Writing For String Quartet

Writing
For
String
Quartet
An Introduction to
Composing for the Brodowski Quartet
Angus Allnatt
Charitable
Foundation
Welcome to this year’s Young Composer of Dyfed scheme.
Once again our Resident Composer is Peter Reynolds who has joined forces with our Resident
Ensemble to produce this workbook which we hope will help you along your journey of
composition.
And now let me introduce our Resident Ensemble for 2011 - 12. The Brodowski Quartet
comprises David Brodowski , Catrin Win Morgan (violins), Felix Tanner (viola) and Vanessa
Lucas-Smith (cello). Originally from Germany, Wales, Scotland and England (indeed Catrin was
brought up in Llangadog) they now live in London and indeed have been described by one critic
as the “new kids on the London scene”.
Find out more about the quartet at their website www.brodowskiquartet.com where they will
be keeping a blog about their residency with us here in West Wales
http://brodowskiquartet.posterous.com/.
You can download an Introduction and Guidelines to submitting a piece for the Brodowski
Quartet; a registration form for a tutorial and the application form that needs to accompany
any composition you submit from our website www.ymmd.org.uk
Dates for the Diary
Friday 9 December 2011.
Deadline for registering a one-to-one tutorial with Peter
Reynolds
Friday 10 February 2012
Deadline for submissions
Week of 19 March 2012
A selection of the compositions submitted will be
performed by the Brodowski Quartet at a series of Schools
Showcases
Saturday 24 March 2012
Young Composer of Dyfed Celebration Concert at Neuadd y
Dderwen, Rhosygilwen
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.
Email:
Phone:
[email protected]
029 2019 0176
Cathy Morris
Administrator
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Introduction
Composing for the String Quartet
Most of our resident ensembles over the last few years have been groups that didn’t even exist
beyond about fifty years ago, but the string quartet has been around for over 250 years. You
might think that during that time composers might have exhausted all the possibilities of writing
for this combination of instruments, but it has such an immense wealth and range of sounds and
possibilities that, each year, composers come up with something new for it. This is now your
chance.
What is a string quartet?
 A string quartet consists of two violins, a viola and a cello
 The group normally sit in a semi-circle, so that they can keep eye contact with one
another when they play
 String instruments are not like a keyboard or piano where it is possible to play a melody
and accompaniment – instead they are essentially melodic instruments, designed to play
single lines.
 The string quartet came into existence because of this: it is group of many possibilities,
from playing a simple melody that the other instruments accompany, through to perhaps
writing four individual melodic lines that simultaneously fit together.
 When you depress a note on the piano, or play a note on a woodwind instrument there is
no way of changing the sound of that note. String instruments though can make all sorts
of different and fascinating sounds that make it one of the most colourful ensembles of
all time.
 In this book you will find a list of the sounds and techniques that a string quartet is
capable of and which you can include in your compositions if you wish.
Do I have to write for the whole string quartet?
How do you write something for each of the four instruments? Oddly enough, writing for four
string instruments is easier than writing for one, two or three! This book includes lots of
examples of ideas and techniques that other composers have used in writing for the group. In
previous years, there have been other opportunities to add your own instrument to the line-up,
but this year we are asking everyone to write for the string quartet alone because the group is so
rich in the number of sounds available.
If in doubt - just ask.
In the pages that follow, you will find:
-
Technical tips on writing for violin, viola and cello
Some ideas for getting your piece going
Dos and don’ts on the presentation of your scores and performing parts
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A Player’s Perspective
A Brief History of the String Quartet
1750s - The String Quartet is born
Pieces for two violins, a viola and cello composed called divertimentos, serenades and
quartettos.
Composers employed by aristocrats to write chamber music for pleasure and
performance by aristocratic amateurs, see picture below
1780s – Composition style of the quartet established
Haydn composed his Op. 33 Quartets
Mozart composed six quartets dedicated to Haydn
Private performances by aristocratic amateurs with an invited audience organised in
courts and palaces
At one Viennese gathering Haydn and Mozart performed together in a quartet
1800s – Aristocrats could no longer afford to pay the composers
Composers began to arrange profit making concerts to make money
Professional musicians paid to perform String Quartets in concert halls
1820s – Composers wrote more demanding music for the professional musicians
Instrument makers developed string instruments and bows to meet the demands of
the music and aid projection in the concert halls
1900s – Purpose built concert halls for Chamber Music
For example, the Wigmore Hall in London, built in 1901
A greater demand for listening to the String Quartet repertoire
Thus the professional String Quartet is established
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The Basics
THE VIOLIN
Range
The Strings:
G, D, A, E
Clef - written in the treble clef as in diagram above
Bowing:
Arco – indicates to play with the bow
Players assume it is arco unless it is marked pizz, to pluck
Once you have written pizz remember to write arco where the pizz should end
Have you considered?
Each string has different characteristics. Therefore you could insist that a player plays on a
specific string by writing the Roman numeral of the string above the passage.
A melody that can be played low on the D string could be played high on the G string creating a
dark, rich tone.
Roman Numerals for Violin Strings: E = I A = II D = III G = IV
Role of the 1st Violin
Among the four players, the first violin may get the most attention and acclaim; many quartets,
for example, are named after their first violinists.
-
The Virtuoso of the quartet
Mostly plays the melody
Occasional accompaniment role
Generally plays in the higher register of the Violin
Usually has the most notes!
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A comic First Violin Tale
Ignaz Schuppanzigh (1776-1830) was the leader of the first ever professional
string quartet, the ‘Razumovsky Quartet’. It was said that Schuppanzigh was a
handsome young man, but in adult life became seriously obese. Towards the end of
his life, his fingers grew so fat that he was unable to play in tune.
Beethoven composed a short comic choral piece dedicated to him called
‘Praise to the Fat One.’
Role of the 2nd Violin
It is a versatile role – the 2nd violin could be described as the Chameleon of the String Quartet
and is demanded to play many different roles
- Countermelody – supportive role to the melody, mostly the 1st violin
- Dialogue – alternating interjections with the other parts
- Melody – sometimes taking over the melody
- Accompaniment – blends in with harmony and accompanies the melody
- Harmonically – bridges the gap between the higher register of the 1st violin and the viola
by adding warmth and depth to the texture.
Is it so bad to play 2nd Violin?!
Violin Joke
Q. What's the difference between a violin and a viola?
A. There is no difference. The violin just looks smaller because
the violinist's head is so much bigger.
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THE VIOLA
Range
The Strings:
C, G, D, A
Clef - written in the alto clef, as diagram above. For high notes use the treble clef
Role of the Viola
The short story is that the viola is the tenor voice of the string quartet. It dates from a similar
time to the violin in the middle of the 16th Century. The viola is an acoustically imperfect
instrument – to get the best sound from the lowest notes the string would have to be so long
that it would be impossible to play!
-
The viola has a very characteristic dark and mellow tone
Baroque Era - filling in harmony with the occasional bass line
Classical Era – Viola liberated - given melodies
Romantic Era – used as a solo voice
20th and 21st Century – Viola used as an equal voice in the quartet
Have you considered?
Giving the viola the melody solo line or forcing the viola to take control of the bass line by writing
the cello higher in register than the viola?
Viola Joke
Q. What's the difference between a viola and an onion?
A. No one cries when you cut up a viola.
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THE CELLO
Range:
The Strings:
C, G, D, A
Clef - Usually written in the bass clef.
For higher music use the tenor clef and for even higher the treble clef.
Down and Up bows
Down bows are heavier (moving from the frog to the point) and are generally used on the strong
beats of the bar, with up bows for upbeats. You don’t need to indicate bowings unless for a
specific effect. Think Stravinsky’s ‘The Rite of Spring’ which has a repeated down bow motif.
Role of the cello
- provides the bass line
- an accompanying instrument responsible for the stability and structure of the music
often in control of the flow
- Through the centuries the cello has been liberated by composers taking advantage of its
vast expressive qualities and allowing the cello to take many a beautiful melody with the
other instruments providing accompaniment.
Cello Joke
Q. How do you get a Violin to sound like a Cello?
A. Play in the low register with a lot of wrong notes!
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EXTENDED TECHNIQUES




Expands the vocabulary of the instruments to add greater expression and variety
Adds unusual sound worlds and tones to the music
Expresses something other worldly
Stretch the instrument to the max
Always ask yourself WHY you are using a particular effect / technique. As players, we see a fine
line between an imaginative use of an effect and an effect for its own sake. Always have a
reason, and make it clear in the score where you want the effect. Some pieces have a short
explanation of any effects and how the composer would like them performed at the beginning of
the score.
WHAT
Sul Tasto
HOW
Bow over the fingerboard
Sul ponticello
Bow very close to the
bridge
Using the wood of the
bow to tap the string
Sliding the finger up or
down the string
Attach mute to the bridge
Col legno
Glissando
Mute
con sordino – with mute
senza sordino – without
mute
Practice Mute
Attach a larger mute to
the bridge
EFFECT
Wispy, warm, gentle
sounds
Glassy, metallic sounds
Percussive effect, with a
high pitch
A smooth rising or falling
of pitch
Dampens the vibrations to
create a softer, more
muffled sound
An extreme version of the
standard mute. Very quiet
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Extreme vibrato
Non vibrato
Bartok pizz
(noted by a circle with a
vertical line at 12 o’clock
above the note in
question)
Left hand pizz
(noted by a + sign above
the note)
Bowing on the tailpiece
Tapping
Bow behind the bridge
Microtones
Harmonics
A wider, less controlled
version of vibrato
Playing deliberately
without vibrato
Plucking hard allowing the
string to hit the wood of
the fingerboard
Bending of pitch hysterical
sounding
Sparse, pure tone colour
Plucked with the left hand
Facilitates a quick change
between arco and pizz
(where the pizz is an open
string) Sometimes bowing
and plucking is possible at
the same time.
A ghostly whisper
Bowing lightly on the
tailpiece
Using your hand to tap the
shoulder or body of the
instrument
Bowing behind the bridge
where the string is very
short
Playing less than a
semitone
Pure - Touching the string
lightly with the left hand
at various points of the
string
Stopped – lightly touching
the string (usually) a
fourth higher than the
stopped note being held
down
A sharp, loud snap
A tap or knocking sound to
add rhythm or effect
An unpleasant screech!
An out of tune effect,
quite painful sounding
Pure, flute-like quality.
Especially effective in soft
dynamics
For a full comprehensive diagram of how to write Harmonics for string instruments visit
http://www.composershop.com/public/Strings%20harmonics%20table.pdf
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Practical Considerations are important!
For players it is essential that you have:
A CLEAR SCORE – The clearer, the simpler, the better.
‘arghhhh!’……….
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PAGE TURNS
Try and arrange your pages so page turns can be facilitated easily and at the least disturbing
points. A semiquaver rest won’t suffice!
PROGRAMME NOTE
It doesn’t need to be long but a little education can go a long way and really help the audience
enter into your world.
For example we recently performed a quartet by Simon Holt who uses the poem shown below as
the inspiration for his work ‘Two movements for quartet.’
Composer’s Note
I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –
The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –
I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable – and then it was
There interposed a Fly –
With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the light – and me –
And then the Windows failed – and then
I could not see to see –
Emily Dickinson
Two movements for string quartet is the second part of my proposed five-part cycle ‘a ribbon of
time’, the first part being Sunrise, yellow noise for soprano and orchestra. It is a cycle of pieces
using the poetry of Emily Dickinson as its starting point.
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The two movements take their titles from the above poem: ‘Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
and ‘The Stillness in the Room’ respectively. More or less all the material for the piece is derived
from the opening viola solo of the second movement. It is approximately 15’ in duration.
Simon Holt, April 2001
Now you’ve read our guide to the String Quartet – visit our Blog Page
http://www.brodowskiquartet.com/2011/07/14/young-composer-of-dyfed-blog/
Why visit our blog page?
 Ask us a question directly
 See musical examples of different styles of composing for String Quartet
 Watch a visual guide to sound effects
And lots more to come....
We look forward to meeting you in Wales
David, Catrin, Felix and Vanessa (The Brodowski Quartet)
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Composition hints and tips
Techniques for making a start on your composition
There’s nothing worse than sitting in front a blank piece of manuscript paper or a computer
screen, trying to find that first idea that will get your piece started. Many of the composers who
have written the string quartet in the past have lots of “tricks of the trade” for structuring their
pieces so that inspiration doesn’t flag. In the sections that follow, we’re sharing some of these
with you. You should be able to adapt them to your own pieces or perhaps use several elements
from them to come up with some individual of your own.
How do I write for four string instruments?
In the previous section we’ve given you a taste of some of the range of sounds and techniques
that you can draw on, but how do you combine these in a piece for four instruments? Here a few
thoughts:

The four voices of the string quartet more or less correspond to the four voices of a choir:
soprano (violin 1), alto (violin 2), tenor (viola) and bass (cello). This means that if you
were to transcribe more choral music, each of those parts would fit the quartet with
virtually no need for adjustment (example: Hen Wlad fy Nhadau) and most piano music
(often written in four parts) will do likewise (example – opening eight bars of Beethoven
Sonata in C, Op.2/3).

Remember – you do not have to give all four instruments something to do all the time. In
real quartet writing the group often break into trios, duos and even solos.

Who has the melody? Any of the instruments that you choose. Remember, having the
tune is not just confined to the first violin.

Are you a keyboard player or percussionist? If you are, then you’ll know that as soon as
you play a note, it begins to decay. But strings are sustaining instruments – they can
prolong a note indefinitely (but don’t use this as an excuse for lazy part-writing!)

Keys. Whether or not you are thinking in terms of writing your piece in a key, string
instruments respond more happily to simple sharp keys (G, D etc) on account of their
open strings.
-
The most straightforward major keys are: E flat, B flat, F, C, G, D, A & E
The most straightforward minor keys are: C, G, D, A, E, B
More awkward are A flat and B major and F and F# minor
The most difficult major keys are: D flat, G flat, C flat, F# and C#
The most difficult minor keys are: B flat, E flat, A flat, C#. G# and D#
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In C - Terry Riley
Californian composer Terry Riley, more or less, invented minimalism with this piece in 1963.
Look at his piece In C on page 16 and you will see it fills only one side of a piece of paper and
doesn’t look like it would last more than a minute, but it can last as long as an hour and is packed
with rhythmic energy. The way it works is very simple:
-
It is written on one side of a piece of paper and consists of 53 separate musical
fragments.
-
Each player can play one of these for as long as s/he wishes before moving on to the
next.
-
All fragments are in C major (or at least on white notes) except for some about two
thirds of the way through which use F#s or B flats.
-
There is no way to predict when a player will move on to the next fragment or how
quickly, so the performers have to listen and respond to one another in a
improvisatory manner which recalls jazz.
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16
Composing using a sequence of chords:
Fratres – Arvo Pärt
Estonian-born Arvo Pärt is one of today’s most popular classical composers, renowned for
the hypnotic tranquillity of his music. Fratres (meaning Fraternity) has a mysterious
ritualistic feeling about it.
-
It is based on a sequence of
chords, repeated seven times.
-
A sense of continuity is achieved
through a very simple way of
varying the chords.
-
The first time the chords are
heard, they are played in a very
high ethereal register of the
string quartet and then, with
each repeat, they sink into a
lower register until their final
dark mysterious repeat.
-
The sequence is, more or less,
made up of four-part chords and
the interest is maintained by
revoicing them each time they are heard (for instance, transferring the cello, viola or 2 nd
violin voice to the top line and so forth).
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Composing using an ostinato:
Shostakovich String Quartet No 8 (second movement)
Russian-born Dmitri Shostakovich wrote this
chilling and dramatic piece in just three days,
dedicating it to, “the victims of fascism and
war”. An ostinato is a rhythmical pattern or
phrase that is obsessively repeated.
- Shostakovich using four or five very simple
repeated rhythmical patterns (or
ostinatos) to build up an exciting, driving
texture, full of drama and excitement.
- Ostinato 1: a simple forward propelling
idea in violin 1
- Ostinato 2: heavy repeated chords in the
other strings
- Ostinato 3: the DSCH (D-E flat-C-B) idea
(these were Shostakovich’s own initials.
- Until we get to the big tune (about a
minute into this) all the music comes
from these three ostinatos.
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Texture:
Bartók String Quartet No.5 (second movement)
Eighty years ago, the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók reinvented the sound of the string
quartet as we know it. In some of the slow music from these quartets he evokes through
unusual textures and sounds the strange sounds of night.
-
This music that is about creating
an atmosphere – about making
time stand still – so it is not
important to move it forward in
the conventional kind of way.
-
The second violin plays a tremolo
on its lowest note throughout
-
The first violin has quick, nervous
upward and downward scales
(each of these moves through
the notes between the interval of
a tritone (or augmented 4th)
-
The viola has several disjoined
pairs of pizzicato notes (a little
like one of those night insects
that we can all hear, but not see)
-
The cello has fragments of
melody, pulling the music
together and giving it direction.
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Rhythm:
Stravinsky: Three Pieces for String Quartet (First section)
This is music that is driven forward almost by rhythm alone in a very systematic, almost
mathematical kind of way – but the result is raw and earthy in the mood it creates.
-
There is no changing harmony at all: the cello keeps on repeating the same three
notes (E flat, D flat, C), the viola has just one note (D), the second violin always
has a descending C# scale (starting on F#) and the first violin has a melody in G –
its like having three different keys going simultaneously.
-
Each of the four instruments has an idea of its own which is just repeated but,
because they are all different lengths, they never come together at the same
time.
-
The violin melody is 23 beats long
-
The viola and cello accompaniment is 7 beats long
-
The second violin has a very odd and complicated sequence.
-
You’d have to repeat the sequence many dozens of times before we arrive back
at the original starting point.
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The Presentation of Scores and Performing Parts
In General
Much valuable rehearsal time can be lost discussing practical notational problems in the
score, rather than the music itself. So much time is wasted working out whether this
passage should be played staccato or legato, or deciding whether it should be mf or pp
when the musicians should be concentrating on interpreting the work in front of them. This
is not only a waste of time (and money!), but both musicians and composer often find this
process frustrating and annoying!
Score
A score is just a way of communicating your creative ideas as clearly as possible to the
musicians. There are lots of different ways to do this. Some scores are just a list of
instructions to the musicians. Handwritten scores or computer-generated scores are both
fine. If you want to experiment with unconventional notation or graphic scores, that's fine
too.
If you decide to use Sibelius software, please don't be restricted by your knowledge of the
software - if there's a sound or an idea that you want that you can't get the computer to
notate, print it out and write in any extra symbols by hand. This can also be useful if you
want to include a free or improvised section in the piece.
1.
The most important thing here is that the score is clear and legible. If you are not
using Sibelius or a computer program the score should be presented in black ink (not
pencil) and should include both bar numbers and rehearsal letters. Remember, a
neatly written hand copy is often as good as something printed off the computer.
2.
The ideal format is A4 portrait, not landscape or any strange configuration of paper
3.
Scores and parts should be presented in loose leaf format (not bound please, as we
often have to make copies).
4.
Tempo markings are essential. ‘Adagio’ or ‘Allegro’ are ok, but also use metronome
markings as well if you feel confident of doing this. Remember a score that sounds fine
on Sibelius playback will often go slower in live performance.
Parts, instrumental or vocal
1.
Exactly the same principles apply. If you are not using Sibelius or a computer program
parts should be clearly written in black ink. Bar numbers and Rehearsal figures are
absolutely essential.
2.
Remember that performers have to turn pages. Page turns should be carefully
arranged with at least one bar's rest on either side of the page turn otherwise players
will have to stop playing (and perhaps lose their place) whilst they turn the page.
Composers who are using computer programs such as Sibelius or Finale will still have
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to arrange this carefully when they extract parts from a file. The computer does not do
this automatically! You will have to arrange these turns by using format applications in
the program.
Phrasing. slurs and dynamics
1.
Please be clear about how you intend the music to be performed. Phrasing, slurring
and dynamics are an integral part of any score and as important as the notes
themselves.
2.
Be clear about how the music should be slurred. In fact, this is more important than
giving vague phrase marks to performers. Composers do not need to give specific
instructions about up-bows or down-bows, but they must be clear about how
individual notes or phrases should be slurred.
3.
It is pointless protesting to musicians that particular passages are too loud or soft if
dynamic markings are absent. Be very clear about dynamic markings in the score and
parts.
4.
It is vital to check each instrumental part with the score, even if the parts have been
extracted from Sibelius. This is especially true with transposing instruments.
The deadline for submissions is Friday 10 February 2012
Students interested in submitting a composition may register for a one to one tutorial with
our Resident Composer in the New Year. Registration forms will be available from all Heads
of Music across the three counties or via Cathy Morris, Administrator.
The deadline for registrations for a one-to-one tutorial is Friday 9 December 2011
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