Grande Valse, Duet for Violin and Piano

10 hours ago, Carl Koh Wei Hao said:

However, the section between the main themes (bars 47-140) contains materials heard only once. Besides, after the C major section, where the main theme is replayed (bars 141-158), the melodies that follow are also previously unheard. So, you may consider repeating these themes to make the structure more organized. 

I was actually trying to avoid a lot of the possible repetitions you suggested: because the piece is relatively short, I felt like those additions wouldn't give it enough time to develop and 'breathe', musically speaking. It's a side-effect of the spontaneity that often pushes me to write, I suppose: early on, before I understood the importance of form, I wrote thorough-composed pieces, and I rarely gave importance to the structure of a piece. Given a slightly longer piece in future, I'm sure that reusing more material from the introduction will come in handy (whether it is for the sake of musical completeness or to pad the runtime, I'm sure repetition will help me there!). I'll keep it in mind when I write next time, thank you!

10 hours ago, Carl Koh Wei Hao said:

Nevertheless, the development from bar 159 onwards, characterized by frequent modulations, is well-executed. Also, the coda section is written very well, effectively concluding the music.

Overall, you have done a great job composing this waltz; your efforts really pay off!

There's a lot to learn from Chopin! I actually wrote the ending first, as a sort of bombastic fanfare. Indeed I called it the 'Fanfare Waltz' early on, but thankfully that fell through. Good to know that that beginning actually works much better as an ending.

I was really worried about the rapid modulations at first, because I've never written anything that involved so much as a single key change throughout: my older ensemble pieces are proof of that, as they rarely modulate more than once or twice. I tried to cycle somewhat through the circle of fifths (again, something I've never done before), but I wrote those cycles later; I wrote the melody first, and filled the accompaniment in afterwards. Given how you say it works musically, I'd say this gamble paid off rather well!

On 5/31/2023 at 2:00 AM, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I here invite our king of waltzes, @David_DLM here!

Hello Henry!!!

On 6/1/2023 at 12:14 AM, Awsumerguy said:

Here's the final product! I think it's at least a little more playable now than it was before, and I've grown to love this new key signature. I hope I didn't go too overboard with the slur lines! 😅

There isn't much to be said, since most of what I thought about was already mentioned by other composers. They provided detailed feedback, so I'll just share my thoughts real quick 😄. I listened to both versions, the first one and the final product. I loved the A major one, even though I am a E flat and A flat lover hahaha. A grandiose waltz or any grandiose piece, in my opinion, should be done in the key of open strings. This will give much more power to the violin's sound and projection. 

First, the introduction is very, very well done. The grandiose feeling is perfectly portrayed. Main themes do not need to be extremely complex. It is a waltz, and the simplicity, yet beautiful melody, makes it a perfect main theme. 

The first version had the violin playing a ton of chords. The violin is primarily a melodic instrument, and should primarily play a single line most of the time. I recommend using chords sparingly and focusing on the violin's melodic capabilities. In the new version, this was fixed pretty nicely, which made me very happy. 

Make sure to repeat sections, like previously mentioned by others. Not only does it give structure to the piece, but satisfaction to the listener as well, specially in a waltz where many, many sections have repeats. These sections are usually simple in structure, so the listener enjoys both the first and second, possibly even third repeat. 

About the difficulty and playability. Some specific passages in the piano part are difficult to play due to their fast tempo or close spacing of notes. Consider the playability of certain sections and make adjustments if necessary.

Overall, a very, very nice piece. The introduction and the main theme got me engaged in no time, since its what I expect from a waltz, specially a "Grande Valse". Excellent job! 😄

I listened to your most recent update in A major.  Many have already remarked about the playability of the piece, but this stuck out to me:    (measure 136).  The bottom two notes are impossible to play since the next available string on the Violin after the low G is a D.  But, I'd like to make some remarks about the pieces character.  In my opinion, the piece sounds more like a tame stroll through a park on a lovely day rather than a "Grande" waltz.  And there are some weird things going on tonally giving the piece an unsteady sense of key center (although some might think that this gives the piece a unique charm).  The following measures stick out to me in this way:    The F#'s in measure 148 are out of place and sound foreign, not to mention creating an awkward false-relation between the F#'s and F naturals.  The harmony itself is also not very clear in that measure.  Is it a D major chord?  D minor?  D sus4? D7?  It doesn't know what it wants to be and it comes off as insecure imo.  But that's just my own cursory impression of the piece.  Thanks for sharing!

@PeterthePapercomPoser, thank you for sharing!

As I've said in an earlier post, I fixed the double stop B and G; I replaced it with a D and G instead.

8 hours ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

But, I'd like to make some remarks about the pieces character.  In my opinion, the piece sounds more like a tame stroll through a park on a lovely day rather than a "Grande" waltz.  And there are some weird things going on tonally giving the piece an unsteady sense of key center (although some might think that this gives the piece a unique charm).  

That's an observation I experienced, too: after I gave it a listen in A major, it just didn't sound as grandiose as I wanted it to be at first (that's why I chose the more pianistic Ab major, mainly because Chopin wrote a lot of 'heroic' pieces in said key (like the Heroic Polonaise, for one)). On the other hand, the key change gave the piece a much more homely sound that I've grown to like more than the Ab version. It reminded me of how people might dance in a village festival, so I've gone ahead and called it 'The Village Fete'. The initial name 'Grande Valse' stuck because I felt that the 'virtuosity' (?) of the piece would be better suited to being in a 'grand waltz' as opposed to being in just a regular waltz; besides, Grande Valse just sounds that little bit catchier than 'Waltz #1', don't you think? 😅

As for the name and the lack of tonal centre, I suppose you can blame my influences for that 😉: I listen to a lot of Ravel, and took inspiration from Chopin's waltzes (mainly his first two) for the structure of the piece. I'm not sure if either of those may objectively add or subtract from the piece, but personally I feel it sounds fine as is. 

8 hours ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

The F#'s in measure 148 are out of place and sound foreign, not to mention creating an awkward false-relation between the F#'s and F naturals.  The harmony itself is also not very clear in that measure.  Is it a D major chord?  D minor?  D sus4? D7?  It doesn't know what it wants to be and it comes off as insecure imo.

I wanted to use a chromatic lead-in of sorts to cue in the next bar, but I can see why it might not work out too well after listening to just the piano part; there are also a lot of questionable harmonies here and there. I'm only around two-ish years into music composition, so I'll try and work things out further down the line once I get to it.

That being said, I'm reasonably happy with leaving the piece as it is: I think it's a good stepping stone to see how my harmony writing has gradually gotten better (or at least more complex) ever since my first string quartet (which was super short and only had crotchet rhythm and nothing else). Compared to that, I think I've come very far in two years (not meaning to brag, obviously!); writing this piece with its imperfections will show future me how much I've grown and should be proud of my work as it is, and I think that'll do well for me!