Invention for Wind Trio in d minor

Here is a invention for wind trio that composed. My original idea was to compose a set of inventions for this instrumentation, but depending on how others like it, I may or may not do so. How does it sound? Any feedback is welcomed!

Quite inventive!  You mostly do a good job of manipulating the motives and your first episode is superb!  I think where this starts to suffer a bit is in the free counterpoint that you employ.  I don't know if it would have sounded monotonous if you had written a similar episode to bring you to the G minor middle entry, but it seems like a better idea to continue to create interesting counterpoint using sequences based on fragments of the main motivic material.  You might think that you already did that but to me it just doesn't sound as logical after the first episode.  Also, it feels like you end the piece too early and force yourself to return to D minor like you were hurrying to end it.  Also, I feel some discomfort about the phrase lengths you employ as well.  There are ways to make phrases with an odd number of measures sound natural as well, but on the whole phrases with an even number of measures are more complete sounding.  You risk making your piece sound like a note-salad when your music lacks strong cadences into the keys of the middle entries (by way of the conclusion of well constructed episodes).  I'm mostly referring to meas. 10 - 18.  It doesn't quite sound like an episode and it's not a middle entry which puts it in a kind of no-mans land of free counterpoint without a point.  In an invention you really should take care that everything you write is either a statement of the main motif or an episode (and that the episodes use sequences to develop fragments of the main motif).  I hope I have not gotten too carried away with too much advice-giving and that some of this is still helpful!  It was nonetheless an enjoyable invention.  Thanks for sharing!

14 minutes ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Quite inventive!  You mostly do a good job of manipulating the motives and your first episode is superb!  I think where this starts to suffer a bit is in the free counterpoint that you employ.  I don't know if it would have sounded monotonous if you had written a similar episode to bring you to the G minor middle entry, but it seems like a better idea to continue to create interesting counterpoint using sequences based on fragments of the main motivic material.  You might think that you already did that but to me it just doesn't sound as logical after the first episode.  Also, it feels like you end the piece too early and force yourself to return to D minor like you were hurrying to end it.  Also, I feel some discomfort about the phrase lengths you employ as well.  There are ways to make phrases with an odd number of measures sound natural as well, but on the whole phrases with an even number of measures are more complete sounding.  You risk making your piece sound like a note-salad when your music lacks strong cadences into the keys of the middle entries (by way of the conclusion of well constructed episodes).  I'm mostly referring to meas. 10 - 18.  It doesn't quite sound like an episode and it's not a middle entry which puts it in a kind of no-mans land of free counterpoint without a point.  In an invention you really should take care that everything you write is either a statement of the main motif or an episode (and that the episodes use sequences to develop fragments of the main motif).  I hope I have not gotten too carried away with too much advice-giving and that some of this is still helpful!  It was nonetheless an enjoyable invention.  Thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it! Im always looking for advice, im still pretty much a beginner composer! One thing I am struggling with is writing episodes and developmental ideas. I think im going to go and study Bach's inventions a bit more and see how he develops his episodes, and maybe revisit this piece in the future and revise it!

I think I may put this away for a while and revisit it in the future, I like the initial theme, but like you said the progression of the overall piece could be much better!

My comment does not related to the technical aspects of the work but rather to wind writing.   Please remember wind players need to breathe.  And providing those moments are important.  If not some players may cheat a bit here and there and drop a note!

5 hours ago, MJFOBOE said:

My comment does not related to the technical aspects of the work but rather to wind writing.   Please remember wind players need to breathe.  And providing those moments are important.  If not some players may cheat a bit here and there and drop a note!

 

Yeah, the only time you can get away with not putting in any rests or breath marks or even phrasing slurs is a woodwind solo piece such as this one:

9 hours ago, MJFOBOE said:

My comment does not related to the technical aspects of the work but rather to wind writing.   Please remember wind players need to breathe.  And providing those moments are important.  If not some players may cheat a bit here and there and drop a note!

 

True true! Im so used to writing. for strings I didn't really think about it here!

Im currently writing a second invention and will try to include moments that allows for breaths!

4 hours ago, caters said:

Yeah, the only time you can get away with not putting in any rests or breath marks or even phrasing slurs is a woodwind solo piece such as this one:

 

 

Im going to have read up on phrasing notations a bit more! Are there certain moments where one would expect certain kinds of phrase markings? Ultimately im going to have to study more about instrumentation!