Weekly Composing Challenge #1

[TRUC]

Welcome to the Weekly Composing Challenge (WCC for short) !

A coworker last night told me he was struggling to begin a piece of music every time he'd open his DAW, and so we came up with this simple idea to potentially boost his writing a bit. I figured it could be cool to have it over here as well. Whether you're a newcomer or an expert in the world of composing, I'm sure it can be fun to just sit down to play around with just a few guidelines and let the music speak, and share our results at the end of the week.

If you're interested in participating, you have the whole week to write a short piece of music that will more or less follow these simple guidelines. Remember, they are not very specific or limiting your options; you have a lot of latitude and they are only there to get you started somewhere ! . Feel free to use any digital audio workstation you want (I personally use Musescore, free sheet music software), or even live instrumentation ^^

Once you're done, just send it to me via PMs or Discord (#Goliathe7046), preferably under an .mp3 format but anything is fine, and I'll he results together so you can discover everyone's piece all together

WCC #1:

- Key is C# major
- 32 bars/measures

Very broad options for week 1, any instruments or key signature you can think of are fair play
Have fun, and if you have any questions, just ask in replies !

[TRUC]

Just a small bump because I can ^^

[Campaigns | Ilraon]

So C# is Db ? As in, there are five flats?

[Ashley766]

So C# is Db ? As in, there are five flats?

Yes, and in C# there are 7 sharps

[Camer the Dragon]

So C# is Db ? As in, there are five flats?

btw this is something I always wondered

does C# = Db
B# = Cb
etc

if so isn't having both kind of redundant

[Campaigns | Ilraon]

btw this is something I always wondered

does C# = Db
B# = Cb
etc

if so isn't having both kind of redundant

Technically they aren't equivalent, but at some point we decided we'd take an average of the two or something of the sort. The consequence is most intervals aren't exactly in tune (as in: physically), which bothered people back in the days, but doesn't bother anyone anymore because most of us aren't able to hear it at all.
@TRUC do I have until midnight today plz I'm on something but not finished yet and I'm going to see friends this afternoon. (hopefully I can finish this evening)

[TRUC]

btw this is something I always wondered

does C# = Db
B# = Cb
etc

if so isn't having both kind of redundant

The answer can vary a lot if you're under our western 12 tone equal temperament system, there are lots of other possibilities, and even microtonal stuff, but I'll stick with the easy, general point of view for the sake of simplicty.

First, B# is C, not Cb, and Cb is B, but that's just a detail.

Basically, notes are just frequencies, but within an octave, you have 8 notes that are named, counting that one note as the first. Starting from C, you have C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, or Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Si-Do, whichever you prefer. The difference between each note more or less follows a ratio, I don't want to get too technical with that, but in our western culture, we end up with 12 different ones, plus the root note/octave note. The best way to grasp it is to look at a piano. Take any white key you want on a piano, and find the next ''same'' one to the right: you'll count 7 white keys to it, and 5 black keys in between, for a total of 12.

Let's use only sharps for now. Starting on C, that leaves us with:
C
C#
D
D#
E
F
F#
G
G#
A
A#
B
That is 12 notes, and then back to our C root. This is often referred to as a chromatic scale, were each note is a half-step (or semitone) higher than the previous one. The whole octave is 6 tones, or 12 semitones. That's the very core of the system.

Now, why do we also use flats ? There are plenty of reasons, some more important than others, but TECHNICALLY, if you want to be practical about it, F# and Gb are the same note. If you add some context, they can be different things.

The most obvious explanation would be to talk about chords. The classic, very simplest chord is called a major triad, and is made, as its name suggests, of 3 notes. You have the root note, a major third, and a perfect fifth. Notices the names I used for those chords (root, third, fifth); they refer to the degrees of the scale, or key, if you want, we are in.

So let's say we are in D Major. Notes of the scale are D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D, with 2 sharps on F and C and you can tell. If I were to make a D Major chord, I would take the root (D), the third note/degree (F#), and the fifth (A). The reason I choose to name it F# and not Gb is because Gb would be a FOURTH degree, and that is not what we want. It adds extra notation, can cause confusion if you're using more complex chords, and it doesn't help in any way.

Although, if you were to play F# and Gb on any regular instrument, you'd get the same sound going. Also, maybe you are playing in Eb minor (ignoring the different minor scales here). With 6 flats, all but F, the minor triad for this scale is Eb-Gb-Bb. Using F# instead is once again odd, and furthermore, if you're reading sheet music, using F# instead of Gb leaves you with 2 notes with different accidentals on the same level, it's VERY rough to both write and read with.

So yes, easy answer is they are the same thing, but ultimately it is not redundant at all to have both. Esspecially if you start taking into account quarter tones (half sharps and half flats), or even some rare cases where you'd need double sharps and double flats (F## is equivalent to a G, yes, or Abb ).

Hope that helped a little !

@TRUC do I have until midnight today plz I'm on something but not finished yet and I'm going to see friends this afternoon. (hopefully I can finish this evening)

You're 6 hours ahead of me in timezones, and I don't think I'll post this before tomorrow anyway, so take your time, there's no rush ^^
At the very least you'll have the option to post it on your own with the other(s), I'll probably make it a blog post anyway