Is This A Good Melody?

Hello,

I recently started composing piano pieces and would like to get some feedback on the tempo and melody overall of my latest piece.
Any comment is appreciated !

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLBgi83pRH8

Hey you !

Well, that's a pretty nice start, however there's still a lot to learn.

The chords progression is a very basic, known and predictable one. Sure, it sounds great, but it's not very new. And for the melody, I would make the same comment, it sounds to much like, you got your note, and the chord under, and the notes you play after that are just an easy path to suit well the next chord. I don't know if I'm being very clear, not a native speaker, sorry.

So yeah, you should spice up your thing. I think, this is a good start, next you have to find some different and more subtle chords, which will come soon if you continue to play often. Don't even be afraid to press random keys and judge, you will discover very strange chords, which, in a good context, can be sublimated ! But maybe I say that because i'm a very Liszt-person, haha... wish you the best ! And just a reminder that this is my only personal opinion, just want to help you and discuss some music !

No.

This is too stereotypical to make something fresh out of it. Millions of pop pieces have similar harmony. Find something fresher. Good luck.

This is too stereotypical to make something fresh out of it. Millions of pop pieces have similar harmony. Find something fresher. Good luck.

Jesus christ Sojar........... Do you have to destory any initative here!?! for someone who just have started to compose piano music this is very good. Its a musical melody, even if its simple pop harmony! But that is fine is it not? I really think you have got lost in the illusion of yours Sojar, you may think you are so original and your music is so personal. But to me its sounds very much alike the mordern style, could never in my dreams hear if its one of your compositions or some of your contemporarys. So get down from you high horse, this piano music is not more stereotypical than your music..

Jesus christ Sojar........... Do you have to destory any initative here!?! for someone who just have started to compose piano music this is very good. Its a musical melody, even if its simple pop harmony! But that is fine is it not? I really think you have got lost in the illusion of yours Sojar, you may think you are so original and your music is so personal. But to me its sounds very much alike the mordern style, could never in my dreams hear if its one of your compositions or some of your contemporarys. So get down from you high horse, this piano music is not more stereotypical than your music..

No.

I'd tread the middle road here. It's good if you're just starting out. This isn't as bad a start as many people have who try to compose. But at the same time, it would be really unhealthy if you were satisfied with this for long. It doesn't sound ugly or displeasing to the ear at all. The idea, as far as it goes, is a nice one. However, as Sojar said, it is rather cliche. And of course all my music was too when I started out. I'd say my music still isn't all that inventive or special. I think it just takes time to develop an individual voice and shake off the bad habit of clinging to the same tired old ideas you hear elsewhere. Slowly but surely I'm getting better at it, and I guess what I'm trying to say is that you will too if you don't let yourself be content to write cheesy pop melodies for the rest of your life. Good luck and sorry/not sorry if this isn't quite what you wanted to hear. I really do mean well, and I'm sure Sojar did too even if it wasn't clear from how he communicated his thoughts.

Yes and No. Yes it is a good start,  It has structure, unity and implied hamony. No: It is too bland (or static). The harmonic progession is too simplistic and it does not venture off the beaten path, I would recommend start by rethinking about this entirely. Start from the ground up. :)

Jesus christ Sojar........... Do you have to destory any initative here!?! for someone who just have started to compose piano music this is very good. Its a musical melody, even if its simple pop harmony! But that is fine is it not? I really think you have got lost in the illusion of yours Sojar, you may think you are so original and your music is so personal. But to me its sounds very much alike the mordern style, could never in my dreams hear if its one of your compositions or some of your contemporarys. So get down from you high horse, this piano music is not more stereotypical than your music..

That was a little severe. Sojar was not being unkind, only matter of fact. What's interesting to me is that she has garnered a decent amount of likes and views on her youtube song, which probably took an hour or two to write, while my efforts that I have labored over for months to shape into something more than a cliche, get substantially less. It mystefies me what people call "good."

That was a little severe. Sojar was not being unkind, only matter of fact. What's interesting to me is that she has garnered a decent amount of likes and views on her youtube song, which probably took an hour or two to write, while my efforts that I have labored over for months to shape into something more than a cliche, get substantially less. It mystefies me what people call "good."

It's the "quality" of a like that matters more than quantity.  A hundred faceless likes matters less to me than a sincere, substantive comment from a fellow composer or musician that I respect. 

That was a little severe. Sojar was not being unkind, only matter of fact. What's interesting to me is that she has garnered a decent amount of likes and views on her youtube song, which probably took an hour or two to write, while my efforts that I have labored over for months to shape into something more than a cliche, get substantially less. It mystefies me what people call "good."

ah ok! :)

"This is too stereotypical to make something fresh out of it. Millions of pop pieces have similar harmony. Find something fresher. Good luck."

Lets take a look at this again!

the ocean is blue is a fact. Sojars review was a bunch of personal claims.

"make something fresh out of it" (fresh? is fresh for Sojar the same as fresh for me?) so no fact here

"Millions of pop pieces have similar harmony" (Semi fact?)

" Find something fresher" (fresh again?) not a fact

the only fact here is that the sentence contains no facts :P

Why do you even care about likes? if you only show your music to likeminded you well get a lot of likes! But does that mean that the music is good? if you show your music to people who dont like your style and you dont get a single like, does that mean its bad?

Write music to express yourself, if you write music for the common ear or the few it should not matter :)

And that is why i posted the comment to Sojar in the first place. If you cant say anything constuctive in a review, dont review it!!

There is no point in writing comments like "this is bad, find something fresher etc" why? becuase its all subjective stuff. Maybe you dont like it, but maybe the 12 next listeners do.

What you can point out though is compositional stuff like: Harmony, voiceleadning, orchestration, ideomatic writing, etc. If the composer fix the issues the composition would sound better! THAT is a review that worth something.

And there is no such comment is Sojars review. If the comment was written by a 16 year old boy it would be one thing. But from a grown man who says he is a established composer and a "reviewer"? No, that is not ok in my world.

It's the "quality" of a like that matters more than quantity.  A hundred faceless likes matters less to me than a sincere, substantive comment from a fellow composer or musician that I respect. 

Yeah, in some cases i agree. Its good to have comment from someone who knows the stuff, but its also great to have comments from those who dont know to much about music.

I have done that many times, played my music for people who dont know much or anything about baroque. If i have used  figures/orchestration to describe something sustantional. but i dont tell them what it is. I feel most satesfied when they understand what im trying to express. (does it give you a "good or bad "feeling? does it sound dark, sad, happy, what does it give you?). They hear the emoition. That is great, but that is only the surface of the music. Can they really hear the true meaning?. They rearly do because they dont know enough about composition and affects from the baroque era. But if i tell them the violins here are describing a thunderstorm, and the figures and orestration is written like this and that. and if they say "ah, i hear it now!".  For me, that is the most valubale comment. Becuase it tells me that i have done my job good enough for the music to have meaning. :)

So who are we writing music for? our fellow composers, myself, or the common ear?

I write for everyone, if they enjoy my piece, im glad, if not its fine :) if only i enjoyed it, its fine too :S

SimenN, all the credits to you. You are probably the only one who can write a doctorate about my small coment. I don't dare to make a large statement about a short stereotypical pop-like beginning of initially presented music and every 16-year old youngster who is experienced in music should have not make any longer review because it makes no sense. I would die of boredom if I myself composed like this. Even when I started to compose I was interested in wide range of harmonies, although it was still a major-minor tonality world which soon became too small for me. Even when arranging folk melodies for different choral groups I use rich harmonies although I don't dare to venture to atonality. But I always try to find something personal in my approach and do not imitate existing styles of previous periods.

SimenN, I know you hate my guts and probably my music as well. I don't hate your music, I consider it professionaly done. I just don't like the fact you imitate baroque style because I cannot find SimenN in your music.

SimenN, all the credits to you. You are probably the only one who can write a doctorate about my small coment. I don't dare to make a large statement about a short stereotypical pop-like beginning of initially presented music and every 16-year old youngster who is experienced in music should have not make any longer review because it makes no sense. I would die of boredom if I myself composed like this. Even when I started to compose I was interested in wide range of harmonies, although it was still a major-minor tonality world which soon became too small for me. Even when arranging folk melodies for different choral groups I use rich harmonies although I don't dare to venture to atonality. But I always try to find something personal in my approach and do not imitate existing styles of previous periods.

 

SimenN, I know you hate my guts and probably my music as well. I don't hate your music, I consider it professionaly done. I just don't like the fact you imitate baroque style because I cannot find SimenN in your music.

hehehe, yeah! this is a part of my doctorate! :P

By all means Sojar! I agree, for me composing music like that is boring too. The point here is that people have different goals. Someone like yourself are interested in harmoy, myself included. My point is that if you cant bring something good to the composition why bother reveiw it? A constructive comment. That is offcoruse the right thing to do?

No, Sojar! I dont hate you at all. I sometimes hate the way you review thats all.

As for your music, I know its professionaly done, i know you are pasionate about your music and you have many performances. The performences alone is a testemony to your quality.

So what we fundamentaly disagree on is :

What a review is.

Imitation of style is not personal.

As i have stated 100 times before, every STYLE is "IMITATION".

So here is a clame from me, when you imitate for a long enough time, it will become personal and who you are. if you really want to see if there is anything personal in my music i would recomend that you analyze 5 works of mine and 5 works of those composers who are within the style i write (at the moment particular vivaldi, corelli/torelli). You will find stuff in my music that you wont find in the others. But offcourse you will find 8 note 2 16 notes figure. Sus4, alot of suspension, the sequence of fifth. The most common baroque figures and progression etc. (as you would in every baroque work)

Do you think my music can bring joy to a listener?

If yes, my job is done and i rest my case :)