Did you ever find a RU-vid channel that has apparently existed for a while and you can't imagine how the "algorithm" hasn't seen fit to show it to you before despite everything else you watch and search for about orchestration? Yeah, this one. Every one of these is a gem
@@RyanLeach I probably got recommended these videos because I watch TwoSet. Pretty good timing by the algorithm because I was thinking of composing again. :P
The s can be for stretch. Double the note values, for example. Doing this toward the end of a theme or even a section of a theme can increase anticipation for a resolution.
Ryan you're videos are great. The pacing and explanation is done so well. There's no fluff, and every single time there's a new video I look forward to learning more.
Suggestion: S is for Signature: An often underutilized form of development of a melody, changing time signature, removing or adding a certain number of extra beats for a bar or two can prolong a cadence, add a certain amount of metric tension, change the way you experience a motif, or create metric ambiguity at any point in the phrase.
This is one of the biggest challenges for me, so thanks for the very clear and practical explanation! It's very evident you really care about helping people make music and be better at what they do, and I truly appreciate that.
The SMB2 kinda hit home. I'm binging your channel. Cheers, and thank you. Your work is making a difference for me. I hope you hear this. I am being brutally sincere. Your channel has made a genuine difference in my life. It means a lot to me.
Thank you so much Ryan. Your channel has helped me break a seriously long rut of struggle with writing. I feel so silly for not realising my problem was as simple as not using the period or sentence form for my melody writing and using that structure. The ideas are now flowing!
Wow this video is what Ive been struggling with lately, I knew it was not just intuition. You've literally saved me a lot of time of discovering all this by myself (I was just starting to use sequences effectively lol). Thanks :)
I’m glad it’s helpful! REPS is something I just made up, a lot of the basic ideas of extension and expansion come from Schoenberg and William Caplin, but their focus is more Classical.
When I was working on my first symphony in college, I really found Sonata Form actually serves extending music longer really well. You have to have really simple material to create a short Sonata. I'll let a person interested study Sonata Form on their own, but basically it is divided up into four sections excluding the intro: the Exposition, the Development, and the Recapitulation, and the Coda. The Exposition is framed in a way which can easily extend up to two and a half minutes without even trying. Given that it repeats, it is easy to use up five minutes before you're even getting off the ground. The Development is a free stage where you can do whatever you want. It's a time of playing with your themes, so it is a good time to really extend your material and see what works. Given there are no rules for a Development, it can range from 30 seconds to 3+ minutes. The Recapitulation is simple: it is a repeat of the Exposition with minor changes. (Easily another 2.5 minutes). The Coda is then the conclusion where you wrap everything up. It can be anywhere from four quick notes (Beethoven's 7th Symphony Movement 3), or half of the length of the piece all in itself (Beethoven's 5th Symphony Movement 1). So, between a 30-150 second Exposition x2, a 30-180 second Development, a 30-150 second Recapitulation, and a 5-180 second Coda, you could easily be looking at a 7-12 minute piece of music. And for other inspirations, Rush's instrumental music (YYZ and Leave That Thing Alone) acts quite similarly to Sonata Form.
I really like your videos and there are so many helpful ideas contained. If I have one issue, then that your videos sometimes feel as if you are in a rush ;) Perhaps this is caused by the many cuts, or that you speak very fast, dealing with topics quickly. That said, your content is admirable and I will continue to watch!
I wonder if S could also stand for Simplify: A reduction or fragmentation of the theme, useful in the intro or the outtro but also for a B section perhaps.
Immediately Frank Ticheli’s “An American Elegy” comes to mind; he drops out the melody and countermelodies and leaves the harmonic framework of his idea on the clarinets alone. It’s super neat and helps transition to the next, softer part
There are also false leads which I like. A good example of what I mean is the intro to "sex on fire" by Kings of Leon. You expect the beat to land one way and it lands another way.
Another way to pause without leaving too much 'emptiness' is to use a complimentary or contrasting counterline to fill in the spaces between the main melodic phrases.
Another way is to compose instinctively, lol...by ear...I mean, if you have "good taste", you will probably do all this automatically...or not, lol, sometimes it might be better not to...
Ive noticed you have srg. Pepper album on your desk...would love for you to go through some bealtles melodies and see how they fit into the period sentence form....is this form robust enough to use against the 20th century beethovens?
Side note: you could be compared to Mr. Ballen... for music. You have a similar...storytelling to the camera... style. It genuinely helps just seeing you talk and following your gestures. Your videos are very engaging. I get....excited to try things. You are like a "favorite teacher". (Usually an English or History teacher...) ... cheers again.
Ryan, I know the composer’s kinda out of the picture for obvious reasons, but would you ever entertain the idea of doing some skyrim “style” analysis and comp?
Bring beer to writing and orchestrating, liking your videos, how do I start? I don’t have a lot of libraries, but I did get Opus Edition because I got on sale and pay monthly for. Is that bad? Just asking? Thanks ahead!
