Apple Soundtrack User Manual download pdf (Page 20)

20 Chapter 1 Audio and Music Basics

Instrumentation

The instruments used in any piece of music help define the style and the character of

the music. Because each instrument adds its own particular range of musical

expression to the piece, the choice of instrumentation is a crucial one in creating your

projects. If you’re working in a particular style, you should always consider whether an

instrument fits the sound of that style. If you’re going for something original, you can

try combining instruments in a unique or unusual way.

The art of arranging involves choosing the right instrumentation, and using changes in

the instrumentation over the course of the piece to create musical interest and drama.

The arrangement becomes an integral part of the character and expression of the music.

Musical Patterns and Form

Most styles of music engage their audience by building up repeating patterns, then

breaking or changing them after a number of repetitions. Larger musical compositions

are created out of a series of related patterns.

Musical patterns typically occur in groups of two or four, and changes from one pattern

to another typically occur at multiples of four. The form of a popular song provides a

simple example: Many pop songs consist of a short introduction followed by two main

sections, the verse and the chorus. The verse and chorus alternate several times, with

the melody either sung or played by the lead instruments.

The introduction typically lasts 8 or 16 measures; each verse lasts 16 or 32 measures,

and the chorus lasts for another 16 or 32 measures. In both the verse and chorus, the

harmony may change at the beginning of every measure, or every two or four

measures. Often the last chorus is repeated several times for a coda or “outro.”

Most styles of contemporary music are based to some degree on song form. You can

easily create projects based on this form, using loops with drum beats and rhythmic

patterns to define each section of the form. Each repetition of the verse and chorus

sections can be set off using loops with vocals, or with varying lead or solo parts. You

can scale the length of the piece to fill a specific amount of time, such as the length of

a movie you want to score, by either adjusting the tempo or changing the number of

times the final section repeats.

Another typical feature of song-based music is that there is often a signal at the end of

each pattern that tells the audience that the pattern is about to change. Often this

occurs in the drums or rhythm section parts. For example, the drums may repeat the

same pattern for seven measures, but introduce slight changes in the eighth measure

that energize the music and signal that a new pattern is about to start. Musicians call

these signals fills, and loop libraries often contain several fills meant to be used with a

looped drum pattern.

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Apple Soundtrack User Manual Page 20