All,

Here is my short "Adventure In 4/4", a piano and small orchestra work-in-progress. I will compose some additional material and lengthen it.

http://www.alexandermusic.com/resources/AdventuresInFourFour.mp3

Regards,

I like it! I especially appreciate the thoughtful use of repeated musical motifs. It gives the mind something to latch onto, and yet, you didn't overuse or overrepeat ideas; there was never a stale moment. Excellent work! It sounds very Romantic-era to my ear. I don't know if that was your goal or not.

I can tell it's supposed to be like a mini-piano concerto, but I think a LITTLE bit more orchestral presence would be nice, and have the orchestra do more than just provide blocked chords (I know there are sections where it isn't just that, but have maybe more of that). Harmonically, it might be interesting to include a modulation. You shift to the parallel minor key of the original major, and perhaps that's all the piece needs, but you could think about a modulation. Also, the ending is rather weak right now. It just kinda goes... buh. Make it more exciting!

Those are my thoughts! Thanks for sharing this piece; it really is nice. You should put it up on Youtube!

Are you listening to the entire piece? I don't think I could write a much stronger ending.

Thanks for your input.

Regards,

Yeah, I listened to the entire piece. It's not that the end is terrible. Perhaps it's just that it's cliche. A Dominant Mm7 to Open Tonic, Perfect Authentic Cadence... It's so overused. Not to say you shouldn't use this type of cadence, but spruce it up with something fresh. Also, a ritard towards the end would help, plus a big crescendo to the final note, and a long, sustained final chord.