a pivot chord. A pivot chord is one which exists in
both the old and new keys. You can modulate without a pivot, but they often help. V7
usually makes a stronger modulation than just V.
The progression of chords should be this:
Pivot chord – V7 (new key) – I (or i) (new key).
These chords should occur one after the other, without any other chords occurring
between them. Ideally you would place the new tonic chord on a strong beat.
 
For example, to modulate from C major to F major, fit your melody to these chords in
close succession:
D minor (pivot) > C7 (V7 in F major) > F (I in F major)
 
To modulate from C major to A minor:
D minor (pivot) > E7 (V7 in A minor) > A minor (i in A minor)
 
Fitting the Melody to the Harmony with Unique Notes
A unique note is one which only exists in the new key, and not in the old. In order to
write a convincing modulation, you will need to make sure you use the notes which are
unique to the new key in your melody. If you don’t, the result will be an ambiguous
harmony which is neither one thing nor the other.
Let’s take a modulation from C major to A minor as an example. We could use a pivot
chord of D minor, which is chord ii in C major and iv in A minor, to make the following
progression:
ii/iv (Dm) – V7 (E7) – i (Am)
 
The note which is unique to A minor (and not in C major) is G#, so we will need to
ensure that the melody contains a G# at the point when the E7 chord is intended. If we
used, let’s say, only E and D at that point, the ear would not be convinced that the
intended harmony is E7, and would probably process it as C major still.
 
Alternative Method
Another way to modulate is to use a chromatic sequence. Copy part of the melody onto
a different starting note and add accidentals, so that the interval quality (e.g.
major/perfect etc.) remains identical.
 

Performance Directions
The given opening of your composition will already include
 the tempo,
 some articulations such as slurs, and
 at least a starting dynamic.
Don’t forget to copy these over in exactly the same way, when you copy the first two
bars on to the staves provided!
Make sure that the rest of the piece uses performance directions in more or less the
same way - be consistent – use the same type of directions, in the same sort of places
and in about the same amounts, all the way through.
Make your performance directions coincide properly with your phrases
Try to imagine someone actually playing your piece – how would it be best expressed in
terms of dynamics?
Make sure that your dynamics are written precisely, underneath the note or notes they
affect.
At the end, consider using a rit., and/or pause.
 

Instruments
Avoid using the very lowest playable notes for wind/brass as they are often lacking in
tone quality. Also, don’t forget that wind/brass players need to be able to breathe
somewhere.