Composing with pitch: Write a short piece for cello and piano in which the piano plays a sequence of chords and the cello plays a melodic line either above or below those chords. Consider the following:
- Pay attention to the interval structure of the chords. How dissonant is each chord, based on the intervals it contains? Do particular intervals have particular effects?
- Pay attention to the melodic intervals between successive notes in the melody. Do particular intervals have an expressive effect?
- Pay attention to the intervals formed between the cello melody and the piano chords. Can you use consonance and dissonance to create a sense of tension and release?
- You can use triads, but try to use at least some chords that are not triadic, chords that there is no name for.
- You can be specific about rhythm and articulation if you want, or you can simply space the noteheads out on the page like this
If you need access to music paper, you can easily print some out at blanksheetmusic.net. Turn in the assignment by 10pm on Sunday evening by e-mailing me a PDF of the score.