TLDR: wrote my first piece ever, looking for ways to improve it
PDF + WAV
Hi all, I recently finished a free composition course called Write Like Mozart which is essentially an introduction to classical composition for beginners like myself. At the end there's a final project which has the following requirements:
In rounded binary form (A-A'-B'-A')—my A is mm. 1-7 and the B is at mm. 15-18
3/4, 4/4, or 6/8 time
20-30 bars
Scored for piano and one of concert flute, C trumpet, oboe, or violin
One deceptive cadence—I put this at m. 18
One half cadence—see mm. 6-7
One perfect authentic cadence—last measure
At least two different texture types - homorhythmic homophony, melody and accompaniment, polyphony, or monophony—I'm perhaps still a bit unclear on the differences between some of these but I think at least there's a melody/accompaniment/polyphonic thing going on and homorhythmic homophony in mm. 14 and 25
One sequential progression—my B section is basically a circle of fifths progression
One basic progression that has been elaborated with diatonic substitution, chromatic substitution, and/or secondary dominant/leading tone chords—In terms of diatonic substitution, in m. 12 I used ii instead of IV for the predominant and vii° instead of V for the dominant. For chromatic substitution, I had planned to use modal mixture by swapping out IV for iv in the second bar of the A section, but it just sounded a bit off so I relegated it to half a measure in m. 20.
Overall, I think it sounds okay, but I'm not sure what I should focus on to make it sound good. Creating the flute's line was already kind of difficult for me, so when it came to the treble staff I mostly left them as simple repeated intervals; I would've made it more polyphonic, but I wasn't really sure where to go. It was kind of hard to strike that balance between variation and repetition. You may also notice I got some "inspiration" from Mozart's K. 545. Again, I think it's okay, not sure if I would say the way I applied it is amazing. Perhaps it's also obvious I couldn't decide on a rhythm for the bass line either. I think in addition to general feedback, I'm particularly curious in the transitions. For example, I'm not sure if having the first bar of A being almost exactly repeated three times sounds too basic (or disjunct with other parts).
In terms of voice leading, I think I started out with okay part writing but I kinda didn't focus on the rules so much when I started creating the melodic lines, but do let me know if there are any egregious errors. Somewhat related, I couldn't decide on the ranges of the "alto"/"tenor" lines at some parts so occasionally they're an octave lower, like with mm. 4-5.
I know I shouldn't expect myself to write something amazing on my first try, but I just want the rough edges rounded off a bit.
Note: I'm already aware I shouldn't have vi in first inversion in the deceptive cadence.
