Dynamics for Étude in D Major - "The Kite"

G'day fellas,

The Étude in D Major is of my latest compositions I've been working on. After renaming it a couple of times, I concluded that the rhythm and flow of the piece reminded me of a kite soaring up and tossing and turning through the air. I've written more of this piece, but the main theme is what I want to enquire about today.

The way in which I apply the dynamics is very simple: the music gets quieter as the right hand ascends, and louder as it descends. In theory, I thought that this decision imitates a kite drifting further away from its owner. As I put the dynamics in and listened to the MIDI playback however, I wasn't so impressed. What do you fellas think?

Cheers!

Étude in D – %22The Kite”.mid

Hi @Quinn St. Mark,

I like the main theme here actually! I think it is really a fast version of the piece “The Fountain” by Bohm which I played when learning piano:

Naming it Kite for me fits with the piece!

Henry

Haha this is cool! You could even go more extreme with the dynamics, even giving ritards near the height of the kite's peak?

G'day @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu,

Thanks for your comment!

On 6/20/2024 at 11:30 PM, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I think it is really a fast version of the piece “The Fountain” by Bohm which I played when learning piano

Wow, you got me. I will admit I was influenced in large part by this very piece, hahaha.

10 hours ago, Thatguy v2.0 said:

You could even go more extreme with the dynamics, even giving ritards near the height of the kite's peak

Cheers, @Thatguy v2.0! I'll keep that in mind.

Hi @Quinn St. Mark!

Having listened to both your piece and the "Fountain" piece that it was modeled after, I have to say there are many original aspects to your piece!  Your melodic lines/figurations have their own logic which includes chromatic passing tones, chromatic neighbors, arpeggiation and enclosures which is something that is present in the "Fountain" piece as well, but executed differently.  Not only is your meter different, but the tempo, key and contour of your melody is different as well.  Modeling your piece based on the "Fountain" piece was, I think, a successful venture for you - I just wish you had gone farther!  And maybe you still will, considering that this is in the "writer's block" category of the forum.  I think what you currently have written should be just the first phrase of the piece, and is perfect for repetition, possibly with a 2nd ending leading to some kind of B section, just like in the "Fountain" piece, possibly in a closely related key.  If it were me, I would tack on a repeat at the end of this phrase, listen to how it sounds, and then let my inspiration guide me as to what should come next or how the 2nd ending should be different from the 1st, which might itself give a clue as to how it should continue.  That's my take on that.  Thanks for sharing!

I think this piece, with its harmonies and runs, would highly benefit from pedalling, I am not sure if you intend it to be played with pedal, but chose not mark it, or if you intend it to be played without pedal.

I really like it and I believe it is very good material to make a longer piece