MSBOA / Banddirector.com Jazz Commission Project: Supernova
Video Part Three Outline
by Vince Corozine (ASCAP)
This is the third in a series of six videos that will take you through the creative process as I compose a jazz waltz, SUPERNOVA, for the Michigan All-State Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Max Colley, Jr….the band director at Northview High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In the previous video we reviewed the ostinato pedal-point, the contrasting syncopated theme used for interludes and transitions, and how through the use of the compositional technique called “Interversion” we can transform the main theme into a more listenable, less symmetrical, and more appealing theme.
I also illustrated how a few famous composers used “interversion” and then I applied that same principal in modifying my own theme for SUPERNOVA.
A helpful technique for developing a theme is as follows:
1. Develop the main theme in as many ways that you can
2. Select the ones that sound best and that can be used in the composition.
This allows several alternatives for developing the theme.
The subsequent 17 examples are ways of developing the main theme for SUPERNOVA.
Let’s begin with the revision of the main theme.
My next choice will be to select the development of the themes that I feel best fit SUPERNOVA. These will be evaluation and selected as I begin to compose the music.
I must keep in mind that the following compositional techniques as I begin composing the music:
1. Asymmetrical phrases,
2. Overlapping musical lines,
3. The use of counterpoint in “conversational” movement,
4. Introducing a “stretto” near the end of the composition. A stretto is the imitation of one of the themes in close succession….a piling up or compression of the themes to generate tension just prior to the climatic ending.
Part 4 will deal with “Composing SUPERNOVA”, creating the background lines to support and contrast with the main theme, contrasting timbre (color) behind the soloists, and the specific outline for the composition.