# Vi-Control's Collaborative Learning Projects: Ideas and Project Archive.



## Darthmorphling

It was getting to be a bit cumbersome to have all of the projects listed in each new project thread so I thought this thread could be where we list the all of the past projects, as well as the current one.

This will also be the thread to list any ideas for future projects. I would like us to focus more on specific areas for each project as that will make the projects a much better learning experience.

Also, please feel free to complete any of the past projects that seem interesting to you. Post your results in that thread and I will update each project with your submission.

*Current Project*
Project 11: Flying Theme
http://www.vi-control.net/community/threads/vi-controls-collaborative-learning-project-11.49335/

*Past Projects*
Project 10: Adventure Theme
*http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3762921*

Project 9: Love Theme
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3752987

Project 8: Percussion
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3733065

Project 7: Ostinati
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33544

Project 6: Synth Based Piece
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33138

Project 5a and 5b
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=32586

Project 4: Writing to an image
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3714484

Project 3: Wind Ensemble/Expanding a motif
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3704358

Project 2: Scoring a Trailer
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31328

Project 1: Expanding a motif
http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30766


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## Darthmorphling

*Unused Suggested Ideas*

Joshua: Tutti 
All instrument playing, no counterpoint, just harmony. We could learn how to distribute the notes among many instruments. 

Joshua: Dynamic contrast 
Alternating between small/quiet sound to big one, to small, back to big, etc.

Joshua: Solo Violin
Create a realistic solo violin piece using multiple articulations.

darthmorphling: Mixing
We find a piece that has not been mixed yet, more than likely one of us will have to provide it, and, well, mix it.

darthmorphling: Layered Ostinato
Just an addon to the above ostinato suggestion. Creating an ostinato line on top of another one. An example would be "The Resistance" by Daniel James. Should be on his Soundcloud, but for sure on his Cinematic Strings walkthrough.

darthmorphling : TECP, or "The Epic Chord Progression"
I got the idea from this thread. http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtop ... rogression
Create a piece using the following chord progression: Dm-Bb-F-C (6-4-1-5). Obviously you can put it in any key you would like.

darthmorphling: Nigel's Key - D-Minor, the saddest of all keys.
See Spinal tap :mrgreen: 

darthmorphling: String Quartet 
Create a short piece for a string quartet. Try and use various articulations if possible. 

darthmorphling: Write like Mozart 
Ok, that is a tall order, but I signed up for a free course starting in January that will go over beginning classical composition. Maybe we can utilize some of the material for this group. 
https://www.coursera.org/course/classicalcomp 

Sasje: Write a piece in a style that would put you out of your comfort zone.

GrimeBrett: Writing to Video 
Creating music to a short video. We have already done this but it would be a good one to revisit.

David Chappelle: Flying Theme
Compose a "flying" theme (I think I remember a post in this forum about good listening material for such a theme) 

David Chappelle: Compose a piece in an unusual time signature such as 5/4, 7/4, 7/8 etc

Facebook suggestion: The most epic of epics!
Write your most epic sounding piece. This can be combined with one of the other ideas to give more direction to the project.

Ron Snijders: Folk Cue
Create a cue that a has a folksy quality to it.

Dan Mott
How about a project that you can only use sounds recorded around the home, or anywhere in the environment. These can then be processed and mixed how you like to make up a cool song. 

When you are finished, we then have to list what we recorded and how we went about processing the sounds.

*Completed ideas but can still be used if desired*

Joshua: Percussion 
Percussion only, or percussion should be the loudest. We could be more specific: intimate sound, ethnic, cartoon, or big sound (could be multiple projects or one project with multiple pieces).

Joshua: Ostinato/Arpeggio 
- The piece should contain at least 2- and 3-note arpeggio. 
- The piece will have a structure: soft/mellow section followed by loud/bombastic section. The section will include soft and strong ostinato, respectively.

David Chapelle: Love Theme


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## joshua

*Idea Joshua1: Ostinato/Arpeggio*
Veterans will have used them a lot, but I still need to perfect my technique. We can do strictly string ostinato, but I wonder how this could work for other instruments.

*Idea Joshua2: Tutti*
All instrument playing, no counterpoint, just harmony. We could learn how to distribute the notes among many instruments.

*Idea Joshua3: Dynamic contrast*
Alternating between small/quiet sound to big one, to small, back to big, etc.


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## joshua

*Idea Joshua4: Percussion*
Percussion only, or percussion should be the loudest. We could be more specific: intimate sound, ethnic, cartoon, or big sound (could be multiple projects or one project with multiple pieces).


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## joshua

Darthmorphling @ Wed Aug 14 said:


> darthmorphling: Mixing
> We find a piece that has not been mixed yet, more than likely one of us will have to provide it, and, well, mix it.



I like this. Though I want when the project is posted, some how-to resources are included. So, we should compile in this thread all links, youtube videos, books, forum threads pertaining to mixing.


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## Darthmorphling

joshua @ Thu Aug 15 said:


> *Idea Joshua4: Percussion*
> Percussion only, or percussion should be the loudest. We could be more specific: intimate sound, ethnic, cartoon, or big sound (could be multiple projects or one project with multiple pieces).



This one is interesting as I have the hardest time writing for percussion. There a ton of videos on string writing, but most percussion tutorials seem to focus on creating a "beat".


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## GrimeBrett

I'm sad I missed Project 2: Scoring a Trailer. I wouldn't mind another project where we score to a video.


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## joshua

Update to *Idea Joshua1: Ostinato/Arpeggio *
- The piece should contains at least 2- and 3-note arpeggio.
- The piece will have a structure: soft/mellow section followed by loud/bombastic section. The section will include soft and strong ostinato, respectively.


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## joshua

It maybe a good idea, when appropriate, for each project, the participants post several tracks. Say, for the synth based project:

- Complete track
- Track without synth


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## joshua

*Idea Joshua5: Violin Solo*
Create a violin solo piece which employs more detailed articulations and live-like performance.


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## Darthmorphling

@Joshua

The ideas are flowing from you!


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## Darthmorphling

I posted on a Facebook group for some idea suggestions.

One person suggested creating your most epic piece.


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## Lenny13

Hey Darthmorphling. Can you tell me the name of the facebook group please ?


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## Darthmorphling

It was the Orchestration Online group run by Thomas Goss. The focus is more on traditional orchestration, but there is some talk of film music.


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## Darthmorphling

GrimeBrett @ Thu Aug 15 said:


> I'm sad I missed Project 2: Scoring a Trailer. I wouldn't mind another project where we score to a video.



I have been in contact with the Blender Foundation in regards to releasing Sintel's audio files with just the dialog and FX. I envisioned us being able to rescore the movie for a future long term project.

He told me that contractually they couldn't release it that way without the music as the composer was a sponsor of the movie. 

I then asked if we were able to process the music out of the files if it would be ok to use them. His response was an enthusiastic "yes" Anything released with the CC license is fair use.

I am going to research how to do this, but if anyone knows how it can be done please let me know.

Here are all of the resource files that are available:
http://media.xiph.org/sintel/

Here is the audio without dialog. It may make the process easier.
http://media.xiph.org/sintel/


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## David Chappell

Great ideas so far! I'm particularly keen on the "epic" one. 

A couple suggestions of my own:
-Compose a "flying" theme (I think I remember a post in this forum about good listening material for such a theme)
-Compose a piece in an unusual time signature such as 5/4, 7/4, 7/8 etc


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## Darthmorphling

TECP: The Epic Chord Progression
I got the idea from this thread. http://www.vi-control.net/forum/viewtop ... rogression
Create a piece using the following chord progression: Dm-Bb-F-C (6-4-1-5). Obviously you can put it in any key you would like.

Nigel's Key: D-Minor, the saddest of all keys.
See Spinal tap :mrgreen:


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## Darthmorphling

String Quartet
Create a short piece for a string quartet. Try and use various articulations if possible.

Write like Mozart
Ok, that is a tall order, but I signed up for a free course starting in Jan. that will go over beginning classical composition. Maybe we can utilize some of the material for this group.

https://www.coursera.org/course/classicalcomp

Also, we have been stickied again!


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## Ron Snijders

Ouh, I just had an idea 
Write a folk score, like an Irish jig or something.


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## Darthmorphling

It's time to start choosing the next topic.

I am leaning in the direction of combining the Most Epic of Epics, and the Epic Chord Progression ideas.

Please let me know what you all would like.

Don


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## joshua

I think we should do a couple more of focused exercises before a do-whatever-you-want project.


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## Darthmorphling

@joshua

I fully agree. My thinking here is to combine a specific technique, with a certain style. This way if we focus on ostinati, we won't have someone doing an epic track and another doing a Mozart style ostinati.

Doing the Epic of Epics with the Epic chord progression(6-4-1-5) gives us a specific focus, the progression, and sends us all in the same direction.

We could also do this:

Ostinati + string quartet
Ostinati + Epicness
6-4-1-5 + ballad
etc...

Doing it this way opens up many opportunities to practice the same technique in my different ways.


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## joshua

Darthmorphling @ Fri Aug 30 said:


> Doing the Epic of Epics with the Epic chord progression(6-4-1-5) gives us a specific focus, the progression, and sends us all in the same direction.


My problem with that is writing Epic of Epics require skils in *everything* (ostinati, percussion, dynamic, etc). So that's why I suggested to exercises in ostinati, etc first before putting them all together.




Darthmorphling @ Fri Aug 30 said:


> This way if we focus on ostinati, we won't have someone doing an epic track and another doing a Mozart style ostinati.


Regarding the style I did suggested some rules:


> - The piece should contain at least 2- and 3-note arpeggio.
> - The piece will have a structure: soft/mellow section followed by loud/bombastic section. The section will include soft and strong ostinato, respectively.



I'll be fine if someone does an epic, quartet, [insert any style] piece, because you know, perhaps someone only has an epic library he won't miss out the ostinati exercise.


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## Darthmorphling

> - The piece should contain at least 2- and 3-note arpeggio.
> - The piece will have a structure: soft/mellow section followed by loud/bombastic section. The section will include soft and strong ostinato, respectively.



I'm ok with this. This is looking like the next project unless someone violently objects.


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## David Chappell

Darthmorphling @ Fri Aug 30 said:


> - The piece should contain at least 2- and 3-note arpeggio.
> - The piece will have a structure: soft/mellow section followed by loud/bombastic section. The section will include soft and strong ostinato, respectively.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I'm ok with this. This is looking like the next project unless someone violently objects.
Click to expand...


I have no quarrel with doing this. I really like the notion of the mellow--bombastic ... there's no loud without quiet after all :D


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## Darthmorphling

I've been on a Breaking Bad hiatus, but now it's time to think about the next project.

I'm leaning towards the percussion idea. Maybe we can have a continuation of the ostinato project. Not redoing the last piece, but taking what we learned with that piece and combining it with a focus on percussion.

Let me know what you think.

Don


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## paulmatthew

I would jump on board with this. I love percussion and it would be a perfect project for me to jump in on. Percussion has my vote . Maybe do it similar to the ostinato project , having the percussion go from small and relaxed to buliding up to bombastic . I gotta start somewhere or I'm never going to get better. Regardless , I may even jump in for the ostinato learning project .


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## joshua

Perhaps limit the instrument: timpani only, snare and some sort of bass/epic drum, taiko


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## David Chappell

I'd be good with doing a percussion project. perhaps like in the style of some of those trailer albums that are drums only? Or at least where the percussion is the predominant feature with lower emphasis on the melodic instruments


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## Darthmorphling

I was looking at this sort of like a build up to a more in-depth project where all of the techniques we have worked on come together.

I think using what we learned with the ostinato, and then focusing on the percussive aspect will start that process. Obviously percussion will be the main focus, but I think we should also allow rhythmic use of instruments as well. More like enhancing the percussion.


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## Lenny13

Hey guys ! What's next ?


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## Dan Mott

How about a project that you can only use sounds recorded around the home, or anywhere in the environment. These can then be processed and mixed how you like to make up a cool song.

When you are finished, we then have to list what we recorded and how we went about processing the sounds.

Would be an interesting exercise.


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## Darthmorphling

Lenny13 @ Sun Dec 01 said:


> Hey guys ! What's next ?



Just got a bit burned out on music recently. I did get Cinebrass this weekend though so we'll get one started next weekend?

I got a suggestion about the low to high dynamics in a PM. We could do that and incorporate the Epic chord progression idea. Doesn't mean it has to be epic though, just using the specific progression.


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## Darthmorphling

Dan Mott @ Sun Dec 01 said:


> How about a project that you can only use sounds recorded around the home, or anywhere in the environment. These can then be processed and mixed how you like to make up a cool song.
> 
> When you are finished, we then have to list what we recorded and how we went about processing the sounds.
> 
> Would be an interesting exercise.



I'll add this to the idea list.


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## David Chappell

Darthmorphling @ Mon Dec 02 said:


> Lenny13 @ Sun Dec 01 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hey guys ! What's next ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Just got a bit burned out on music recently. I did get Cinebrass this weekend though so we'll get one started next weekend?
> 
> I got a suggestion about the low to high dynamics in a PM. We could do that and incorporate the Epic chord progression idea. Doesn't mean it has to be epic though, just using the specific progression.
Click to expand...


I'd be cool with that.

I had a couple more ideas (since most of the projects have been more on the epic side of things):

Adventure theme
Love theme

Or (sort of continuing from the suggestion of recording stuff lying around):

Sample an instrument and then compose a track using it. Then we can share the VIs we make and try them out too!


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## Darthmorphling

It seems as if more people want to participate in these so I will start one by the end of the day PST.

I really like the idea of doing an adventure theme, but that one really intimidates me as to me, adventure = Indy theme. Would like to tackle it once I get more comfortable with Cinebrass.

The love theme idea seems a bit more manageable.

Let's do a love theme. Here are my suggestions:

1. Can be happy, or tragic,
2. Strings and winds only. Maybe a solo horn?
3. Must have a main melody, and there must be a section where there is a countermelody to the main.

Strings are not limited to orchestral strings, but any stringed instrument. Piano included.

I will make this official later so any suggestions before hand are welcome.

Don


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## kmlandre

Darthmorphling @ Tue Dec 17 said:


> 3. Must have a main melody, and there must be a section where there is a countermelody to the main.



Hi Don-

By "a section where there is a countermelody", do you mean a "B" section, or do you mean an "A" section where there is a dominant contrapuntal melody to the primary theme?

Thx,

Kurt M. Landre
http://www.SoundCloud.com/kmlandre


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## David Chappell

Darthmorphling @ Tue Dec 17 said:


> It seems as if more people want to participate in these so I will start one by the end of the day PST.
> 
> I really like the idea of doing an adventure theme, but that one really intimidates me as to me, adventure = Indy theme. Would like to tackle it once I get more comfortable with Cinebrass.
> 
> The love theme idea seems a bit more manageable.
> 
> Let's do a love theme. Here are my suggestions:
> 
> 1. Can be happy, or tragic,
> 2. Strings and winds only. Maybe a solo horn?
> 3. Must have a main melody, and there must be a section where there is a countermelody to the main.
> 
> Strings are not limited to orchestral strings, but any stringed instrument. Piano included.
> 
> I will make this official later so any suggestions before hand are welcome.
> 
> Don



I'm not sure it has to be limited to just strings/winds... obviously they will be the bulk of the arrangement but there may well be a place for the rest of the orchestra.

I would say, thinking of a love theme, the development in emotional intensity is the most important factor, at least going by the love themes I can think of. Typically a faint, haunting start that gets stronger and stronger until a lovely climax as true love gets its first kiss. Awww.

Either way. I think this should be a pretty fun one to do. Get more on the quiet side of things :D


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## Darthmorphling

kmlandre @ Tue Dec 17 said:


> Darthmorphling @ Tue Dec 17 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 3. Must have a main melody, and there must be a section where there is a countermelody to the main.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Don-
> 
> By "a section where there is a countermelody", do you mean a "B" section, or do you mean an "A" section where there is a dominant contrapuntal melody to the primary theme?
> 
> Thx,
> 
> Kurt M. Landre
> http://www.SoundCloud.com/kmlandre
Click to expand...


You can have an A and B section. One of them should have another contrasting melody underneath it. So I guess I mean "An "A" section where there is a dominant contrapuntal melody to the primary theme?"


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## Darthmorphling

David Chappell @ Tue Dec 17 said:


> I'm not sure it has to be limited to just strings/winds... obviously they will be the bulk of the arrangement but there may well be a place for the rest of the orchestra.
> 
> I would say, thinking of a love theme, the development in emotional intensity is the most important factor, at least going by the love themes I can think of. Typically a faint, haunting start that gets stronger and stronger until a lovely climax as true love gets its first kiss. Awww.
> 
> Either way. I think this should be a pretty fun one to do. Get more on the quiet side of things :D



We can scrap the limited instruments and include the entire orchestra. There just seems to be a debate as to how broad we make these. Since you have been a regular contributor your input is very welcome!


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## David Chappell

Darthmorphling @ Tue Dec 17 said:


> We can scrap the limited instruments and include the entire orchestra. There just seems to be a debate as to how broad we make these. Since you have been a regular contributor your input is very welcome!



It is a bit of a balancing act - choosing something specific enough to get a solid initial idea, but not so specific it starts to constrain creativity... personally, I liked the ones that are fairly broad but focused on one thing in particular (the synth + ostinato ones I really enjoyed).

I guess "love theme" is general enough to give people room for their own creativity. I wouldn't want to constrain it much further... we all have different interpretations of what we would want in such a track, and the more diverse the submissions the more we can learn from each other! :lol:


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## Phrosty

I think the more "limitations", the more valuable the lessons to be learned. The more open, the more everybody can just slide into their own comfort zone. So I vote for tight specifications and will stick to the strings/winds only.

Just to be clear (as English isn't my native language and sometimes it's those words that aren't really part of everyday language that I don't know): "winds" includes wood and brass, right?

I really look forward to this and Don again thanks for picking this up again!


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## Darthmorphling

Let's keep this one a bit more open in scope, and then alternate with more focused learning objectives.

I am by no means trained in music, I teach 5th grade. My understanding is that wind instruments mean the use of a reed. The flute family being the exception.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodwind_instrument

"Woodwind instruments (also called woodwinds) are a family of musical instruments within the more general category of wind instruments. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed instruments (otherwise called reed pipes)."

One of my favorite pieces of music is "Anakin's Theme" by John Williams. In it he uses winds, strings, and harp. My piece will try and emulate that sound.


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## Phrosty

Don

thanks for the clarification. So strings and (wood-)winds it is for me. 
Do we have a deadline as well? :O


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## Darthmorphling

Phrosty @ Tue Dec 17 said:


> Don
> 
> thanks for the clarification. So strings and (wood-)winds it is for me.
> Do we have a deadline as well? :O



We use this thread for discussing which area we want to focus on, and I always update the first two posts as new ideas come about, and projects are finished.

The actual projects have their own threads. I'll start the new thread later tonight which will have all the objectives and deadline.


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## Darthmorphling

Would you all be interested in doing a longer Project that goes along with this free course on classical composing?

https://class.coursera.org/classicalcomp-001

It's free, and the informationn for the first assignment is pretty thorough, albeit a bit dry.

Instead of posting our solutions to each week's assignment we could create a short piece using that week's particular content focus. When I say short I mean like 8-16 measures.

I know the first week is almost done, but it shouldn't be difficult to catch up and the deadline could be what ever we choose.


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## paulmatthew

Don , 

I'd be game for this , however, depending on how deep this class goes I may not be able to keep up. I'm through 2 lectures so far and it seems to be at a knowledge pace I can learn from and keep up with. My music reading skills are still ehhhh not so good , but you can put me down to start . 

I'm still planning on doing a Love Theme for the collaborative, hopefully next weekend I can sit down and do one. I wanted to put it together using the free Headroom Piano .


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## Darthmorphling

paulmatthew @ Thu Jan 09 said:


> Don ,
> 
> I'd be game for this , however, depending on how deep this class goes I may not be able to keep up. I'm through 2 lectures so far and it seems to be at a knowledge pace I can learn from and keep up with. My music reading skills are still ehhhh not so good , but you can put me down to start .
> 
> I'm still planning on doing a Love Theme for the collaborative, hopefully next weekend I can sit down and do one. I wanted to put it together using the free Headroom Piano .



I was kind of thinking of keeping this one more open as to the deadline, maybe not even having a hard deadline.

I'm currently on Lesson 5 part three and my lack of sight reading skills are making it more difficult. chords are much easier to recognize when you don't have to constantly think about figuring out the notes all of the time. Learning quite a bit though.


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## Darthmorphling

So there wasn't much interest in doing one for the Mozart class so let's pick a different one.

How about one of these:

Flying Theme 
Compose a "flying" theme (I think I remember a post in this forum about good listening material for such a theme) 

Compose a piece in an unusual time signature such as 5/4, 7/4, 7/8 etc

Adventure Theme

If there is another suggestion please come forward.

I'll start the new project in the next couple of days.

Don


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## kmlandre

The "Flying" theme or the "Adventure" theme sounds good to me. I've got an old piece I'd like to rework and this would be the perfect opportunity.

As for an odd metered piece, it's already kind of habitual for me anyway, but I'd participate if that's what everyone selected.

Kurt M. Landre'
http://www.SoundCloud.com/kmlandre


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## TMRodrigues

An Adventure Theme sounds about right to me! 
Having to compose it in an odd meter would also be interesting.


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## cAudio

Flying or adventure theme in/or including odd meters?
They all sound good to me, I'm in.

Also, thanks for organizing this!


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## Darthmorphling

Some things have come up that are causing me to give these projects a short break. I do plan on returning to them soon. Nothing serious, but lots of kids activities, home improvement projects, and a desire to become more proficient in my keyboard skills take up a lot of time.

In the meantime, if anyone is interested in taking over for a few they are more than welcome. I will continue to keep this thread updated by adding any new projects that anyone may decide to start.


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## wanmingyan

Hey All,

It has been a while since I posted here or composed anything! 

So would everyone mind if I ask for everyone to give me criticism for my pieces on SoundCloud? I had composed all of them within the past month and I hope that VI Controllers would give me some feedback so that I can improve!  

Sorry Don for not participating actively in your Collaborative Projects! They are REALLY REALLY HELPFUL!

Here's my SoundCloud link:

https://soundcloud.com/wanmingyan

Enjoy your musical creation journey!
WMY


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## Soundhound

Hi I just discovered this thread and would love to participate if another project starts up! Should I just keep an eye on this thread? thanks!


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## David Chappell

Anyone fancy trying to start these back up again?


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## Darthmorphling

I have been thinking about starting these back up. Fell away from music for a bit, but I always seem to come back to it. Would people still be interested?


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## tonaliszt

yes!


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## blender505

I've been pretty busy recently, so I don't know that I'll have the time. I really enjoyed the projects that I had a chance to work on last time though.


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## David Chappell

Absolutely, I've found these really enjoyable and extremely helpful.


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## Farkle

I'd be up for it, they sounded like a lot of fun.


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## cheul

I would love to join in as part of my musical education, provided I would get feedback and advice on how to improve my beginner's tryouts.


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## Darthmorphling

Ok so let's plan on starting one this Friday. What would everyone like to do as the theme. I have been thinking that we could make it very general, but we need to include a real instrument or recorded sound. It could be what ever instrument you play, or simply recording your frying pan and tweaking it into a percussive instrument.


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## cheul

I would say something not too general would help get more creative and not get lost in the vast possibilities, which seems to be the purpose of such composing exercises. I checked the 1st "contest" and orchestrating a melody feels a bit too open a suggestion to get things rolling when you lack experience. Just my 2 cents. Recording a live instrument is not easy for me so I'll probably pass this 1st round. The following themes come to mind, but only reflect what I want to learn : motivic development, structure/form, development through harmonic variations.


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## Darthmorphling

cheul said:


> I would say something not too general would help get more creative and not get lost in the vast possibilities, which seems to be the purpose of such composing exercises. I checked the 1st "contest" and orchestrating a melody feels a bit too open a suggestion to get things rolling when you lack experience. Just my 2 cents. Recording a live instrument is not easy for me so I'll probably pass this 1st round. The following themes come to mind, but only reflect what I want to learn : motivic development, structure/form, development through harmonic variations.



Having a melody that gets orchestrated can be a perfect thing to do if you are starting out. It even fits in with the things you list as wanting to learn.

I just threw out an idea. I have always tried to take into account what the participants would like to do. Give me a specific project idea and we can determine if that is what we will do. I want to make this beneficial for all participants.

Another thing I just found out about is creating a trailer for the game "Just Cause 3". We did something similar for Project 2 and it was really an eye opening experience.

https://mytrailer.justcause.com/

edit: After really looking at the creative kit it involves actually creating the entire thing from scratch including editing the video. This is more than what these projects are about. Would be interesting to try it out at some point for fun though.


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## David Chappell

Personally, the ones I've found most fun and useful have been the "theme" ones. They're specific enough that there's a definite sound to be aimed for but general enough that you can take it from many different approaches. I found it also helped with the collaborative aspect of learning since everyone has a different approach and you can learn from how other people went about it.


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## Darthmorphling

David Chappell said:


> Personally, the ones I've found most fun and useful have been the "theme" ones. They're specific enough that there's a definite sound to be aimed for but general enough that you can take it from many different approaches. I found it also helped with the collaborative aspect of learning since everyone has a different approach and you can learn from how other people went about it.



We never did do the flying theme. Are there any other "themes" we could do? Love and adventure have been done already.

ideas:

danger
suspense
comedy
horror


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## cheul

Flying theme is cool... it still sounds a daunting task, could we consider breaking it into several assignments ? i.e. :
- 1st one = write 2 musical ideas to the theme of flying and harmonize them using different harmonies at each iterations, with a mandatory form/structure that we would all apply (that would make differences stick out clearly because things would be laid out in an uniform fashion). Could be divided in 2 sub-assignements : melody + block chords 1st, then 2 to 4-part writing depending on the density one aims at. 
- 2nd one : orchestrate the damn thing, here again with a given structure i.e.: exposition of the main theme, using only 2 orchestral sections, crescendo transition to the secondary theme, a tutti passage then a recapitulation of both themes in a more polyphonic fashion.

The idea behind having an imposed/mandatory structure is so we don't have to worry and be creative about too many parameters.


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## David Chappell

Flying theme would be cool. Along with the other themes suggested, you could have action, chase, fantasy, winter, Christmas, nostalgic.. pretty much something that you might be composing for a film without having a picture to score it to 

Aside from themes, I also think a choral based piece would be pretty interesting to do


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## johnf

i've been lurking for a while, but this topic prompted me to join. this sounds like a great learning opportunity. how do i get involved?


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## Darthmorphling

I sought out some input on another thread and here is the basic format that we will use for this particular piece:

Flying theme

Stage 1 - Melody and variations. Enough to make the piece musically interesting.
Stage 2 - Whatever harmonic structure we impose (block chords, 2, 3, 4 part harmony, etc...) 
Stage 3 - Arrangement and orchestration

4 weeks total to complete the Project?

One of the things I really need help with is CC data. I would seriously like us to share our midi files.

What specific technique, if any, would we like to focus on for stage two?


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## cheul

For stage two I'd say an interesting part of the exercise would be to vary between textures, we could decide the piece should showcase at one instance of homo-rhythmic homophonic texture, at least one polyphonic/counterpuntal passage (or at least written in that spirit)... just an example. The idea would be to see at which point in the piece people introduce these, to what effect and later on check what these textures become upon orchestration. 

Or it could be regarding the harmony itself : 1st iteration of the theme would use strict diatonic harmony, then chromatic mediant relationships, maybe one instance of quartal harmony... and other things I yet don't know about !


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## David Chappell

Afraid I don't have much clue what many of these words mean when it comes to harmony - does that mean the first part is like say a piano sketch of the piece, with the second part breaking it down into more parts before orchestration in the final part?


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## Darthmorphling

Here are some links to help explain as I wasn't sure either:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homorhythm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphony
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterpoint
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_mediant
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quartal_and_quintal_harmony

Sorry I have been away from here. I am currently tucked away in our district's office creating our new math curriculum.

I would like to suggest that we make the first one a little less daunting for us beginners. Reading through the above links I uderstand maybe 30%. Diatonic mediants just escape me


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## cheul

Well I may know a thing or two on a theoretical level but I'm a beginner as you guys when it comes to actually writing something, so no worries


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## Mike Greene

I'm trying to unclutter the stickies. There are a lot on this subforum, a couple of which I already un-stickied. This particular thread seems inactive enough to also unsticky, but if there's something still going on that I don't about, let me know.


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## justmjulie

It is possible to check the past project? the links seem not working


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## JesseDempster

wow, very interesting, what I was looking for


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