Rhapsody of the Hives

Hi all, this is a composition I wrote when I was sick with the Hives (a symptom of an allergy). It took me about 3 days, which is pretty quick for me, seeing as I usually don't have the time to finish any of my compositions. Whenever I compose I seem to have a turkish influence, because I'm turksih, and I play an instrument called the Oud (which is turkish). So my mind is filled with Turkish melodies as well as the usual Chopin and all. Usually I try to avoid the turkish melodies but in this composition for the first time I embraced them in some sections. I feel it worked well, I've never been able to express myself before, but with middle eastern sounding tunes I can.

I made sure I could play this as I wrote it, because I have written some that I could not play before and it doesn't make much sense to write music for an instrument if you can't play it Unless it's synthesized ofcourse.

I put a lot of emotion into the piece, and the midi doesn't do it much justice but I couldn't record it, because my only means which was my digital camera doesn't seem to be able to clearly record the piano it buzzes.

I hope you like it.

and it doesn't make much sense to write music for an instrument if you can't play it

Of course it does, as long as you know the range of the instrument, you know things it can/cannot do etc. How do you think orchestral composers get by?

This is nice. I especially like the 02:21, that's great. I think in more areas you could give the right hand more to play than just one note at at a time. Give it some fuller harmony, it'll sound great.

Well done!

-Chris

but why do you avoid turkish melodies if your mind is full with them? dont u like them? i dont know the turkish tradition but i guess that it must be very rich and appealing.

in this piece you've created a very intersting, romantic and charming mood and a very coherent musical discourse, with lovely and original harmony and flowing melodic thoughts. it seems also very fit to the piano, showing a good understanding of the instrument. and yes, the feelings can be noticed - that's good! fine piece at all! i listened to it several times and always with pleasure.

just i say to you dont be ashamed regarding your tradition, for it can add a greater variety to the musical scene and be of great musical importance, but just if you grant that importance to it. we are in an era of building bridges between different cultures, and music is a great way to do so.

best regards and keep up your good job!

Thanks guys.

I think I avoided them because they're not what all the great classical and romantic composer's sounded like XD I think I'll try to embrace them more now.

I didn't mean me playing the music when I said that it didn't make sense to write for an instrument if you can't play it, I meant like writing something that's literally impossible to play I did that a lot when I was younger, though it sounds cool, it's just because it's fast or something, not because it's brilliant.

An example of this is with this short piece I wrote a few years ago. It's flashy and exciting but the piano was exagerated only because I sucked at using the composition program and wanted it to be louder and didn't know how to put timpani.. so a chord of 20 or so notes had to be my timpani XD

I think I avoided them because they're not what all the great classical and romantic composer's sounded like XD I think I'll try to embrace them more now.

There are three great kinds of Portuguese "older" and now considered "traditional" music: the Fado (which I can either adore or despise, mostly depending on the singer), children's traditional songs and dance music, like the "corridinho", which is remarkable for its melodies of two themes, one Major, the other minor, with somewhat sudden breaks between them. It is also usually to sing the so-called "Janeiras" in January, when everyday people come sing to people's doors (like Christmas carolers tend to do in America, very rarely here in Portugal) singing the traditional sounding Janeiras, and then getting payed by small amounts of money or food and drink. It is usually sung along with a small drum, some kind of plucked string instrument and many times a recorder.

As I said, the Fado can be either good or bad: some Fados are of extreme beauty and emotion. One of the greatest Fadistas ever was Amália Rodrigues, whose voice is sometimes rough yet extremely emotional: my own paternal grandmother was a popular singer in the 50's and 60's, singing Fado and Brazilian music, whose accent she faked herself .

The bad Fados are the ones by Broadway-sounding singers, specially bad when the singers are male and keep smiling stupidly to the audience, often with instruments other than the Classic Guitar (called 'viola') and the Portuguese Guitar (called 'guitarra'.) The themes of these lousy fados are many times lost lovers and one lover's longing for the other to come back, in a rather cheesy poetry.

The poorest form of Portuguese music is the so-called 'romantic' singing by those who perform it and called 'pimba' by the general audience, coming from the lyrics of a well-known and parodied song in this style with the line "se elas querem um abraço ou um beijinho, nós 'pimba', nós 'pimba'" which means "if they ask for a kiss or a hug, we go 'bang', we go 'bang'. Pimba music often suggests comic sexual themes with cheesy lyrics and traditional sounding tunes with modern instruments such as drum set and electric guitar, with an over-done voice vibrato (sounding really lame.)