I made this song a few days ago and my friend liked it so much that I dedicated it to her for her birthday. :P The name isn't right though - it's not really qualified as a "Fantasy" is it? ;) I couldn't think of another name. Rate, please. :) (And enjoy.)

Well, you've gotten much better. This piece surely shows the most potential of anything else I've heard from you. You still tend to wander though. I know I basically said the same thing in your Recorder Music thread, but you should start studying thematic development and general structure. It's kind of funny to listen to your stuff because there are these perfect little cadences everywhere, enveloping underplayed themes. It's really easy to tell where you've been putting your study time.

Your mellow strings are very effective. Impressive. They very successfully enhance the mood. At first I thought, ok, another somber piano sonata *yawn,* and then the strings came in. I would give them a really solid, hummable theme to play with. Once you have good themes, you can really get going.

That's all for now kids!

EDIT: Oh yeah, I'll give it a 12/20. Twenty being something like the opening sinfony for the Messiah- great, beautiful, perfectly crafted, but doesn't quite have the magic that makes a piece profound. Masterworks, like the Messiah as a whole or Mozart's Requiem, or Beethoven's 3rd, 5th, and 9th aren't even on the scale.

Wow! Great feedback! I hope I've gotten better, but sometimes I feel like it's just a fluke and I happen to get a good song going. :P Are cadences bad? :doh:

Well, eventually the flukes hit you with greater frequency. Some of my best stuff I've just woken up with it in my head. Didn't think about it at all. (That is initially I didn't think about it. Like a theme will be in my head. I have to work with it from there.)

EDIT:

Are cadences bad?
No, that's what I'm saying. The cadences are very well done. They kind of overshadow the rest of the piece as far as skill is concerned.

Ok, I understand - one last question:

Is the Picardy Third at the end a good way to finish it off?

Yeah, it works. But before that I'd like to see some dialouge between the piano and strings.
Along with composing a lot of songs, one thing that makes you better is revision.

It's enjoyable to listen to (the first time), and the piano part works out good in the beginning. I also liked how it started. Later on, when the violin kicks in, the song gets this sad enviroment, and I also liked that. 01:05 is my favorite part. At 1:36 it sounds like the song ends, but instead you continued with the violin, and having the piano play in the background. That was okay, but not as good as the rest of this piece. Hm...the ending is okay too, but I kind of wanted it to end with a piano solo, as it started. I was also prepared for a part with only strings, but that is not necessary, but I felt it needed that when I heard it. ^_^. Overall, it's a good song, but gets a bit boring in my opinion.

7/10 - Good

Nice beginning. Can you do more of it in the song? That'll reinforce the "fantasy" title. (By the way, make it A minor, not just A; minor technicality) A fantasy can be anything you want, something imaginative that flows from your mind, it doesn't have to be as complex as a fugue, it's almost improvisational. It's . . . a fantasy, haha.

You seem to use the same main chords throughout the piece. Try learning some new chords (sorry if that sounded offensive, hehe) to add more flavour.

Your cadences are good, but they help distract you from paying attention to the flow of the piece. Your song sounds more like a bunch of mini-songs, instead of one bigger song. Everything must connect together.

With that said, the ending wasn't strong because it was almost like the other cadences. Try to lead into it more, drag it out a bit, making us know that it's really the ending. As well, using the Tierce de Picardie is okay, but it's a bit "cheap" these days (sorry). It's like it comes on almost too suddenly. Like I said, try to drag it out. Instead of switching from A minor to A major at the very end, modulate from A minor to A major gradually.

it's beautifuly done and well composed! your are a great composer continue :)

Wow! You guys have encouraged me a lot. :) Thanks! Perhaps I'll revise it when I find some time (however many years that'll be... :sweatdrop:).

WOW 9/10!

I will have to agree with Alphose when he stated that you needed more variance in you chords. Also, some dissonance would be nice. you always seam to use just the triad of a chord and never stray from that. Although usually staying "tonically correct" is normal, straying away from it adds many new, more complete chords, such as 7th's and 9th's. Glissandos/Arpeggios also have a nice effect; instead of playing each part of a chord at once, play them in a rapid succession.

Adding a secondary part to a song is almost always a wonderful addition to a song, and your song proves it. The swaying Violin gives the piece a soothing, clean effect.

Overall Rating: 7/10 (great)