The Three Parts of a Perfect Musical Phrase

How to compose an inherently interesting and musical phrase according to Alan Belkin.
Check out Belkin's fantastic book Musical Composition: geni.us/tM8iL
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#composition #musicalform #AlanBelkin

[@AlejandroRamos-dz5xb]

Making music is what makes me happy, it's what really makes me feel worthy and what I do best. Some people say I have a gift.. could be, but it is useless if I don't create whole pieces/songs... That's been the great drama of my life, the inability to end pieces of music. But, because of you (your advice and your approach to music creation) I am actually getting somewhere, for the first time. Now I know what the f I'm doing. (I'm 29, could be worse) THANK YOU FOR MAKING MY LIFE MEANINGFUL. YOU ARE AN ANGEL.

[@RyanLeach]

Hey don't be too hard on yourself, I'm 38 and I still have so much to learn!

[@TableTopComposer]

I LOVE Alan Belkin's book. It played a huge role in developing my approach to composition. Glad to see someone else teaching with it :)

[@HeavenestStCyr]

1. 2 max 3 motifs 2 Climax 3 Punctuation (e.g breath or conclusive note) Hit the peak once to avoid lacking the sense of not going anywhere.

[@xuzheng1642]

Well concluded!

[@bryndayy]

You could have a peak using tamber. This is much more common with say opening up the filter on a synth compared to orchestral instruments, but you could growl on a sax or increase bow pressure or something like that which can be a gradual tamber change.

[@J1283-s1k]

Alan is the most wonderful man and teacher. If anyone is lucky to experience his lessons, they are invaluable. His approach is logical yet wholly focused on creativity, unlike the all too often seen dogmatic, stuck in the mud academic perspective that attempts a one size fits all when it comes to core principles like parallels or harmonic clarity. It's great to see the concepts of his book being discussed in depth.

[@kelvinchan2286]

That's what I thought: a climax can be most dissonant, most voices presented (hey, counterpoint fellows), the most unexpected scene (BWV 572), the fastest (accel.), etc.

[@xuzheng1642]

Maybe also the loudest (dynamic)

[@thepotatoportal69]

Or highest pitch, or most motion,

[@listeningcolors9888]

Great start for the year!! Punctuation is one thing that I’m trying to improve. Keep it coming!!👍

[@RyanLeach]

Will do! Yea that’s a great topic I need to hit on at some point

[@ChronoMune]

The two peak Metroid theme sounded hilarious 😂 like all of a sudden Metroid is so proud of itself and throwing itself a parade

[@anshuvenkateshwaran5324]

yo the three parts need to come out soon, this is very interesting!

[@aspaire9920]

Nice video! Btw that cat is so cute haha

[@RyanLeach]

Ha, I didn’t even know she was there until I started editing!

[@jeduardolopezo]

This is cool! Happy new year! Excited to see the channel grow :)

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks!

[@willmcconnellsimpson1411]

Great video! Although ironic that KZbin editing norms mean you’ve cut out the breaths between phrases… Still, super clear and pithy summary.

[@tompw3141]

You can peak using duration - the longest note in the phrase. (Example: opening line of chorus in Katie Perry's 'Firework')

[@羊-y5c]

I think that the punctuation and contrast chapters of the book are by far my favorites (specially when he talks about orchestra)

[@RyanLeach]

Yea those chapters are definitely unique in that book, really interesting

[@spencerrobinson780]

In edm some of these peaks might be points of maximum width, amount of sounds being layered

[@HitmanMcGruph]

Terra's theme!

[@thomaswegener8270]

Incredibly helpful content man ❤️

[@RyanLeach]

Thanks!

[@CoffeeAcorn]

2:36 could a local peak also be using a chord or note outside the key, similar to a local bridge for a phrase that's different from the bars before and after?

[@RyanLeach]

yea absolutely, if it's the "most something" it usually qualifies! So "most distant" or "most dissonant" even that cuold totally work

[@edelcorrallira]

Perhaps a long held note (especially when heavily ornamented) Similarly a note that precedes silence especially with an accent.

[@anatomicallymodernhuman5175]

See, I disagree. If you walked up to me and just said, “philosophy,” that would strongly communicate to me - that you were either one of those rare savants who are deeply interesting to be around, or that you were an extreme weirdo to be avoided. But, yeah, you’re right, it wouldn’t have sufficient meantingful content to be interpretable in and of itself. Phrasing is what separates the great from the good guitar soloists of classic rock. Joe Walsh, David Gilmore, Jimmy Page, and, of course, EVH each have a distinctive natural feel for a good phrase. Their instincts won’t let them play anything that isn’t well-phrased because they’re not playing notes. They’re not playing motives or phrases. They’re playing meaning. They’re not constructing by means of abstract concepts. They’re emoting through their fingers. Great video, helpful reminder of the basics that are so easy to get lazy about. My main takeaway: don’t save the ketchup for the end. It doesn’t make any sense.

[@xuzheng1642]

I like your comments about “They’re playing meaning”. As a composer, I feel that notes are not just notes (although sometimes it’s easy to just write down some notes), they must express meaning.

[@sharpmuzic121]

This is awesome and very informative! I have one question: would a ritardando be an example of climax or punctuation at the end? I feel that it could be both if used correctly.

[@ErnestoComposer]

Yes. A ritardando is an example of finality and drama, thus punctuation

[@sharpmuzic121]

@@ErnestoComposer Thank you!

[@nilsfrederking62]

@@ErnestoComposer Ritardando is often used at the end or before a new section starts, but it could as well be used before a climax ("Russian crescendo") thus in the "middle".

[@MarioCalzadaMusic]

Man, u are amazing

[@narresnair1154]

Catch Up Late 😟 But As Always Mandatory Tips!

[@GuitarHero890]

Can someone make a playlist for making melodies?

[@christianmaltais]

You could have the peak be the loudest or quietest moment. Not sure how well that would work; wonder what examples might be found in the literature.

[@nilsfrederking62]

Loudest moment would be easier, to achieve the quietest moment as climax would be quite a good exercise :-)

[@christianmaltais]

@@nilsfrederking62 I agree!

[@mondostrat]

could a peak be a cadential resolution?

[@kappabravomusic2101]

👍👍👍👍

[@AFRoSHEENT3ARCMICHAEL69]

Can you do this for Pop and EDM music? I can't find anyone who teaches how these types are made. It's always musical form for classical music. No ones listening to Classical music.

[@RyanLeach]

Yea there's no reason the same ideas wouldn't apply to any Western genre, it's all pretty much the same principles with just different stylistic differences. (and yea.. I listen to Classical music as do a lot of the people who subscribe lol. And I'd hardly call How to Train Your Dragon or Final Fantasy "classical".)

[@Remour]

I listen to classical music. Even if you don’t like classical music, you can apply these same techniques for different genres, I’m sure plenty have.

[@mondostrat]

I listen to classical music

[@MuzixMaker]

Peak could be harmonic complexity

[@greguz]

Hey Man! Very interesting and useful content! But I wish you would edit the video according to the rules you talk about in the video! You've edited out just about all natural pauses in your speech, so it's actually hard to know when you finished one thought and started on the next. I guess this is done to keep the interest of the public, and I know from experience that fully natural pauses can sound oh so slow on video. But you need pauses to digest information, in speech and in music - and in educational videos 🙂

[@JanCarlComposer]

I just wanted to write a similar comment. It is a little ironical, Ryan, that your videos don't follow the rules you discuss here. Perhaps this is due to having a target group that is different from me - perhaps some sort of snapchat kids that do not have patience. I will subscribe only if you change this style.

[@lucifervalentine5406]

But WHY do they save the ketchup for the very end?

[@RyanLeach]

🎹 Don't COMPOSE A MOTIVE Without This kzbin.info/www/bejne/haaTqpeZltdqatE

[@GurtBFroe1]

I thought it was supposed to be a motif... What am I missing?

[@RyanLeach]

@@GurtBFroe1 synonyms

[@wobblyorbee279]

3:41 ****************** MW HANDFEW

[@CarlosLalonde]

Super informative video, thanks!

[@RyanLeach]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@thriftman]

im wearing that same sweater in my pfp

[@robmurrah3224]

Unless the phrase is just the same note over and over, every phrase has to have a lowest and highest note, so how can we determine when the peak is the highest note and when it's the lowest note?

[@neolyth]

thanks ryan! :D

[@AntKneeLeafEllipse]

When I went to school for acting, we defined the climax as the moment something changes, a reversal of some kind.

[@RyanLeach]

Nice, that fits perfectly with hitting an extreme and turning back or away

[@AntKneeLeafEllipse]

@@RyanLeach Yeah, I like it because it's purposely a loose term. The reversal could be something small like changing direction, or it could be pivoting to a different key, etc. It's a more about an event in time.

[@nilsfrederking62]

Honestly I do not like that definition very much, if you formulate it the same as Ryan said "the most of something" than it would make more sense, "the most change", because it is inherent in classical / tonal music that there is always more or less change.