Something for Strings and Tubular Bell

So, this is a piece I just newly composed. These days, I compose very quick mainly because of the experimental nature of my compositions. I am not sure if this is even worth listening to (it's 10 minutes long) and anyhow, I'm gonna post it here. I thank you in advance for the feedback that you give

This piece is of course written in the minimalism style (thus all the repetitions). It stays just in one mode, Aeolian mode from the note Bflat. I tried to combine the two composers I recently listened to, Gorecki and Pärt. Although I think I am more like copying Gorecki here.

I'm wondering if I can submit this to the monthly competition... But I guess not since I have two families of instruments! lol

Anyway enough talking.

Midi here. Score here.

I don't know if I'm "allowed" to make suggestions here in this thread, but I have a few if you care to hear them.

First, when I hear this piece, I think of Barber's Adagio for Strings. That certainly isn't a problem, but it might help you to find his score and just read your way through it with a recording a few times. He does a very similar thing by taking one long phrase and passing it around in the orchestra to a climactic moment, then uses the same figure to diminish to the end. You want to look for how he transfers the figure from one voice to the next and how he builds the work from the beginning. Which brings me to my next observation... the beginning.

Very muddy and not too indicative of what the piece will eventually be. I get it, the idea begins in the bass and moves through each instrument. There are things you can do though that will make this build so much more effective that I think you should consider. First, try building from around the middle C register and out. Instead of the basses starting off, begin with the cellos, either soli or solo. Second, when you have thoroughly expanded your orchestration, try to do what you're doing past measure 120 or so where you're augmenting the basses. Do that with the entrance of the basses at the moment you want the climax to occur and subdivide the beat with the violins. It needs a bit of variety and change, and if you're not going to use another theme to contrast your main idea (like Barber sort of does and does not do), use rhythm to your advantage. It doesn't necessarily need to feel faster, it just needs momentum. I might go as far as building up to 16th notes in the violins, but that's a call you'll just have to make.

Finally, I get the Strings and Tubular Bells idea. I'd like to see this become something for Strings and Percussion, especially in the beginning. You have a meditative thing going on, I get that, but I think just the delicate sounds of a nickle scraping a suspension cymbal, a triangle, maybe even some Tube Bells at the beginning or possibly even Windchimes. At any rate, if you're going to name is specifically for Strings and Tube Bells, you'll give some the expectation that the Bells are going to play more than one pitch the entire work. Watch for how much you are repeating your figures as well (I see you're trying to evoke a sense of Minimalism - see my edit below). It looks as though some of it was copied and pasted, then transposed up or down an octave. Don't be afraid to take some time and work between two lines, especially when you have exposed areas like the beginning. Even if you just have to experiment, there's no better feeling than having exactly what you hear in your head written on the score.

I hope this helps. Great effort, still some work to be done, but it's a good start for you.

-Me

EDIT: Generally, the characteristics of minimalism are not evident in your piece. Yes, minimalism involves repetition, but there are other characteristics that are absent. First, a static harmony at the beginning, which is clearly not the case between your voices. Also, this harmony typically involves an augmented I-IV-I or I-V-I progression over several phrases before it moves into different harmonic territory. You're also missing a very key ingredient, pulsation, where you'll dedicate a particular pattern to sections of the whole work (and hopefully pass those around the orchestra as well). True minimalism generally reduces down to one chord and reorders pitches while repeating itself over and over and over. For instance, you may create a harmony of F, Bb, Eb, and Ab (quartal harmony) and later reorder those pitches as Ab, Bb, Eb, F. Or, you may reorder them into F, Ab, Bb, and Eb. Most of the original minimalist works just built on the major triad and repeated forever. Terry Riley's "In C" is a good example of minimalism. I prefer Adams.

Look for works by John Coolidge Adams for further reference. While he's considered to be post-minimalist, he's a pretty good reference for that style. "Harmonielehre" is a good work you can use to identify these characteristics. For longer listening, you can hear Nixon in China or something. My personal favorite of his so far is On the Transmigration of Souls that he wrote for the memorial of 9/11. It's heavy, though, so you may not like it.

Whoa dude. The things you wrote... Thank you so much! That meant a lot to me! =D Yeah, I wrote this in 1 hour so I kinda just got around putting notes in and stuff, I have a lot to think about if I end up developing this piece...

The minimalism comment: yeah I do know that this piece is not the usual minimalism music. I'm just saying that my style is normally minimalism (check out my Pie Jesu or Motions, they are more traditional in a sense). So in a way I was kinda wondering, what happens when I use the idea of repetitions in minimalism and combine it with changing notes instead of harmony. I mean technically this piece's harmony is like all over the place up until the end when the basses play the true bass lines.

I love John Adams! Especially his Shaker Loops. Loops and verses is my favourite part from it. For Reich, I love electric counterpoint!

Anyway, I have to look into making this piece make more sense if I decide to. Thanks a lot again for your comments! =D

Barber's Adagio for Strings isn't what this piece reminds me of most. In fact, with the idea of minimalism that Antiatonality mentioned, it would more likely fall in the line of works such as Gorecki's Symphony No. 3. John Adam's is often considered or lumped together with minimalism composers. However, he treats minimalism as a technique, not a style. I would also consider him too eclectic to be put in the same category as early Philip Glass or other purely minimalistic composers.

If you listen to Gorecki's symphony and listen carefully in the first movement, he does a VERY long figure in this same manner, starting in the DB and rising to a full string orchestra. So what AntiA suggested might not be what you want to do at all. What he suggested was in the same line as Barber and his piece. However, Gorecki does a splendid job with the low register beginning.

The problem of orchestration does come into question when you want to create climaxes with a piece like this. I think the solution that Antiatonality provided can work well. Dropping some of the voices out and bringing them back in can make the texture and sound become very large and opqaue again very quickly. Done in the right way can amplify the feel or size of the sound to the audience and can create the right kind of idea of sound. Also if you explor the timbres of the string instruments in this way, a suddden change in the timbre can also do the trick. Barber does this in adagio. Or if the whole chorus of strings is put into a certain register, that is also a good idea. Explore the scores of both works, the Adagio and Gorecki's 3rd.

Also a variation in the rhythym would be a very good idea, possibly augmenting or diminishing the theme so the harmony and proportions are technically the same....

I just looked at the score as well-- You do have some problems with the orchestration in terms of register. Look at more string works, including some very standard string orchestra works to see how they do this.

And you WILL want to think of a way to set up the harmony better.

Good luck.

P.S. I also like the idea of more percussion... maybe... It depends on how you would use it. I'd suggest only sustainable pitched percussion instruments. A vibraphone maybe?