One Day Wonder #228

For 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 1 trombone and tuba.

Presto! Here’s that canon I was thinking about writing. To make things a little less complicated, I kept things diatonic (in the same key) until the last iteration. Only then does it get a little nutty. The lead theme comes from the trumpet. That’s followed by the horns in third harmony and followed in turn by the trombone and tuba playing the theme at half speed. This makes for some interesting exchanges later on. It takes so long for the trombone and tuba to get through their follow that the trumpet and horns have a chance to play through a round (the most elementary form of canon) while they finish up. Once that’s done there’s another iteration of the theme, with the horns letting loose two bars later (as they did the first time around) and the trombone and tuba come in full speed two bars after the horns. But they play the theme a step below its original setting. I tried every possible permutation and this was the only one that was not too crunchy. The worst of all were the original pitches. So even though there are a few rough spots, it still gets the job done. For the last time through, everybody takes off a bar apart. The trombone and tuba again play a step below the original tune and I put in a few arbitrary flats and sharps for a little lift. Well, although it’s not a textbook canon, it demonstrates the principle well enough: you have your lead and follow voices that take a very uncomplex tune and turn it into counterpoint. As an extra special bonus, you also get a round that livens things up in the first part. I’m very happy with this piece. I never took a class in counterpoint back in my college days and I really regret it. As I’ve mentioned, textbooks and analysis are not the best way for me to learn. I learn by doing and this is a very good exercise for me.