Sketch process: I Dream'd in a Dream

When composing the song I Dream'd in a Dream the accompaniment was derived first.  I am not saying that the vocal setting was an after thought.  Rather, I drafted the accompaniment ideas first since they were the more prominent  musical ideas that came to mind.  Then as I was composing the vocal setting, I worked with the accompaniment to mould the two parts into a cohesive unit.

On the left I posted the initial sketch page for this song.  (Click sketch for full-size image)  The top system includes the ideas I toyed with for the introduction/primary motif.  The second system is where I started outlining possibilities for the vocal setting.  The third system is where I sketched the basic accompaniment figures for the second through fourth lines of the text.

It was when I worked on this part of the sketch that I began to see the song come together as a whole.  The text written below the thematic lines does not correlate to any specific rhythms or texture.  I wrote the text under the lines so that I could outline what text will go with what accompaniment.

From that point I worked on composing out the accompaniment, creating the form and structure.  When adding the vocal setting I found that I needed to tighten up the accompaniment making slight changes to the texture so that the two parts can work together, but that is a topic for another entry.