Accompaniment

Orchestration

  • Composing music in a way that allows it to be heard in the most clearest, most effective way

  • Clarity

  • Tonal interest

  • Variety of structure


Principles of Accompaniment

Traditional Orchestration

  • Three places to distribute the material of music

    • Foreground

    • Middle ground

    • Background


Foreground

  • Most important voice

  • Melody

  • Composer wants to be heard most prominently

Middleground

  • Countermelodies

  • Important contrapuntal material

Background

  • Accompaniment


Principles of Clarity

  • Consistency of unit organization

  • Definiteness of texture


Auditory Streams

  • Grouping of sounds into a perceived sequence, distinct from other co-occuring sequences


Consistency of Unit organization

  • Grouping similar timbres

  • Rhythmic consistency

  • Consistent number of voices

  • Consistent harmonic language

  • Consistent voice spacing


Grouping similar Timbres

  • Range

  • Dynamics

  • Articulation- Legato, staccato

  • Pedals- Soft, sostenuto, sustain


Texture

  • The way all the melodic, rhythmic, and harmonic materials of music combine to determine the quality of sound

    • Monophonic

    • Homophonic

    • chordal

    • Polyphonic


*Simple compositions can develop into masterpieces