1. Introduction
This project stems from an interest in composing music using influences from around the World. This is something that has become increasingly popular for composers over the last century, which is partially due to the better accessibility of information on World cultures and their music. There is a huge amount of untapped potential in writing World music inspired pieces, as there are hundreds of styles of music that are uncommon to those other than the communities to which they belong. Unfortunately, many of these types of music are still undocumented, which makes them unsuitable for a project such as this. During research for the project proposal, Japanese music proved to have a good balance of documented research and obscurity in the West. This made Japanese music the chosen source of World inspiration for this project.
An area of particular interest is the combination of World music with an orchestra. This can occur in two forms: recreating World music using Western orchestral instruments, and integrating World music influences with Western composition theories. The first method can bring about numerous potential problems. For example, an orchestra has many more instruments than most World ensembles, so any World influences would need to be adapted to a larger scale. Secondly, some World ensembles rely heavily on percussion and/or vocal chants, which do not lend themselves well to a symphony orchestra. In these cases, additional melodic and harmonic elements would need to be composed out of necessity. Thirdly, there are many World instruments that have special playing capabilities that can not be emulated accurately with Western instruments. For example, the wide vibrato and pitch bends on the Japanese Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) would be difficult to achieve using the Western ‘keyed’ woodwind instruments. On the other hand, the native instrumentation of these World genres is a key part of a composition, so there is a less pressing need for the re-instrumentation of music that already works. A more creative strategy is to combine the World influences with existing Western theories to create a fusion of the different styles. Although some of the problems mentioned above still exist, the Western theories give the composition a solid technical grounding. This fusion of styles is the approach that has been adopted in this composition project.
In undertaking a large composition such as this, the author is aiming to further his skills as composer. The instrumentation, length of the piece, and the integration of Japanese influences all represent challenges, and the experience acquired during the project will benefit both the technical and creative aspects of future compositions. A particular learning outcome will be the improvements to the usage of the orchestral instruments, both on their own and in combination. It is also desirable to discover/reinforce the ‘sonic signature’ in this composition and of future works. In discovering and refining these stylistic traits, it gives an individuality to the composer, which is an important selling point when looking for commissions in the future.
1.1 Project Aims
There are three main aims of this project. The first aim is to compose a piece for piano soloist and orchestra lasting fifteen to twenty minutes. A full score of the composition will be created, which will be the primary artefact for this project. In parallel to the first aim, the second aim is to creatively and effectively combine influences from traditional Japanese music with Western composition theories and orchestration techniques. This will be achieved by basing many of the melodic and rhythmic aspects of the composition on Japanese theories, and most of the harmonic and structural elements on Western theories. There will also be some natural cross-over of these musical elements. For instance, a few Japanese theories of harmony and structure will be used, along with various Western-style melodies and rhythms. As it would be desirable to have the piece performed in the future, writing for Japanese instruments has not been attempted, as this would make it difficult to find the appropriate instrumentalists. The final aim of this project is to gain further knowledge of composing and orchestrating music, which can be achieved through in-depth refinement of the musical ideas. The completed composition could also be used as a showcase artefact when striving for future work and/or qualifications.
1.2 Objectives
Achievement of these project aims will rely on the completion of a number of key objectives.
- Background research
- Initial sketches on the piano
- Detailed sketches (including ideas for orchestration and further experimentation with Japanese influences)
- Rough orchestration in Sibelius
- Refinement from a compositional perspective
- Refinement from a performance perspective
- Score finishing
- MIDI mock-up
Each of these objectives must be completed in the order given above. For example, it would not be wise to start the MIDI mock-up before the score is complete. This would bring about unnecessary complexities of merging sections of music together, and the need to constantly reflect changes to the score in the mock-up and vice versa. A description of these objectives (excluding background research) can be found in sections 3.1 - 3.6.
This report will now study in detail how the composition took shape; from the background research, to completion of the score. The composition will then be analysed, with specific attention given to the incorporation of the Japanese influences, and later, the usage of Western techniques of orchestration, harmony and structure. Next, the creation of the MIDI mock-up will be discussed. Finally, the overall composition will be evaluated, and conclusions will be made on the achievements of the project.