Problem Solving (Unfortunately)

I mentioned a few weeks ago about how Ms. Lord had commented on my blog, saying that the line "stumble and fall" was something that occurred often in school songs, and it is a bit cliched. I told you how I had been grappling with what to do about it because I really liked the line, but I didn't know how to alter it.

Well, I've found a solution. I'm going to completely get rid of that verse and start fresh. It just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the song, and honestly, I think what I've come up with instead is much better.  Hopefully the rest of you will like it too! (This would fit at the end. The last two lines are the Coda).

Though we leave the rolling hills and gorges

And we watch our dreams unfold

Our hearts belong to Ithaca

And we still lie with you as one

The Red and Gold!

I also altered a few words in the verse that I shared a few weeks ago, which I will share now.

Far beneath the pathways of Cornell

And the college high upon South Hill

There lies a school in Ithaca

Where the youngest minds are filled     

We decided that it is really Ithaca College, not Cornell, that is known for its towers, so I changed "towers" to "pathways". Also, "filled" rhymes better with "hill" than does "prevail".

I'm getting closer and it feels really good. I'm so excited right now.

Homage to the Higher Institutions

Ooooooooo I really like this…I had a stroke of creative genius while working on one of these verses.

I realized it might be neat (I hate that word) to give a "shout out" to both Cornell and Ithaca College.

This is what I have so far:

Far beneath the towers of Cornell

And the college high upon South Hill

There lies a school in Ithaca

Where young minds will prevail (maybe)

It appears that nearly nothing rhymes with the word "hill". At least, nothing that is applicable to a school. Although, I suppose "pills" are sometimes found…ok, no, I won't go there…

Anyway, here's the interesting part about this verse. Not only does it reference both institutions, but it also takes lines from both of their Alma Maters. 

Cornell's Alma Mater begins with the line: "Far above Cayuga's waters", and here, I start with "Far beneath…" 

Likewise, one of the lines in Ithaca College's Alma Mater ends with "high upon South Hill".

I know, try and control your excitement please. There will be more to come.

I'll be back soon with hopefully another verse, and possibly a reworked last line of the first verse.

Let's Get it Done

With the choir concert over, our days seem rather dull in rehearsal, but not for long, because it's time to unveil the brand new IHS Alma Mater…once it's finished…right…

This is the week it all comes to an end so that we can start rehearsing for graduation.
Ms. Zaryski and I have been meeting every day for about an hour and a half to two hours to really make sure that we're on the same page. While I'm able to use sources to determine what is singable and what isn't, she is a very trustworthy source for knowing what this specific choir is capable of.

She recently came to me with some suggestions for the form of the piece, which I thought we had already determined, but as with everything, there is always opportunity for revision. She suggested we try the form AABA Coda in order to increase the length, because right now, it is not substantial enough to carry any weight with the student body.

This week, I will focus my energy on writing two more verses to accompany the one I have already. Now that I have the melody and the harmonies, this shouldn't take long. My goal is to have this done by Wednesday so that I can meet with Ms. Zaryski and make any necessary revisions.

Invert the Romans

In reading my previous post, I discovered that I didn't even mention the original point of the blurb about chords…whoops. There is still a small amount to cover, then I will reveal the harmonic analysis of the alma mater.

All chords can have inversions. This simply means that a different note within in the triad is on the bottom.

For example, a C Major chord, made up of C, E and G, has C on bottom, E in the middle, and G on the top when in root position.

However, the chord could be inverted to have E as the bottom note, and same with G.

If E is the lowest note in the C major chord, then it is a C Major chord in 1st inversion.

If G is the lowest note in the C major chord, then it is a C Major chord in (you guessed it) 2nd inversion.

When using roman numerals, first inversion is notated using a 6, to indicate that the interval between the bass note and the top note is a 6th, and second inversion is notated using a 6/4 to indicate that the interval between the bass and the top note is a 6th, and the interval between the bass note and the middle note is a 4th, otherwise, it is simply assumed that the bass note is a third away from the middle note.

So, without further adieu, here is the harmonic analysis of the new Ithaca High School Alma Mater:

Verse: I  V  I  V4-3  V  ii7  V  I  I  I6  I  IV6-5,2-1,4-3  V6/4  I6/4  V  I  

Chorus: I  IV  I6  ii7  V7  I  IV  I6 V/ii  V  V6  I

If you can make sense of that, you'll be one of the first people to hear the basic harmonies of the alma mater. Congrats!

Do As the Romans Do

After playing around with the melody in my head, I have developed harmonies that fit both the traditional style, as well as a few that coincide with the current time period.

The "shorthand" way of writing a chord is using roman numerals. There is a roman numeral assigned to each note of the diatonic scale. In C Major, the letters of the ascending scale go in order: CDEFGAB(C)

C is considered scale degree 1, D is scale degree 2 etc.

I know much of this is confusing, but stick with me, I'm doing my best.

When a triad is built diatonically (using only the notes in the scale) above each scale degree, it is determined to be major or minor, or sometimes diminished or augmented.

A triad is built using the original (the root) note, the note a third above it (the third), and the note a fifth above it (the fifth). The determinant of whether or not a chord's quality is major or minor is the third. If the third is a major third (4 half steps) away from the root, then the quality of the chord is major. However, if the third is a minor third (3 half steps) away from the root, the quality of the chord is minor.

Similarly, a chord is considered diminished or augmented based on not only the third, but the fifth as well. If the distance between the root and the third is a major third, and the distance between the third and the fifth is also a major third, then the chord is augmented. If the distance between the root and the third, and the third and the fifth are both minor thirds, then the chord is diminished.

I will flesh this out a bit more at my presentation. It is difficult to describe without a piano.

So each note of the scale has a different quality. If the roman numeral (1-7. One for each scale degree) is uppercase, then it is a major chord. If the roman numeral is lowercase, then it is a minor chord.

Every major key will have a scale that looks like this: I  ii  iii  IV  V  vi  vii° and back to I

The small circle next to the 7 indicates that that chord is diminished. The distance between the root and the third and the third and the fifth are both minor thirds (3 half steps).

Again, I will explain this more thoroughly at the presentation, so you should come.

MUSIC!…and lyrics

I woke up this morning feeling very inspired to put some music on the paper, so I didn't even get out of bed to write this music. I once again channeled my inner Beethoven (I seem to be developing more of that) and wrote without being able to hear what I was writing. This was a fascinating experience because it really made me focus on every note to make sure that it was perfect.

Right now the lyrics are just tentative, but I liked putting them in there because it gives me a sense of what everything will look like once it is completed.

This is what I have for now, and I'm pretty proud of it. It's finally starting to look like a piece of music. 

Obviously that second page is far from done, but I have an idea of where it will go. This is obviously my "rough rough" draft of the brand new IHS Alma Mater.

The excitement it continuing to build! 

Happy Birthday

This morning, I finally got the chance to reap the fruits of my labor. (That was a lovely sentence).
My band director, Ms. Zawel, came to me and told me that Wednesday (today) was Maria Torres's 40th birthday. For those of you that don't know Ms. Torres, she is a guidance counselor at IHS. She and Ms. Zawel have been long-time friends, so Ms. Zawel asked me if I would go with her to Student Services and surprise her by playing Happy Birthday for her on my trumpet.

As it turned out, I had already booked my four free periods for that day, so I was unable to do the good deed. Ms. Zawel's Plan B was to have the Saxophone Quartet play an arrangement of Happy Birthday for her during their sectional the next day.

She searched the interwebs for an arrangement, but could not find anything good. I then proceeded into her office to offer my newfound level of expertise (ok, not really) in composing. I told her that I would be happy to hand-write an arrangement during Calculus that day, then put it into Finale during Music Theory so it would be ready for the quartet to perform the next day.

She looked at my skeptically and said doubtfully, "really?"

I assured her that everything would be ok.

I took a piece of manuscript paper from her office and walked to Calculus. Rather than bore myself by working on my final project, I channeled my inner Beethoven and wrote the entire arrangement without being able to hear any of what I was writing. Every note was in my head, and I loved the harmonies swimming around in the empty vastness of my mind.

It was a masterpiece, and I was proud to present it to Ms. Zawel. I even included an introduction of what I like to call "silky" chords.

This was one of the first times that I've really noticed how this project has helped my musical abilities. I will (hopefully) soon post a recording of the MIDI file created by Finale of the arrangement.

Today, I conclude with: success!