AboutSteven L. Rosenhaus Expertise Areas of interest: Classical composition, writing musical theater (including music, lyrics, libretti), songwriting (pop, rock, blues, folk, etc.); music theory; orchestration; arranging. Also: music publishing and related topics.
Experience Composer/arranger with over 100 original works and arrangements in currently in print; publishers include E.F. Kalmus, Masters Music, Music-Print Productions, Theodore Presser, etc. Works have been performed throughout the U.S. and Europe by the United States Navy Band, the U.S. Naval Academy Band, violinist Florian Meyer, the Dresden Sinfonietta conducted by Milko Kersten, pianist Laura Leon, the Meridian String Quartet, the New Hudson Saxophone Quartet, clarinetist Guido Arbonelli, etc. Off-Broadway musical "Critic" (1988) ran 41 performances to good reviews. Co-author, with Allen Cohen, "Writing Musical Theater" (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). Also performing singer/songwriter: was in the Don't Quit Your Day Job Players, 1997-2000 (CD:"Blues Spoken Here" available at CDBaby); solo performer since 2000 (CD:"A Man Like Me" available at CDBaby, iTunes, etc.). Classical works and songs recorded on the Capstone, Richarson, Music for a G'Day, and MPP labels; available through CDBaby and/or iTunes, Rhapsody, etc.
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Composition at New York University; have taught composition and other subjects at NYU since 1992, including "Introduction to Music Publishing and Printing" (which I created for NYU's Music Business program). Also Adjunct Assistant Professor at Nassau Community College, teaching songwriting, folk music, history of rock, and other subjects. Currently creating a series of performance etudes for the U.S. Navy School of Music, coordinating them with the School's music theory, ear training, and performance instruction programs.
Organizations ASCAP, MENC, NARAS, Music Theory Society, College Music Society, plus several others in music education, composition, and theory.
Publications "Writing Musical Theater" by Allen Cohen and Steven L. Rosenhaus (Palgrave Macmillan, 2006). Article in Strings Magazine, May 2007, on my string quartet "Strange Loops."
Education/Credentials Ph.D.- New York University
M.A. - Queens College (CUNY)
B.A. - Queens College (CUNY)
Expert: Steven L. Rosenhaus Date: 6/22/2008 Subject: Direct Intervals, etc.; composing tools.
Question Dear Dr. Rosenhaus:
Thank you so much for your answer to my last question.
I now have 2 theory questions and one on composer's tools.
1. Direct intervals: I have never fully grasped what they are--they are supposed to sound like parallel intervals, though they are not such? Nor do I understand why they, along with parallel intervals, are to be so shunned according to traditional rules of harmony.
2. Perfect 4th: how is one to take this interval (it is at once categorized as a perfect consonance and a dissonance)?
Also, are these concepts from traditional harmony still relevant to composition today?
3. Composing tools: I am doing self-guided studies in musical composition, and my main area of interest is orchestral music. I'd like to learn what creativity-enhancing and, especially, time-saving tools--both hardware and software--a composer of orchestral music should have, in addition to what I already have--a piano, a computer(with Windows XP), and the notion software, Sibelius 5. For instance, I've heard some recommend an 88-key MIDI keyboard by Yamaha (YPG-625). I'd appreciate any suggestions on this subject, and, if possible, any detailed recommendations on brands, models, price ranges, and features to select or avoid. Many thanks!
Sincerely,
Rena
Answer Dear Rena,
I'm glad I was able to answer your previous question. Okay, let's dive into the new ones...
Direct intervals:
Direct octaves or fifths are two voices moving in the same general direction in similar ways, that is by leap. The reason they sound "off" in the way parallel 5ths and 8ves do is difficult to explain, but I can guess how they came to be shunned.
Parallel 5ths and 8ves, as well as direct 5ths and 8ves, are difficult to tune when sung--and since a lot of these "rules" came up during a time when vocal music reigned, it becomes understandable that they would be avoided. Like most "rules" in music theory, there are exceptions. One is when you maintain the same harmony, such as staying on a C major chord but changing the voicing. Another is at a V-I final cadence, moving an inner voice from the leading tone to the fifth degree and the root of the V to the root of the I.
Perfect 4th:
This is one of those cases where context is everything. In traditional tonal harmony, perfect 4ths are dissonant when they are the =only= interval sounding, or when they form the bottom interval of a chord (think of a tonic major triad in second inversion, such as a C major chord sounding, bottom to top, GCE). In those contexts they sound unstable, like they need resolution. It's no wonder that when you listen to, say, a tonal violin concerto (Beethoven's in D for example), there is usually a moment that signals the cadenza--and that moment is =always= a I6/4 (second inversion tonic) chord. Why? Because it signals that, technically, the music should have been finished, but the soloist wants one last chance to "speak" (or show off). Overall, the cadence is I6/4 to V to I.
As to the other context, one in which the P4 is considered consonant, that's when the fourth is not formed with the bass (bottom note) of a chord or interval. Example: (bottom to top) EGC has P4 between the G and the C, but in this context sounds perfectly fine. Even if the notes were CGC the result is the same.
Now this relates almost exclusively to tonal music (approximately from Bach through Wagner, with lots of possible extensions on either end of the time frame). In Gregorian chant, for example, parallel perfect 4ths =was= one of the possible harmonies, as were parallel 5ths or octaves. In mid-20th century to the present, such parallel intervals, not to mention direct 5ths and octaves, abound. Just listen to any rock guitarist or modern concert composer's music.
Composing tools:
Creativity-enhancing tools--You have a piano and what sounds like a good computer-based set up. I have to admit being old-fashioned though, in that I do all of my sketching for original works at the piano, or at least the desk, with pencil, paper, and a =very= large eraser. I also keep orchestration and/or notation books at hand, just in case. Once I have a sufficient sketch (it doesn't have to be complete) I will start inputing the music into a notation program (I happen to use Finale), but I will still continue to =compose= at the piano or desk.
I have ideas about creativity that probably go against the norm. I think in terms of what I'm going to be writing and why and, just as importantly for me, whom. I try to think in practical terms. For example: I have a commission to write a piece for the Carson City Symphony. These are very good and enthusiastic musicians, but they are not, by their own admission, on the level of, say, the New York Philharmonic or the Chicago Symphony. I take that into account and do my best to maximize their abilities without insulting their intelligence and integrity, and of course to make =music=. I also find ideas that later translate into music from strange sources: books I've read (my first string quartet is called "Strange Loops" after a mathematical term used by Douglas Hofstadter in "Goedel, Escher, Bach"), places I've been (my "Tower Music" was written in Pisa, Italy, and is, yes, the result of seeing the Leaning Tower---for a month, at all times of day in all kinds of weather), and even word games ("Mission Music" for marimba is in 3 movements: Emission, Transmission, and Admission, and the music is based on the dictionary definitions of those words). Rather than go on in such detail I'll say this: If you want to enhance your creativity, be willing to ask yourself: "What if...?", and then go explore.
As for time-saving tools--Sure, a MIDI keyboard will help you input music into Sibelius (or Finale). I can't recommend anything specific, but here's a way to shop for it. Make a list of what you want it to do. It doesn't have to do =everything=, just what you want. For example, based on what you've written to me:
* It has to be compatible with a PC computer running Windows XP
* It has to be compatible with Sibelius
After that it's up to you. How much do you want to spend? Should it have its own sounds or will you only need to use what Sibelius makes available? Will you need aftertouch (the ability to control aspects of the notes after you've struck the key but haven't yet let your finger off it)? Do you absolutely need 88 keys? Do they have to be weighted (most piano-like), semi-weighted, or "keyboard-like" (springy)? Do you only want to use it in this way, or do you want to be able to play the keyboard unattached to the computer--in other words, should it have its own speakers (as well as sounds), or will you only need to rely on the computer? Will it need some sort of upgrading later on, if so how? There are more questions to ask, but you'll have to figure out =yours=. Read reviews in Keyboard or Electronic Musician magazine, or any other similar magazines. Ask fellow musicians. Ask the sales person at your music store for recommendations based on your criteria.
