How to WRITE LONGER MUSIC with the REPS METHOD

How do you develop a standard 8 bar melody into longer music?

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0:00 Intro
0:35 The REPS Method
1:01 R
3:00 E
5:02 P
7:57 S

#composition
#writingmusic
#composer

[jjrussell]

Did you ever find a YouTube channel that has apparently existed for a while and you can't imagine how the "algorithm" hasn't seen fit to show it to you before despite everything else you watch and search for about orchestration?
Yeah, this one. Every one of these is a gem

[PelleKuipers]

Ryan you're videos are great. The pacing and explanation is done so well. There's no fluff, and every single time there's a new video I look forward to learning more.

[Qermaq]

The s can be for stretch. Double the note values, for example. Doing this toward the end of a theme or even a section of a theme can increase anticipation for a resolution.

[lanadragonfly]

Suggestion:

S is for Signature:
An often underutilized form of development of a melody, changing time signature, removing or adding a certain number of extra beats for a bar or two can prolong a cadence, add a certain amount of metric tension, change the way you experience a motif, or create metric ambiguity at any point in the phrase.

[cowatt]

For the record. If Ryan made a music composition book I would buy it. I would buy it hard.

[rayphenicie]

Thanks for the reference to Analyzing Classical Form by William Caplin ! HIghly recommended

[Jath]

The SMB2 kinda hit home. I'm binging your channel. Cheers, and thank you. Your work is making a difference for me. I hope you hear this. I am being brutally sincere. Your channel has made a genuine difference in my life. It means a lot to me.

[Markrspooner]

I might have need to watch this a couple of times to make sure I absorb this. Thank you Ryan, videos like this are so helpful!

[jakubeden]

I always wished for such a channel! 😊 The best I found on the internet. Thank you so much and keep going 👍

[pilcaroo]

This is one of the biggest challenges for me, so thanks for the very clear and practical explanation!
It's very evident you really care about helping people make music and be better at what they do, and I truly appreciate that.

[recksroller]

I'm a fan of prog and jazz fusion, so this will help me a ton when I write... something.

[spencermartin]

Thank you so much Ryan. Your channel has helped me break a seriously long rut of struggle with writing. I feel so silly for not realising my problem was as simple as not using the period or sentence form for my melody writing and using that structure. The ideas are now flowing!

[ecksdee]

this channel is a BLESSING, i love you thank you for making these

[SurnameName]

exactly the problem i had, thank you!

[petertremblay]

Graham Plowman is a master at making lengthy melodic compositions and often without a single percussion.

[BBassistChrist]

When I was working on my first symphony in college, I really found Sonata Form actually serves extending music longer really well. You have to have really simple material to create a short Sonata.

I'll let a person interested study Sonata Form on their own, but basically it is divided up into four sections excluding the intro: the Exposition, the Development, and the Recapitulation, and the Coda.

The Exposition is framed in a way which can easily extend up to two and a half minutes without even trying. Given that it repeats, it is easy to use up five minutes before you're even getting off the ground.

The Development is a free stage where you can do whatever you want. It's a time of playing with your themes, so it is a good time to really extend your material and see what works. Given there are no rules for a Development, it can range from 30 seconds to 3+ minutes.

The Recapitulation is simple: it is a repeat of the Exposition with minor changes. (Easily another 2.5 minutes).

The Coda is then the conclusion where you wrap everything up. It can be anywhere from four quick notes (Beethoven's 7th Symphony Movement 3), or half of the length of the piece all in itself (Beethoven's 5th Symphony Movement 1).

So, between a 30-150 second Exposition x2, a 30-180 second Development, a 30-150 second Recapitulation, and a 5-180 second Coda, you could easily be looking at a 7-12 minute piece of music.

And for other inspirations, Rush's instrumental music (YYZ and Leave That Thing Alone) acts quite similarly to Sonata Form.

[stormRed]

YES! Systems like this are such a reliable way to learn for me.

[eliasalija]

Wow this video is what Ive been struggling with lately, I knew it was not just intuition. You've literally saved me a lot of time of discovering all this by myself (I was just starting to use sequences effectively lol). Thanks :)

[lordwillibur]

Gotta get your reps in to grow those pieces

[JanCarlComposer]

I really like your videos and there are so many helpful ideas contained. If I have one issue, then that your videos sometimes feel as if you are in a rush ;) Perhaps this is caused by the many cuts, or that you speak very fast, dealing with topics quickly. That said, your content is admirable and I will continue to watch!