Hey, its CmplxAud. You probably haven't seen me around the forums for a while, and thats mainly to do with college apps, but I've decided to continue to post my music on here to get input.

Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated!

Welcome back,

What strikes me immediately with this new piece is its velocity and expression. The marimba (or whatever it is) is sometimes way too loud in the beginning, while the rest of the ensemble seems extremely unstable.

.

It was interesting... I really did not find it random at all; it had its own glue of putting everything together. But then I had a hard time deciding whether if it was electronic music or music that was meant to play in concerts. However, I came to the conclusion that it was more fitting as 'alternative' (thus I won't be too technical). Asides from that, I somewhat liked it in its own way. It felt different. I also think instead of Tension, you should give it a more insightful title. It deserves more than that. I agree with above comments that you could have panned, and mastered the volume in a better way. Overall, I'm pleased with it as an electronic, semi-avant-garde piece. Well done.

Noir7 - Yeah, I agree the marimba is too loud, and have already changed it. Thanks for pointing that out.

Friendly Titan - Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. My inspiration was actually from a bridge cable that snapped where I lived a couple months ago, hence the name Tension. The whole piece is about building and releasing. At the very end the Tension is finally released. Thanks for commenting, and BTW, the waterfall effect is my favorite part.

Sir Dotdotdot - Yeah, I'm pretty sure this would never be played in a concert, at least at my school. Its a little too far from what we play normally. I'll probably change the title, cause right now it sounds too generic (too bad I can only think of generic ones.. oh well). Thanks for the comments, too bad Finale makes panning so difficult.
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Anyways, thanks to all who have commented and/or listened to Tension. I probably should have provided a description of what the song is, and why it was written, but pretty much you should be able to tell its an minimalist/abstract composition.

So, the reason why I'm posting is to upload a new piano piece. It's called Loss (another generic title...) and switches from 12/8 to 3/16 to 3/8 and back again (in one section). It has a pretty simple melody, but the different textures in the piano piece is what makes it special. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure if this could be played. I tried to write it so it would be semi possible to play, but any suggestions would be great. I almost feel as if this song is a reduced score, and will eventually be expanded.

Loss is about losing (duh) a loved one. It's slightly pensive, with a decisive middle section. I'm not really sure if I'm sold on the title "Loss" so any suggestions for names would be greatly appreciated.

BTW, my Finale will only let me change the dynamics for the whole piano part f for Treble, and p for the bass (It'll just pick one and play it that loud)]. So what I'm trying to say, is I'm sorry for the dynamics (I feel that the bass is too loud in this song...).

So without further adieu, here's the download!
__________________________________________________

Comments/Suggestions are always appreciated, and thanks for reading/listening!

.

Looking at the score, it's quite messy. The expression markings and pedal markings weren't placed correctly. The triplet didn't seem like a triplet to me. Also, I guess you need like 4 hands to play that piece. So I guess you to split up the music for two pianists. The on going ostinato that you kept bringing back up was also quite annoying after a while. The progression was also a little too cliched. You should also fix the pedals... It seems like the pianist pressed it down and never lifted it back up for the whole piece.

Musically speaking, it's not too creative and interesting, to be honest. The harmonies are really quite predictable.

.

Adding to Dot and Titan's notes, also make the key signature D minor. Every B you play in the piece is flat.

EDIT - Oh, and even without the pedal markings, a pianist should know to use the pedal to play the held fifths/octaves in the left hand--no need to really critisize that. Also, this piece is extrememly playable, so don't worry about that, either. :)

EDIT - Oh, and even without the pedal markings, a pianist should know to use the pedal to play the held fifths/octaves in the left hand--no need to really critisize that. Also, this piece is extrememly playable, so don't worry about that, either. :)

He added pedal markings, thus it needs to be commented. If he didn't, then it's up to the performer. Also, there are too many parts that are unclear for the pianists, hence it would take a long time for them to figure out even if it's 'playable'.

He added pedal markings, thus it needs to be commented. If he didn't, then it's up to the performer. Also, there are too many parts that are unclear for the pianists, hence it would take a long time for them to figure out even if it's 'playable'.


Judging by the score, the only thing that is unclear is the tempo.
With the exception of that Its perfectly clear.

Now, on to the song.

Very Very good. I liked the mood. It did seem kinda repetitive at some points, but aside from that, very good.

I wouldn't consider those 'triplets' with sixteenth notes too clear, it's really challenging to sight read for performers. Then at bar 9, again with clustered and strange triplets that could simplified into something much easier to read. At bar 16, the turn was not indicated clearly. Of course there are more unclearness. I guess you still do not quite understand my meaning of a clear score and good notation, Etaroko.

.

Hey... thanks guys for the comments. I just looked up on Finale how to split the beaming between the sixteenths, so the triplets are alot easier to read.

On the whole pedal thing... I really only put it in at the beginning to play with the pedal on the recording. I guess I should just mark "con pedal" at the beginning instead of using the markings.

The score is really difficult to read, so I'm considering of splitting it into three staves. Should I even split them, or just leave it as two staves?

Anyways... I agree with Sir Dotdot on the simple chording, and predictable melodies. I'm still learning usage of chords, and making them more complex, but this one is a pretty simple chord progression. Having said that, I think it sounds good even with the simple chord progression, and cliched melodies. Hopefully my next piece will be more unique.

The score needs to be re-edited, like sir dotdot said to make it easier to read. I'm glad to hear that it can be played, but fixing the piano part will take a while. You should've seen the first draft. Now that was a nightmare!


Thanks again to Etaroko, friendly_titan, Mazeppa, and Sir Dotdotdot. Your comments really help. Composing is one thing, writing it so others can play is a whole different topic.

My next comp. won't come for a while, because it needs major reworking. Thanks for your comments once again!

If you want to learn how to make more complex progressions, it's good to analyze pieces. You will tend to find patterns for certain composers which you can improvise with, and ultimately, add to and use for your own compositions.

.

Mazeppa - Thanks for the advice. I'm currently listening to some of Debussy and Chopin's works for piano. I can already start to see patterns in their writings.

friendly_titan - Wow... you actually got through it. Thats great. I would love to get a recording of you playing it, even if its not perfect. I would love to hear it in real life, cause it usually always sounds different from the midi recording. I'll try rewriting the middle section in 7/16, because the 3/8 and 9/16 is pretty difficult to count. I agree with you about the preference between my song and Chopin. Hopefully I'll be able to write something like his one day. Thanks for the comments.

______________________________________________


Anyways... I've been working on a piano and clarinet duet and have the first two sections finished. All the notes are playable on the clarinet (my main instrument) and hopefully on piano too. I hope you enjoy!

edit - The song is incomplete and will continue with a piano part after the end fermatta.

Thanks again to all who have commented so far and...
Comments/suggestions are always appreciated! Thanks for looking!

Generally speaking, I like its harmony. However, the main concern is that the accompaniment sometimes seem to get in the way of the melody. The clarinet also played all the way through, my suggestion for you would be to give it some rests and let the piano take over. Oh, and add double barlines before key change. And at bar 35, those tied quarter notes with fermatas in the piano, just make it a half note with fermata. Bar 49, that trill on right hand piano, put the trill line on top of the note, not in the middle of nowhere. The ending also felt a little too abrupt and incomplete. Yes, it's okay to end with something incomplete, but do give it some sense of completion by slowing it down or adding morendo or adding some sort of allargando to it. Not a bad piece.

That sounded Great!

The clarinet part seemed very weird though.

Sir_Dotdotdot - Thanks for correcting me on the writing errors. I forgot to say that its incomplete and will continue after the end fermatta, where the piano will take over.

Etaroko - Thanks, and in what way did the clarinet part sound weird?

I haven't been able to listen to it yet, but looking at the score, it doesn't seem too hard to play. I will listen to it later and post comments. :heh:

It just seemed to be to...rushed, would be the best word I could describe it with.

By the way, You can't do slurred staccato notes like you did in measure 57

@ Etaroko: Yes you can do slurred staccato. The effect is just a very light tongue.

But wait, staccato makes the notes short and separated, slurs make them long and connected. The two styles contradict each other, how you can play both at the same time?

Slurred staccatos uses the 'deh' or 'duh' articulation as opposed to the 'teh' or 'tuh'. In another words, when a composer asks for this effect, they ask for a legato but tongued passage. It's not a rare or noble effect.

Mazeppa - Thanks for the advice. I'm currently listening to some of Debussy and Chopin's works for piano. I can already start to see patterns in their writings.

friendly_titan - Wow... you actually got through it. Thats great. I would love to get a recording of you playing it, even if its not perfect. I would love to hear it in real life, cause it usually always sounds different from the midi recording. I'll try rewriting the middle section in 7/16, because the 3/8 and 9/16 is pretty difficult to count. I agree with you about the preference between my song and Chopin. Hopefully I'll be able to write something like his one day. Thanks for the comments.

______________________________________________


Anyways... I've been working on a piano and clarinet duet and have the first two sections finished. All the notes are playable on the clarinet (my main instrument) and hopefully on piano too. I hope you enjoy!

edit - The song is incomplete and will continue with a piano part after the end fermatta.

Thanks again to all who have commented so far and...
Comments/suggestions are always appreciated! Thanks for looking!

I think you've got a pretty nice start here on this piece. I didn't like the beginning parts with the perfect chordal harmonies, but it's nice to see that you allow for some lighter textures later in your piece. Very nice use of the fermatas for those section breaks - gives it a very organic, flowly feel. I can also see the beginnings of a reccuring motif, so I hope you'll develop it well during the course of the piece. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now - looking forward to the end product ;).