Earl

Chopin: In my opinion you should go with what is logical for the chord you're writing at the time. For example, if a secondary dominant comes along, say for example a D7 chord to a Gm (but you're still in Fm at the time) use F# not Gb. The F# is the leading tone to G, so it's usage that predominates here. If you indicated Ab7 the 7th would be written as a Gb of course, and its tendency is to resolve downward to the F. As far as being in remote keys only briefly, you should keep the original key signature and use accidentals as necessary. As for chromatic scales I would use accidentals that would cause the least amount of additional accidentals. For example: NOT F Gb G(nat) Ab A(nat) etc. Instead: F F# G G# A A#, if you were going down flats would be better, anything to keep from naturalizing a note you just flatted or sharped. Finally, you should look at ease of reading. The first rule I mentioned will keep triads looking like triads (D F# A, NOT D Gb A) and not changing key signatures every two measures keeps the interpreter from mentally switching gears too much. Hope all this helps a little. Earl

Hi Jerimiah, welcome to the forum. I'm new myself. So far just lurking, I haven't posted any compositions yet. Don't be put off by the lack of repsonses so far, sometimes it takes a few days. I've only listened to your piece a couple of times so I won't get into too much detail. Overall, I enjoyed your piece very much. Your themes are clearly defined and they contrast as well as complement each other. They have a nice melodic contour and a sense of dynamics. And judging from a couple of listens, the movement seems to adhere to sonta-allegro form. You also seem to stick to the style of the period well. Many of the pieces I've heard in the forum so far are too large in scope for the experience of the composer. Your focus in this way is commendable. Regards, Earl

I don't know about Sibelius but Finale offers a student/educational/church discount that is worth going after. I got Finale about a year ago with a student discount, I think it was $200, (instead of $600) and at the time I was only a part-time student (two classes). I bought it through studentstore.com They didn't even require the classes to be music classes! It's worth it to take a class at a community college if you can. Earl

Greetings All! I'm new here, been composing off and on (more off than on) and trying to get serious in the last few months. I fall into the "mature" category age-wise but still young in spirit. In answer to your question I took composition at a local community college for two semesters and it worked out well for me. I was surprised to discover that it was a one-on-one meeting with the teacher once a week, which was great. I could take the discussions anywhere I wanted and didn't have to go over material I was already familiar with. Once I described my background we were able to move directly into me bringing in a work in progress and he would offer advice and comments. To his credit he didn't try to "help" me compose but offered hints in various ways. Once someone has enough knowlege and skills what we need is an objective knowlegable musician who can provide feedback, not necessarily a "teacher" who provides information we don't already know. As an example, he said one time, "As a listener, I would like to hear your theme repeated before you move into the next section." This was a revelation. I had been working on the piece at that time for about two or three weeks and had heard it so many times that the thought of repeating a section never occurred to me. He was able to provide the viewpoint of an audience member who was hearing the piece for the first time. Of course, a trained musician as teacher can set you on the right path by teaching harmony, counterpoint, etc. as well. If you can find the right person and circumstances, I recommend it. Good luck. Earl