Perpetual Motion Etude #8

October 21, 2019 at 12:53 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Of all of the pieces, Etude #8 is the most dense and had the most theoretically-based compositional process. I’m going to do my best to explain how I arrived at some of these musical outcomes.

I started with a cycle of five chords in 2^ndinversion (F, E, B, F#, and Ab). I repeated this set of chords in order within a 15/8 rhythmic framework with six chords per measure. Because there is a repeated set of five chords but six chords per measure, the chords will land at different places in each measure, creating a dizzying spin.

Although the piece is titled “blues,” it’s only a blues in the loosest sense. Because the chords are merely cycling, the harmony isn’t changing in the traditional blues progression. Instead, it’s the commentary in the top and bottom staves that loosely follows the blues form – leaping up a fourth in measure 3 and returning back down in measure 4 (not unlike measures 5 and 7, respectively, of a blues form). Measures 5 and 6 are meant to imitate the cadence of a blues (normally, measures 9-10). These measures are set off from the rest because the chords change from second inversion to first inversion, making a slightly “sweeter” texture. The chromatic melody doubled in the outer staves moves down by a wholestep, just as it would in a traditional rock blues. We return to the “tonic” in measures 7-8.

The cycle of chords restarts every eight four measures. Starting at measure 9, there are only two notes for each chord because the left-hand is carrying both the chords and the chromatic melody.

Beginning at measure 17, the chords are doubled two octaves apart with “filler notes” in both hands in between.

Finally, in measure 25, the chords are left out, in favor of the main “blues melody” from the top line in measure 9.

Each of these 8 measure phrases is, in my mind, equivalent to one chorus of the blues.

If you’re performing this piece, it’s all about rhythm! Give as much intensity as you can to the chords so that it feels almost like a percussion piece (one of my students compared this to “thrash rock” on the piano – a concept I totally love!). I think it’s also great to bring out the form of the blues by dropping down in dynamic during the “turn around” section (where the chords change from second to first inversion) and making a crescendo each time. This helps the listener not get completely lost in the “shifting sands” of the cyclical chords.

Here’s a clip of me giving some performing tips for Etude #8, “Blues”:

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