Ike

I agree, there is no point in imitating "the masters", nor is it even possible. However, we can't always escape our influences in our own works. Either way, I listen to a piece with respect to itself alone, and do the same with composition, trying to ignore what others have done, and find what is musically true to me. Having the piece in the dorian mode shouldn't change that it's in the key of G. I think it would be misleading to have one flat in the key signature, because even though that fits G dorian, it would imply you're in the key of F maj or D min. I've seen this type of mode mixup in a piece before and found it very confusing. I think it's better to keep it notated as if it's in G minor and just make the appearances of the note E natural.

Thanks for your comments. yrogerg: While composing the piece, I didn't write it with your types of descriptions in mind, but rather a general mood of that day. Looking back though, I was able to backwards interpret it similar to the way you did (therefore I'm not sure if I subconsciously intended for all of it, or if it's somewhat by chance...). Either way, I'm glad you could hear it like that. I don't know what to make of the lack of comments I received here so far. I'll just have to wait it out more.

this doesn't give me the impression of a concerto. the 2 minutes i heard on audio xanga sound more like a romance or a short song. it lacks that magnitude which a concerto should have. two comments with regard to your approach - 1. dont look towards others to tell you how to write your piece. decisions regarding woodwinds should be up to you, after all, who knows what you intend better than you? 2. don't make the cello part harder for the sake of difficulty. music that is purposely made technical without a musical validation is very easy to see through, and quickly sounds artificial. secondly, technicality is not about what's physically hard to play, but also what's emotionally hard to interpret and to convey. if you're writing for a competition, then time is a factor, and send what you have. but if you want to consider this your own special work, you should put more thought into such compositional aspects. hope that helps.

Cafe: Nice melody, it flows and makes sense. I hear some elements of jazz and pop in here, as well as of mozart. i think this could fit in great to some movie background music. perhaps to continue you can repeat, then create a counter melody in the tonic (or even in the minor tonic). there are really countless ways to continue. but it seems like this piece can end up a rather short piece, 4-5 minutes long, unless you intend completely different things. a thing i find that works for me to continue a piece is to hear your piece played back, and when it stops, your brain (sometimes) will continue the piece, in some way that feels natural. take that idea, and use it. funny clip: maybe for a kids toy commercial - theres not really much to comment on here. fantasy wont load for me...

I know what you mean - although orchestras today do incorporate a whole lot of modern music. But I think the crowd in general does not like it too much (myself included). For example, I recently heard Esa-Pekka Salonen's piano concerto premiered in NY by Yefim Bronfman, and Salonen as conductor. It was certainly an interesting piece, a blend of Ravel, Stravinsky and Gershwin, but overall, not a mindblowing composition. (especially when compared to the rest of the program that evening). I also had the unpleasant experience of hearing Elliott Carter, a composer I do not feel is writing true music, but is modern and different for the sake of modernity alone... I honestly do not know too many modern composers, or good compositions - care to suggest a few?

Any pieces you have heard that deserve more concerts and recordings, but for some reason, are quite rare and unpopular? Examples: Dvorak Piano Concerto - I have a recording with Richter, but why is this not as popular as his violin or cello concerto? (I kind of see why, but still) Schumann Violin Concerto - recording with Szeryng, amazing first movement. Prokofiev Piano Concerto #2 - Very different style of Prokofiev, not nearly as good as #3 (imo, since the 3rd is one of my favorite pieces ever), but I'd say up to par with his first. any others? please list the recording as well so we may know where to look.

perhaps Kranz meant different recordings of the same requiem? I think Mozart was one of the greatest composers that have or will ever live. But, I am not fond of all Mozart. Some symphonies, concerti and sonatas I absolutely love, and always touch me very deeply. Others seem very dull to me, and although they contain all the same elements as his greatest compositions, they seem to lack that spark, and to me, sound like they were composed on a whim - as if Mozart just kept going with the flow, finished the piece, and decided it was completed. Even in some of his pieces that I love, I feel that there are small sections that perhaps don't quite mesh, and are part of the 'going with the flow' composition process.. but hey, that's just me, who am I to tell Mozart what to do, right? I don't find him to be the most revolutionary composer, I think Beethoven and Chopin wrote much more original ideas with genius melody and harmony (and with much variety too!)

This is my first uploaded composition here. This is part of a much larger work that I'm in the middle of, about the creation of the world (from the perspective of Genesis), for a symphony orchestra. The final work will have 7 movements, one for each day, and each movement will capture the mood of what was created on that day, and be unique from the other movements in style, rhythm, orchestration, etc.. Other things that I'm putting effort into are flow of each individual movement in relation to the whole piece, and each day will connect to the next in a different way (think Dark Side of the moon transitions... for example). This is the piano part (not reduction) of Day 6, when mammals and human beings were created. I have general ideas about the orchestration of this, but have not had time to begin it yet. Ultimately the orchestra will provide extra support and color to the piano, but the piano will contain most of the music in itself (so this movement will be a quasi piano concerto). Some notes about the midi playback of this - 1. the trill in the first few bars is meant to sound steadily increased. the way it's notated is not to be taken literally, but the MIDI does, and it sounds terrible! - please ignore that. 2. everything up to the repetition is supposed to sound quiet and pretty staccato, then after 1:45 it should repeat with pedal and more liveliness - an effect the midi doesn't capture, and can sound boring. the middle slow section should be very pedaled, as is the last "recap" at 3:55. 3. lots of other nuances that midi cant capture, mostly in different ways to shade the repetitive bass lines - but i suppose we all suffer from it. hopefully i can record myself playing this soon at good quality. i recently played this at this arts festival, i have yet to receive the audio recording of it, and if it's good, will post it here. let me know what you think, and what you find (if at all) that relates to Day 6's creation. thanks, hope you enjoy Day6_piano.mid Day6_Piano.pdf Day6_piano.sib

i agree with johannes. certainly a criticism can be given with good taste and without. i also wanted to add to my previous post - the piece does flow naturally, and the development is good, from the initial small melody, to its outburst in the beginning, and later the heavy chordal section. with some refinements to the rhythm and to some of the harmony i believe this can be a really great piano piece.

i guess that's ok, im not a recognized composer or anything, so at this point in my life id rather have free copies around for exposure and comments than not. i wouldnt wanna watch a movie one day and hear my theme in it because the film composer saw it here on this forum :w00t: as far as the nasty critics, i think that's a very good thing. a harsh criticism that is appropriate and correct can be good, obviously some can be nasty and also ignorant (seeing a lot of that on youtube for example). ultimately i think a composition can receive both types, from the unknowing and insanely critical public and from more knowledgeable and respectful people, and i personally am interested in hearing both (even tho I'd internally discard the first type)

this has some great elements, and sounds quite original to me. some comments: 1) with regard to the notation, i think its unnecessary to have slurs that span over so many bars, especially when that is composed of smaller fragments that are grouped with slurs. such notation i believe is appropriate for strings, but even still, not over so bars. perhaps a "legato" at the beginning of the piece would convey the same thing? other smaller things that caught my attention the first time around - the dim. in bar 5 is over a held chord - not doable on a piano anyway. bar 13 - it says L.H., but just by inspection - why wouldnt you play that with the right hand? (actually, how can you?) other smaller things, like all of the tenutos, don't seem necessary harmonically and melodically, like i said, a lot of inventive ideas. a few specific places strike me as "weak" spots, obviously they are your decisions, and perhaps you're aware of what i'll point out and did it intentionally. i think the end of bar 16 is not convincing enough and doesn't fit with either the previous section or the one to follow. especially the dotted half note G, seems like a very ineffective note to place so much stress on. the chord in bar 19 doesn't seem to fit, at least to me. in bar 20, the middle C and the D have a clash that perhaps can be avoided - that 2nd interval dissonance is not consistent with the rest of the harmony. those are just some things that really caught my attention. i really do like this piece - for me the more i like it, the more i consider it a serious composition, and therefore the more critiques ill give, so even if you don't agree with what i say, at least take it as a compliment :w00t: good work

Hey all, I'm new to this forum. I discovered it just two days ago, and I'm really glad I found a place with like-minded people with regards to composition. I just have a general question regarding copyright, before I begin to upload some of my music. I'm no legal expert, nor do I publish my music, so I'm not really worried, but is anything we post here under some sort of "non-discretion"? I guess I just want to stay on the safe side... thanks, hope I'm not sounding too paranoid. :w00t:

Congratulations on winning - I didn't understand why were in such a rush to write this until I read the later thread about the competition. I'd like to give some thoughts on this piece, but I will need to re-listen and absorb it much more. This is truly a great work, and I would have to look at the score carefully to give any meaningful comments. I completely agree that you shouldn't write differently for the sake of being different - your piece resembles a wide range of influences, but is unique, and your musical voice has something new to say. Good work.

I like this very much! Sounds like your approach to composition (or at least this one) relies on your personal impressions of certain chords and note combinations, rather than following what you might be told in a book or at music school (if that makes sense...) - very intuitive approach. I don't think your pianistic skills are very limiting - BUT perhaps you can use more gradations of volume and contrasts in touch and pedaling. I think doing that might bring out even more your intentions with the compositions. Of course that is just my speculation. And on another note - its a bit reminiscent of Prokofiev's 2nd concerto cadenza, first movmt. Not implying you are copying him, or that it takes anything away from your piece, just something I like to point out for any piece I hear. :toothygrin: Post the rest when it's done.

I like the harmonies very much, good use of chromaticism. It isn't the most original idea - which is ok! I think context and uniqueness are not always more important than having a solid melody and harmony. Something about it reminds me of Schubert, but maybe that's just me. Like somebody else mentioned here, there are parts here with too much parallel motion, and without some complement in the left hand. Otherwise good job, it's got potential to be a really nice piano piece with some other improvements, (imo) which are of course your decision at the end of the day.