AboutDr Colin Expertise I can answer questions from students of "classical" composing, arranging, notation problems and music theory, writing for instruments and voice and writing music for education. I can answer questions about orchestration but I do not cover questions about pop or rock music, pop song writing or electronic music.
I taught for many years in UK up to "A" level theory and composition. I have spent many years in music education, initially (like everyone else) as a teacher. Then I moved on to advisory work (teaching teachers!) and also lectured, giving many workshops for teachers in developing music education skills and techniques. For a time I worked as a teacher-lecturer at London University's Institute of Education and eventually worked full-time as a Music Education Adviser to schools in part of London, offering advice on music education and curriculum development.
Experience I started composing music at the age 14 (it was mostly rubbish, since you asked) and now have a large number of compositions to credit as well as many publications, especially for instrumental music and choral music. I have also written several acclaimed works for large orchestra and choir. My work has been published particularly in the UK (under different names)(notably by Boosey & Hawkes, Novello, and Schott) but also in the USA and the Netherlands.
My music for elementary players (several publications) has been performed and broadcast worldwide. I am now retired from my previous job as Music Education Adviser. These days I spend most of my time composing and arranging. I am currently working on instrumental arrangements of world national anthems for my National Anthems website and also completing a suite of very easy piano solos and duets for elementary players. For many years I have used the music program "Finale" for all my music writing activities.
Organizations International Society for Music Education;
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Publications "The Times" Educational Supplement; "Hi-Fi News and Record Review". For several years, I used to write for many of the state music education periodicals in the US and I also wrote several influential articles on instrumental music teaching for "Music Teacher" magazine in the UK. (UK).
Question Hi. I have to do a keyboard reduction. Problem I have is in bass stave I have an E below middle C and a G in seperate voices, played together. However, the G needs to be an octave higher. Don't really want to use leger lines but if i write 8va above the G I assume that this would also make the E an ocatve higher which I don't want. Any ideas?
Many thanks.
Answer Hi Peter,
Many thanks for getting in touch. If you are writing a piano reduction of something, the important thing is that it must look like a piece for piano. I can see no problem in writing the "G" on a ledger line above the bass stave - it is only three ledger lines anyway. Sometimes, ledger lines are essential.
I agree completely with you that an 8va sign would not be a good idea for the reason you state. In any case, an 8ve sign above a single chord would look strange. OK, ideas:
(1) You could write the "G" on the treble stave connected to the "E" underneath by a single stem.
(2) Why don't you place the "G" on the treble clef two ledger lines down?
You imply that the "G" in question is in a different voice. If you want to show the voices individually (say, for example, in a canon or fugue) the you'd need to write each voice with the stems in different directions. This is now Bach wrote his keyboard fugues. However, for a piano reduction which is not contrapuntal, this may not be necessary.
Of course, the most important thing is that the piano reduction can actually be played!
Have a think about this and if you want, let me know if these ideas work.
