Principles of Design

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Principles of Design
Some
IN MUSIC
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PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Some
REPETITION VARIATIONCONTRAST BALANCE
symmetry/asymmetry EMPHASIS - accent ECONOMY
PROPORTION SCALE
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Eadweard Muybridge, photographer
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Repetition/Variation in Music
Small-scale repetition creates a sense of pulse,
rhythm and meter Motific repetition is used to
build phrases Repetition of group of notes is a
pattern called an ostinato Large-scale
repetition creates FORM
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an idea returns after contrasting sections
phrases repeated immediately
within the phrase
REPETITION Immediate Sectional Large-scale
EXTREME
MODERATE
RARE
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Some repetition in music
PHILIP GLASS EINSTEIN ON THE BEACH (an opera)
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REPETITION Immediate Sectional Large-scale
EXTREME
MODERATE
RARE
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CAILLEBOTTE, GustaveParis A Rainy D ay, 1877,
Oil on canvas, 83 1/2 x 108 3/4"
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Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor,1ST movement
The motif is immediately repeated and varied
the music is built with this motif (aka motive)
This section of music will return a minute later
and then a couple of minutes later large-scale,
sectional repetition
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Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor,1ST movement
REPETITION Immediate Sectional Large-scale
EXTREME MOTIFIC
MODERATE (usual) some not exact yes
RARE
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Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor,3rd movement

• each section is repeated
• the first 2 sections return after a contrasting
  section
• General form (design) is ABA
• Specifically, it is aabbccddab (does anyone
  listen that way?)
• Based on dance music, but it is not dance music
• triple meter

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Mozart Symphony No. 40 in G minor,3rd movement
REPETITION Immediate Sectional Large-scale
EXTREME Yes Yes
MODERATE Some
RARE
Melodic shapes and evolution rhythmic patterns
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CONTRAST
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Thelonious Monk, Epistrophy
c. 1948, recorded 1957-58. (From the CD
Thelonious Monk with John Coltrane. A photograph
of Thelonious Monk, with a stupid caption,
appears on p. 23 of the textbook.)
This example demonstrates         repetition at
three levels         statement, departure,
return at multiple levels        
contour         sequence
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FORM
The simplest form is unvaried repetition AAAA .
. . A complete lack of repetition creates a
complex form ABCDEFGHI . . . But many forms
depend on the sense of STATEMENT, DEPARTURE and
RETURN ABA
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Song Forms
Verse-refrain (ABABAB) . . . - Ex. The Jovial
Tradesmen
AABA very standard. Actually, it is
ababCabverse-refrain-verse-refrain-bridge-verse-
refrain(refrain is also known as
chorus).The statement-departure-return (or
statement-contrast) structureworks at two
different levels, abab and the larger AABA.
The text varies (usually) only on the
verse text v1 r v2 r bridge v3
r music a b a b bridge a b
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Earth, Wind Fire, Fantasy (1977)
Maurice White, Eddie del Barrio Verdine
White   Every man has a place, in his heart
there's a space, and the world can't erase his
fantasies Take a ride in the sky, on our ship
fantasii all your dreams will come true, right
away   And we will live together, until the
twelfth of never our voices will ring forever, as
one  
  Every thought is a dream, rushing by in a
stream, bringing life to our kingdom of
doing Take a ride in the sky, on our ship
fantasii all your dreams will come true, miles
away   Our voices will ring together until the
twelfth of never, we all, will live forever, as
one
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Earth, Wind Fire, Fantasy (1977)
Come to see, victory, in the land called
fantasy loving life, a new decree, bring your
mind to everlasting liberty   Come to see,
victory in a land called fantasy, loving life,
for you and me, to behold, to your soul is
ecstasy You will find, other kind, that has been
in search for you, many lives has brought you
to recognize it's your life, now in review  
and as you stay for the play, fantasy, has in
store for you, a glowing light will see you
through   It's your day, shining day, all your
dreams come true As you glide, in your stride
with the wind, as you fly away give a smile, from
your lips, and say I am free, yes I'm free, now
I'm on my way Come to see, victory in a land
called fantasy, loving life, . . . now in
review
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MUSICAL FORM So what?
Expectations confirmed SATISFACTION! (clichéd,
boring, too predictable) Expectations
denied EXPRESSION! (meaningless, wrong,
incompetent)
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Other Forms
We will encounter many types of forms such
as Variation A AAA . . . Binary
AABB Rondo ABACA Sonata intro-A-B-A-B-de
v-A-B-coda and an entire zoo of forms perhaps
not entirely worth cataloging.
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CONTRAST IN MUSIC
Mozart -- first movement from Symphony No.
35 in D Major, K. 385, "Haffner" LOW/HIGH
(contrast in register) LONG/SHORT
Contrast in timbre (sound color) Bach,
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (also contrast in
dynamics loud and soft)
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BALANCE
BALANCE
asymmetry
symmetry
E Q U I L I B R I U M
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Assymetical balancein music?
A concerto sets a soloist or small group of
soloists against an orchestra
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EMPHASIS
accent
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ECONOMY
limitation of a composition to a few essential
elements usually a voluntary constraint that is
part of the creative process SPECIFIC TO AN
INDIVIDUAL WORK, NOT THE GENRE , TYPE OR MEDIUM
Examples in music deriving everything from a
single theme (musical idea), limiting the number
of pitches, type of instrument, etc. Steve
Reich, Music for Pieces of Wood, Clapping Music,
or other pieces DC Meckler, Bliss (1999) Morton
Feldman, Three Voices (1982)
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Picasso, Femme
ECONOMY very little suggests a lot
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PROPORTION
PROPORTION
PROPORTION
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Shahn, Ben, Vacant Lot, 1939Watercolor and
gouache on paper mounted on plywood panel, 19 x
23 in
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Proportion in music
A matter of time, usually lots of time. Example
3 Beethoven string quartets (Op 59, 1, 2 3).
Each in 4 movements. No. 1 BIG 1st mvt No. 2
nervous 1st mvt, BIG 2nd mvt No. 3 BIG finale
(4th mvt)
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SCALE
SCALE - the size of a work compared to the
environment miniature, human, monumental. The
term can also apply to musical works, although it
has an entirely different meaning than musical
scale. (A symphony is a large-scale musical
work when compared to a song.)
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Claes Oldenburg, Knife Ship I, 1985
Vinyl-covered wood, steel, and aluminum with
motors, dimensions variable, maximum height 31
feet 8 inches x 40 feet 5 inches x 31 feet 6
inches.
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Miniature
Leaf from Futuh al-Haramain (Description of the
Two Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina), mid-16th
century Ottoman, 8x5 in.
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a bit bigger . . .
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Some examples of time scales in music
Less than a minute - Miniatures Chopin, Webern,
Schoenberg Pop songs 3-6 minutes Early
symphonies 25-35 minutes Later symphonies 45
min - 1 hr Longest Mahler 1 ½ hrs Short opera
2 hours Average opera 3-4 hours (including
intermissions) Long opera 5 hours Longest
traditional opera Wagners RING 18 hours
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PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
Some
REPETITION VARIATIONCONTRAST BALANCE
symmetry/asymmetry EMPHASIS - accent ECONOMY
PROPORTION SCALE
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Monk, Epistrophy  repetition at three levels
a a b b a'a'b'b' a'a'b'b' a a b b c c' c'' d d'
a'a'b'b' (The little mark indicates some degree
of variation.) Three levels of repetition
small-scale (motific) aa  phrase level a a
b b compared to a'a'b'b'  sectional the return
of the a'a'b'b' after the bridge (c c' c'' d d')
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Monk, Epistrophystatement, departure, return
STATEMENT a a b b DEPARTURE a'a'b'b'
a'a'b'b' RETURN a a b b STATEMENT a a b b
a'a'b'b' a'a'b'b' a a b b DEPARTURE c c' c'' d
d' RETURN a'a'b'b' (complete structure
AAAABA) STATEMENT AAAABA DEPARTURE
solos RETURN AAAABA A ending
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Monk, Epistrophycontour and sequence
contour melodic analog of shape in art a
rises b rises and falls   sequence repeating
a pattern up or down a scale step or series of
steps d d
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Louis Andriessen, De Staat, (The State,
1973-1976) Contrast in timbre (sound
color) DOUBLE REEDS/BRASS/VOICESPIANO (double
reeds woodwind instruments oboe, English
horn, bassoon)
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VARIATIONthe alliance between repetition and
surprise
The extensive poem, moreover, satisfies another
two-fold requirement, one that is closely related
to the rule of variety within unity repetition
and surprise. Repetition is a cardinal principal
in poetry. Meter and its accents, rhyme, the
epithets in Homer and other poets, phrases and
incidents that recur like musical motifs and
serve as signs to emphasize continuity. At the
other extreme are breaks, changes, inventions -
in a word, the unexpected. What we call
development is merely the alliance between
repetition and surprise, recurrence and
invention, continuity and interruption. Octavio
Paz, Telling and Singing in The Other Voice
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CONTRAST IN MUSIC
Mozart -- first movement from Symphony No.
35 in D Major, K. 385, "Haffner" LOW/HIGH
(contrast in register) LONG/SHORT
Contrast in timbre (sound color) Bach,
Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 (also contrast in
dynamics loud and soft)