I just finished my third or fourth piano solo and wanted to run it by you guys for some feedback. Here's a link to the WAV and PDF:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=f8dd664034fc9ea7d2db6fb9a8902bda

The name has to do with the ossias which I was planning on putting in, but decided not to. I just like the way it sounds, but I may change it. Let me know what you think!

Nice classical flow to it. I think it would be even better without those large dynamic changes. The scope of the piece is too narrow to accommodate those loud passages.

I doubt if you find many listeners because of the 21.3 MB wav file. Probably get more listeners with an mp3 file. Majority of the listeners wouldn't hear any difference between a wav and mp3 file anyway (I never do).

Best, John

Good tips, thanks. I've redone the song a little bit, changed up the dynamics and uploaded it again, this time in a compressed MP3 format. The link is still the same for the downloads, though. Some of the strangeness in the playing I blame on the MIDI playback. When I write music I tend to over-exaggerate dynamics so that when I play it I put more emphasis on them. That's my lame excuse for poorly written music.

While this is a very pretty piece, one has to have large hands to play it! Stretches such as the A to C# are pretty difficult for average to slightly above average hand sizes. Can you actually play this on the piano?

Ed

Yeah I can play it, but it's a bit of a stretch. I've always been a huge fan of the way tenths sound, and I loved the way they worked in here, so I had to put them in. Actually I was considering adding some ossias with smaller chords for smaller hands, but I didn't like that as much, since they would span most of the last two pages. If you want to you can play it and just cut out the top notes of those chords, or the bottom, depending on the part and what would sound more right. I might upload a completely new version for those small-handed (or normal handed) people.

Edit: I just went into PrintMusic and created a new version for smaller hands. It's a little bit rough, mostly just taking certain notes out, but it sounds almost as good I think. For any that are interested, it's been uploaded to the same place as the original PDF and MP3.

Very nice!! I loved it. For me, this is a rather light and playful piece which lends itself to the softer articulations you used..

What was your inspiration for this piece??

Hi Murphey,

Nice piece. For a student work it shows a number of positive attributes, 1) it has a recognizable theme that gives the piece a personality, 2) it doesn't try to do more than the thematic material allows. Basically the theme is very pleasant and you don't try to make an overly dramatic piece out of it. The result is a pleasant piece that in human hands could be a very enjoyable listening experience. If you can play this piece I'd much rather hear your rendition. On a final note I especially enjoyed the modulation in bar 52. Nice touch.

If there's anything I found less than compelling about the piece it was the consistent eighth note rhythm. You broke that up in two places with cadences, but the cadence in bar 34 is the wrong place to just stop. Part of my reaction may be to the less than musical nonhuman performance. I also generally prefer richer more extended harmonies, but I'm not sure that would work with your theme.

Overall it's a nice piece, but I hope I've given you some things to think about going forward.

Great advice Steve, thanks. I'll definitely look over that cadence in bar 34. Mostly when I was writing that I really was trying to break up that eighth note rhythm. That and it was the simplest way to transition. I've been trying to move away from those constant rhythms and especially arpeggio-based harmonies in my compositions. You've given me some great things to work on and I appreciate it.

Terimr, I'm glad you liked it. I didn't have any specific inspiration besides my mood, but I've been playing a lot of William Joseph and Jim Brickman lately. I don't really think my piece was influenced by them too much, but they are both exceptional pianists and I'd highly recommend their work.

BTW, Murphey in listening to some other works I realized two things that directly relate to what I've mentioned regarding your work.

1. Human performance is much more nuanced than any computer can be. I know that's obvious, but the performance you posted was definitely a computer and that substantially impacted my perception ofthe piece.

2. One way to break up the consistent eighth note rhythm is to break up the rhythm in the right hand with triplets or other tuplets. A lot of Chopin has a consistent rhythm in the left hand, but the artistry is in what the right hand does.

I hope those ideas are helpful.