Alex Rockwell is a genius of music and education! What a thrill to learn from a man so talented, knowledgeable, and clear in his explanations. Alex knows more about music than any handful of university music professors!
Grateful that you covered this topic. Been trying to figure out how to compose without things feeling too obvious and overexplained. I like what you said about color over function. Creating atmopheres as a soundtrack to living and not as a switch that says "feel this, now". If you have any further launching points from this Alex I'd love to find out more. Cheers
hiya!! while listening to the bits about Pedal notes, and then Ravel's Bolero, it got me thinking. would the steady little marching drum in the background of the piece count as a pedal note? or something else entirely that I'm blanking on the name of?
The term for that is 'rhythmic ostinato'. An ostinato is a short, repeated figure, like a riff. If it's just a repeated rhythm, then it's called a rhythmic ostinato.
A lot of it is, I guess. Debussy wasn't really known for writing sonatas or symphonies or anything like that, but his pieces didn't lack structure. I believe he used the tried and true ABA form a lot. There's a story that Debussy once criticized the music of Erik Satie, suggesting that it lacked form and was completely shapeless, to which Satie responded with his composition, "Three Pieces in the Form of a Pear".
@@alexrockwellmusic bro pls don't be sorry. You are amazing. I was just letting you know how I feel. I hope you don't take it to heart. M autistic so I just say what I feel.
