Hi dear composers!

I wrote a little piece for piano, wich I'm going to submit to my teacher. Could you please give me your opinion about it ? Don't hesitate to criticize it as deep as you want, it's a student work, and I'm really willing to improve.

Thank you very much!


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=991428&songID=8087977

Well, it looks like it's not that interesting. Anyway I will try to develop it before submitting.

Ilia, Don't be discouraged. There's not a lot of participation in the composer's forum.

I'm not qualified to critique your composition on the academic level, but I enjoyed listening. It reminded me of Bach.

Thank you jw7480. It's a very small tribute to Bach, indeed

Thanks for listening!

I too was reminded of Bach, though there were a couple of figurations in there that seemed "lazy" for lack of a better word, as I think Bach would have done something a bit more interesting. However, Bach is a tough act to follow when it comes to contrapuntal writing. As for specific feedback, it's tough (at least for me) to do so without a score, so I'm just basing that on what I heard.

Overall, not bad as far as an exercise is concerned. What type of music do you ultimately want to compose? Because while this was interesting for an exercise, there really isn't much that hasn't been said in this idiom already. I would like to hear more of your work, preferably in some different styles. Based on what I heard, I think you have some talent and can put forward some good music - I would just personally like to hear something a little more original in a different style.

Nice work...

I agree with 8ude. Not bad for emulating Bach, but it's like listening to an Elvis impersonator. It’s a watered down version of the real thing. If this was for an assignment to compose in the style of Bach, then I’d give you a good grade.

You definitely have talent, but you should redirect that talent into something that is original (IMO). We’ve all been influenced by the Greats, but it’s another thing to become a carbon copy.

As I previously stated, if your intention was to compose in a Bach style, then you did a good job.

Best, John

Cute piece! Thanks for posting.

It didn't remind me much of Bach, but more like Couperin or Lully. Bach is a bit more intricate than the rest of the Baroque composers, at least harmonically intricate.

Thanks for posting! My opinion really doens't matter, just like no one else's does when it comes down to it. We all have opinions and often they will differ from person to person. So instead of giving you another opinion, I'm going to focus on some principles of good composing.

You start out with a nice Baroque-sounding idea. One characteristic about Baroque music, especially that of Bach, is imitation. If you study his Inventions you will see how the subject goes from one hand to the other in the very beginning. Your piece, you decided to go straight into RH melody LH accompaniment, which is a much more Classical approach. Perhaps play around with having the LH come in with the subject. Feel free to change it a bit to match what the RH goes on to do, but keep enough of the subject so we can hear that is what it is.

Also, something to keep in mind in general when composing is that repetition is understandable, but too much repetition is boring. And the converse is true, too much change is chaotic. So it is a balance. About halfway through there is too much repetition with the choice of notes. Something that might spice it up a bit is to go to a different key. I'm not sure what key you're in, but if you are in say A minor, then you can easily go to C major by leaving out the raised 7th degree and have a nice cadence of some kind in C. Then from there you can go to F by introducing a B-flat, G by introducing an F#, d melodic minor by introducing a C#, c minor with an E flat!! Bach did these little tricks all the time, changing one note to quickly get to another key without drawn out "modulations".

There are, of course, lots of other ways you can change things. Bach also did a lot of sequencing, where you have one little motif that you'd repeat a step higher, and then do it again a step higher (but of course, change it the 3rd time to keep it interesting!).

Try these out and let us know what you come up with! Great start

Wow! I really wish to thank you all for your very valuable advices. I read carefully everything you said and I'll keep it in mind for my next "essais". It's nice and helpful for a student to have a feed back from skilled people.

You're completely right, I'm still trying different things, still looking for my own way.

So thanks again and I'll try to do something better next time

Hey Ilia, I really liked your piece. It's strangely ambiguous in rhythm, I can't quite know for sure what your bars are doing - keeps pushing me off balance which grabs my attention. Thanks!

Also I really enjoyed the sections where the 2 parts are 8ve apart and the LH is doing slow trills so that there is a lot of unexpected dissonances - from about 34 secs to 40 secs.

I wonder how different it would be for a live playing (rather than computer generated which i assume it is?). Does the rhythm feel different live? Is it fun to play?

Now I'm imagining a third part on top of the other 2, with notes moving at half or even quarter speed compared to rest of the piece, like a mysterious violinist coming into the room and playing something at an angle to the 2 piano lines.

Thanks for posting and let us know how it progresses

canonie

Hi Canonie, thanks for your replay! I'm really glad you liked the piece. Your point about addind a third voice is very interesting. If you want, I can send you the score, feel free to do whatever you want with it.

Thanks again!