Caprice for Solo Violin No. 2

This is my "Caprice for Solo Violin No. 2". It is also the second caprice that I have ever composed. My first one (see the link below) was my submission to the "From Bits to Bangers" Young Composers Composition Competition, based on the "Dragon's Lair" video game music track and received low marks in part because it did not reflect the theme of the track too strongly. I would be interested in hearing your opinions as to how this one compares to that first effort of mine in the genre of the caprice, purely as an example of a caprice.

Here is the link to my "Caprice for Solo Violin No. 1":

https://www.youngcomposers.com/t44427/caprice-for-solo-violin-no-1/

It is also good, and a good improvement in terms of following initial track mood from the first one. But I suggest you doing this for developing your skill of developement of a piece:

1. Start the initial theme exactly like it is in the original track. Exact notes.

2. Start building a few variations (let's say 4) variating this theme using several violin techniques one-by-one. For example you can go in first variation with harmonics, then in second you can do tremolo, in third pizzicato and in fourth con g string. It is really important to differ theme little by little in those variations, so it won't be boring and ridiculous. 

3. Start building more variations (let's also do 4) variating theme using more difficuld techniques f.e. : double stops, octaves, ricochet, left-hand pizzicato.

4. To bring it to a pinnacle you can do a polyphonic variation (Bach pieces must be studied) and you may also follow this by a fanfare-like variation using only chords but taking rhytmical sense of the original composition.

5. End it off as you'd see fit. 

That alone would build you a large developed caprice-like piece. Take your time thinking about your concept of the piece, there is no need of rushing through.

Wish you luck. 

22 hours ago, AlexeySavelyev said:

It is also good, and a good improvement in terms of following initial track mood from the first one. But I suggest you doing this for developing your skill of developement of a piece:

1. Start the initial theme exactly like it is in the original track. Exact notes.

2. Start building a few variations (let's say 4) variating this theme using several violin techniques one-by-one. For example you can go in first variation with harmonics, then in second you can do tremolo, in third pizzicato and in fourth con g string. It is really important to differ theme little by little in those variations, so it won't be boring and ridiculous. 

3. Start building more variations (let's also do 4) variating theme using more difficuld techniques f.e. : double stops, octaves, ricochet, left-hand pizzicato.

4. To bring it to a pinnacle you can do a polyphonic variation (Bach pieces must be studied) and you may also follow this by a fanfare-like variation using only chords but taking rhytmical sense of the original composition.

5. End it off as you'd see fit. 

That alone would build you a large developed caprice-like piece. Take your time thinking about your concept of the piece, there is no need of rushing through.

Wish you luck. 

 

Hi AlexeySavelyev. Thanks for your review and your comparison. But I think you have misunderstood. This one does not have anything to do with the "Dragon's Lair" theme, at least not consciously. It is just a caprice, independent of the first one, that I was inspired to compose.  I wanted to hear opinions on how it compared to the first one as a caprice. That was all. Thanks anyway for your feedback and suggestions. I will take them into consideration when and if I find inspiration to compose a third caprice for solo violin.

Hi again, Luder.

I do think you have crafted a very nice caprice indeed in comparison with the previous one. At least, to my perception. I would insist on @AlexeySavelyev's general tips but I am more or less sure you were and are aware of most of them for long since you are not, to my knowledge, new in the matter (Op. 350!). So I'll go with some more in-depth questions:

• Phrasing and articulation overall: apart from the stacattos, I found that there's almost no indications in terms of dynamics except for the beginning and the end of the piece, nor phrasing (slurs, accents) which often are, as you know, very helpful interpretation-wise. Is your ambiguity intended? Why?

• The tempo: I also see that a characteristic that both caprices have in common is the frequent change on time signature. Do you seek for something in that regard? I believe more exotic metrics can indeed give more flavor to the piece but I also believe that in this case, this is done at the cost of abrupt losses of momentum, summed up with pauses in weak beats like what we have in the fifth bar. 

Now, if you don't mind, I'll just write some suggestions in the form of written music for some very specific passages just in case it makes you to consider more approaches:

♫ In the last bar, I thought about this:   Not necessarily better than what you have, just another approach.
♫ In the stacatto section, I thought that the repetition (or if this was bigger, perhaps a second repetition in the middle of the piece) of it but legato would also sound interesting. Perhaps this part was my favourite of the entire caprice. Just, to clarify, I am referring to this part:
 -> ->->. Just brainstorming here a bit but I think this particular section asks for more and could really be developed further.

In any case, quite neat piece in my opinion.

Kind regards,
Daniel–Ømicrón.

Thanks Daniel Omicron for your review and your suggestions. As far as dynamics and articulation are concerned, I would say that I don't regard them as very important and leave them for the interpreter. I thus give the interpreter greater freedom to choose how they interpret the piece. I am more concerned with the process of composition itself. But you are right, maybe I should take the time and add more of them in the future. As far as slurs are concerned, I use them when I see the need to go for a legato sound effect. And in these two caprices at least, I mostly haven't intended a legato effect. But I have also read that slurs can be used only for phrasing, independent of a legato effect. If that's the case, maybe I ought to use them. But then again, I see them as secondary to the process of composition itself.

Regarding the changes in time signature, I have had reviewers say the opposite (i.e. that I should have changed them) when I haven't changed the time signature to fit the rhythm of the music. So here, in these two caprices at least, I have changed the time signature often to fit the rhythm of the music.

43 minutes ago, luderart said:

I use them when I see the need to go for a legato sound effect

That is not correct. Slurs for strings are indicating if notes should be played on one bow and you should definitely indicate that to the player. Pretty often composers also indicate up-bow, or down-bow as well so look into that.