Folk Song - Guitar and Flute

I wrote this song probably around a year ago. Just wanted to share something I've written since I'm new to this board.

So here's just the midi version. It has a very original title. Tell me what you guys think.

Nice! I think it works very well. It is rather repetitive after a while, of course, so I hear it either as a background song to something else, or you should try to create a bit more variety, for example by giving the main melody played by the guitar to the flute once or twice, changing the theme rhythmically, juicing up the instrumental background by giving it a different "figuration" or rhythm than just held notes, adding some ornamentation to the melody, or even introduce some slightly different harmonies towards the end.

Personally, I found that the flute is a bit too much in the background throughout the piece. It sounds often more like part of the accompaniment than as a second main melody next to the guitar, which seems to dominate the piece. This has probably two reasons: First, the flute has often rather long notes on main harmonic tones, so it blends in rather well with the background and doesn't stick out, even in the parts where the flute has the actual melody, and the guitar has rhythmically repeating "accompaniment" tones. The guitar manages to come out very well, because it's rhythmically much more incisive.

Try "letting the flute off the leash" a bit more, i.e. letting it play more free melodies with passing notes that aren't necessarily part of the main harmony and more rhythmic variety (i.e. more shorter notes).

The other reason the flute often doesn't stand out is that it's often in a rather low register. I really like the parts when it goes above the stave, as there it can truly shine through the guitar. Let it go up a bit more. A flute in the lower register has a hard time sounding "solistic", especially if the background is rather thick.

But in general, well done! It's a very nice, "catchy" melody, that has a nice flow to it.

Originally Posted by Gardener

Nice! I think it works very well. It is rather repetitive after a while, of course, so I hear it either as a background song to something else, or you should try to create a bit more variety, for example by giving the main melody played by the guitar to the flute once or twice, changing the theme rhythmically, juicing up the instrumental background by giving it a different "figuration" or rhythm than just held notes, adding some ornamentation to the melody, or even introduce some slightly different harmonies towards the end.

Personally, I found that the flute is a bit too much in the background throughout the piece. It sounds often more like part of the accompaniment than as a second main melody next to the guitar, which seems to dominate the piece. This has probably two reasons: First, the flute has often rather long notes on main harmonic tones, so it blends in rather well with the background and doesn't stick out, even in the parts where the flute has the actual melody, and the guitar has rhythmically repeating "accompaniment" tones. The guitar manages to come out very well, because it's rhythmically much more incisive.

Try "letting the flute off the leash" a bit more, i.e. letting it play more free melodies with passing notes that aren't necessarily part of the main harmony and more rhythmic variety (i.e. more shorter notes).

The other reason the flute often doesn't stand out is that it's often in a rather low register. I really like the parts when it goes above the stave, as there it can truly shine through the guitar. Let it go up a bit more. A flute in the lower register has a hard time sounding "solistic", especially if the background is rather thick.

But in general, well done! It's a very nice, "catchy" melody, that has a nice flow to it.

Thanks for the advice.

I like it, but I am not very picky. I will say it is a little "busy", even for my tastes, but I suppose that is part of the folksie quality.

It made me think of young warriors dueling. It would make a very good background.

You want to take a stab at composing for lyrics? I have about 10 minutes worth of an original, fanciful Civil War period "ballard" I wrote a few years ago. It has 16 stanzas and no chorus. I also have a decent voice, so I can send you vocal files to work from if you like.

Keep at it!

Originally Posted by Collaborn Visions

I like it, but I am not very picky. I will say it is a little "busy", even for my tastes, but I suppose that is part of the folksie quality.

It made me think of young warriors dueling. It would make a very good background.

You want to take a stab at composing for lyrics? I have about 10 minutes worth of an original, fanciful Civil War period "ballard" I wrote a few years ago. It has 16 stanzas and no chorus. I also have a decent voice, so I can send you vocal files to work from if you like.

Keep at it!

That seems interesting. But I'm quite busy with my band at the moment, so I doubt I'd have any time to do so. But if I do get the time I'll PM you.

I'm not a huge fan of folk music but I find what you did here rather interesting. I particularly like the rumbling percussion. Sometimes it's the simple things in music that impress me the most. Not particularly original but none the less, an enjoyable piece.

Very nice melody!!! But I would try replacing the flute with a recorder since it has a more "folkish" sound (note that soprano recorders sound one octave higher than written, so transposition may be needed).

You should put this on your music profile man

Good very good