The Big Bang Theory and Music Compositional Devices
The Big Bang Theory and Music Compositional Devices
Have you seen the TV show, The Big Bang Theory? If not, you’re missing one of the most popular shows on TV right now. It’s about four extremely smart and socially awkward people and their attempt to fit in with the rest of the world around them. Add to that a pretty and kind of ditzy blonde named Penny, and you get 30 minutes of laughs every time you watch.
What does the Big Bang Theory have to do with music? When somebody gets sick, they sing a song called “Soft Kitty”. The song has been used through multiple seasons of the show and is a great example of various music compositional devices. If you’re unfamiliar with the song, you can listen to it by clicking below.
The Round
In this video, Penny sang the original melody while Sheldon came in later resulting in a round, or what music theorists call, a cannon. In grade school we all learned about rounds but as trained musicians, we would impress people by calling it a cannon.
Imitation
A cannon is also a form of imitation but imitation doesn’t have to be a cannon. Another voice could later restate the melody in a different key. Often, on the show, one person will sing Soft Kitty and another person may repeat it in a different key to fit the range of their own voice. Composers often use transposition as a form of imitation in a more formal sense. Composers like Mozart often wrote music that stated a melody and later stated it again transposed. If you know about intervals, the melody may be transposed up a perfect 5th only one phrase later.
Augmentation and Diminution
Another compositional device often employed by composers is the use of augmentation. Augmentation is increasing the length of the notes in a melody. For example, all quarter notes may become half notes, all eighth notes become quarter notes, etc. Diminution is the opposite of augmentation. Quarter notes may become eighth notes, half notes become quarter notes, etc.
Particularly crafty composers may even write an augmented melody over top of the original melody making an interesting form of counterpoint. Counterpoint is simply how different lines of music interact with each other.
Inversion
Think of your favorite song on the radio or hanging out on your phone. What would happen if the melody of that song were written out as music and then the piece of paper was turned upside down? This is one form of inversion and it’s not as unheard of as you would think. Bach wrote compositions that he said could be turned over and played that way as well. Inversion isn’t often used in that form but some form of flipping the melody isn’t uncommon to composers.
Bottom Line
The Big Bang Theory is proof that compositional devices are found in all music regardless of where or how the music is used. As you listen to different types of music in different settings, listen for those devices.