Music is created differently by everyone. Even the same composer might work on two different pieces in two different ways. So in this new series, I want to walk through my own thought process in creating my first piece for concert band/wind ensemble: “Opitz One”. To start, let’s discuss what I want this piece to be about and create the musical form.
This post is part of a 10 part ongoing series. Each week, I’ll be releasing a little more of my progress. Be sure to subscribe to my blog to follow.
Music Theory Level: 6 / 10
This article touches on the chord inversions, non-harmonic tones, or basic formal structure (sentences and periods).
I recommend being familiar with the basics of part-writing, harmonic progression, melodic construction, and counterpoint (species 1, 2, and 3) before reading through this post.
To learn about this level system and determine what you should be learning, be sure to check my master guide on learning music theory.
“Opitz One” Purpose
Personally, I like to create music for a specific purpose. As seeing as how I am not (yet!) a commissioned composer, my purpose is exclusively for myself. With that being the case, I want this piece to reflect who I am as both a composer and as a person right now.
I’m a dad of 3 awesome kids (if you couldn’t tell by the home page picture). For a while, our son was obsessed with space. He nicknamed our car “Opitz One” and any time we sped up, would shout “Opitz One, prepare for blast off!” It’s this child-like play and inspiration that has become the influence for this piece.
This piece needs to reflect who I am as a composer right now. Right now, I LOVE the sounds you can get out of different modes. But I enjoy trying to find ways of using them without just sticking to them exclusively. That is really fun for me. So for me, a big part will be using that space-like sound of lydian mode. I’ve also started studying larger musical forms, so that will play a part as well.
Finally, this piece is being composed specifically for one of the two concert bands I perform with: the TCC Community Band or the Tulsa Wind Symphony. The director of the Tulsa Wind Symphony and I have had a discussion on more modal music being needed in the concert band world. So I’m going to try my hand at it.
“Opitz One” Concept
Conceptually, I had to come up with a story to sort of fuel the music (get it?). So using the inspiration of my son and our car as a rocket, I created this little story:
A young child looks up at the night sky and dreams of exploring deep space. They decide to build their own rocket and sets off to find materials. As they build it, you can hear them hammer the pieces together. Occasionally, they stop to daydream, remembering what it is that is driving their desire. But there is still work to be done! Back to the hammering.
Finally, the last remaining pieces are assembled. The child enters the rocket and prepares for blast-off. 10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…
BLAST OFF!
The child explores their dream in the rocket they built. And afterwards, they return back home. They look to the sky once last time as if too recall their awesome adventure.
Ok, so the story is not likely to win me a Pulitzer. But maybe the music will!
“Opitz One” Musical Form
Next, I want to take this story concept and figure out how I want to translate that into music. And personally, I plan things the old fashioned way: with a pen and paper. Here is my original sketch for the musical form.
What makes the most sense to me is a sort of modified sonata form. The introduction will be the child looking up at space. The primary theme will be building the rocket. The transition will continue the building, but have more percussive hits imitating the assembly. A secondary theme will be the daydreaming. Getting back to work will return us back to the primary theme.
Here’s where the modified aspect comes in. Instead of the second transition and secondary theme, it will move into a “countdown sequence”. There will be a grand pause before the blast off that marks the start of the development section. The start of the recapitulation marks the return back home. And finally, a small outro section marks the last look back up to the sky.
You can see from the diagram, I have this generally idea about how I want the piece to build with each section. The climax of the piece should be the blast-off section. The countdown should build up to that. Orchestration of the primary theme should be heavier the second time to represent the progress of the rocket/story.
Final Thoughts on Opitz One Musical Form
For being my composition of this size, the idea of using a narrative to make decisions made the most sense to me. Once written out, I was able to pick the closest matching musical form and adapt it to my needs. From here, I know the rough musical pieces I need and can start creating some actual music (which we’ll do in part two).
I would be really curious to hear other composers’ thoughts on my process. Do this match what you do? Are there more efficient methods you’ve found? Let me know down in the comments below.
