Lengthening and development
What are the techniques people use for lengthening and developing a piece of music beyond the initial melodic idea?
I'm thinking here specifically in terms of my Bug Parade Project and growing this piece into a longer yet still interesting piece.
That depends on what sort of
That depends on what sort of piece it is.
What I'm writing currently is blues-based jazz, so I develop those tunes differently than I would a wind ensemble piece. For a jazz tune, I can jazz or rag the melody, change riffs, use solo choruses, add in shout choruses, write a break of some sort, substitute chords willy-nilly, etc.
To develop a wind ensemble/symphonic piece, I'd look to structural development--say, expand to an ABACA form from a simpler ABA--as a primary method. Then I'd look to strong countermelodies, if that fit with the intended flavor, or begin pulling motifs out to play with and move things along.
We all know about the
We all know about the classical fugal transformations (inversion, retrograde and what not), does anyone have a intimate knowledge about fragmentation and those, more "musical" transformations one may apply to a melodic phrases they'd be willing to share?
Like playing with motifs?
Like playing with motifs?
You can take a rhythmic motif and develop that or take a tonal motif and play with that. Toss out a melody and we can play with some motifs from it to use as examples.