1st Composition - Duet For Flute and Piano in C Major

Personally, I think it's charming. All it would need would be articulation on the flute part - staccato, accents, and the like.

I admit it's simple - I'm sure you would agree - but the melody there. All it really needs is character with the flute and I think you have it.

Yeah, chord progresions are interesting but not always vital I'd say. If you think about, some of the best well-known songs only have those three chords (think of anything Christmas-y). For a first composition, I take my hat off to you.

Comhghairdeas! (means congrats in Irish)

Wow some of these comments.... yikes.

The piece is absolutely fine for a beginner, in fact it's excellent for a beginner. Remember it's for beginning pianists and flautists as well. He's not trying to reflect the depths of life through the medium of music, he's just trying to write a simple little song!!

It was very pleasant to listen to, reminds me much of something from a children's album.

I'll add to an already lengthy critique of a rather short piece!

I disagree with some things that have been said. I think your piece is charming, tweak, and you have done well in starting by trying to construct a coherent piece. I've heard too many pieces written by "EXPERIENCED" composers who try to do too much at once. Those pieces sound terrible, and have no sense of melody or harmonic progression. They put the cart before the horse.

A lot can be said for creativity within restriction. Sure, you're restricting yourself a lot at first, but it seems to have pressed you to become more creative. You've proved you understand form and simple harmony and melody; now just expand your boundaries no more than you can stand at once, and you should do just fine!

I'm eager to hear what you come up with down the road! By all means, write away, I'll keep an eye out for you on the forum. The only critical analysis I can really give this piece is chord voicing... sometimes the piano sounds a little muddy. Try re-voicing some of the chords: not changing the chord, just putting the parts of the chord in at different points. Play with the chords at a piano to see what sounds good. As a (general!) rule, notes should be further apart the lower down you go, to avoid muddiness (though sometimes that's intended). For example, in measure 17, try removing the low E and see what happens.