First Composition

Hello! This is my first time attempting to compose a piece. It's quite short (lasting only ~15 secs), and that's because I really didn't know what to do. Other than watching almost nothing other than a few music theory videos on YouTube, I actually know nothing regarding music, so this might be quite amateurish! Please do tell me how I could improve on this.

Hello and welcome to the forum!!

This is a really lovely melody, shows a lot a potential for a first piece!

Usually in piano music we will find two staves - one for the right hand, one for the left. Maybe splitting the melody between the two hands could make it a little more natural.

My main comment is with the large jumps. In the second bar the notes outline a chord, but in the fourth the step from E to D is a little awkward. This could be another instance where the left hand is useful: it could play a low C in bar five so there is a descending scale of E D C and the chord will sit nicely on top. (Horribly long sentence - if you don't understand what I mean just ask and I'll try and reword it!)

In the last four bars you don't quite seem to have the right lengths of note to fill each bar, but you have used a notation software? Did you make some notes/rests invisible before making the pdf?

Overall comments: the main melody presented right at the start is strong. For moving forward, think about introducing some simple left hand and just keep composing! You've definitely made a great start and it's encouraging to see an emphasis on melody in a beginner composition!

Thank you for having the courage to share your first ever composition,

aMC

edit: I forgot to mention: about the forum: we'd love it if you review some other people's works (although, at the time of writing, you've only been a member for an hour)! You'll be more likely to get reviews of your own works as well. aMC

Thanks for reply!

I'm sorry if I'll have to ask a lot, but bear with me. 

Quote

My main comment is with the large jumps. In the second bar the notes outline a chord, but in the fourth the step from E to D is a little awkward.

I had to Google what a bar is (hehehe). After a few minutes of looking at the sheet, I guess you mean in the 3rd "block", were the notes E and D are under the tie curve (by the way, I added that out of curiosity, and I actually thought it did something else. I thought the tie meant that the note the curve starts on will be pressed on until we reach the note that touches the end of the curve).  Finally, yes, I agree that that was an awkward transition.

2 hours ago, aMusicComposer said:

it could play a low C in bar five so there is a descending scale of E D C and the chord will sit nicely on top

Sorry but I don't think I fully get it. Could you explain?

3 hours ago, aMusicComposer said:

In the last four bars you don't quite seem to have the right lengths of note to fill each bar, but you have used a notation software? Did you make some notes/rests invisible before making the pdf?

I don't think so. I just compared the music sheet I have and the PDF, and they are the same. Surprisingly, this question confirmed a question I had in mind. When I began, I just couldn't understand why I can't use a whole note with other notes in the same bar, and I guess it's because only 1 whole note is allowed per bar. 

1 hour ago, bored_comedy said:

I had to Google what a bar is (hehehe). After a few minutes of looking at the sheet, I guess you mean in the 3rd "block", were the notes E and D are under the tie curve (by the way, I added that out of curiosity, and I actually thought it did something else. I thought the tie meant that the note the curve starts on will be pressed on until we reach the note that touches the end of the curve).  Finally, yes, I agree that that was an awkward transition.

 A lot of countries call bars "measures" (that might help with some confusion - in the UK they're bars!)

If you were to have a tie, than there couldn't be any other notes between the start and the end. (Here there is a C between the Ds) Currently what you have is a slur , a curved line across different notes which means to play them smoothly joined (legato).

I was meaning the fourth one, here:

The last two notes sound a little odd coming after a large jump - but this is personal preference!

1 hour ago, bored_comedy said:

Sorry but I don't think I fully get it. Could you explain?

Probably easiest if I add some more pictures!

Just now:

There's a large jump between the second-last note and the chord after it which can sound a little awkward.

My proposed solution (maybe this isn't needed, but I'll suggest it anyway):

The top stave (staff) here would be taken by the right hand, the bottom the left hand. See how I've moved the low D into the left hand, then put a C after it to sound at the same time as the chord? This means that scale line flows well and the chord can sit on top of the bass note. This was what I was trying to put across with that convoluted writing! And no need to apologise, you're just starting to learn!

2 hours ago, bored_comedy said:

I don't think so. I just compared the music sheet I have and the PDF, and they are the same. Surprisingly, this question confirmed a question I had in mind. When I began, I just couldn't understand why I can't use a whole note with other notes in the same bar, and I guess it's because only 1 whole note is allowed per bar.

So, the two numbers you have on the music at the very start (4/4 for you), are called the time signature and tell the musician how long each bar is. (There are many different types of time signature, and you can change during a piece if you want - I'll link some theory resources below!)

The top number of any time signature tells you how many beats there are in each bar, and the bottom number tells you the "value" of each beat. You have four quarter notes in each bar (crotchets in the UK) - 4/4 !

Some different time signatures:

The top number tells you the number of beats (here all my notes are quarter notes, bottom number is 4)

A whole note is worth 4 quarter note beats, so you can only have one in a bar (measure) of 4/4.

Theory resources:

https://www.musictheory.net/lessons - This site starts right at the beginning and contains its own exercises! It also goes up to fairly advanced theory but the "basics" section should cover what you'll need to know to begin composing.

Some books:   https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=music+theory&sprefix=music+theory&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-doa-p_1_12

The ABRSM "Discovering Music Theory" series is pretty good. Also try "Music Theory for Dummies" for a little more humorous approach! From there, "Music Composition for Dummies" can help you improve (speaking from experience)

If any other forum member wants to add to this list, please do!

aMC

Again, thank for the helpful reply! Thanks very, very, much for the resources too!