Improvisation on a Dominant

This is quite a substantial exercise, requiring a composition of around a page in length. The idea is to play the dominant chord in the accompaniment part, and make the melody interesting in order to prolong this dominant chord for as long as possible. Secondary factors include varying the rhythm of the static harmony (something I already explored a little in the previous exercise), and the brief hints at the possibility for a modulation.

I am very pleased with my attempt at this, especially at how its clear to hear how the harmony is 'static' and doesn't feel complete until the end. As in the previous exercise there was lots of creative scope here which is always enjoyable.

I chose D Major for the key, which meant that the majority of my piece would be centred around A, its dominant chord. I chose to use the dominant 9th chord instead of the triad as this would give me a greater 'sound world' to play with. For much of the piece the root of the dominant chord is in a held bass note, lasting the full bar, with other notes of the chord played above in a quaver pattern. The melody consists of notes of the chord, along with passing notes for melodic decoration. At bar 9 there is a new section, where I move to the dominant 9th on C. This means that the C sharps in the previous chord are now naturals, and the B's are now flattened. There is also a slight rhythmic change here to inject some vitality before two dark sounding bars at 11 and 12 where the chord moves back to the dominant 9th on A (rootless). The harmony finally resolves to the tonic in bar 15, interrupted by the dominant triad, then finally resting on the tonic. This convential cadence at the end using non-extended chords adds to the feeling of finally resolving.

I used several ideas to keep the piece interesting while I was sustaining the dominant:

• Rhythmic variation in the bass.
• Interesting flowing melody incorporating triplets and syncopation.
• Change of dominant chord and back again.
• Contrasting arpeggiated figures in the middle section.
• Dynamic contrast.
• Extended dominant chords giving colourful and 'exotic' harmonies.

 

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