Engineered Composer

I'm going to need a little more to go on. Like, maybe a score or a midi, or even just a picture of you thinking REALLY hard about what the piece sounds like.

DYNAMICS and PHRASING, in addition it's not all that ideomatically written, theres nothing really unique to the instruments being done. it also looks as if it were written by a pianist. This is not to say there's anything BAD with the piece, only that it is very diatonic, short and therefore predictable.

in the pseudo atonal context (perhaps pantonal is a better term) of your piece, I feel that the anchoring of a figure through which the audience or listener can attach themselves and follow, by no mean does it need to be simple but it could as simple as a derrived quotation. but just ideas to bear in mind in future works.

what you need is a development section derived from the first seven note figure in the bass of the piano at the beginning of the piece.

welcome to YC for starters just on first listen the form seems lacking, each independent section is quite enjoyable, however the piece as a whole seems aimless. also related to this fact, the overall length of the piece feels too long, I say "feels" because with more form to the piece the audience has something to aurally grab on to, and therefore it feels less long. aside from the formal issues, I'd say my main criticism is that the piece lacks clear phrasing, and bowing inferences. are you independently bowing all of the unslured notes? the accented syncopations, are they an up bow or a down bow? also, the (2+3+3)/8 is better expressed as 8/8 and beamed accordingly. none of these things are at all unusual, and quite frankly the fact that you have written a piece of such length and scope is commendable to say the least, you have obvious talent and I look forward to seeing more as you develop and mature in your works. keep up the good work.

First off, I just have to point out that page 4 is formatted all wrong, as well the use of the full choir for only one measure (m25) baffles me....also the need of THREE contra-bassoon's an four clarinets for one measure (m26) is equally perplexing. also, there are no rehearsal markings and no dynamic indications anywhere, as well as few phrase indications (aside from the slurs). I'm assuming this is a tounge and cheek piece designed for a bit of a laugh, but even so the crafting and attention to detail need not suffer.

well all in all this piece didn't blow me away. It's solidly enough written, although I wish there were a more tangible melodic figure, and the ending was lackluster at best. I in no way wish to sound discouraging, and would love to have more to say, however without a score, it's difficult to asses more complex issues with the piece. maybe this piece isn't an imortal work of the 21st century, but keep on writing.

I've been off YC for a fair amount of time but I've decide to come back, atleast for a while. I took a look at your chord progression, all in all it functions, however the character you are looking for is going to be derived through rhythmic interest and a more contrapuntal bass line. What I've attached is just a quick example of something that could work, it's by no means a working figure, and I only touched the first eight bars, but it should illustrate what I'm talking about. Healey Chord progression.mus

A score and MIDI would yield much more interest and response. Some of us only use finale or other such programs and can't open .sib files.

as an etude I find this useful as a standalone piece i don't find this strong enough.

2/1? I understand it's divission, however, the first 76 measures are grouped in sets of mostly three, the whole opening section could be written much more legibly as a 3/4 meter. Also, my impression in looking at this piece is that you don't play a brass instrument. I say this because the section at 78 is poorly arranged the instruments aught to function independently and work together to achieve a particular sound or style. broken chords sound marvelous on pianos and organs, however something is lost in the translation to a brass ensemble.

I liked this for the most part, very whitacre-esque. I felt it moving and pulling towards a faster divergent section but then it never seemed to come... all in all a very enjoyable piece, and the almost senseless requirement of C trumpets, i totally approve of, fyi.

Here is the new score, forgive its rough shape... Finale 2007 - [rhythmic piano rev.2.MUS].pdf

I really loved this new movement. The piano needed to be much louder, but the rhythmic treatment was spot on, the piano was in a straight up 5/8(3+2) but the solo line seemed to be an alternating 6/8 and 8/8(3+3+2) and the way they phased in and out of one another rhythmically was wonderful. I'm glad you're experimenting more with rhythm and time signatures keep it up.

Thank you very much for your kind words, I'm in the process of revisions(a seemingly endless task) and hope to complete it soon.