Year
9 Composition Arrangement.
Approaching final copies due: October 24th.
Between now and then a majority of class time will be
assigned to helping in the completion of this assignment. There is still an
expectation that you will work on your arrangement in your own time.
Using the music provided, create an arrangement of
Yesterday, by the Beatles, for string quartet.
Suggested process;
Step
1
Decide on the kind of style you would like to arrange the
song.
Step
2
Research the kinds of common rhythmic patterns used in your
chosen style. Use these rhythmic patterns as a guide when looking at steps 3
& 4.
Step
3
Create your variation of the melody.
Suggested methods;
Rhythm
Anticipation
– Where the note is heard before it would normally be heard.
Delay- Where
the note is heard after it would normally be heard.
Augmentation-Where
the original note lengths are lengthened.
Diminution-
Where the original note values are shortened
Pitch
Repetition
of notes in the melody
Addition of
chordal notes – short notes added to the melody which outline the harmony.
Passing notes
– Notes moving by step between leaps in the melody.
Step
4
Create your variation of the harmony
Suggested methods;
Harmonic Variation
·
Change
the harmonic rhythm; have more or fewer chord changes in a bar.
·
Use
extended versions of the original chords.
Eg 6th, 7th, 11th & 13th
chords
·
Use
completely different chords from the original.
Typical
Chord Substitutions and suggestions
·
Chord
ii (or chord vi) can often replace chord IV.
·
Chord
iii can often replace chord I when moving to chord IV.
·
Chromatic
chords can be brought in for added colour.
·
Augmented
chords are often used between chords a 4th apart.
·
When
harmonies are repeated in a bar it is often useful to change the harmonic
colour of the repeated chord for variety
Step 5
Using your variations of melody and harmony create an
arrangement for a string quartet.
Maintain the same compositional structure as the sheet music
provided.
(In other words arrange in the same key, 11 bars total,
repeat bars etc…)
Remember, though you’re creating a remix of the song
the song must still be recognisable as ‘Yesterday’.
Examples
