Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Composer's Lounge BabySteps: Need some serious Critique

I am completely green in regards to Piano, but not music production.

I have always been in love with it (best instrument ever created) but never seriously sat down & tried to learn to play until recently, and now I'm obsessed. My goal is not to read/play other people's music, but to learn theory & technique to a professional level so as to get my own musical ideas out.

My favorite composers are Keith Kenniff (Helios / Goldmund) and Rhian Sheehan. I love mechanical noise, ambient hiss, etc.

Please critique my 1st two attempts:

Qualia (D major 3/4)
Sentient (E major 4/4)

This one is not Piano, but was played on a Keyboard so I still would like appreciate any help:

Lullabox (E major 4/4)

Hi Brian,

They're not really piano pieces if you have to rely on sound design to make them interesting. If I heard correctly both are just chord progressions. No melody counterpoint or independent bass line. With the sound design they're more interesting but they're not piano pieces.

Brian,

You have an ear for sound. That's obvious. Especially the first piece with the spoken words at the front. It's a powerful way to start something and you clearly have a feel for it. "Seven Souls" (maybe you already know it?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQc3T45pRWY

is one of the great pieces in this genre. Which isn't to say it's a model for you.

Something to consider is the piano, unlike music production technology, isn't really a project for self-learning. I mean you could self-learn on it ... but it's usually not as simple. The other thing about the piano and acoustic instruments in general is they don't lend themselves all that well to a learning that only wants to get so much out of them in a circumscribed way ("I want to know this but not that").

If you're really interested in the piano get yourself a good teacher and go to it with the obsessive energy you mention in your post. Don't worry about what you want to know or what you don't want to know. Just learn about the piano. At some later point you can always choice to specialise in "this" or "that." But the beginning isn't the time for that.

In an idea world, a piano teacher who's sympathetic to your interests in electronic sound would probably be a great match for you. Because that's someone who can help you to transfer the strengths you already have to the world of piano that you now want to enter.

You gotta work with the right people to get the right results ....

Hope this helps.

Thanks Mark. As soon as I can afford one, I will look into it.

This is pretty enjoyable. I like the textures. I suppose that's the point, really. It's pretty difficult to critique this stuff because it's not really the sort of composition we're used to getting on here. You could try writing a longer piece though. These are really short. You could also try experimenting with telling a sort of story with your soundscapes, structuring them and making them more song-like, I suppose.