So everyday I set a timer for 1 hour and create whatever I'm feeling in that hour and I've decided to start sharing these sketches.
This moody little cue from mv sketchbook is currentlv untitled What would vou name it?
And what scene do you see playing out in your head while listening?
I'Il admit was kind of in a dark place when I wrote this cue, but as long as I can harvest those emotions I don't mind the dark everv once in awhile. I imagine like an interesting opening credit scene or maybe a villain was just revealed and now we're watching someone deal with the consequences of learnina this news. The kind of scene where a single conversation could change everything. ldk
I'm curious to know what you hear?
Arnold Cifax Jr.
Film Score Composer arnoldcifaxjr.com
I hear an absence of dissonance. The orchestration is indeed dark, but the sketch is rooted in a home-key of A-minor, and the harmonies don't go anywhere unexpected. There are no chromatics, tritones, ambiguities, expanded chords or unusual modalities. Thus, its impact is diminished, regardless of how hard the instrumentation goes. Lack of dissonance is a common ailment in movie & TV composing, these past couple of decades, so I hope more composers break free of this harmonic straitjacket.
Thus, I'd like to hear more experimentation in both harmony and melody. Try sketching something in two contrasting keys, simultaneously. Also explore modulations, different keys and modes beyond the standard diatonic. Take the music far away from a home key, so its return to it becomes more powerful. Contrasting dissonance strengthens consonance, when it arrives to resolve the previous tensions.