The assignment

[ LiB ]

You've been commissioned to write a theme tune for a television sitcom. The main characters are two young, likeable 'no-hopers.' You know the kind of thing. They can't get the girls , they can't keep their jobs, and at the end of every episode, despite temporary success, are back where they started. The music required is to be fairly upbeat (it is a comedy ) but at the same time, bluesy. Length: just under one minute. The producer is keen on tenor sax and if possible, would like it featured.

This is a bit of a tough one. How do we keep it lively and at the same time bluesy? An upbeat 12 bar blues maybe. The problem with '12 bars' is that it is hard to find a distinctive melody to fit the rather played out chord sequence. In my experience it is always a good idea to work on the melody first and harmony second. So how do we compose an instrumental blues melody line? Well the blues scale is a good starting point.

When stuck for ideas while writing melodies, it sometimes helps to limit oneself to just a few notes. A pentatonic scale for example will provide a set

NOTE

Apentatonic scale consists of just five notes and is found in a huge amount of folk music around the world as far ranging as China, Africa and Scotland. Auld Lang Syne, for example, uses only the notes of the pentatonic scale.

NOTE

It's possible to invent simple tunes very quickly using the pentatonic scale on the piano. How? by using only the black notes starting with F#.

NOTE

Ablues scale has only one more note than the pentatonic scale, but what a difference it makes! It's used frequently by jazz and rock soloists alike. In the key of C it will consist of: C D Eb E G A. but is usually played beginning on A, like this: A C D Eb E G A and referred to as the A blues scale.

of notes suitable for something rustic and folky. In our case the blues scale, which contains one more note than a pentatonic scale, is just the job.

A pentatonic tune in the key of C will consist of the following notes: C D E G A.

OK, which key? Well tenor sax was mentioned in the brief. The key of Bb/Gm is a good key for tenor and actually puts the player in the nice easy key of C/Am. So the blues scale for this key is G Bb C C# D F G. 'That's all very well,' I can hear you say, 'the blues scale is fine for improvisation but surely it is too limiting for composing a theme tune.' Well, it's surprising just how much can be done with those six notes particularly if more than one blues scale is used. For this tune we are also going to use the C blues scale, C Eb F F# G Bb C and the D blues scale, D F G G# A C D. Let's construct a tune.

NOTE

Why does the key of Bb put the tenor saxophone player in the key of C? Because it is a transposing instrument. A tenor saxophone is pitched in Bb. When a pianist plays the note Bb, at concert pitch, the tenor sax player blows a tone higher the note C. Likewise if the pianist was to play Eb then the tenor sax player would again play a tone higher the note F. Of course they are really both playing the same note. The tenor sax player is just thinking, and as far as he is concerned , playing in a different key.

So, music for the tenor saxophone is notated a tone higher than it actually sounds. Now this is sometimes convenient for the player and reduces the number of flats he would have to play if his instrument was pitched in C. The key of Ab, concert pitch, (four flats) puts him in Bb (two flats) for instance. However, it is not so good for him in sharp keys. For example, the key of C, concert pitch, will put him in the key of D containing two sharps. The key of E (four sharps) puts him in F# (six sharps).

Other common transposing instruments are:

In Bb: trumpet , clarinet, soprano sax
In Eb: alto sax, baritone sax
In F: cor anglais, French horn

Some instruments, such as the piccolo and guitar, sound one octave higher than they are notated on the staff. Others such as the double bass and bass guitar sound one octave lower than written.

To gain an overall picture, at this point you may prefer to listen to the finished thing rather than just let things unfold. To do so, load project7/7platmix (7goldmix or 7silvmix depending on your version).

NOTE

When loading example files containing MIDI settings, it's quite likely that you will initially hear the wrong sounds (very likely those from a previous project or song). Use [Options > Song Settings > Used Instrument MIDI Settings] to correct them. A faster way quickly cursor up or down the tracks using the arrow keys on your computer keyboard.

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