Arranging Lesson - Limericks (With Tab)
Added 2018-12-31 00:32:24 +0000 UTCHi guys, see attached for the PDF of the sheet music for this lesson. Also make sure to check out the video I provided as that should help to explain how this all works. PS --- the riff that I wrote for you guys is a two hand tapping riff in an alternate tuning...
Anyways, what we've got here is a lesson on musical form. These ideas come from a teacher of mine (Ken Morrison), who taught me about simple musical structures.
The general idea here is that one way to arrange an independent musical idea is to create a structure with a ratio of 2+2+1+1, or long, long, short, short, long. This structure is relatively common in classical music and parallels the structure of a limerick poem. In music this can be generally represented using 8 bars.
The benefit of using this type of structure is that it provides a simple template for arranging ideas. Not only that, but this structure also helps to promote melodic development as it requires constant attention to the motific devices that are being used throughout the piece.
On that motific point, this can be observed by looking at the general features of the limerick structure:
1) The first two bars should share similar content (these are the 2+2 bars in the overall form). However, the first two bars, and the two bars preceding, should differ in that the first two bars might have a weaker cadence than the second two bars, or the second two bars have some kind of general variation on the first two bars.
2) The 1+1 sections should fragment (contain / represent) some kind of rhythmic or meldoic motif from the first 4 bars (the 2+2 section). This is where we get that strong melodic development
3) The final two bars should work towards a final cadence or resolution.
