SYLLABUS

MYE/MYL 5018E SONGWRITING

ISTANBUL TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
Dr. ERAY ALTINBÜKEN
altinbuken@itu.edu.tr

General Procedures:
Minimum limit for class attendance is %70. Any student with an attendance rate below %70 will
not be eligible to submit a final project.
Auditors are also required to attend the classes regularly and submit projects like the enrolled
students.

Main Textbook:
Perricone, Jack. Melody in Songwriting: Tools and Techniques for Writing Hit Songs, Berklee
Press, Boston, 2000.

Additional Sources:
Books
Rooksby, Rikky. How to Write Songs on Guitar, Balafon Books, London, 2000.
Grove Music Online Encyclopedia
John Braheny, The Craft and Business of Songwriting. Writer’s Digest Books, Cincinnati, 2002.
Articles:
Adorno, T.W., 1941. On Popular Music, in Adorno on Popular Culture, by Robert W. Witkin,
pp. 98-115. Routledge, London, 2003.
Altınbüken, E. ve Beşiroğlu, Ş.Ş., (2013) Popüler Müziğe Yapısal Bakış, Porte Akademik –
Müzik ve Dans Araştırmaları Dergisi, Sayı:8 (Müzikolojide Güncel Yaklaşımlar Özel Sayısı),
Sf.115-12. İTÜ TMDK yayını, İstanbul, Eylül 2013.

IMPORTANT:
READINGS given for each week are to be made BEFORE THE CLASS
ASSIGNMENTS marked for each week are to be SUBMITTED AT THE NEXT CLASS
Week 1 – BASIC CONCEPTS
Melody, Pitch, Rhythm, Tendencies.
Readings: Perricone Chapters 1-2-3-4, Rooksby, introduction and section 1 (p.6-13)

Week 2 – MELODY
Symmetry/Assymetry; Melody in Minor; Melodic Outline/Melodic Contour; Controlling The
Speed of Your Song:
Readings: Perricone Chapters 5-6-7-8

Week 3 – PHRASING AND FORMAL STRUCTURES

Melodic Placement; Building Sections; Developmental Techniques; Form.
Readings: Perricone Chapters 9-10-11-12, Rooksby Section 5 (p.64-73).
John Braheny, The Craft and Business of Songwriting, Chapter 5, pp.77-102

Week 4 – WORDS AND MUSIC: WORKING WITH THE TEXT

Writing your own lyrics or composing for a pre-existing text? Pros-cons and choices.
Overview on relation between meter in poetry and rhythm in music.
Meaning and musical elements
Readings: John Braheny, The Craft and Business of Songwriting, Chapter 4, pp.57-72.
New Grove article: Word Painting

Week 5 – HARMONIC CONSTRUCTION-1

Functional Harmony and Harmonic Progression; A Unified Theory of Melody and Harmony;
Non-chord Tones and Tensions; Making Harmonic Choices; Melody/Bass Relationships.
Readings: Perricone Chapters 13-14-15-16-17

Week 6 – HARMONIC CONSTRUCTION-2

Harmony in Minor; Additional Harmonic/Melodic Considerations; Starting with a Chord
Progression; Pedal Point, Suspended Chords and Chords without Thirds, Quartal Harmony
Readings: Perricone Chapters 18-19-20-21

Week 7 – HARMONIC CONSTRUCTION -3

Blues / Rock; Modes; Mode Mixture; Building Chord Progressions; Clichés
Readings: Perricone Chapters 22-23; Rooksby Section 4 (p.56-63); Kotska Chapter 21 (p.346-
353)
Week 8 – Midterm Project Presentations

Week 9 – THE NOTIONS OF COMPOSITION AND ARRANGEMENT

The notions of composition and arrangement in the pop music world compared to the classical
context
Stylistic traits –part of composition or part of arrangement? To what extent?
Texture –A common denominator for all styles
Hybridisation –How to make material coming from different sources work together?
Readings:
Adorno, T.W., 1941. On Popular Music, in Adorno on Popular Culture, by Robert W. Witkin,
pp. 98-115. Routledge, London, 2003.
Altınbüken, E. ve Beşiroğlu, Ş.Ş., (2013) Popüler Müziğe Yapısal Bakış, Porte Akademik –
Müzik ve Dans Araştırmaları Dergisi, Sayı:8 (Müzikolojide Güncel Yaklaşımlar Özel Sayısı),
Sf.115-12. İTÜ TMDK yayını, İstanbul, Eylül 2013.
New Grove article: Texture

Week 10 – EXPLORING THE TRADITION

An overview of Art songs in the Western tradition (Gregorian Chant and Psalms -
Trouvère/Troubadour songs – Formes Fixes – Motet – Madrigal – Opera aria – Lied – 20th
century art songs).
Readings: New Grove article: Song, by Chew, Mathiesen, Payne and Fallows. New Grove
article: Art Song, by Dickinson, Hitchcock and Clifton.

Week 11 – TOP OF THE POPS: GLOBAL POP MUSIC

An overview of different styles in globally disseminated pop music in the 20th century
Readings: New Grove article: Popular Music, by Richard Middleton and Peter Manuel

Week 12 – Presentation of Final Projects

Final exams week – Submission of Revised Final Projects