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March/April 1998-Steve Smith Issue-Explorations In Drumset Composition-Part 2

In my last workshop we looked at the exciting and basically new musical genre of Drumset Music, be it a solo drumset composition, duet, or composition for many drumsets. We also stated that drumset music is built on the basic elements of music, which include melody, harmony, form, tones, color/texture, motivic development, rhythm, and meter. We then went on to specifically define melody and how it could be related to drumset composition. In this workshop, we will explore a close cousin to melody, the concept of musical motifs, or as I prefer, motives. A musical motive, by definition, is a brief melodic figure, not quite long enough to be considered a theme. Being the smallest of all musical groupings, motives may consist of as few as two notes. It could be a recurring rhythmic pattern, or short sequence of notes that repeat, or even a recurring combination of sounds. We can use motives as basic compositional source material to develop musical phrases (phrases are often four measures long and contain a complete musical thought). Okay, I managed to sneak in another theory lesson. Another way to approach the concept of a motive is to consider that in everyday language, a motive is generally viewed as an impulse or reason that causes someone to act or respond in a particular manner. Well conceived drumset motives can become your reason to improvise creatively or to write musically for the drumset. Two musical motives we will explore this time come in the form of polyrhythms: three over two, and five over two from the 1st movement of my drumset duet composition Parallels. For me, the interesting thing about composing with these motives are the built-in rhythmic tension they provide. Without any really syncopated or tricky rhythms occurring up to this point in the music these motivic figures already stand out. Each of these polyrhythmic motives in Parallels is voiced plain and simple on the tom-toms. Now comes the fun part, developing the motives. There are many compositional approaches you can employ to do this. The first technique I used here was very simple. I re-orchestrated the previously stated 3:2 polyrhythm motive on different tom-tom sounds. Next, I called on the more difficult technique of expanding this motive through the use of partial subdivision. This technique involves adding notes (subdivisions) to any of the, in this case, three notes of the polyrhythm motive. A helpful way to think in these terms is to imagine that the three-notes of the polyrhythm represent sort of superimposed quarter-notes. Your approach is to then turn any of these quarters into eighth-notes, triplets, sixteenths, etc. I used this partial subdivision extensively here with both motives. In addition to these techniques, we have been using another compositional technique all along. That being the simple technique of repetition. Always remember that any musical idea that you choose to repeat in your composition makes the statement that your idea is significant. When you hear the words "it bears repeating," you know an idea is being reinforced. Same thing here when you are composing with a musical motive. Your assignment from the last workshop was to develop some kind of ostinato accompaniment pattern, and then begin to involve various drum and cymbal sounds to create what we referred to as "drum melodies." This time I want you to compose at least three different motives using drums, cymbals, rims, and any sounds you combine that you find musical. Remember the techniques we looked at from Parallels. They were re-orchestration, partial subdivision, and of course, simple repetition of the motive. Approach the assignment in different ways. Improvise on your kit isolating each of the techniques. Spend time just imagining in your head what could be. Then write out these possibilities. The best part about this is that with the development of your motives, you are already well into your composition. Introducing new material could now be your next step. Remember that drumset composing can be for the varied media of solo drumset, drumset duet, or any combination of drumset(s) and percussion instruments. Try to wok practically by writing for the players and instruments you have access to. In our next drumset composition/workshop, we will look at the musical element of form and how significant it is in your compositional process.

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