Notes on Music Composing

References

Gary Guttman Composing 101 - Creating Moods
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Film_Scoring/Butchering_MIDI_Files/Importing_Beethoven_into_GarageBand

Main Components of Musical Piece

Choice of Melody
Harmony
Rhythm
Instrument

Terminology

Ostinato

Beat pattern to create movement
Typically drums but may be cello, French Horn, or even piano ??
Difference between ARPEGGIO and ostinato ? ARP is more simple. Ostinato is bit more complex ?

Score Order

Wood Winds:
- Piccolo; Flute; Oboe; English Horn; Clarinet; Bass Clarinet; Bassoon
Brass:
- French Horns; Trumpets; Trombones; Tuba
Percussion
- Timpani; Percussion; Keyboards
Strings
- Harp; Violins; Violas; Cellos; Basses

Add reverb for orchestration

Vienna Instruments are recorded without reverb (in sound proofed room).
For orchestral music you need Reverb.
The reverb creates real majestic feel of listening in big hall.

Syncopated Rhythm

Typically done by stressing the weak (down, last?) beat.
Book definition is that when you make strong beat weak and/or weak beat strong, then that rhythm is a syncopated rhythm of the original.

LietMotif

A small melody that can be used in many different ways in film.
Same melody can be twisted as happy or sad or mystic depending on how you arrange it.

Hit Points

The points at which music hits. Look for points of inflection with in scene.
Do not hit all points then it will sound like cartoon. Less is more.

Different Roles

Composer - Melody and bit of Rhythm
Orchestrator - Arranger ; Assign music instruments
Musician - Plays music instrument.
Music Editor - Buy commercial music and insert it at righ places
Mixer - Do Mixing and balancing
Copyist - Make individual copies of music sheets for musicians

Diegetic vs Non-Diegetic

Diegetic music - Music which appears within movie. e.g. Hero listens to Radio.
Non-Diegetic - BGM, etc.

Library Music

See https://www.soundonsound.com/music-business/all-about-library-music-part-1
Set of pre-cleared tracks that can be reused for your films.
Dan Graham is a successful composer and publisher of library music.
Online portals such as MusicBed, Marmoset, Pond 5, Premium Beat and Envato form a large and growing part of the landscape. They are generally known as ‘royalty-free’ libraries.

Notes From Gary Guttman

Multiple concurrent Instruments for same Melody creates orchestral feel. e.g. Flute, Piano, Harp at the same time.
For eerie sound, use synth or otherwise Bending Metals in minor second intervals, Also use Trombones. For surprising Tension, use Storm Drums and Bass Pizzicato.
Magical sound instruments: Celesta, Bell Tree, Harp
Mysterious components:
- Sound
- Harmony
- Melody
Scoring under dialogue: No melody during dialogue. Just harmony in background is acceptable. Violing, violas, flute harmony will do.
Use EditStock.com for footages.

Notes From Jonathan

Music and Scene cuts do not have to coincide exactly. Only Horror movies require that. Either you introduce music in advance to trigger anticipation or extend music even after scene to provide continuity.
Pop music has 4 bars phrase -- Complex pieces have up to 16 bars phrase.
In automation, velocity and expression are different. Velocity applies to single key. Expression applies to all keys of the instrument at that instant.
To Humanize, use Functions => MiDI Transform => Humanize option in Piano Roll.
For mixing, Keep Bass in center and may be spread out the other instruments.
Logic comes with std effects loaded which appears after EXS24 sampler. Comes with EQ, Compressor, Tape Delay, Bus1 (for 1.3s Reverb), Bus2 (for 6s Reverb). Most effects have 100% Dry and 0% Wet by default.
Common Technique: EQ (cut-out unnecessary) + Compressor + EQ (Boost specific Freq)
EQ Scooping: Technique where you have a moving boost range, you keep dragging and listen the effect to restrict boosting in that area.
It is common to start with "Cinematic Strings" in the background.
In film music, you rarely hear full chord like C7, most of the time it is subtle, 2 or 3 keys from the chord. Chord shifts are also subtle, otherwise it will draw attention to the music. Chord shifts often happen while common keys are kept pressed.
You can have "Male Theme" and "Female Theme" as simple as CGE and CEG. And start assigning different instruments for male (e.g. Guitar) and Female (e.g.

Notes From Spot Composing by Gregg Fine

Beauty products use lot of Sonic Ear Candy elements. (Pleasing bells etc)
Glackenspiel is pitched instrument but bell like. So it fits well with melody.
Tag melody - Rough melody ? to be improved on later ??
Chimes at the end gives a nice "finish" effect.

Notes From Groove3 Perspectives

Keep music as "ambiguos mood" if audience does not know the mood yet. (do not spoil the suspense by predicting too much in music).
First create scene cuts using Logic Pro built-in functionality by scaning the footage.

Sonic Candy Examples

Oliver Lieb Ear Candy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q__UK4vzxOk

Music Vocabulary

See:

https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/style-and-usage/descriptive-rds-for-music.html

Music Emotions

See: * http://musicpsychology.co.uk/musical-emotions-unique-and-complex/ * http://www.zentnerlab.com/psychological-tests/geneva-emotional-music-scales

GEMS 9 categories

Sublimity:
    Wonder              : Happy, Amazed, Dazzled, Allured, Moved
    Transcendence       : Inspired, Thrills, Spiritual
    Tenderness          : In-Love, Affectionate, Sensual
    Nostalgia           : Dreamy, Nostalgic, Sentimental, Melancholic
    Peacefulness        : Calm, Serene, Meditative
Vitality:
    Energy              : Triumphant, Fiery, Strong 
    Joyful activation   : joyful, animated, amused, funny, dancing
Unease:
    Tension             : anger, irritated, tense, frightening, impatient
    Sadness             : sad, sorrowful

GEMS 3 superfactors

sublimity, vitality, and unease

Opposing Concepts

happy - sad
exciting - dreamy
lively - calm      # why not calm and lively ? e.g. passive aggression

More Misc Emotions

seducing, 
touching, 
enchanted, engaging, mesmerizing, fascinating,
confusion,
shock,
shame
fast, brisk, upbeat, rapid,
aggressive, frantic
hopeless x hopeful, promising
stupor, lethargic, bored, senseless,
Soothe, Heal, Invigorate, Exhilarate, Uplift, soulful,
Deep, Rich, Thick (many layers of music), Thin,

Raucous (loud irritating), Piercing, Harsh
Warm, Resonant, Bright
Dark, Flat, 
Melodious, Gentle, Brassy

Feelings List

See https://7esl.com/describe-someones-feelings-and-emotions/

Happy     Loving
Sad       Depressed   Regretful   Pained Lonely Worried Shocked Tired
          Frustrated  Hurt        Sorry  Guilty Sick Ashamed
Angry
Afraid
Hot
Amused
Bored
Anxious
Confident
Cold
Suspicious
Surprised
Curious
Envious
Jealous
Miserable
Confused
Stupid
Withdrawn
Indifferent
Determined
Crazy
Bashful
Enraged
Frightened
Interested
Shy
Hopeful
Scared
Stubborn
Thirsty
Nervous
Embarrassed
Disgusted
Proud
Ecstatic
Hungry
Smug
Thoughtful
Optimistic
Relieved
Puzzled
Joyful
Sleepy
Excited
Skeptical
Bad