Will Hay

Tag: composition

  • Autumn Leaves Composition Project

    Over the next half term I am running a composition project in which all my students are entitled to take part.

    The composition entitled “Autumn Leaves” must fit with the video and could take the form of a backing track or a song. There is a score of the appropriate length already set up on my noteflight studio with the associated video.

    The composition does not necessarily have to be realised in notational form within noteflight however it must be able to be performed in synchronisation with the video.

    It must be in ternary form, having two contrasting themes (prompted on the video template by the Autumn Leaf and the three trees).

    It must be completed and submitted by December 1st. The winning composition(s) will be shown/performed at the next concert on Saturday 3rd December, 11am at All Saint’s Church, Hoole.

    An example score with synchronised video by A. Student is shown below:

  • “Share one, Comment two” week

    Noteflight Studio

    Now that the pressure of exams is relaxing for many students I am encouraging everybody to explore composing more. The Noteflight Studio is such a powerful tool and I would ask all my students to share at least one of their compositions (enabling commenting) even if it is still a work in progress.

    Browsing the scores which other students have shared is a good way to get ideas of what might be possible in your own compositions. Try to add useful comments as this aids your own critical thinking as well as helping the person whose score you have just viewed, even if it’s only just “dropping by” and telling them that you enjoyed listening to it.

    The new features in version 2.5 including MIDI input and video/audio sync really add value to the resource. See the example below from the last concert.

    Tickertape

  • Snowflakes (SATB Christmas Carol with piano accompaniment) by Graeme Hopson

    Having worked with this carol for 12 weeks, I have grown to really like it as have members of my choir, the Neston Ecumenical Singers.

    The words are by the American, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The composition came about late in 2008 as a result of an annual competition organised by The Longfellow Chorus promoting the poetry of their founder. Graeme Hopson, the composer of this setting was a finalist in the competition with this work.

    The score is available direct from the composer or from SibeliusMusic.com

    The snowfall motif in the piano accompaniment delicately flutters throughout the snowflakes’ journey described in the lyrics until the ‘troubled sky reveals the grief it feels’. The harmony takes an anguished turn at this point as the heart rate of the choir members increases whilst the parts get a little more challenging to pitch! Effervescent tranquillity returns along with the carefree snowflake motif as the third verse draws to a close with whispered revelations to wood and field.

  • 5-finger Fur Elise

    For some beginners, five-finger arrangements of popular pops and classics prove to be more motivational than lesser known tunes serving purely as exercises.
    5 finger scoreThis simplified version of Beethoven’s Fur Elise for the absolute beginner requires only a slight change of finger in bars 9-13 where RH finger 4 moves from D# to E and RH finger 5 moves from E to F. At bar 14 the fingers return to their original position.
    Changing the metre from three to four eliminates the need for a pickup bar and though it elongates the rests, it is an easier rhythm to feel and play along with the backing track below.

    To download the backing track you will need to right-click on the download link then click save as…

    Fur Elise Backing Track

    Fur Elise Backing Track (100bpm)

  • The Ashgrove (SATB, piano accompaniment)

    Originally arranged for the Waverton Singers’ April concert in 2006, I have just produced an mp3 of this popular welsh folksong to accompany the score on Choralwiki., which is also available for free on Sibelius Music and on my Noteflight Classroom

    The Ash Grove

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