Assignment 4: Reflections

Brainstorm

I decided to write for clarinet, tenor drum and marimba after writing a short piece for clarinet, snare drum and marimba in project 11 and thinking the combination of instruments worked well.

The piece is in four main sections; there are three contrasting sections and a coda section. The main melodies of the piece are based around two main themes. When sitting at the piano I realised that you could use the triad of D, F and Ab to form different chords depending which note you added; I decided to use Bb, B natural and C natural which gives you a dominant 7^th chord, a diminished 7^th chord and minor added 6^th chord respectively. The second theme is simply a descending chromatic motif on these three notes (C, B and Bb).

The 1^st section starts with the marimba, followed by the clarinet imitating it. The opening theme is developed by the marimba with the clarinet imitating and inverting the motifs. The chromatic motif is heard on the marimba for the first time in bar 7 and this is exchanged between the two instruments along with an exchange where the last note changes between the notes of the chromatic motif. The chromatic theme is developed further by the clarinet from bar 21; the gradually softening exchanges between the instruments sets up the beginning of the second section.

 The 2^nd section begins with the clarinet in bar 28, allowing time for the marimba to change sticks. The section, marked scherzo, is more playful and moves away for the diminished chords whilst still having a chromatic element to sound a little more vibrant than the first section. The clarinet and marimba exchange the melody in inverted forms and diminution in bar 43. The clarinet introduces a new theme in bar 45 which is developed in a sequence by the marimba; the clarinet providing echoes of the chromatic motif in the opening section. The music diminuendos away again to set up the beginning of the third section.

The 3^rd section, beginning in bar 62, is effectively a clarinet solo with a more chromatic feel than the previous section; the marimba and tenor drum accompany with a piano, augmented version of the first motif. It is marked cantabile and has a flowing melody compared to the detached themes of the first and second sections. The clarinet repeats this augmented motif, gradually fading away along with the tenor drum; the marimba dropping out to allow time to change back to hard sticks.

The 4^th section, beginning at bar 77 is a short coda returning to the themes of the first section, but with subtle variations. A diminished version of the marimba melody in section 2 is introduced against an augmented version of an opening motif (bars 83-85).

The inspiration behind the title for the piece came from stories in the press which said that using the term brainstorming was no longer politically correct as it is also a medical term for what occurs in the brain during an epileptic seizure. In this sense, I think it fits the mood of the piece well.