Movement 2: “Lead”
The inspiration for this movement comes from my research into the refining process of lead. Lead is a dense and heavy metal that is not much to look at in its raw form, however, when it is refined it can become beautiful. Even after refining, lead maintains a matte color with a bit of shine that I find to have a simple beauty. I wanted my piece to capture this transformation.
Out of the pieces in this collection, lead is the closest to being twelve tone, but definitely still far from the strict definition. It utilizes a twelve note series, and every time a note is added, it is permanently part of the palette that can be utilized by the melody and accompaniment. There is a bit of a gimmick too. Whenever a new note is introduced, it always appears as a node first. This provides a duller sound for the note, just like unrefined lead, but also provides a smoother transition to new notes.
Twelve Note Set in Order: [C#, B, G, A, F#, D, E, F, Ab, D#, A#, C]
To come up with this set, I created two distant chords. The first chord has a very open sound and it doesn’t have a clear path to know where it wants to resolve towards. The ending chord that I created has a very clear resolution, but the piece actually has a surprise ending that does not give the listener the satisfaction of the resolution they are expecting.
Starting Chord: GMaj9(#11)
Ending Chord: Bb7(#4)(b9)
There is not much of a reason behind my decision to use groupings of four and five within this work, but I feel like it helps the piece push forward since the meter is uneven. The piece does not have a lot of repetition of melodies, but it does have a little bit of form that I can provide here:
(unrefined)
Measures 1-12 are introducing the 1st chord
Measures 13-20 are the first statement of the melody
Measures 21-28 are a variation on the melody with faster harmonic motion
Measures 29-31 are the arrival point
(refined)