-Danté D’Angelo, 03 March 2026 1. Create a “Target” Feel (Groove/Style): The main elements of music that should be considered in devising the “feel” of a piece are tempo, meter, mode, and the groove or style. To determine tempo, meter, and groove/style, the composer should conduct reflection as to what is influencing them to create this music (a recent event in their life, a memory, a feeling, literature, influence by another composer’s writings). ✴ Creativity can be employed here. For...

-Danté D’Angelo, 25 January 2026 1. Outline the Form: Which sections of the piece do I want to include, and in what order? How do I want to shape the story my arrangement tells? (Especially if lyrics or texts are present in the music) This provides overarching context for how elements such as articulations and dynamics may be used later on. Begin determining what feel (grove) the arrangement will have rhythmically, as well as if, when, and how the feel may change throughout the arrangement...

Neo-Riemannian theory is an extremely versatile way of analyzing and composing harmony and focuses on moving chord tones by half step to lead into new chords, known as voice leading transformations. There are three types of transformations: parallel (P) – when a major triad becomes minor, (or vice versa), relative (R) – where the relative major or minor of a triad is created), and Leading Tone (l) – where the root of a major triad moves down by a half step and becomes the fifth of a minor...