giselle

All the suggestions here are very good. The things you said you were doing are very similar to what I did before I started the large work I am working on. And yeah, like you said, I changed my mind while I was writing as I came up with "better" options but having that basic framework allowed me to get started with something in mind, at least a general idea of the direction I wanted to go in with the piece. I think you will find that as you write the piece, you will get better and better at it (the technical aspects) and will end up going back and "fixing" the first part of it to match your skill as you complete it. Listen to some large-scale works by master composers that you admire. It will perhaps inspire you with ideas or how to go about framing your work. That always helps me!

Hi Evan! I enjoyed this movement of your piece very much. It makes me think "film music" because of the drama and the many colors you create. I was pleased at how you set a mood and some thematic material and were very consistent with the development of it while not losing focus on your goal for the movement. The solo moments were very nice, the english horn opening was very effective. I can see that you put a lot of time and effort into writing this. I like how the entire thing flows - it has a nice framework. The only suggestions I'd have would be detail work - for instance on page 8 + after the fermata I can appreciate the mood you are going for and you could still achieve that while adding some complexity - maybe some fragments of your main motives in very subtle ways (ie. with percussion, you did some nice things with glock/vibes earlier in the piece) - just some sparkles so that it doesn't seem too static with the block chords. It could give many areas of the piece some character unique to you and your writing. Also, I worry about where the piccolo will breathe during all those runs on pages 6-8. Do you mind if the player drops out periodically to breathe? And as for the other woodwinds with the "noodling" parts ( :) ) it can sometimes help to give them overlapping notes at the end of each figure so that they match up when they pass the part back and forth. And it sounds loverly too. I think you have a great foundation set here. I look forward to seeing where this piece goes. I am rusty and have not been at the boards for a bit of time. Are you a composition and/or music major? yay composing. -Giselle

:wacko: thanks Marius, cool site :)

?! How have you gotten in trouble for being on this forum in the past? :D

yes indeed!! :cool:

What concerns me about the piece I am writing (which has to be for saxophone) is that unlike a string instrument, a sax generally only plays one note at a time, which makes it even more complicated. grr! I think I'm getting the hang of it. Thanks for the listening suggestions. I like the idea of writing the simple accompaniment and working that into the solo part, giving the impression of more than one instrument. cool.

thanks people!

I really hate writing for a solo instrument (sans any accompaniment, even piano) because I haven't figured out what the heck to do with it. I'm having trouble deciding what makes a really interesting piece for solo instrument. It's tricky. I've seen a lot of pieces with extended techniques to keep the interest alive but I have been given guidelines to write a neoclassical piece for a solo instrument (sax) so it's not going to be wayyyyyyyyy out there, you know? What would you suggest that I keep in mind when writing solo pieces like this, where (for the most part) only one note can be played at a time? I'm finding myself in a rut. :closedeyes:

oh whoops, lol. oh and thanks, Mike.

Hey, is there any way to sort the member list by date joined? Or in the future, perhaps?

cool. thanks. woo! I like the library.

That seems ok...but maybe a bit excessive? I mean, not all of my posts require 350 characters to say what I want to say, but does that mean my post isn't worth adding to my personal statistic? I mean, it's not like I have some need to raise my post count, but I am interested in the number of posts I've made just like I've checked the number of hits to my web sites and their origin - curiosity, etc. I mean, I think one can make a contributing post in under 350 words - people who are looking to simply raise their post count for whatever reason will just be really verbose about saying nothing. I prefer the more in fewer words approach. I'm just confused about why this is necessary.

*hyperventilate* Okay, yeah I can't even memorize 8 bars in 4/4 time with simple rhythms fast enough to write it down. I guess I've got some practicing to do. Somehow. Erg, hard to practice on your own.