My first Composition

I did this composition as the final exercise in the Coursera "Compose like Mozart" course. 

Dear @Papercombo,

Welcome to the forum!

The five bar structure is interesting but it's quite not in the typical style of Mozart, as he usually he goes for 2, 4 and 8 bar phrasing, but he does use odd number phrasing though, for example in the Minuet of his Symphony no.40.

For b,4 I will change the Ab to a C in the fourth chord for smoother voice leading. B.5 Ab can be changed to a G.

For the deceptive cadence, the VI chord usually sits on its root rather than first inversion in your piece, and the voice leading will be as smooth as possible for the deceptive effect. For b.11 and 13 the V chords will have a B natural for a Mozart style.

Thx for sharing and joining us! Please make sure to check our other great pieces on the forum!

Henry

Thank you very much for your input @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu

This was my first attempt at composing classical music so I appreciate all the input I can get. I haven't composed since this but I'm trying to get back into it. My goal is to compose in a baroque style. Do you have any recommendation on materials (books, videos, etc) that can help me achieve that particular style? I have Fux's book on counterpoint and I'm currently doing the Music Matters baroque composition course.

Again, thank you very much for your comment!

1 minute ago, Papercombo said:

This was my first attempt at composing classical music so I appreciate all the input I can get. I haven't composed since this but I'm trying to get back into it. My goal is to compose in a baroque style. Do you have any recommendation on materials (books, videos, etc) that can help me achieve that particular style? I have Fux's book on counterpoint and I'm currently doing the Music Matters baroque composition course.

I think for me Fux's book on counterpoint may not be applicable for first time composers, since counterpoint can be real difficult even for more advanced composers, and some of the species counterpoint inside Fux's book may not be applicable to newer music. It can work as an excellent guidance, but sometimes you will see Bach violates those rules, since Fux bases those rules on Palesrtina style of counterpoint, which will be even stricter than most Baroque period music including Bach's. I would rather recommend you to read the book "Harmony and Voice Leading" first to get to know the chord progression first. To write with Baroque style, Bach's music is always great example for it. Just listen to his Well Tempered Clavier, Brandenburg Concerti, Orchestral Suites, Sonatas and Partitas for Violin, Cello Suites, Goldberg Variations will allow you to get a glimpse of Baroque style. Vivaldi's violin concerto or Handel's Music for the Fireworks will be great too!

3 minutes ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I think for me Fux's book on counterpoint may not be applicable for first time composers, since counterpoint can be real difficult even for more advanced composers, and some of the species counterpoint inside Fux's book may not be applicable to newer music. It can work as an excellent guidance, but sometimes you will see Bach violates those rules, since Fux bases those rules on Palesrtina style of counterpoint, which will be even stricter than most Baroque period music including Bach's. I would rather recommend you to read the book "Harmony and Voice Leading" first to get to know the chord progression first. To write with Baroque style, Bach's music is always great example for it. Just listen to his Well Tempered Clavier, Brandenburg Concerti, Orchestral Suites, Sonatas and Partitas for Violin, Cello Suites, Goldberg Variations will allow you to get a glimpse of Baroque style. Vivaldi's violin concerto or Handel's Music for the Fireworks will be great too!

 

Thank you very much I'll look into the book and listen more to Bach. I'm currently in a rabbit hole of operas 😅

Wow - with a last name like "War" you're sure to make it far in music and in life I'm sure!  Haha  I think this piece is a great exemplar of some basic techniques such as sequence and repetition with variation.  And you clearly have a basic command of common practice harmony and cadences!  I'm excited to hear your future progress!  I'll be awaiting your further contributions and learning!  Thanks for sharing.

I like the effort you have made here. To help you get on board with this type of music, I have adapted your idea around traditional voice leading (see attached). 

In your own version, the opening idea starts with the solo melody on C (1), which rises to E flat (3) by the third bar. This would typically be a do-re-mi pattern (1-2-3) in the upper voice. However the upward leap to the G in the second bar disrupts the consistency of this sequence. Furthermore, the bass part also rises - in this case to the D (2) from the C (1), before falling back to there C (1) by step by the third bar. 

In the Do-re-mi pattern, there is a great opportunity for contrary motion between the outer voices. I illustrate this in my version for your consideration. 

The other thing I will point out, as Henry has already mentioned, is the phrasing. With that in mind, I have re-written bar 3 to suitably lead into the imperfect cadence. 

When you are writing, I would recommend you sort out the voice leading as shown in my first version. This can serve as a skeleton for the accompaniment that you can later embellish to make more interesting. In my second version, you will see that I have created a contrasting melody for the right hand (piano). 

I hope this helps, and best wishes for your journey. 

PS - I would highly recommend Robert Gjerdigen's 'Music in the Galant Style' as further reading

On 9/20/2023 at 4:07 AM, Papercombo said:

Thank you very much for your input @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu

This was my first attempt at composing classical music so I appreciate all the input I can get. I haven't composed since this but I'm trying to get back into it. My goal is to compose in a baroque style. Do you have any recommendation on materials (books, videos, etc) that can help me achieve that particular style? I have Fux's book on counterpoint and I'm currently doing the Music Matters baroque composition course.

Again, thank you very much for your comment!

 

For counterpoint text look for books that deal with 18th century counterpoint (Bach style counterpoint)

A Practical Approach to 18th Century Counterpoint by Robert Gauldin and Counterpoint by Kent Kennan are two great books on the subject