Hiya all! I just finished my newest composition. The sheet music is almost done, and I promise I'll post it asap. For now I have a youtube video recording of it. Tell me what you think =) (and the piano is a crappy Sojin, so please dont flame about the sound quality)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTQaHVubgI

This is actually pretty good, Poozer. I don't think I will comment on the sound quality, because I know how that all goes, but there was are parts with a nice technical-showoffy part that might need a little work. ;)

I really liked the melody; it's all very simple and very followable, and I like how you variate it and gave it a lot of pizazz. It made me think of the piece in a different fashion, although, I didn't get the feel of an elegy after a while; it started to feel like an over-dramatic silent movie soundtrack.

(It's kind of funny really, I used to improvise a lot like this, using very similar technical facets like your ending octaves and the arpeggios going up the piano.. that was humbling!)

As I said before, it really left the feeling of "elegy" behind and got extremely dramatic. You might want to tone down the beginning, since you basically use the same left-handed part in the expansive sections. In pianistic terms, make it a lot easier/simpler and tone down the dynamic (in terms of color and volume). Another thing to consider, on the performance side this time, is to really bring out the melody and make it clear. I understand that your piano isn't such a great thing to play 'music' on, but you need to really use all of your skills to create a flowing melody and one that is stated and not below the murky left hand being played.

It almost seems as this piece is owning you instead of you owning the piece, in terms of playing it and even writing it. I don't feel you've yet connected with your piece and truly find it's voice and meaning. I've gone to composition/theory lessons myself and my teacher has told me to play it like I mean it. We often get carried away with what we wrote and feel that we can play it like no one else can. I would treat this piece as if you were learning Chopin's 3rd Sonata or possibly a mazurka of some sort.

This is nice, I'd like to hear some more of it if you intend to revise it!

HAHA mazeppa put it right! It feels like the soundtrack of an over-dramatic silent movie after a while. Loved the ending arpeggio. You're hands aren't keeping up with the music at numerous locations so I'd say you need to practice this a bit more. As I tell my students, it would make runs a lot easier if you just played with your finger tips!! sorry that's become my pet peeve :sweat:. I know how hard it is to get 1 recording that fully shows your best so ignoring performance, I thought it was a very good piece.

I really like it. I think what made the piece so enjoyable was the melody, chord progressions and also the way you played it. Even though there was the occasional mistake, it was played from you heart. Which is very good.

Your piano skills are very good! You PWN me haha. I'd say practice like crazy and fine tune the music to make sure every note there has a meaning. Then you have a fantastic piece :)

GREAT JOB!

Every Note has meaning --change to--> Every Phrase has meaning

Every Note has meaning --change to--> Every Phrase has meaning

What's wrong with saying notes? Notes make up a phrase so it like saying every phrase has a meaning but it's going one level deeper. Sort of..

I think you're both missing each other's points. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Kevin is suggesting that each note should have a reason for being where it is in your mind, and should fit into the piece/phrase as a whole. I believe Mazeppa is suggesting that individual notes are subordinate to the phrases, and therefore you should make sure that your phrases, rather than individual notes, should be most important to giving your piece its meaning. In that case, BOTH of your ideas are essential.

Hehe yea. That's a much better way of saying it.

Well, as promised here are the sheets!

I must agree, it's a really good piece.

Theoretically, all of your C naturals should actually be B# (the leading tone), which will actually be easier for most pianists to read than if you write it as an augmented second. To me, it just seems to go on and on and on and on with variations and it doesn't seem to go anywhere, really...

Theoretically, all of your C naturals should actually be B# (the leading tone), which will actually be easier for most pianists to read than if you write it as an augmented second. To me, it just seems to go on and on and on and on with variations and it doesn't seem to go anywhere, really...Thanks for the B# hint. I know what you mean too. My current piano teacher put it this way; it's an entertaining and well-written piece that masks the fact you know nothing about harmony and progression. Kinda harsh, but true. I'm getting my first composition teacher this summer though, so hopefully I can be less redundant in my writing in the future!

My ear may be tricking me, but I do believe that your poor piano needs a tuning. Such a beautiful instrument....^_^ (<----Has a freakishly soft spot for instruments xD) Very Italian sounding at parts which makes it amazing by default, but the way that you evolved over the same melody line throughout the whole thing was very refreshing to me. It isn't often that people use ideas from romanticism. I look forward to hearing more.

I do like the melody and harmonies in this piece, but like Deathraider, I felt it started dragging after a while. I think the main problem is that you don't really change the texture that much outside of ornamenting the right hand some more. That sort of thing can work well if it say a Chopin ternary (ie, Nocturne in EbM, Op. 9), but if you have one persistent chord progress throughout the whole piece you need to change the texture a more dramatically for it to keep. The dotted rhythm section at 114 is such an example, though in the context of the piece right now it sticks out perhaps too much. Basically, try to add some variety to the left hand, and mix up the voicings and rhythms some more. You might want to check out is Handel's Sarabande (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awAvlVWS3Xg), and the related Passacaglia (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoGErup6-xk&feature=related) by Johan Halvorsen for examples of pieces in such a manner.

Also, at ms. 19, the G feels like it really should fall on the first beat since it's a suspension; a small thing, but it irked me throughout the piece.

Thanks for the feedback.

Listened to your performance, and I think it'll will sound great with a little polishing and a better piano :D

Just one question though, why did you choose that particular chord in measure 85? My inner ear was expecting an E major, and was surprised :o

I dunno ^^. Sadly there's little thoughtprocesses to my writing, more just emotion. In approx 3 hours though I'm having the first comp lesson of my life!!! Hopefully I'll be posting awesome stuff here in the coming months =)!