Video transcript
@The Arts Unit Art Bites – Music composition – 01. Out of this world!

[music playing]

ADRIAN HALLAM: Hi. My name is Adrian Hallam. I'm going to discuss one of my works and how I went about composing it. I'll also give you some writing tips and an idea of the kind of things you can put in your word diary. Let me now share with you some of the creative process that went into the writing of my work 'Alien Attack.'

[music playing]

'Alien Attack' is written for wind band and is purely a mathematical exercise. My idea was to write a work based on 24/7.

[music playing]

I then explored different ways I could use 24/7. Firstly, I started with the time signature. The time signatures progress in 2/4, 4/4, and then 7/8. The opening statement are the second, fourth, and seventh intervals of a major scale.

The piece progresses harmonically with the second, fourth, and seventh degree of the scales. The theme in the middle section is created by dividing 24 by 7. This gave me 3.42857143. And, once again, I used these numbers as they corresponded to a scale.

This theme is then retrograded, turned backwards and upside down. When the alien attack starts at the end of the piece, I start on the 7th interval, and then the fourth and second intervals join in. Finally, the piece is 2 minutes and 47 seconds long. Each time you experiment with your composition or add something new, write it in your word diary.

[music playing]

I continued using mathematics in structuring this work. I attended a lecture on composition which discussed the use of the Fibonacci sequence in structuring a work. The Fibonacci sequence doubles a number and then adds one. So we get 0, 1, 3, and 7 in the sequence. The idea is that the important peaks in the music occur according to this sequence. The peaks of the music occur 10%, 30%, and 70% of the way through the music.

[music playing]

While I was writing this piece, I read an article on the movie '2001 - A Space Odyssey.' One of the reasons Stanley Kubrick used the piece 'Thus Sprach Zarathustra' by Richard Strauss was for the use of the grand pipe organ, the largest of all instruments, to musically describe the vastness of space. This influenced me to use a synthesiser in 'Alien Attack.' Not only could I use the spacey sound effects, I could also use the pipe organ sound to create this vastness of space.

[music playing]

'Alien Attack' is a programmatic work. It tells a story. I enjoy writing programmatic works. They fire up the imagination. Writing exciting music not only engages the performers but the audience as well. 'Alien Attack' was a lot of fun to compose but also took a lot of work to write.

Composition is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Sometimes, it can seem overwhelming when you think 'I have to write my piece.' The best way I've found to overcome this is to say to myself, 'I'm going to spend a minute on my piece today.' This is now a manageable task, and not nearly as scary as 'I have to write my piece.' So, just spend a minute, and just write down what you did in your music diary.

[music playing]

Here are some tips to help you with your writing. 1. Write about what you know and love. Write about a subject, or an issue, that you are passionate about. 2. Write for your friends. If they are musicians, write music about what they love, or are passionate about.

3. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Ask people, 'What can you do on your instrument? What can't you do on your instrument?' 4. Look for influences on the internet. The world is at your fingertips. And, you can explore traditional music and rhythms from different cultures. Be influenced, but don't plagiarise.

5. Consider yourself as an examiner listening to piece after piece. What would you want to hear? What would stand out? You have to impress the examiner in one play through. 6. A catchy title. Music is no different to creative writing. You need a hook to capture the listener. This gives you a little insight into how 'Alien Attack' was composed. Good luck, and have a fantastic time on your compositional journey. Here is 'Alien Attack.'

[music playing]