Stealing from the Best: an object lesson

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Suppose you were asked to write a lovely, romantic piece for piano and orchestra. (This is not a hypothetical supposition, by the way; more about that in a moment.)

How would you go about it? Especially if I weren’t already in the groove, I would STEAL FROM THE BEST. Here’s how.

Here we have Michael Nyman’s “The Heart Asks Pleasure First” from his score for The Piano, as arranged for and performed by Myleene Klass, with random illustrations of lovely young women. Let’s dig in:

  • 0:00 – slow intro, piano solo, tempo ≈90 bpm, in 4/4 time, with triplets in the accompaniment

  • 0:13 – the main theme, piano solo, tempo ≈150 bpm, in 3/4 time; the piano takes liberties with the beat, i.e., rubato; notice how the triplets in the intro slow down to become the waltz rhythm

  • 0:36 – repeat the main theme, with low orchestra easing in

  • 0:58 – repeat the intro

  • 1:09 – the orchestra takes up the main theme low-key with a strict adherence to the beat; piano accompanies with arpeggios; notice the rhythmic variation at 1:22, the 2-against-3 pattern

  • 1:28 – repeat the previous section, starting with the cellos playing the main theme

  • 1:39 – the violas pick it up

  • 1:49 – 2nd violins jump in, adding to the build

  • 1:59 – finally the 1st violins take us all the way up

  • 2:12 – the orchestra subsides and the piano repeats the intro

  • 2:25 – the piano plays the main theme more slowly, with low strings in the background

  • 2:49 – final repeat; the piece winds down with a rallentando ending

Structurally, we have Intro > Theme (piano) > piano + orchestra > orchestra takes over > back off to the cellos, build to the climax > release the pressure > return to the beginning

We can see that it’s a kind of ABA structure, with the piano leading the A’s and the orchestra knocking it out of the park with the B’s.

So if this were my assignment, I might start by writing the luscious main theme first, maybe making sure the piano can play it, and then deciding how to build that climactic moment 1:28–2:11 in the orchestra. Then I’d simplify that passage for the orchestra at 1:09, i.e., show the audience how lovely the tune is before whamming them with the ever-growing romantic outburst that follows.

Then I would start thinking about the intro: What simple phrase could both lead into the main theme and then serve as a landing spot/breathing space after the lush main theme, especially after that soaring bit with the 1st violins? (Notice how the intro theme doesn’t really undergo the variations like the main theme does.)

After that’s settled, it’s just a matter of assembling the pieces, isn’t it? Working out how to ease the orchestra in, the obbligato solo cello in the final sections, connecting the big climax to the slow intro, etc.

Turn, turn, kick, turn — yes, it will work!!

One thing I hope you noticed about this process is that it in no way follows the King of Hearts Fallacy, i.e., “Begin at the beginning, go until you reach the end, then stop.” I would start in the middle with that big orchestral moment and work my way back out to the simple piano version, and only then would I try to figure out the opening. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The idea for this post came from my actually having been asked to compose “a couple of showstopping dance numbers like Moulin Rouge or Greatest Showman” by my friend Mike Funt at Universal Studios in Beijing. And that’s all the guidance I’ve been given, no setting, no characters, no description of how or why this showstopping dance number breaks out, nor even a musical style to copy.

All I wanted to do was to get back to work on Funt’s A Day in the Moonlight and finish that after [redacted] years.

Oy.

So once I can get some more guidance out of the man, I will go listen to some of the pieces he wants to mimic, and then I will STEAL the crap out of them. Easy, right?

Oy.