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Musical Traits of Contemporary Classical Music: Extended Techniques and Integration of Technology

Once you exit the lush harmonies of the Romantic period and work your way into the explosion of genres and artistic concepts that was 20th Century music you get a variety of new ways to use instruments. These aren’t necessarily new ideas but there were increasingly fewer rules governing what made ‘good’ music and plenty of the non-traditional 20th Century music revelled inn experimentation and freedom from traditional orchestration or idiomatic writing. There are a huge numbe

Nick Pike

Dec 92 min read

Musical Traits of Contemporary Classical Music: Rhythm

In a previous blog entry , we discussed how contemporary classical music took many of the ideas from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic periods and applying them to new pieces, creating rich harmonies but with fewer restraints than ever before. Composers have followed a similar theme with rhythm, using increasingly complex and varied rhythms at one extreme and extreme simplicity of rhythm and melody at the other. Shifting time signatures are a feature, with additional beats

Music

Nick Pike

Dec 42 min read

Musical Traits of Contemporary Classical Music: Harmony

Contemporary Classical Music is a sweeping cover-all term for classical-style music written from the mid-20th century to now. Whilst it is stylistically diverse there are several traits that separate it from music of the Baroque, Classical or Romantic periods. One of the most natural changes is tonality. Harmonic language in Baroque times was very tonal and rule-based, evolving over time through the Classical and Romantic periods to the modern day where there are fewer rules

Nick Pike

Nov 182 min read

How Contemporary Classical Music Is Changing The Face Of Music For Classical Musicians

Contemporary classical music has been dominated by the likes of Ludovico Einaudi, Philip Glass and Nils Frahms for the past thirty-odd years (longer in Einaudi’s case). This is entirely understandable as moving pieces such as Divenire (Einaudi), Glass’s Glassworks album (it’s all brilliant) and Frahms’ Ambre have inspiring melodies whilst being wonderfully simple in their execution. I’ve always thought that this is the strength of the Contemporary Classical movement - it main

Music

Nick Pike

Nov 172 min read

How To Write A Melody

As a composer, being able to write a melody is fairly important. As with all things musical, start small and try to build on a solid foundation - do not start your composition journey by starting to try to write a symphony… I did that and it was doomed to failure. Each composer writes differently but if, like me, you are a pianist then try figuring out a short two to four chord progression that works reasonably well and try humming a melody over it. It can be a simple couple

Music

Nick Pike

Nov 62 min read

The 7 Modes in Music Explained

Most Western musicians, especially in England, begin learning harmony on their instrument of choice through major and minor scales. These are fantastic but can be limiting for a composer. If you want a bit of extra spice to your harmony or your melodies then try using some modes. Before Major and Minor scales there were Modes. These originated in Ancient Greece and are named for various regions throughout Greece. If you’re a pianist then each mode starts on a different note a

Music

Nick Pike

Oct 222 min read

Top Trends in Music Composition for Film and Media in 2025

The world of film and media music is evolving faster than ever in 2025. As technology advances and audience expectations shift, composers are embracing innovative tools and creative approaches to tell stories through sound. From AI-assisted composition to cross-genre fusion , here are the top seven trends shaping music composition for film, television, and digital media this year. The Rise of Orchestral Hybrid Scores One of the most dominant trends in 2025 is the orchestral

Music

Nick Pike

Oct 163 min read