Xiaoxi

I often see these kinds of issues brought up by aspiring songwriters/composers on this forum: "I've come up with a cool idea, but I can't think of how to go on or what to do next" or "I always have trouble finishing a piece" or "I don't like the results. It seems very lacking and stale". These are very common problems, and it inspired me to write this lengthy analysis of Brahms' String Quartet No. 3. The first movement of this quartet shows an incredible level of maturity in compositional craft, one filled with creative solutions at every turn.

Composition advice is often put in vague terms, focusing only on the overall concerns and leaving a vacuum on the inner workings, which I suspect many people would like to know. Too often when we're struggling to write, we don't stop to ask, "Why this, now?", the answer to which will break the creative blockade. That is why I've attempted to retrace every step of this piece, breaking down every nuance along the way to show exactly what Brahms was thinking and what prompted each minute decision that allowed the music to progress and take shape. In documenting all this at such a micro level, I hope it will reveal to us new ways of approaching those common problems no matter what kind of music you're writing. Of course, this is a very long read (sorry no tl;dr), but there's no need to do it all in one sitting. What's important is taking it all in and really absorbing it, so read at a comfortable pace.


Let's get started!
Download a copy of the PDF and listen along:














Harmonic Analysis coming soon

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Modes and scales are dumb and useless. Stop learning them. No, seriously.

Analyzing Brahms: Insights to Help Us Improve Our Music

Nelsean attempting to pronounce my name lol

I got Last.fm. Don't know why...

jazz_rock_feel

First. Don't have time to read it though.

EDIT: right now. I will in a few days when exams are done.

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An Afternoon with Stravinsky: Analysis and Observations of the Symphony of Psalms

I finally updated my SoundCloud with more recent pieces. Check it.

Nietsche

Reading now. And consider the Douglas Adams quote fixed.

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Hail

i was really looking forward to seeing you try and get 5 posts reserved before we ruined your thread. but i'll need to set some time aside before i jump into it, work today and my last finals tomorrow, ick.

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Duaneclapdrix

Hooray! I've been waiting for this.

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My MuseScore music http://musescore.com/user/21980/sheetmusic

Mathedes

Very interesting Xiaoxi. I'm transcribing and analyzing my favorite albums, so your post will come in handy reference.

Will read when I get the chance.

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Life Is Brutal

Will you be covering any Chopin in this discussion?

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Xiaoxi

That makes it all worth it :''''''''''''')


I have to give myself a pat on the back for the solution I came up with. I'm a goddamn genius.


Sure, here it is:

__________________
Modes and scales are dumb and useless. Stop learning them. No, seriously.

Analyzing Brahms: Insights to Help Us Improve Our Music

Nelsean attempting to pronounce my name lol

I got Last.fm. Don't know why...

amonamarthmetal

LOL

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My name is Joe. call me Joe.

Click here if you like arpeggios

Life Is Brutal

I also Lol'ed pretty hard.

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|GP5 Compositions|

AeolianWolf

you don't like chopin?! chopin is great!

i mean, he's not a master of composition like brahms, but he's great!

interesting read. i'll come back to it again when i have more time to really appreciate it in depth.

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Xiaoxi

No mo cho please!!!!!!!!!!

__________________
Modes and scales are dumb and useless. Stop learning them. No, seriously.

Analyzing Brahms: Insights to Help Us Improve Our Music

Nelsean attempting to pronounce my name lol

I got Last.fm. Don't know why...

jazz_rock_feel

Well, let's not get crazy.

__________________

An Afternoon with Stravinsky: Analysis and Observations of the Symphony of Psalms

I finally updated my SoundCloud with more recent pieces. Check it.

Xiaoxi

The hell is THAT supposed to mean??!!

__________________
Modes and scales are dumb and useless. Stop learning them. No, seriously.

Analyzing Brahms: Insights to Help Us Improve Our Music

Nelsean attempting to pronounce my name lol

I got Last.fm. Don't know why...

CryogenicHusk

How bout you Liszten to some Liszt, instead? Or can you not Handel it?

amonamarthmetal

I'll be Bach

__________________
My name is Joe. call me Joe.

Click here if you like arpeggios

griffRG7321

I'm sick of Brahms after listening to his first symphony for analysis countless times.

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AeolianWolf

Mother****er I Didn't Even See It Was Brahms' 3rd String Quartet When I Came In Here Before

This Is Legitimately My Favorite Piece By Brahms

i guess capslock isn't tolerated here anymore.

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TheHydra

Hey, thanks for writing this. I listened to the piece and followed along with the sheet music, and I read your whole analysis while doing my best to go and revisit the sections you talked about. Approaching classical composition methods is kind of daunting so stuff like this really useful and inspiring. The final section really gave me some motivation and things to think about.