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The Art of Compositions
“A Composition is a home in which many a song may live.”
A Composition is a construct, a complete building, in which more than one song may reside at a time; a perfect example would be the famous song from an all time hit Bollywood movie ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’, the song being ‘Antakshri’. This particular composition is a house in which scores of older Bollywood tunes reside as if they were always a part of it, and yet it is all but one Musical Composition. To put the point precisely;
“When one is composing a piece of music, they are constructing a structure of which a song may only be but a small part. There could also be introductory prelude, intermediary phases, independent melodies, and closing postlude, to complete the shape.”
Of course, the simplest of compositions are all but one song long. But what really goes into making such simple constructs; is far from simple.
For the ease of explanation, a simple composition can be broken down into two parts: melody, and accompaniment. Be sure however, that barely scratches the surface of what really goes into making one. The nuances of composing get complicated like a maze when one starts dibbling into rhythms, melodies, lyrics, accompaniments, riffs, vamps, hooks, and ostinati. What do all these really mean for a composer, and how do they really fit in with each other?
There are three ways a composition may come to life; from lyrics, from melody, and from a rhythm. There is no hard and fast rule as to which method is better that the others, yet individual composers have their own preferences. A good composer however can deploy either one of these three methods according to their needs, and create a respectable work. So to be a good composer one needs to know what these three most important parts of a composition mean, before even considering their relationship with everything else that can go into making a complete composition.
1. Lyrics: Generally a song is born from an idea or a phrase, when the lyricist goes about filling in all the gaps left behind by it; that is, creating the body of the song. Lyrics can also be written by converting the notes in a melody into words, or lining phrases to a rhythm. I generally start with a phrase, or even less; I’ve written an entire song from the word(s) ‘Time-Machine’, just by staying true to all the meanings that it could convey, and then developing one meaning into a story of its’ own. In a song, the lyrics represent the melody part of the song, and they may or may not be supported by an instrumental melody in the composition. Compositions however, can also exist without any lyrics at all, and even melody as such. Rhythm and accompaniment may suffice to create a composition.
2. Melody: A melody, like lyrics, can be the sole source of an entire song, or be there in supporting cast. A melody can thus be a complete idea, that is, the lyrics or meaning of the song; but could also be a musical representation of the lyrics, a complementary piece, or a contrast. When lyrics are converted into notes, the melody is merely a musical representation of the words. When a melody is complementary in nature, it could complement either the lyrics or the accompaniment; that is, it is a musical phrase that copies neither, but goes well with either. When a melody is in contrast, then of course, the intention is to heighten the emotions identifiable from the lyrics. As a general rule, however, a melody cannot be in contrast to the rhythm, simply because rhythm is there to lower or enhance the feeling, but not to identify an emotion. Such contrasting melodies are used in electronic dance music a lot, where the lyrics flow smoothly until the contrasting melody is introduced over a vibrant rhythm.
3. Rhythm: The single most important aspect of the composition is its’ rhythm. The feeling that a composition generates, is really felt through its’ rhythm, while the attached emotions are identified by the lyrics and melodies, the latter duo thus being there only to give a name to the experience, or heighten its perception. For example, a pulsating beat gives one the feeling of excitement, while lyrics and melodies can help associate that feeling with fear, energy, happiness, anger, or something else. Even a piece with no use of percussion and drums, has a rhythm to it. Rhythm thus is the ‘felt’ part of the music, while lyrics and melodies are the ‘perceived’ part. In fact, a different rhythm can give a very different feel to the same lyrics or melody.
A good composer can start with either of the above three aspects of a composition, but once when the actual construction begins, the first element to be put in place happens to be the rhythm.
1. Creating the Rhythm: The very first considerations to be dealt with are tempo, scale, syncopation, and note patterns; generally in that order. When the method deployed is that of “Rhythm to Composition”, then these issues are merely a matter of choice for the composer, but when the method deployed is one of the other two, then the answers to these queries are provided by the lyrics or melodies themselves. Consider the rhythm that I have used in my song ‘Time-Machine’; a simple ‘di-chi dhee-chi dhee-chi rest, dheeee-cha-chaa’. This rhythm easily decipherable from the way the lyrics are sung. I may have started with the lyrics, but converting those lyrics into a beat was the first step to get them feeling groovy, and give the composition a starting framework to build upon. A simple kick drum and snare can generate that rhythm, but that rhythm feels empty. Surely, Hihats can fill some gap, and ‘rest’ is also an integral part of the composition, for it enhances the meaning and perception of melodies and rhythms, but still the rhythm is empty without other elements; together referred to as accompaniment.
2. Bringing in the Accompaniment: Chords, Percussion, Pads, Bassline, and Chorus, these are elements that build upon the rhythm to create a complete structure.
a) Chords: The first element that adds weight to the rhythm is a chord pattern (or a note pattern, or a mix of the two in some instances). A soft sounding instrument, like a piano played at pianissimo, or a wind instrument, like a Saxophone (as in the case of ‘Time-Machine’), is added to either complement the basic rhythm, or to copy it. For example, in House music, a 4/4 chord pattern on the beat copies the beat, while off-beat, it complements it. In ‘Time-Machine’ the Saxophone sound both complements, and copies the rhythm.
b) Percussion: Shakers, claps, finger snips, cowbells, and all, can help fill some gaps by complementing the rhythm, or copy the rhythm like the Chords above; an example would be the use of 4/4 claps in House music.
c) Pads: These are generally used to smoothen out the rhythm, so that the gaps in the rhythm, chords, and percussion pattern don’t sound jarring. But they can also serve an important role in heightening the perception of lyrics, melodies, and rhythms, by adding a supporting voice underneath.
d) Bassline: This generally gives a deeper feel to the rhythm, by tying together all the different sounds making up the rhythm and accompaniment. They do so generally by imitating the combined sound generated by the rhythm and the accompaniment, but can on occasions do so by adding a complementary touch. Occasionally these may assume an entirely different role in addition to this, which is discussed below.
e) Chorus: Chorus voices, vocals or instrumentals, are generally there to fill the gaps in both rhythm and lyrics or melodies, and in the process, add to the character of the composition. They can copy rhythm, copy lyrics or melodies, or assume their own distinct identity.
3. Creating the Identity: While a rhythm supported by an accompaniment is enough to create a composition, without the need of lyrics or melodies, yet to make it last longer in the memory of its audience, it needs elements that exist within the realm of the latter duo. These elements often become the defining features of particular compositions, and audience remembers and identifies these compositions through their defining elements. The best classified amongst these elements are hooks, riffs, vamps, and ostinati.
a. Hooks: Hooks are the catch-lines of a composition; the sounds that hook a listener to a tune, much like a fishing hook. These could be melodies, like the complementing ‘Bassline’ driven melodies of songs ‘Satisfaction’, ‘Like a G6’, or the flute from the song ‘Dil Deewana’ from Bollywood movie ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’. These could be also be vocal phrases, like the word ‘Panda’ from the song ‘Panda’ by ‘Desiigner’. Their sole purpose is to give the composition its’ distinct identity that would hook the listener to the tune.
b. Riffs: Riffs are musical phrases that are generally used to transition between one part of the composition to another, one melody to another, or one phrase to another. They serve to signal a change. A good example would be the sounds of violins, keypads, pianos, that are generally used when one lyrical line ends, and before the next one starts, or the sounds used when the verse ends and the chorus is about to begin, or the interlude ends and a new verse is about to begin. Thus in effect, they usher in what follows. The distinct chord sound used in ‘Empire State of Mind’ serves as a riff each time Alicia Keys is singing. In the Bollywood song ‘Dil Deewana’, mentioned above, each lyrical line is dotted by a flute riff, and then finally by a violin chorus. The tingling sound that I used in my song ‘Bankrupt in Love’ is another example. But that is not the least of the fun part with riffs. Riffs can sometimes take up the role of hooks, and even drive an entire composition. Examples would include Led Zeppline’s song ‘Whole lotta love’, or from India, a very recent Punjabi song ‘Hathyar Varga’. Such songs have riffs that act as hooks, as well as drive the entire song. They are riffs, and not hooks or vamps, because they are very short musical phrases, which in their normal usage would have served as transitional phrases, as described above.
c. Vamps: Vamps are continuously repeating phrases that occur at the beginning of a musical composition. Vamps were designed to allow time to the lead vocalist to get ready and join in. In electronic music, the contemporary of Vamps is ‘Loops’. When you play an unedited House music track, the looping music that plays at its beginning, the one whose purpose is to assist live performing DJs in beat mixing and matching, is serving the function of a Vamp. Bon Jovi’s epic song, ‘It’s my life’; the guitar and bass riff that opens the song, could very well be used as a Vamp in live performance of that song. I personally use a modified version of Vamps, to introduce most of my songs; the long preludes. These are Vamps because they are readying the ground for the real song to kick in, but modified because they generally play a melody or a hook, but only once.
d. Ostinati: In classical music, ostinato (plural: ostinati) is a phrase that persistently repeats itself in the song, generally without changing in pitch, and without variation. Thus both riffs and vamps are modern contemporaries of classical ostinati, but have assumed specific roles. Ostinati meanwhile occur throughout the length of the song, and can be present as a prime melody, or prominent accompaniment component. Donna Summer’s ‘I feel love’ is an Ostinato driven track. The flute hook of the song ‘Dil Deewana’, mentioned above, actually covers three roles in that song; it is the hook of that song, it has been used as a riff too, and it could also be considered the Ostinato of that song.
A good composer, like a good soldier, knows the strength and weaknesses of the weapons at his disposal, but a brilliant one knows how to improvise. What sets people like Indian Maestro A.R. Rahman apart from the crowd is their ability to create magic out of nothing; for example, Rahman’s use of the sound train makes while running on a track as part of the melody, as part of the hook, of his song ‘Chaiya chaiya’ is a great example of modern compositional improvisation. Rhythms can themselves generate interesting melodies. What limits a musician is their imagination, and an artist with limited imagination is no artist at all.
Happy composing!
Fatal Urge Carefree Kiss
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