Fugue

Here is something I wrote for an audition/application. It is my first attempt to compose something more 'classical' (so bear with me). Feedback is always welcomed.

You break some rules in terms of voice entrances and such. I don't think it affects the piece in any way, I just thought you might want to know.

Onto the music, I liked the piece a lot. I liked the theme, and I felt all the parts really fit well together. I especially liked your modulation around 21. But why did you make the viola so high in its entrance? I think you should have utilized its lower register as a contrast to the violin. I know you had to make it that high for technical reasons, but maybe change the entrances?

Just a note, if the tempo slows down for only a few measures just use a rit. An actually tempo marking is usually used for longer sections.

I didn't really like this piece a great deal, but I don't think that matters. It had some lovely moments, and I thought you moved between dissonance, harmony, counetrpoint and unison very effectively. More importantly however, although you've called the work a 'fugue', it isn't really one at all, since the voices enter at the wrong intervals, and after the exposition you don't appear to exploit any 'fugal' techniques. Also, how classical were you trying to be? It sounded awfully modern to my ears (which isn't necessarily a bad thing - I struggle to write modern music!)

I meant just generally outside of pop when I said 'classical'. Also, I (evidently) used the term Fugue liberally. I'm OK with that.

I say that this piece is just fine the way it is, I liked the intro and the melody intertwined extremely well, good job...

by the way how long did this take to make?

Not very long. Few days. Maybe 2 hours per day at most. Maybe even less, I can't really remember.

Well, enjoyable piece you have here, and you have some good ideas, but unfortunately this isn't much of a fugue, or at least whats normally considered one. Allow me to clarify the form of a fugue for you. The "official" fugue form, you can break off from the rules of this structure (and Bachian fugue rules, too) to a certain degree, but if you don't naturally possess the ability to just write fugues, I suggest you stick to them for now for the first few times. The normal format of a fugue goes like this.

Subject - Answer----------(Episode)----Counter-Subject
---------Counter-Subject-----(Episode)----Counter-counter-subject
-------------------------------------------Answer

etc. etc. for however many voices you have. This diagram probably isn't very good. You have, a subject, the main theme, you have one, good, you know what this is. Then the answer, which is the subject most often in a different key, and normally in the dominant or less so the subdominant. The counterpoint in the original subject-bearing voice/instrument underneath/above the answer is whats called the counter-subject. After this, it is whats called the episode. A little play with the first and second voices that ultimately leads to the desired key of the entrance of the 3rd voice. You then must repeat the theme in the third voice/instrument in another different key (from the one you were previously in, it is common to go back to the tonic here, but not always). When the viola enters in your fugue, it strays immediately off from the "form" by having a counterpoint of its own that is different form the countersubject, which should always immediately follow the subject. You can defy this rule and a lot of fugues do their own thing like yours does, but i feel it, again, better to comply by this form for now. You double notes on the B and C which is not considered good harmony, or counterpoint (no parallel octaves! ), and the sixteenth notes in some passages are on the same note, or do a classical little third diddy (in measure 12 in the viola, for example), which is also more a classical stylistic thing than whats normally considered solid baroque counterpoint. "Good" counterpoint, I feel a little weird calling it that since music is whatever you make of it, but "good" counterpoint as Bach would see it, is ever-moving, ever-changing (although only by a little bit most of the time!) notes. Rarely do notes repeat themselves or have patterns. The trick is to take the subject and apply it to a story line of classic relationships between the instruments in different places. It's hard to describe how to write these properly in writing to be honest, I'd have to like...sit down with you and talk about it, but hopefully you have some basic idea of what I'm talking about. I'm sorry my thoughts are so jumbled . I just think you need to take it slower, write out all of your subjects in the places you want them first, then do the countersubject, then write the episode, and do the developmental stuff last. Key changes, etc. Think about what you want BEFORE you write it down. This goes for pretty much any composition, but you really need to plan carefully in your first few fugues!

Great start, though.
Nico

Thanks for the replies guys!