Model Variation Techniques

I am always searching for new ways to think of using techniques, clarifying the practical side of things as well as the theoretical and philosophical side of things.

Some of the techniques may be duplicated in different sections, such as harmony or melody. That is okay. Feel free to help clarify, comment, and add to the techniques listed here.

Harmony (Space)

• Substitution
  • Triadic
    • Two shared notes
    • One shared note
  • Superimposition
    • Better than thinking about extending. You are superimposing different intervals on the a structure that may or may not be thought of as 3rds based extensions. Plus extension is used already.
  • Addition or removal of pedal point.

Melody (Line)

• Adding Notes
  • Passing Tones
  • Neighbor Tones
  • Appoggiaturas
  • Turns
  • Arpeggiating (can be based on substitute harmony, this is melodic-harmonic divergence, or simply a divergence.)
  • Repetitions of a single note
  • New Rhythms (can also be about removing notes)
• Changing Note Placement
  • Suspension
  • Anticipation
• Changing Pitch
  • Chromatic Alteration
  • Transposition
• Combined Techniques
  • Adding notes and changing pitch
    • Octave Jumps

Form (Time)

• Extension – Attach
  • With extension we are attaching additional whole groups. Groups, refers to any kind of grouping structure. For instance, a 3rd basic idea, a repetition of a phrase, or even the repetition of an entire section (repeating the exposition).
• Expansion – Grow
  • Expansion is about growing from within the group.
• Compression – Shrink
  • Compression is the opposite of expansion.
• Removal
  • Removing a group complete. Shrinking still leaves the group.
• Interpolation – Hold
  • The standard march of time gets paused during interpolation, which is the attachment of unrelated material. The unrelatedness can vary. It could be completely unrelated. Or it could be related to another section, but not the current section.

Effects of Loosening – How we understand our music

• Fusion
  • Fusion occurs when a group takes on additional formal functions. For instance, a continuation may also completely be a cadence. This is fusion of elements.
• Asymmetrical grouping (not a technique, only descriptive of end effect.)
  • Happens from attaching, growing, or shrinking of one subgroup and not another. For instance, you may have a 2m basic idea and a 3m basic idea.
• Functionally redundancy
  • Can occur in attachment, and growing.
• Functionally deficient
  • Can occur after compression.

Universal Techniques

These can be applied to many different types of element (melodies, harmony, accompaniments, etc).

Timbre

• Timbre is primarily effected by dynamics, articulations, density, and range.

Rhythm (Shape)

• Can be applied to melody, or harmony, or as a separate element, such as additional rhythmical instruments, accompaniments, etc.
  • Split them up. For instance, you could split up a half note into two quarters notes, four 8th notes, a triplet of three quarter notes, or so on.
  • Extend them by adding a dot to one note, and shortening the next note. If it were two quarter notes, they would become a dotted quarter and an 8th.
  • Combine them
  • Replace them with rests
  • Vary the degree of regularity and irregularity.
    • Regular rhythmics lead with longer rhythms (Dotted half followed by a quarter note).
    • Irregular rhythms lead with shorter notes (quarter followed by dotted half).

Dynamics

• Create different short dynamic patterns to follow. For instance, loud-soft, soft-loud, continuous soft, growing, shrinking.
• Dynamics can be different between simultaneous elements (can make solo work on piano slightly more difficult).

Articulation

• Standard articulations

Density

Range

Tempo

General Terms

Divergence

Disagreement between two elements. For instance underlying harmony, and harmonic intent of melody. C chord, with a melody that starts on C, but then arpeggiates up an Ab major chord landing on C again.