Oceania (for String Orchestra and Piano)

 First time posting, so here it goes! I'm a senior in high school, and I began composing just around this time last year.

Been working on this piece for about 7 months in total, and it was my first time composing...well...anything!

I am very undecided on how this turned out. Very mixed feelings about the process, both writing and recording.

I am lucky enough to have access to players in this pandemic who are willing to come up and learn my music, but the lack of regular scheduled practice is evident in the recording to me.

Also, feel free to take a look at the score! It is inundated with many mistakes and general engraving issues, but working on Dorico Elements does not give you access to many powerful engraving tools.

Have fun? I guess? Anxiety ridden sign-off comment!

Oceania .mp3

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy your time here! I think you'll find a nice community with fellow composers who will give—for the most part—kind and unbiased feedback. Just be sure to do the same to others' works on the site!

Well, I understand your anxiety, but rest assured, it's quite misplaced! You've crafted a very nice piece of music here, in my humble opinion. I think you've done a wonderful job incorporating counterpoint rather than static harmonies (block or arpeggiated chords, as is usually the case). This gives the piece some movement—which is good, since it appears to be reminiscent of the ocean—as well as makes it more enjoyable for the players. (Kudos on getting a live recording, by the way!) The piece didn't heavily favor piano or strings but seemed to weave both together as a single unit pretty well. It really was an enjoyable listen!

If you'd like some critiques, I'd be happy to provide those, as well. You didn't specifically ask for corrections in your post, so I don't want to assume anything.

Looking forward to hearing more!

6 minutes ago, Tónskáld said:

Welcome to the forum! I hope you enjoy your time here! I think you'll find a nice community with fellow composers who will give—for the most part—kind and unbiased feedback. Just be sure to do the same to others' works on the site!

Well, I understand your anxiety, but rest assured, it's quite misplaced! You've crafted a very nice piece of music here, in my humble opinion. I think you've done a wonderful job incorporating counterpoint rather than static harmonies (block or arpeggiated chords, as is usually the case). This gives the piece some movement—which is good, since it appears to be reminiscent of the ocean—as well as makes it more enjoyable for the players. (Kudos on getting a live recording, by the way!) The piece didn't heavily favor piano or strings but seemed to weave both together as a single unit pretty well. It really was an enjoyable listen!

If you'd like some critiques, I'd be happy to provide those, as well. You didn't specifically ask for corrections in your post, so I don't want to assume anything.

Looking forward to hearing more!

 

Thank you so much for your input. I live in a pretty seal tight vacuum when it comes to composition, and you're kind of the first person to really give me any feedback. 

I'd love to hear your critiques as well, any tips in general would be greatly appreciated! (Specifically within the score itself)

Thank you again!

6 minutes ago, RyanMcRainbow said:

Thank you so much for your input. I live in a pretty seal tight vacuum when it comes to composition, and you're kind of the first person to really give me any feedback. 

I'd love to hear your critiques as well, any tips in general would be greatly appreciated! (Specifically within the score itself)

Thank you again!

Hey, it's my pleasure!

Ok, let's look at the score. I noticed some dangling hairpins, for example:

It's a good idea to put some dynamics at the end of those so your players know where to end up.

You also lacked convincing cadences, at least to my ears. I particularly noticed it in the Lullaby-like portion (section A), where I wasn't sure if we were in G major or E minor or something in between. I think you could add more tonic and dominant notes to your chords there to flesh it out more, make it sound more "finished." It by no means ruined your piece, however!

At meas. 47 (section C), you have a pizz passage that never returns to normal bowing. Somewhere or another there should be an arco designation to tell the players to return to bowing.

Section D became a bit muddy, although it might have been player error rather than poor chord choices. You include some non-tonic notes that clash with the sounding chords, like the A natural in the violins at meas. 59. Again, nothing awful, just less-than-ideal, I would think.

I also noticed a few place where you have accidental markings that are implied by the key signature. I'm guessing it's a limitation of the software, but still something you should be aware of. The F-sharp here, or example:

Anyway, I think that's enough for now. Overall, you've done a fine job engraving; I'm impressed you've only been composing for about a year!

Hey, this sounds very good, it could totally be a track in a real movie. Loving the emotional part at 4:30.

Also, composing for 7 months straight takes some serious willpower! 😛

so when one has talent, a teacher can offer deeper critiques.   What I see here is obviously a musician seeking greatness.  Therefore, I can give you what I believe is very formidable teaching.  Dont get lazy with the counterpoint.   At the beginning, the movement gets a little stagnant at times.  Perhaps the repose is what you are going for a la certain film scores.  However, Ravel, Debussy,  Charbier, and Satie found excellent ways to push the movement in similar situations.   

With that being said, you are off to what seems like a great start to your composition career. Cant wait to hear the next opus!