luqui

A light piece for piano. My first composition in about two years (!). Adagio for solo piano

Every so often when I'm not working on a large project, to keep my compositional skills adept, I do a "musical freewrite". I define this as a piece I write in one sitting, trying not to backtrack too much. It's a hybrid between composition and improvisation, in a way. Here's a freewrite I did for a rather peculiar ensemble: oboe, marimba, violin, and cello. It's two minutes long, and it took me about two hours. mp3 pdf Luke

QcCowboy - Thanks for your comments. This is the kind of thing I was looking for. There are spots that I know how to clean up, but then others (re e.g. flutes) which I would not have thought of. The trombone staves are just mislabeled, there are four trombone parts. But often when I'm writing it's hard to think about such details, so things get scribbled down which may not make sense. I think a fair amount of the horn stuff needs reorchestration. The violin thing was a symptom of Finale being hard to work with. For example at the end of the last movement when there are I think 6 different violin parts, should I split each one into a separate staff? You're right that I need to decide about the "exact forces". I am quite ignorant as to the actual layout of a typical orchestra. For example, how many flutes are there usually? Does a flautist usually double on the piccolo? Is there a good reference for finding out such things?

Here is my first completed symphonic piece (though I have several long uncompleted ones). It is a three-movement serenade for someone I recently met who inspired me with her every-day inadvertent poetry. I composed it over the last three months, the brunt of the work being done in the past month. It took about 90 hours total to write. It's 21 minutes long, and employs ideas from many musical eras, but primarily classical and impressionist. The first movement was the last one I wrote. After the other two were described as "cinematic" by my friends, I decided to focus more on notes and less on texture. I'd say it is the most subtle of the three. None of them are in any particular form intentionally. The second movement is slow, dramatic, and melancholy. It develops a single thematic idea throughout the whole piece, which I am quite proud of. It was the first of the three I wrote. The third movement is my favorite, sandwiching a slow, surreal section between two fun and exciting ones. I think the ending is especially strong (which is why I put it last). First movement: molto allegro (pdf) Second movement: adagio (pdf) Third movement: allegro / andante (pdf) I'm interested in hearing feedback about any aspect of the music, but mostly I'd like to hear things that could immediately improve it rather than "things to do next time" (those are valuable too, though). I'd also like to know if I've written things that would be impossible (or needlessly hard) to play, if I've used eg. slurs appropriately, etc. That editing-type stuff I'd say is my weakest area. Enjoy and thanks for listening! Luke

Here is my first piece in quite a long time. It looks like the last piece I wrote was in January. Anyway, this is some kind of piece for cello and piano, I'm calling it a sonata, though it's unlikely that I'll write more movements. It's a bit more modern that most of my other pieces, employing a decent deal of dissonance. The harmonic structures seem to pivot around perfect fifths, but I didn't (consciously :-) intend that. I'd love to hear some feedback. All is welcome. I'm most interested in specific passages which might sound awkward or break the flow. I can't do much about the form now, but I can fix local-scale things. Oh, I'm not a cellist, so hearing about things that I've written that is either impossible or really really hard on the cello would be beneficial. MP3: http://luqui.org/music/classical/unpublished/A%2043%20Sonata%20for%20Cello%20and%20Piano%20%28mvmt%201%29.mp3 PDF: http://luqui.org/music/classical/unpublished/A%2043%20Sonata%20for%20Cello%20and%20Piano%20%28mvmt%201%29.pdf The score is my working score and mostly unedited: it needs more dynamics, phrasing slurs; I need to decide which hand is doing what on the piano. Luke

Thanks, everyone, for the excellent constructive criticism. This is a wonderful forum. :-)

Yes, I know sonata no. 32, and that's where I got the idea for the second movement. But don't take that as saying that I'm trying to imitate the first movement with this piece. Essentially, I finished this piece, and then asked myself what kind of later movements would go with it well. Also, I am currently playing sonata no. 17. It's funny that you mentioned (probably) my two biggest influences for this piece. Yeah, my sonata form is backwards. I wasn't sure how else to achieve the same power of resolving to Dm from 22 measures in its dominant. Having control of my modulations is something I still need to work on. I'm not sure spending a month on this piece would make it that much better. I have two composition styles: when I am writing on the computer I tend to be very linear; I very seldom go back and change things I have already written, and I generally write the song from beginning to end.. except for a few times when something sounds a little off and I change a few notes. I'm not sure why that is, but when I spend a lot of time on a song, it's usually because I have writer's block, and write three measures then delete them, write a different three measures there, delete them, etc. Writing my piano concerto has been like this, with maybe a little more modification because there is more opportunity for revoicing in a concerto. When I am writing on the piano, it's pretty much the opposite. I improvise over and over, gradually refining it into the finished piece, keeping parts I like, changing parts I don't like, etc. And I keep it all in my head and in my fingers, and write it at the end. But that music tends to be much simpler because I am not skilled enough at the piano to play eg. this piece (well, that's not true, but it would take me a couple weeks to learn--that is, it's not practical to write a piece of this complexity on the piano. I'm not sure what you mean by "the Beethoven mold". Do you mean the particular incarnation of sonata form where the exposition is repeated verbatim? Do you mean my plan for the second movement? Thanks for all your feedback!

Hmm, pretty good. The beginning sounded really dry and colorless. But that was Finale's fault; I played a little of it and with a little humanity it's possible to make the opening chords quite colorful. I'd like to hear your performance of it... Your notation is a little weird. You wrote the third chord in your progression as an Am#5, which is just an F. But throughout the song you seem to have deliberately written it that way. I think that chord definitely plays the role of an F in your song. Do you have a reason for that notation? Okay, on to the music. I think you did a good job developing your themes, but the themes themselves were lacking somewhat. For example, the arpeggios starting at measure nine seemed a little dry; there needs to be more contrast in that section. Also, I can't come up with a good musical reason, but I don't like the Ab in your main theme (in measure 6). I would have rather heard an F (I'm picturing a violin slurring up to the A in the next measure). The kind of "modern" touch you put in from measures 16-18 felt out of place. It gave the song an awkward feel (a little unsettling would be powerful in a piece like this, but I think 16-18 was far too much), and takes away from the emotion of the song. On the other hand, I really liked measures 51-53. That chord has a really bright sound... it's so bright that it's like a knife, actually. I think that's what makes it effective. I think I would have liked to hear a tender, dreamy cadenza after measure 53, rather than jumping right back into the main progression (though I do like the take on the progression starting at measure 54). Oh yeah, I really liked when you put the theme in the left hand in measures 32-39. I liked this song, but I think the same idea could have been a lot more effective. I also have a hunch that if I heard a human playing it I would have enjoyed it significantly more. Luke

Some rather emotional events in my life have caused me to start composing constantly again. Here is one that I wrote over the last couple days (total time spent is somewhere around 8-10 hours). MP3 | PDF I intend to write one more movement: a long theme and variations piece. I would appreciate any feedback. Luke

I just got Finale 2007 with GPO, and I was extremely impressed with the string samples and versatility. I was inspired enough to write a string quartet (it has been a while since I've written anything). http://luqui.org/music/classical/unpublished/A 41 Quartet.mp3 http://luqui.org/music/classical/unpublished/A 41 Quartet.pdf Feedback welcome. Luke

I wouldn't say that cello and trumpet are exactly swappable, but I also wouldn't say that a piece for cello cannot be arranged for trumpet. I have been working on singing Rachmaninoff's vocalise, a piece I originally heard for orchestra. I have heard it for cello and piano, for voice and cello, for orchestra and voice, for solo piano, for french horn and piano, ... The techniques are different, but that doesn't mean the notes can't be the same. It is up to the performer to interpret the piece for his instrument (and *that* is why I don't like computer playback). Swapping the patches in the computer will not give you a good idea of how a trumpeteer would play it vs. a cellist; it will only give you a sketch of the kinds of timbres you are working with. I would write a verson for each, putting work into the dynamics and articulations for each instrument. This piece should feel quite different for the two instruments. (I get a half-melancholy feeling from the cello). In particular, the trumpet can't do those double-stops :-). Then you'll have two arrangements, and it is twice as likely that you'll find someone who can perform it (unless you can play one of those instruments).

Thanks for the feedback, everybody. frantz, are you saying that the final impression felt cold, or the whole piece? Does anyone have any suggestions to improve it? This was done as a "freewrite" (a piece which I started and finished in the same day), and I've always felt like it ended abruptly. I want to chop off measures 59-end and do something else with it, but I'm not sure if it is worth it. This was one of my first quartet pieces. I'll take all your advice to heart and approach my next quartet from Mozart's angle (beauty before complexity). Thanks.

Hi everybody, I have been working on a piano concerto for the past year and a half (though the last six months or so have been idle). I have a first and second movement, each about 10 minutes long. I have 5 minutes of a third movement, but I am stuck. I am going for a U-shaped tension curve on this one. Let's call the song structure ABC, for simplicity of discussion. I introduce a few motives and a theme in the A section, which is at high (exciting) tension. Then the B section (in the middle of which I am stuck) calms down and should invoke a dream-like state. The C section should start at low tension and build and build using the motives and theme from the A section until it reaches a climax at the very end and ends. Here is an MP3: 3: Allegro (MP3) (PDF) (Forgive the notation; this is just enough to get it to play the notes I want it to, no courtesy anything) Here are the other two movements: 1: Allegro ma non troppo 2: Adagio I wouldn't worry too much about the other two movements in your suggestions though. I'm treating these three movements are loosely connected, and if they don't form a profound, cohesive whole, I am okay with that. Thanks for your help, Luke

Here is a short fugue(-ish) that I wrote about 9 months ago for string quartet. At that point I had been studying impressionism for a couple of months, and I wanted to write a piece which gradually morphed from one style to another. This one tries to morph from baroque to impressionist. I'd love some feedback. Fugue (MP3) Fugue (PDF)

I'm new here, so let me introduce myself. My name is Luke Palmer, and I've been composing since I was 11 years old. I've been playing piano approximately that long, too. Over the last year or so I have been "studying" (more like "practicing", perhaps) improvisation, and more generally the art of doing art with my fingers rather than my computer. Anyway, here is a somewhat simple etude I wrote for myself (it took me about 90 minutes to write, and about 90 more minutes to learn to play at the level you hear in the recording... and about 90 minutes to write down after I had recorded it :-). Feedback is (of course) welcome. Etude (MP3) Etude (PDF)