Thread: My first real composition!

Prelude.mp3

Can this file be opened? My first (real) composition that I'm willing to share a bunch of people.

Not bad , you should make it longer.
Are we gonna hear any Flute sonatas composed by you in the future?

Nice! A little Russophile composition of studied authenticity. Has little sparks and surprises in it.

Originally Posted by clavichorder

Nice! A little Russophile composition of studied authenticity. Has little sparks and surprises in it.

Hahaha good you recognized it! I think I may have thrown in a little Dvorak into it too.

I mean, seriously, I wish I could compose melodies in that straightforward, simple style of the Russians, having a kind of folk-style sound. Yeah, it is very short, my inspiration ran out quickly.

Do you think it could be appropriate for a Theme and Variations, where this little section is the Theme? I have yet to be inspired to continue it into variations.

Having now constructed a few little pieces of which I have comparable pride to which you have expressed, for me it has worked best to move on to the next thing. I haven't been able to get myself inspired to work on improving my completed compositions in any significant way. That's just me.

Very nice! Incredible for a first "real" effort, I absolutely can't wait to hear more from you. You have a wonderful sense of harmonic progression.

I do have some criticisms though. The opening phrase which lasts for the first 6(?) bars is a little too uninteresting for my tastes. It doesn't feel rhythmically varied enough, and creates a quality of being static and "machine-like". Now, perhaps the problem would go away with a human player who would naturally add rubato to this phrase, but nevertheless, I'd recommend playing around with the rhythm in each repeat of the phrase (or every second repeat, at least), just to keep things interesting. You should generally stick to the guideline of "never literally repeat something more than 3 times".

At 0:53, it sounds like there's a mistake.

1:00 is that it?! I can understand perfectly well if your aim was to write a piece under a minute long, but the way you've structured this piece, it feels incomplete and unbalanced by ending it so soon. At this point I'd write a contrasting middle section in a different key (F minor would work beautifully here), followed by a return to a varied version of the opening material.

Good luck!
-Steve

I disagree with StevenOBrien's assessment of :53. Its a perfectly legitimate and interesting harmonic touch, seems like a logical cross-relation. Wouldn't mind having thought of it myself.

I would also like to say that the theme would certainly not sound mechanical if it were played by human hands. It has the charm of an ingenious young composer who has made good use of their intuition but hasn't refined their delivery yet. Something a young Lyadov might have thought of.

You've inspired me to work harder. I was thinking that my work was about at your level, but I'd say that only my neoclassicist piece approaches it after re-listening to it, so great job. You make fuller use of the piano than I have yet been able to do and I consider the piano my primary instrument(though I'm not very polished in technique).

Now I do agree about StevenObrien's suggestion of making it longer. The piece seems to want to do more, it has content that can make it longer. Don't feel pressured to flesh it out right away, but keep on it, and:

One suggestion I will make to you unrelated to compositional technique, LEARN TO PLAY IT. I think its worth it. How did you go about composing it? Once you can play pieces yourself, I think you develop better insight into the inner workings.

Some advice for myself...learn to not be a lazy ass and write my music down instead of memorizing it only. That's why my pieces are so damned short.

Well, I did a little touch up, although it couldn't play back with a ritard. See how you like it now.

Prelude.mp3

I'm also just calling it a prelude now, but it really sounds like something for a theme and variations to me. Maybe I'll tinker around with it and come up with at least 1 variation to show you all.

I got an idea to write a short theme and varitions piece from this thread. I am uploading it now and i think that it turned out ok.

Very nice, Huilunsoitajja. I hope you continue composing more music. Did you compose straight onto a music notation software?

Yes, I used FinaleSongwriter(2007). It's pretty good I think, despite all the complaints I hear about it. It's quite simple to use.

Originally Posted by Huilunsoittaja

Yes, I used FinaleSongwriter(2007). It's pretty good I think, despite all the complaints I hear about it. It's quite simple to use.

Musescore is great and its free!

Wonderful little piece I do think it really feels like it should go on a little longer. There's nothing wrong with a piece with brevity, but this piece, to me, feels like it has more to say. I can't wait to hear more music from you.

The people demand expansion! Extension! Elaboration! More stuff!

Originally Posted by Crudblud

The people demand expansion! Extension! Elaboration! More stuff!

I do believe in the power of stuff. o3o