4 steps to composing a Mazurka
Do you have a favorite Mazurka?
Two of my favorites are ‘Mazurka Appasionta’ by Agustin Barrios and ‘Adelita’ by Francisco Tarrega.
I recently performed 16 new Mazurkas that were composed over the past few months by members of CCG. They were all inspired by Adelita, but all turned out very different. A clip of one Mazurka from the program is below.
Step 1: Plan
Probably the most important step was to have a plan. A plan gives your composition structure and cohesion and helps focus your creativity.
If you've tried composing before, you might have experienced stumbling blocks like:
- Not knowing where/how to start
- Not knowing how to extend beyond your initial ideas
- Not understanding about the underpinnings of music
Having a plan addresses all of those points!
What did the Mazurka plan that CCG composers use look like? Check it out below:
Step 2: Melody
Think about what the most defining feature of a piece is.
Most of the time, it's melody. A melody is something you can connect with, because it's something you can sing (or hum, or whistle if you prefer).
I like to say that melody is the heart of a song.
Melody also contains crucial structural elements and helps to organize your composition. For example,. the term 'Parallel Period' in the plan above is referring to a key melodic structure that's used in many melodies.
Below is a melody that was based on another Mazurka, Maria Luisa. This was written by Trisha, whose Mazurka 'Between the Tides' is recorded above.
Step 3: Harmony
Now that you've got a solid structure and beautiful melody, time to add chords in!
You might be thinking, "but there are so many chords to choose from!!"
Good news: you can just choose from three chords, called the primary chords (I, IV and V).
Below is Trisha's melody from above, now with the addition of primary chords.
Step 4: Edit and Refine
Now you've got some really solid material to start refining and editing.
Some of the considerations you want to think about:
- Playability
- Fingerings
- Texture/voicing