~ a motif ~

~ an idea ( a musical idea ) ~

~ becoming a song ~

~ 'bits of pitches' in a rhythm to suggest and conjure a mood ~

~ with chords in support, we harmonize a motif / melody into songs ~

Motifs in a nutshell. The following academics involve writing a motif into a four bar phrase and further into a complete melody for a song. For once we have the spark of an idea or motif, which could be a couple of dance steps with a rhythm beat / riff, a few words ... 'be true to me', a couple of pitches or numbers, '1 2 3' ~ 'A B C' you and me, or even just a heartbeat groove, a feeling or a vibe we get from life's everyday doings, capturing the essence of a moment in time, for those so inclined, composing commences. While not every inspiration plays out into a ong, we know that over time, and by doing this a few times, our own methods will probably evolve too, as we get better at our craft and actively seek the 'new ideas and motifs' for our songs.

For in a 'true for all of us', know that an idea for a song can come from just about anywhere, and believe me they do :) ... no set time or anything. For when inspiration strikes, and maybe our hair stands up, even just a wee bit, we'll know it, and the 'motif to song' evolution has sparked us to compose once again.

A couple of basics. The most common way of developing a motif of course is to simply run the idea over and over and at some point it'll begin to grow. Age old now, this is what happens when a 'tune gets stuck in our head.' so, not a problem for us composers. 'Over and over' gives the idea a chance to shape itself with how we want it to go. Knowing that some songs will write themselves while others will require a lot of attention, collaborating with peers and bandmates can help move the process along. In writing larger works; symphonies, film scores, theme albums, commissions and such, these take time, often weeks and months, years even, to write, polish and present, so be patient and ask for help when necessary from trusted colleagues.

With lyrics. While some lyrics write themselves, just flow off the tongue, most do not. Here we can write down our words and poetry, speak them aloud and find their rhythms. Don't be surprised if there's a pile of rewrites at the completion of a song. For in the process not only does the magic appear, but the strengthening of our writing skills does too. Just like most things, the more we do it, the better we get at the doing :)

Legend has it that a secret of Mozart's composing is said to be ... 'to just lie on the floor and run the music through our thoughts, over and over, and the notes needed will manifest.' Supposedly it worked for Mozart, and has worked for me too, though in addition to getting horizontal I'll also jump on the bicycle, or go for a walk, anything really that creates a 'reflective' zone to allow my Muse a way in to solve the current puzzle.

A first motif. In this 'build a song' endeavor our motif is the pitches of a 'C' major triad; "C E G' permutated into 'E G C', same pitches just flipped over a bit ito a two bar phrase repeated. Supported by the '145' chords of 'C' major, it'll sound like this. First the motif then the beginnings of our arrangement. Example 1.

Same idea but now we'll support our motif with the '145' of 'C' major's relative minor; 'A' minor. Example 1a.

Cool so far? Now we'll mix and match the changes. Example 1b.

Easy enough huh ? Just puzzling motifs and chords together all within the diatonic realm; that magical place of a million songs. and although we did 'jazz up' some of the chords; the 'C' major 9 on beat four of bar two and the 2nd inversion 'E' minor 7 chord in bar three, All of the pitches involved are diatonic to 'C' major / 'A' minor, relative major and minor to one another, as they share the same group of pitches.

Cool ? Next we add lyrics. Just kidding. But do go ahead if your muse is cookin' :) There's as many unique ways to puzzle the pitches together as there are artists to puzzle them, so be one. For how we each choose to do becomes a basis for our own artistic signature, that magic that's our own and enter the realm of composers.

Quick review. Easy enough huh ? A step by step build from a motif towards a song. Master the diatonic music theory princles in the above exercise and in doing so we enter the diatonic realm for music composition; where historically near most of the cool music through the last couple of millenia has come from; through all the eras and peoples and their own unique art, inclusive of all styles and genres. Weave our indigenous blue notes and their unmitakeable 'blues hue' into this diatonic realm and the Americana palette of aural colors, nearly the same one we've had for 400 years or so now, manifests itself ever anew for emerging artists today.

Motifs. Need a lick riff ditty motif to spark off the next compose? The following ideas are all in 'C' and 'A' minor key centers and mostly use these two shapes for guitar. Easy do, find one by ear u dig and off ya go, even following the steps outlined just above. A dozen plus motifs to choose from, all located around 5th position and the "Frishelli shape" for the standard tuned guitar.

Harmonizing melodies. One of the features of a formal school curriculum is to study in depth how to harmonize the pitches of the melody with supportive chords. For in our composing traditions of the last 500 years or so, flowing melody notes over supportive chords and mostly rhythmically aligned in time has ruled the day and is a pillar of Americana songwriting. Theory termed homophonic music, this composing technique is Euro based and historically follows right along with fine tuning the pitches and building a piano.

In learning this magic we can follow the 'theory' rule of diatonic harmony, which gets most of the pieces in place, then jazz it up however from there. The 'style' of a song plays huge in this process too, and helps to shape and mix the colors we choose to glue up together. And there's a couple of basics in determining the 'diatonic harmony of a style.'

A spectrum of styles and harmony. Crazy to think this way but we're back to our 'numbers of pitches' basis. For we can count up the notes in the chords and see how many we get, then roll through the styles and watch as to get a styles' flavor, we often need to add a pitch or two. Adding the blues hue, all through the American weave of styles and genres, is very common and often requires an extra pitch or so for supporting chords.

Goes like this. We've 12 total pitches for sure and half a dozen or so broad style categories, add in genres and there's a ton more combinations. Thus, the following left to right visualization emerges. Example 1.

So in developing a motif into a song, once we've a style and a few pitches, we've the first pieces of the new puzzle and it's development gets under way.

Spelling the chords. In getting chords with melody pitches, knowing how to spell out the letters of the chords is the great facilitator here. Easily rote learned, here's the magic in chart form. Example 2.

Now with spelling out the letters of each chord in the key of 'C', we gots some options for the pitches of our melody. A lot of this 'bolts right up' of course, then we need to make art out of it as the story tells, then jazz it up if need be.

What's our melody note ? Staying in the key of 'C', if our song's melody is 'C', then all the three note triads with a 'C' in them will work. Thus:

'C' melody note = CEG, FAC, ACE.

'D' melody note = DFA, GBD, BDF.

'E' melody note = CEG, EGB, ACE.

'F' melody note = FAC, DFA, BDF.

'G' melody note = GBD, EGB, CEG.

'A' melody note = ACE, FAC, DFA.

'B' melody note = BDF, GBD, EGB.

Cool ?

Which to choose? Next we get to decide which chord has the right mojo for the melody note chosen. In these choices its mostly about the story of the song. If we add in a song's bass line story melody notes with the melody / lyrics melody note, chances are we'll get a puzzle piece or two to gets things started off. Combine these two melodies and voila ... chord progressions. :) with the melody, then. Thinking in 'C' major ...

soprano melody notes:

C E G A G

solid chords are CEG and FAC

' C '

bass melody notes

or in the key of 'A' minor

soprano melody notes:

C E G A C

solid chords are ACE and DFA

' A '

bass melody notes

Review. Find a lick or two, a bit of a ditty to spark off a song ? Cool. For in lots and lots of everything, it's an idea ... a what if ... that sparks a step on a pathway and a view into a new portal of discovery and invention.