Draft 3
After finishing the melody in the first verse I wanted to establish the mood for the second verse reflecting the ideas of the poem. After setting the scene in the first verse of a lonely tree, and describing it's surroundings, the second verse goes into greater detail into the thinking of this tree. The second verse gives a glimpse of hope for this tree and I wanted to reflect that in my composition. The second verse talks of another tree in a sunrise-land and so I decided to use D major to create a more hopeful mood.
Draft 4
The next step in my compositional process was to begin research into piano accompaniment ideas to support my melody. After looking at a few of Schubert's pieces (explained in more detail on the inspiration page) I decided to explore a few ideas by trying them with the melody. One of these ideas is seen in bars 4-5, a crotchet and dotted-crotchet pattern. The other major idea I created in this draft is seen in bar 8, a quaver pattern that reinforces the melody and the word painting by further conveying the 'barren height' of the tree. I also created the introduction to introduce the melody with a smooth transition. Alternating between the right and left hands of the piano, each bar contrasts with the other through a use of rhythm. Mostly, a use of quavers combined with crotchets and semi-breves sees this contrast come to fruition. |