For those wondering about the approach that I have been using to compose the Sonatas (2019) for toy piano. I have been using this twelve-tone grid to generate the tones and rows. It may look like I randomly chose the pitch classes for each row at first glance. However, I created each row by applying the discrete trichord, or three-pitch class, cell of (013). In keeping with the rules of twelve-tone serial composition, the sonatas that I am writing--which are actually sonata da camera in the Baroque sense, with "A" and "B" sections-- must adhere to the following:
- No octaves.
- Each tone of a given row must be used once before moving onto the next row.
- No repeated tones, except for motivic repetition.
I do, however, change things up to try and break the monotony of the music (Because, let me be honest. Twelve-tone music can grow boring fast: especially if composers use just one row for a piece or movement.). I often include two different tone rows at the same time. Sometimes, I bend the rules a bit and move some of the tones of a given row out of order to try to avoid instances of octaves or repeated tones. This approach usually works for me when constructing intervals and chords.
- No octaves.
- Each tone of a given row must be used once before moving onto the next row.
- No repeated tones, except for motivic repetition.
I do, however, change things up to try and break the monotony of the music (Because, let me be honest. Twelve-tone music can grow boring fast: especially if composers use just one row for a piece or movement.). I often include two different tone rows at the same time. Sometimes, I bend the rules a bit and move some of the tones of a given row out of order to try to avoid instances of octaves or repeated tones. This approach usually works for me when constructing intervals and chords.
Concerning how to write these pieces, is it better to compose the music and precompositional grid (like the one above) by hand? Or, should composers rely on music notation software to complete their works? My answer is to try and apply both methods to this kind of composition. I would also suggest to write both by hand and with software when composing other types of pieces as well. Why? Writing music by hand, even if the music is just a fragment, can serve as a guide for what composers write in the notation software program (See photograph below). Of course, composers need to initially research the instrument for which they are writing to avoid committing errors with clefs and ranges. If a certain instrument does not exist in a music notation software, it helps to ask a musician when knows how to play the instrument instead of blindly guessing how to write for it. Remember that, before I started writing the toy piano sonatas, I had to conduct some research about the toy piano and its specifics. I write these pieces realizing that I do not have access to a toy piano or the actual sound of the instrument in music notation software. However, after studying the instrument, I also know that the music that I am composing for it will not include unplayable notes that are out of range.
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