BIMM Ins tute Dublin

BA (Hons) in Commercial Modern Music

MM807: BA4 Composi on and Analysis

Assessment A2: Analysis

Student Name: Eoin Murphy

Student Number: 1008322

Lead Lecturer: Adam Taylor

Academic Year: 2023/2024

Due Date: Dec 23rd, 2023

Word Count: 1,043

Analysis: Formed and Wormed

Composi onal Wri ng

This piece a empts to represent illusiveness of thought. With changing key signatures as well as
changing polyrhythms, the piece feels intangible, like trying to grasp a thought just out of reach. This
is also achieved by the diatonic chord structures, metric modula on, and odd me signature
changes.

Mo f and Mo vic Development:

For this assignment I chose to focus on rhythmic mo f driving the piece rather than melodic. As this
piece has large basis in polyrhythms, there are two main mo fs that are o en overlayed on top of
each other. The first examples are groupings of the same do ed and regular quavers while the
second set of examples are based largely in groupings of triplets

Fig.1
This is the main rhythmic mo f of the piece. It is played by the treble staff of the piano for the large
majority of sec ons A, A1 and A2. It’s primarily used in this context to explore the various harmonies
of the given chord structures above.

Fig.2
In sec on A1 the main piano mo f piece con nues while the viola supports it underneath through
pizzicato and accents

Fig.3

Fig.4
In the B sec on the piano/cello accompany one another and keep one another grounded, the mo f
has also been expanded upon from 6/4 me into 7/4.

Fig.5
In sec on C the cello holds down its same rhythm from A/A1, keeping it grounded while the context
of the music changes around it

Fig.6
The music departs from this mo f for sec ons D and E and returns in sec on F in the form of a lead
viola line to help the piece transi on back to a reprieve of its opening A sec on
The following triplet mo fs are used in the context of the piece to offset the quaver mo fs and
create a layered pulsing rhythm thats kept grounded by use of accents.

Fig.7

Fig.8
In sec on A the main triplet phrase is played by the bass staff of the piano and the double bass to set
up contrast to the treble staff of the piano and the viola later on in sec on A1.

Fig.9

Fig.10
The treble and bass staff of the piano trade rhythmic structures in the B sec on but the viola keeps
playing the triplets.

Fig.11
In the E sec ons different values of triplets are exchanged, exploring the same tonali es as one
another. The rhythm has become its most estranged from its star ng point. This is just before it goes
into the F sec on which prepares us to go back to the main mo f.

Fig.12

Rhythmic ideas and ar cula ons.

I decided to do metric modula on in this piece. Rather than arbitrary tempo changes, this piece
bases its tempo on the do ed quaver, because it is so prevalent in this piece. In the B sec on the
do ed quavers become crotchets in order to create tension in a meaningful way. The bass tempo for
the piece is 79, with the modula on bringing it to 105.33 and vice versa.
The double bass acts as the marker for the sextet between the two sec ons par cularly in the 4/4
bar lead in right before sec on B.

Fig.13

Fig.14
Roman Numeral Analysis:
A sec on:

Fig.15
 Key: A
Major
Bar 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
RN III11 vi7 V7 IMaj7 iii11 VI7 ii7 IIMaj7 IVmaj7 vi9 iii9 V7 V7I
Analysis VII7add#9 IMaj7 Maj7
This sec on balances between having A major7 as the home chord and its rela ve minor, F# minor7.
In bar 1 I C#7 as a V to i progression. Instead of resolving G#7add 9 to C# minor, a minor third chord,
I chose to use its family chord of F# minor to create more dissonance and tension while also using it
as a natural minor sound. This is offset by the mul ple uses of V to I used through the chord
progression.
A1 Sec on:

Fig.15
 Key: A
Major
Bar 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
RN iii7 VI7 VII7 vi7 iii11 VI7 IV7 ii7 vi9 V7 V7 I7
Analysis IImaj7 VII7add#9 iii9 IMaj7 I7
The A1 sec on is obviously informed by the A sec on with subs tu ons based on chord families
being most prevalent. This is clear in bar 10 when I change out a E7 for a G#7 and in bars 12 and 13
where I used the IV and ii chords interchangeably in order to create a different feel to the
progression. Bar 16 sees the introduc on of an A7 chord in order to resolve into the B sec on which
starts with a D# minor.
B Sec on:

Fig.16

Key: F#
Major
Bar 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
RN vi7 V7(b6) vii7b5”alt” iadd9 vi7 V7(b6) vii7b5”alt” iadd9
Analysis

Here we have a progression based on the melodic minor scale of D# minor which fits easiest into the
key signature F# major. The progression follows a line cliché with the weight of the melodic minor’s
sombre sound behind it, before hi ng F# minor add 9 and then repea ng. The cello is the
instrument performing the line cliché in this sec on.
C Sec on:

Fig.17

Key: D#
Minor
Bar 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33
RN IMaj7 IMaj7 VIMaj7 VIMaj7 IMaj7 IMaj7 VIMaj7 VIMaj7
Analysis VIMaj7 VIMaj7 IIIMaj7 IIIMaj7 VIMaj7 VIMaj7 IIIMaj7 IIIMaj7
VIIMaj7 VIIMaj7 VIIMaj7 VMaj7 VIIMaj7 VIIMaj7 VIIMaj7 VMaj7

This sec on follows the principles of constant structure harmony. While the key is D# minor the
structure of every chord is major throughout.
D Sec on:

Fig.18
 Key:
C#
Major
Bar 34 35 36 37 38
i7sus4 vi7 i7sus4 vi7 bIIIMaj7sus4 bIIIMaj7sus4 i7sus4
bVIIMaj7sus4 bVIIMaj7sus4 i7sus4 i7sus4 vi7
ii7sus4 ii7sus4

39 40 41 42 43
i7sus4 vi7 i7sus4 vi7 bIIIMaj7sus4 bIIIMaj7sus4 i7sus4
bVIIMaj7sus4 bVIIMaj7sus4 i7sus4 i7sus4 bIIIMaj7sus4
ii7sus4 ii7sus4 vi7

The levity of the previous sec on is brought into ques on by the use of quartal harmony in sec on D.
The progression is the product of the D# Dorian mode and is in the key of C# Major. The only chord
used that is not a form of quartal harmony is the B# minor 7th. This is to add a small bit of tension
before leading into The E sec on. In the last bar there is a half-step progression that plays down the
melodic scale; D#, C#, B#(C), respec vely. This lands well on the B minor7b5 at the start of the E
sec on.
E sec on:

Fig.19

Key: C
Major
Bar 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51
RN #iv7b5 vii7 ii7 iii7 #iv7b5 Vmaj7 IMaj7 i6
Analysis

This sec on follows the modal harmony structure of F Lydian, meaning its in the key of C major. It
starts off in bar 44 with the signature Lydian chord of a #iv7b5 and moves through the full range of
chords.
F Sec on

Fig.20

Key: D Major
Bar 52 53 54 55 56 57
RN Analysis Vi11 viiø9 VII9 iii7 V7 III ii7 IVMaj7 iv7 vi11 V7 I9 I9

In bar 53 C#9 acts as a secondary dominant to F#minor7. A7 is another secondary dominant in bar 56
leading to D9, which acts as a tritone for C#11 in the next sec on.
A2 Sec on

Fig.21
 Key: D Key: G
Major Major
Bar 58 59 60 61 62 63 64
RN bIII7 ii7 iii7 vi7 bVII7 bVII7 V7 IMaj7
Analysis VI7b VII7 V7 bVII6

The harmony in sec on A2 is a refrain to the first sec on and is not what changes about this sec on.
Daw Mock-Up:
Formed and Wormed was composed in and remade in studio one. A “part” was generated for each
of the instruments in the score. A er se ng up the DAW, for the six instruments which included
arranging the tempo (and changes), me signatures.
Fig.22

Having no access to Melodyne for this assessment, I worked around this by playing each part slowly
on a midi keyboard and speeding up the result. I used the velocity func on for notes in order to
create accents.
Fig.23
Each part was then manually automated so that the dynamics would match the sheet music.
Fig.24

Each instrument was then Panned to its own sec on of the soundscape and also EQ ’ed to prevent
any one piece from overcrowding the mix.
Fig.25

Fig.26

For the quintet I used the BBC symphony orchestra plug-in and for the piano I used spi ire autograph
grand.