About Steven 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)
My name is Nathan and I'm a compose using Finale. I can't play any instruments so I just used finale to enter notes to create the melodies for my song (intro, verse, pre-chorus, chorus, [instrument break], pre-chorus, chorus, bridge, chorus, outro). After I have the melodies written on the treble clef and perfectly arranged in the order above I would enter the lyrics below. By doing this now I have 20 some melodies with lyrics that I can just sing and use to release a CD.
But now I'm stuck with the problem on how to create the background music. You know, I'll have the guitar playing some a simple melody for the verse and when the pre-chorus comes in I'll keep the guitar playing, but add a little string. My vocal would be singing on top of it all. I don't know much music theory. The only music theory I've ever applied is to stay in the same scale which I do. i know I don't have to but I do anyway because I'm a beginner. Do I need to know any more theory in order to make the background music? I mean I'll have my vocal singing the main melody with the lyrics on top and I have the guitar playing a little melody on the bottom. My guitar melody will be less complicated than the vocal melody and would fill in the space that the vocal melody left out. I would work on section after section (verse, pre-chorus, chorus, etc. Is this a good way or right way to making the background music for someone who already have a satisfying melody with lyrics? I
'm asking because I don't know lots of theory, but since (for the verse) my vocal melody, guitar melody, and maybe a little piano melody now and than are in the same key, i much be doing the right thing right? I want to make my original background music just like I did my lyrics and vocal melody. I don't want to use loops or any band in the box. That's unoriginal. i don't even know that much about chords or chords progression. i just know how to enter single notes onto a staff in finale to create a melody. So basically I'm stacking melodies here (counter-melodies if you well). For the verse I would have the guitar and a piano playing melodies on the bottom while my vocal sings on top (or over it). And maybe a little drum to set the rhyme. Please tell me if my method is wrong or right, and like I said I don't know much theory, but I will stay in the same scale throughout the whole song because I'm a beginner. Any tips on how to make the background music so I can release a professional song with all three, Vocal Melodies, Lyrics, And some sort of Background Music please help? And one last thing, a song is not just one single melody right? I mean there are Vocal melodies (which I already have) and the a few other simpler melodies playing by different instruments in the background. So with just a vocal melodies and lyrics, I"M FAR FROM A COMPLETE SONG!!! Thank you!
-Nathan
ANSWER: Hi Nathan,
It's not unusual for someone to write songs without knowing music theory; the Beatles are just one example of that. But it =is= highly unusual for someone to be a good songwriter without playing some sort of instrument (besides singing that is). Before I try to answer your question, let me emphasize the need to take up some instrument--guitar or piano would be best, as either will help you develop an ear for harmony. But until then....
Since you already are notating your melodies in Finale, here is a good way to figure out the chords that go with the tunes. I'll break it down into steps:
1. If you are notating the melody into Finale, you must select a key signature. Keep this in mind, as this will help you figure out the chords.
2. Once you have the melody notated to your satisfaction, take a look at the notes that fall on the first beat of each measure (also called the down beat). If a chord is going to occur or change, the chances are great that it will happen on the downbeat.
3. Next, build all three of the possible triads--three-note chords--using that first melody note. For example, if your key is one-sharp (G major or its relative minor, E minor), and your melody note is G, your possible triads are:
D B G
B (G major) G (E minor) E (C major)
G E C
Then it's a matter of choice; which chord sounds best with the melody in that measure, and how does it sound after the previous (or before the next one)? To make sure the chord works in the measure...
4. Look at the other notes in the melody in the same measure. You will often find the other notes of one of the chords in there, and that will be your guide. If there are no notes in common with the chord you've chosen after the first beat, feel free to change the chord on the new/different note(s). If you're in 4/4 time, it often happens that a second chord will appear on the 3rd beat. For argument sake, we'll stick to the key of G major. Here is one measure of a melody in quarter notes:
G B A F#
You =could= use either a G major or an E minor for the first two melody notes (the first half of the measure, or beats one and two), but neither would work all that well with the next two notes. You could do this then:
G B A F#
(G major) (D major)
or
(E minor) (F# diminished)
or...you get the idea.
This should help you get started, but think about my suggestion to learn to play an instrument--even badly. It can only help in the long run.
Best of luck.
Steven
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks for the quick reply. I totally get what you mean, and I didn't state it clearly when I say I didn't play any instruments. I play the piano pretty well, and I can write a complete piano song base on the chord method that you've explained. I would play the main melody with my right hand and chords with the left. I rarely bang out the chords though, I mostly arpeggiated them or come up with my own rhythm using those chords.
I guess my question was when I make the background music there will be many different instruments playing different parts (violin, piano, cello, guitar, etc) just like an orchestral. Sometime the 1 instruments will play underneath my vocals and sometime 2 different instruments playing 2 different melodies underneath my vocals.
Let say that we are in the key of G and the chord that best harmonize this one particular measure is G chord. I'm a piano player and I don't want to bang out the chords because that's boring. I don't even want to appregiate it because that's boring too. I want to use the piano to write a second melody (counter-melody) that would go with my main melody. I'll be singing the main melody over this counter-melody.
To create the counter-melody must I use the notes in the G chord only since that chord best fit the measure. Because that's only 3 notes and very limited. Can I write the counter-melody for this particular measure using notes outside of the (G)CHORD, but still in the (G)-SCALE. I mean this is not piano harmonizing. If I'm playing the piano of course I would be playing the apregiated G chord to harmonize this particular measure, but in this case I want to make the background music for record production. Can I just stay in the same scale and not worry about chords.
Let's say, for verse 1 the violin will be playing a simple melody (using notes from the key of G of course) and my vocal will be singing the main melody over this simple violin melody that is playing underneath. If I'm using counter-melody method to write this simple violin part, I'm I still restricted to chords? For example, during that particular measure where the G chord is the best chord, if I'm composing a counter melody I'm I restricted to using only the notes G, B, D (G Chord) during this measure. I mean is best if I do, but it is hard to come up with a good counter-melody that would go well with the main melody if I can only use 3 notes. I mean I just want to forget about chords and theory.
For verse 1, my vocals will be singing the main melody with lyrics on top, a simple violin melody that support or go with the melody that my vocal is singing will play underneath, and maybe I'll compose a little guitar part to play together with the violin. They (violin and guitar parts) together will support the main melody that my vocal is singing. And I compose the violin and guitar part without using and chords or theory, just using the main melody (which I already have) as a reference and staying in the SCALE OF G. And of course using my ears. Is this possible? Based on my example do you think this might be a good record?
Answer Hello Nathan,
You offer a lot of questions--good ones. I'll do what I can to answer them.
1. I get that you don't want to be boring by simply banging out the chords, and a countermelody would be one way to alleviate that potential boredom. My suggestion though is to keep such things to a minimum, especially if you're talking about any sort of "pop" music. Even more complex styles (classical comes to mind) it becomes difficult for the listener to pay attention if there are too many things happening. (Tchaikovsky, for example, never seems to have more than 3 different things going on at his most complex, and even then he's using the melody, an accompaniment, and maybe a countermelody.) And you don't want the counter line to be more interesting the main melody--not if you want us to hear both at once. In short, try to keep things simple.
2. Yes, of course you can use more than the notes of the chords themselves in your other lines. But they too should make some sort of sense. Let's say we're still in G major, and chords change on the first and third beat of the first few measures. Here are the first two:
G major E minor | A minor D7
And you countermelody is in half notes against that:
G major E minor | A minor D7
B G A F#
Now to make it more interesting, change the first 1/2 note of each measure of the countermelody to quarter notes and interpose passing tones:
G major E minor | A minor D7
B A G A G F#
You can pretty much do anything, as long as you somehow emphasize chord tones:
G major E minor | A minor D7
B A B A G B A G A B A G F#
And while you should stay within the tonality of the song, you don't have to necessarily stick to the main scale.
G major E minor | A minor D7
B A# B A G B D# E A G# A G F# A C Eb (Yeah, I used E-flat)
Ultimately, it sounds like you're on the right track. Keep using your ears. I often say to my students "Our ears are smarter than we are." There's truth in that.
