New Year's Competition Analysis

Enigmus, 

Alan-

Nice intro.  It sets me up for the feeling of happiness, but also a little bit of uncertainty.  Some muddiness, though. 
Alright, I am not completely fond of using traditional melodies in order to express a holiday.  It comes across to me as simply a medley or arrangement.  However, you have done a very good job arranging Auld Lang Syne, and should be proud of yourself.

Nice transition to Melody 2 (I am told by Abadoss that this is "Gung Shi").  It tells the darker side of New Years, and its uncertainties.

Nice recapitulation, and nice ending.

Some things that I really want to stress-

You often have basses in harmony.  You don't have too much choice-  you are writing for a group of bass instruments.  The problem is, just with piano, intervals get muddy at a certain point.  In this writing, you really need to make a greater effort to keep the basses either in octaves, fifths/fourths, or in unison.  I personally wouldn't use ANY seconds, sevenths (well duh), or thirds/sixths.  That being said, you did a good job with the alloted instruments. :)

At measures nine and ten, you have way too much movement! ARRGH!!  I would've kept both passes on quarter or whole notes, and let the cellos build the chords you want with eighth notes. This goes back to writing with bass instruments.

The sixteenth notes that you have at measure twenty-six would scare many basses I know!  A fourth on a bass is the same as a fifth on a violin, viola or cello.  Thus, the passage for bass one would be- low1-low1-low1-low1 etc.  Not good!  Same thing later on when you give them sixteenth notes in the melody- It is not generally a good idea to give them that type of material.  It'd playable, but not reccomended.

OMG- Why did you modulate to C-flat and not B major?? Why?- because it is easier for string players to play in sharps.  This is because if you look at a key signature with four sharps, and another one with four flats, you will notice that in the flat keys, string players cannot use A, D or E strings.  In sharp keys, the strings only can't use C (easy enough), G or D.  This means that it is less limiting to strings as a whole-  Violins happy, voilas happy, cellos happy, and basses happy. 

On the same note, in order to play a flat, you have to move your finger down the string (towards the scroll).  This means E-flats and A-flats are performed with "low 1" and "low 4," which are constantly out of tune.  It may seem odd, but you just have to trust me on this one :w00t:

Chromatics-  These are fine on any woodwind instrument and most brass instruments, but tricky on string instruments.  Why?  You have to slide your finger at some point or another, and sounds odd while playing a single bow.

Also, can you make parts of this more intresting in the Instrumentation category?  One of the things I asked was "How widely do you use special techniques to keep me interested?"  Basses sound very full and resonant when using Pizzicato! Strings can also do Snap pizz (plucking the string so that it snaps against the fingerboard- commonly a jazz technique), Col Legno (hitting the string with the wood of the bow- makes a solid [allow me to describe it- chunk] sound), and harmonics (Cello- basses can handle some).

Good piece overall, but some things could still be ironed out. :)

Abadoss-
The form of the piece is fairly standard A:BA – the A sections being “Auld Lang Syne” and the B section being “Gung Shi”. Right off the bat, I have some concerns. Generally speaking, when you put a bunch of really low pitched instruments together, what you get is aural mud. It sounds fairly decent in midi, but with real instruments it would be difficult. There’s a lot of good ideas and sounds here, but they may have been more effective, say with violas and cellos and one or maybe two basses. 
Just so you know, I once wrote a Cello Suite (attempted a la Bach) and had a professional come and play a few movements. I had many sections that were similar to the sixteenth notes starting in measure 26. What she – the cellist – told me was that what I had written was not appropriate writing for the cello. The cello doesn’t work the same way a violin does. What I wrote did not take into account the particular strengths and weaknesses of the instrument.

Now, she was talking to me about a cello and not a bass – as you have it scored for. I imagine that such writing would be even more difficult for a bass than a cello. Part of your studies – I hope – will concern the technical limitations of each instrument. Unfortunately, there are still going to be things that you should simply take to a professional and ask if they can play it. Granted, I don’t think you had the time to do that, but this is mostly just for future reference. I say all this not to chide you, but to encourage growth in the art.

As for the rest, I think you did a great job of arranging these two melodies. As a side note, it was unusual to hear them done in a chorale-like setting with some more, dare I say, gospel twists here and there. It’s mostly the rhythmic devices that make me think of gospel. I’m not certain they fit all that well. They’re a great idea, but I would have liked to have seen the idea incorporated more into the body of the work, rather than tacked on as an after-thought. They stick out a little too much against the straight and steady chorale rhythm.
What I really would have wanted to hear would have been if you had blended the two melodies together at some point in the piece. Right now, it stands as a medley – which is fine, but I would have liked to have seen a little more. 

And just for reference’s sake, most instrumentalists of any kind – except maybe piano – hate Cb Major. You would have been better off using B Major. Trust me, they’d prefer a switch between flats and sharps instead of Cb.

As for the theme, I think it’s pretty clearly New Years. It’s very difficult not to think of New Years in the presence of Auld Lang Syne. It just happens… except for once when one of my friends thought it was Pomp and Circumstance. :P

Overall, I think there’s a lot of potential here, but it needs to be worked on a little more. The harmonies are very good and progress very well. The middle section – with the condition that it should be given to higher instruments – is really cool and you should be proud of it. The triplet rhythm in measure 33 is pretty cool, just not all that feasible with a bass.

Verdi Lver, New Year's Trio

Abadoss-

I’m not entirely certain of what to make of your piece. Harmonically and rhythmically speaking, this is a very fascinating piece of music. It is very strong in terms of technicality and playability. The “melodies” are intriguing, to say the least. There’s a strong sense of progression, once you get to measure 29 – the first 28 seem a little rambling. This is a classic piece of atonal work. 

Now, I will be honest; I have, on prior occasions, openly confessed my bias against the atonal. That said, I’ve also said that all styles of music can be used as tools toward the goal of interpreting an idea or theme or some purpose that is fitting. In other words, if you’re trying to convey a certain idea or feeling, then atonal might work for that idea or feeling.

What I’m having trouble with is how this fits in. The theme is simply New Years. I suppose that can mean a lot of things to a lot of people – well, in fact it means something different, many different things, to each person. What I’m guessing is that you’re trying to convey the uncertainty of the future, perhaps? However, I’m a little more apt to think that this is more cerebral than that.

I have – also in the past – mentioned my views on writing music strictly as an academic pursuit and how I disagree with doing such – it was in the same context as atonal music. I believe in music as a tool of emotional expression and trans-linguistic communication. I am concerned that this piece may have been more of an academic exercise than an attempt to convey an idea or perspective on the theme. Please call me out on that if I am wrong, but that’s how I see it at this point.

Alan-

OK, I had no idea what to say about this one- I simply listened, gave you a score, and didn't write any comments.  When Abadoss sent me his comments, I couldn't help but agreeing on everything he said... so take it from him.  

I don't get the feeling of New Years.  All I hear is something that is a cross of atonal writing and impressionistic (sp?) writing.  Not quite the point of this competition... :P

Also, the piece seems to drag along until about 2:30, and finally becomes intresting.  Too long a wait for me-  I would've already walked out of the concert hall... then its reminiscent of Jaws...

Oddly enough, this is the first atonal piece I can say that I liked, but it didn't quite suit this competition.

Final scores

James Householder IV (EnigmusJ4):
Abadoss-

1) Melodic interest- Can you convey a melody in a way to let me understand it completely? 9
2) Harmonic interest- How intresting are your chords? Fillers? Other noodling that adds to the piece? 7
3) Progression- How do you take me (the listener) places, and can you keep my interest? 6
4) Instrumentation- How do you make use of the instruments that you have chosen? How widely do you use special techniques to keep me interested? 7
5) How well does it match the theme (New Years)? 10

Total: 39/50

Alan-

1) Melodic interest- Can you convey a melody in a way to let me understand it completely? 8
2) Harmonic interest- How intresting are your chords? Fillers? Other noodling that adds to the piece? 6
3) Progression- How do you take me (the listener) places, and can you keep my interest? 7
4) Instrumentation- How do you make use of the instruments that you have chosen? How widely do you use special techniques to keep me interested? 6
5) How well does it match the theme (New Years)? 10

Total: 38/50

David Sepulveda (Verdi_Lver):
Abadoss-

1) Melodic interest- Can you convey a melody in a way to let me understand it completely? 7
2) Harmonic interest- How interesting are your chords? Fillers? Other noodling that adds to the piece? 9
3) Progression- How do you take me (the listener) places, and can you keep my interest? 8
4) Instrumentation- How do you make use of the instruments that you have chosen? How widely do you use special techniques to keep me interested? 9
5) How well does it match the theme (New Years)? 3

Total: 36/50

Alan-
1) Melodic interest- Can you convey a melody in a way to let me understand it completely? 8
2) Harmonic interest- How interesting are your chords? Fillers? Other noodling that adds to the piece? 7
3) Progression- How do you take me (the listener) places, and can you keep my interest? 8
4) Instrumentation- How do you make use of the instruments that you have chosen? How widely do you use special techniques to keep me interested? 8
5) How well does it match the theme (New Years)? 2

Total: 33/50

James Householder IV (EnigmusJ4):

*cue drum rool*

74/100

David Sepulveda (Verdi_Lver):

*cue drum roll*

69/100

The moment of glory goes to...
James Householder IV (EnigmusJ4)

Thank you to eveyone who participated for participating.  No murders, blackmails, scandals, frauds, personal attacks or any other crime may be commited on behalf of this competition.  Any crime commited that is in reference to this case shall be taken to a judge and jury in the United States of America.
Copyright (C) Alan Schlichting
Just kidding! :P