Nemanja

I haven't heard that, so I couldn't really say how it was done. There's no one way to go about creating accompaniment in music. Have you seen the topics on this forum where people harmonise the same melody? It NEVER comes out the same. There are no hard and fast rules, and even if there were, they should be banned. Experiment, see what gets your music flowing. Listen to the music you like and try to figure out what goes on in there. If you can write a melody, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to create an accompaniment that you describe. Maybe you're approaching it the wrong way. Perhaps someone else has better advice.

Progressions. Look that up. You also have to understand the functions of the tonic, subdominant and dominant (that's I, IV, V steps of any scale),and types of chords (seventh, triads,...).

Ok, I'll fix that. Yes, I originally imagined it as a fragment, but I wasn't sure how to go about composing the rest of the music. 50 fragments?! I don't have the patience to do that! :(

Ok, so if you're going to write in Sibelius, a lot of the stuff I wrote in the last post won't apply. You can find the range of specific instruments on www.dolmetsch.com . For the voilin, this is the a four octave span (or more) from G4. Glissandi can be used in slower pieces, not only in fast, but do be careful with them - they can sound lousy if done badly.

Hmm, chords...Actually, depending on the set-up of the instrument, continuous triple and quadruple stops can be played, provided that the bridge is low enough (you'll usually see this in baroque violins, I don't believe it's possible on other instruments). Also, triple stops can be played as a double stop + single string or single string plus douple stop, and quadruple stops can be played as double stop + double stop, which can be great, if the player is advanced enough. To hear this, listen to the beginning of Bach's Chaconne from Partita 2 for solo violin. Depending on what effect or mood you want to produce, harmonics can be awesome. Harsh tones can be obtained by using spiccato (bouncing the bow on the strings - the begining of Beethoven's Fifth) or sautille (where the bow strings actually stay on the violin string, but the stick bounces, and gives this harsh effect, though this can only be used in fast passages). There's ricochet, where the bow rebounds frmo the string in a single stroke (listen to William Tell Ouverture). Glissandi sound really bad if they aren't properly done, but smooth glissandi in the right places can be very pleasing to the ear. Then there are trills. You can make some interesting effects with the bow - playing on the bridge (sul ponticello) and over the fingerboard (flautando) (the latter is hard to accomplish if the bridge is low, and if you're playing on one of the middle strings). Then there's son file. Ask your girlfriend to demonstrate these. Then there are some modern effects, such as Bartok pizzicato - where the strings is pulled so that it snaps back to the bridge and produces this percussive sound. One can also play behind the bridge, making a scratchy sound (if you've ever heard this while listening to Piazzola, it's the violin). Then barriolage - alternately playing on two adjacent strings. There are lots of ways to attack the string, but you can only experience this if you actually listen for it in music. Depending on who you're writing for, you will be able to use only certain techniques. For example, don't expect a beginning player to pull of sautille, ricochet or quadruple stops; artificial and doublestop harmonics can be reeeeeeeaaally hard; playing tremolo for a long time can be strenuous if the player isn't relaxed, too much sautille can harm technique, etc... Ok, I hope I haven't confused you even more. You really have to listen and find out what feels right to you. Almost anything can sound ok on string instruments provided it's done with taste by an advanced player. Wolf, as far as I remember, Mozart used col legno first, not Stravinsky. A lot of people think it's a strange technique, but it was used even then.

Nereid : (Greek mythology) any of the 50 sea nymphs who were daughters of the sea god Nereus Nereid.mid

Please excuse the last post, while I meant everything I said, I might not have phrased it correctly...Hmmm..."I think I could think"....It's been a long day. :P

Thanks to both of you, I thought someone would mention harmony. I'm about to study a lot more about it, so hopefully this will show in the quality of my pieces in the future. And the ending... Have you ever heard of that dreaded phrase "writer's block"? I didn't know what to do, so I did what I did, and I'm not particularly proud of it. I think I could think of a better ending now, though. I'll work on it over the weekend. Ok, thanks again, and any other comments are still welcome. Cheers!

I really like it, but maybe you should add some diversity to it. You could at least make some variations in the "interlude thingie", as you call it. ;) I agree with PianoGirl on the issue of the harshness of the piano at the beginning of the song, but seems like you fixed it in the second file. I don't know why, but this reminds me irresistibly of Coldplay, which is good! Now, I know this is a midi file, so it can't possibly sound like you intend it to, but don't fret, I'm sure it's great when played on real instruments by real people. Cheers!

I thought I could start with this. Not the brightest star in the sky, but I'd like to know what you think. Impressions, suggestions? Do you love it, do you hate it? Why? The simplicity is intentional, have you ever heard of ignorance which wasn't simple? Or blessed, for that matter? ;) Oh, and please don't set your midi device to GS Wavetable SW Synth. It's horrid, at least with the violin. Cheers! blessedignorance.mid