Length: At least 24 mm.
Instruments: You must present a convincing harmonic progression. My suggestions are: SATB, piano, guitar, voice and piano/gtr, solo instrument and piano/gtr, quartet or quintet.
Performance requirement: The performances will be held during class on March 10 and 12. You must have the piece performed; we try to find players if you can't find someone in the class.
Harmonic/Melodic language: Use the musical vocabulary we've learned up to this point; establish a tonic at the beginning and return to it at the end. You must include those features listed on the minuet kit; diatonic sequence and modulation to a new key in the B section are optional.
Part-writing requirements: If writing for chorus, you should follow all established part-writing rules. If writing for instruments, rules on spacing, voice-crossing/overlap, and the use of horizontal dissonant intervals (e.g. A4) will be relaxed. At all times you must avoid parallel 8ves/5ths, and properly resolve all leading-tones and chordal sevenths. If you feel that parallels may be necessary for textural reasons, you must clear this with me.
Please submit a short score for your grade. This means if you write for voices or individual instruments rather than piano, you must condense your parts on a grand staff for evaluation (I suggest beginning the piece this way as well to help avoid part-writing errors among parts). You will receive a pass/fail grade on your draft. Your final composition will be graded equally on form, harmonic logic, part-writing and analysis.
Analysis requirements: You will be required to analyze roman numerals, inversions and cadences within your piece.
Procedure: I suggest that you block out a basic phrase and cadence structure first. After that, you may begin with either a melodic theme, a melodic bassline, or a chord progression. Repetition of themes and progressions is encouraged where it helps define your formal design. Possible models include theme and variation, a two-theme structure, or a ternary form, with a contrasting middle section. You may also choose to write a song based on an original or borrowed text.
Timeline: On Thursday Feb. 5 I will ask you to give me your instrument/ensemble and formal outline (NB: you do NOT have to indicate the 4 harmonic features, just the general shape of the piece). On Tuesday Feb. 24 I will ask you for a draft of the work. I encourage you to meet with me or a TA at some point during the second and third weeks of March so that we can check your progress and offer suggestions. The final compositions will be performed and handed in on March 12 in class, unless you petition to perform the work early.