I'm teaching myself piano and this arpeggio is the only thing stopping me from playing Schala and the Queen at tempo.

What fingering would you use for the right hand here?

What are the good reference sources for learning the theory behind how to figure this out? I think I probably need to start practicing something a level or two below this. Just a book of arpeggios with good-habit finger notes would be amazing. Does that exist?

Schalas_Theme_-_Chrono_Trigger.mid

I play the piano and mainly play Classical and Video Game Music, though I have ventured into Jazz and Pop also. I've been playing since late June/early July 2001 so it is almost a total of four years. I passed my Grade 8 ABRSM last Christmas without Merit or Distiction because I was working on the same three pieces for over a year. Gross, no? :)

As for other instruments, I can play a few chords on the guitar, a few melodies on a Chinese Bamboo flute called a Dizi (sp) and can play Twinkle Twinkle Little star on many other instruments. :) I can play one drum beat decently.

That's about it. How about everyone else?

(Rachmaninoff)

https://youtu.be/bK-JrJFqgeA

(Puccini)

https://youtu.be/XBcOsTt4hyE

(Rossini)

Things off the top of my head that I know I'll be good at answering: formatting questions, range and tessitura questions, performance questions (concert and staged works), behind the scenes of preparation and performance. And if this thread gets popular enough, I'll likely edit this original post to function as a sort of as a tips and tricks so you might not need to scroll the whole way through.

Consider the cello as four instruments,

the A string is somewhat harsh in the low positions but in the high positions, it soars like a soprano. It's somewhat oboe-like

The D string is where most music intended to be played on the A string really is played as the notes are less harsh. 

The G string is the warmest and most soulful part of the cello, especially in a higher position. 

The C string is dark in the lower positions and almost comical up in the high positions, although it is scarcely heard. This string is quite like a bassoon along with the G string.

This effectively makes the cello the most resonant in G keys. Double stops with open strings are most abundant in keys around G. for example, D is the only key where closed position triple-stops can be used somewhat freely (only major and minor chords are shown)

Personally I always find it interesting how people can have so many different interpretations and ways of playing the exact same piece, with the exact same notes, markings and instructions, we all to some extend follow the score, took things out, or added things, according to our practical abilities and personal preferences, it reflects character - whether the persona or the person.

Same goes to one's piece, one cannot expect everyone to have the same interpretation as you, even if you are the composer. Yet, it can be quite personal because your piece is almost like a part of you and when others play it it is like engaging with you/ a part of you. It can be fulfilling when someone plays or improvise in an interesting and you thought " Oh, I never thought of that", or way of expressing love, like between Schuman and Clara, yet sometimes one may be offended as what might be disrespect as well.

Chopin liked it when Liszt played his Etudes with virtuosity but not when adding unnecessary ornaments to his nocturnes.

How y'all experience this?

Have you had experience of playing your piece in front of an audience (irl or online) - how was the reception like?

Have you had someone else play your piece? how did they play/interpreted it and how you feel about it?

Any other thoughts about these

Personally I realized I have really played/ have others play my piece? Maybe I should haha, and post them in my socials...

At any rate, he was mumbling a bit about technical difficulties in Hora Staccato, most of which came from the original piece anyway. But it prompted me to ask him what he was talking about so as to educate me a bit on what makes a line difficult for a string player.

Which brings me to the topic of this thread.

What are some of the most important general rules regarding the idiosyncracies of particular instruments (or families) that composers really should know?

I'll give the violin example.

A line becomes difficult on a string instrument when he has to shift multiple times within the line. You basically need to be aware of this when playing lines on the top string and the line moves upward (or down) more than four notes, the number of fingers available on the fretboard. After four, the player has to shift in order to reach more notes on that string. Difficult, not unplayable.

also larger range than pedal (concert) harp

So I was wondering how to get better at these other instraments without hindering my ability on the others, and if anyone else finds it difficult to play more than two wind instraments.

thanks for the time. :D

Check it out and comment your thoughts. 

So what do you think is the hardest Instrument to play?

Guitar?

Violin?

Share your thoughts

For me, it's the Violin

And I also hear from some people that the French Horn is sadisticly hard

Also, how does one notate that the player should use vibrato as normal? I would assume it would be "con vibrato," but I don't play a bowed string instrument, so I can't be certain.

I am, at this point, assuming that I will have to create my own expression or technique text, since it is not included in Finale's list of techniques or expressions. If there's a way to insert it into a score in Finale that I'm missing, however, please inform me.

If you have any examples of this notation being used in a score, I would be most appreciative if you would please post a link to them.

Thank you. :toothygrin:

My piano skills are not really that advanced and I was wondering if it is hard to be a good composer without being a good pianist. I do realize it would help a ton if I was able to play piano good, but should I worry about it too much?

In summarized terms, my instruments are guitar and piano, but that could always be expanded to "classical guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, piano and keyboards". Of course, I'm not a master at all of these; the only instruments I formally learn are classical guitar and piano, and I'm hardly a specialist at either. This leads me to wonder whether this is an advantageous way to go.

For me, I feel that it's quite helpful to play a family of instruments (guitar). As I play two instruments (let us count guitar as one for now), I'm not as proficient at piano as, say, performers who have been playing it since the age of 4 without focusing on anything else. However, I'd have to admit that I'm above average at both, so while I'm not excellent, I'm probably somewhere hazy between mediocre and superb. With time, that standard will hopefully be raised.

However, I can see the advantages of specializing in a single instrument. For example, virtuosos often seem to be excellent composers as well. I refer to names in the electric guitar world, such as Joe Satriani and Neil Zaza.

On the other hand, some would argue that performance ability has nothing to do with composition, and that's probably true for a percentage of musicians. Ironically, it must take quite a bit of talent to visualize and compose when performance ability is supposedly "lacking".

Which style describes you best? Which do you feel is the most effective?

Tuning a

I'd ask the opposite.

I'd personally suggest the kalimba:

http://www.dunum.ch/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/Gourd_Kalimba_482bed0b52ccb.jpg

A fun little instrument to play.

The strings inhabit a higher level of sonority and beauty, in my opinion. In orchestra rehearsals, I have heard the overtones meld to create a 'voice'. You can hear it singing 'ahhhhh'. Incredible. Just to be part of that.

Wish you would like to watch my mandolin videos. I play for 11 years, since I was 8 years old (now I am 19s) and really love the mandolin.

Also I will be happy to hear your comments and Suggestions.

My Youtube channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/IsraeLinoy

My video with the orchestra:

http://youtu.be/quqSsY8n8eg

Thank you :-)

Linoy Israel.

wam violn 1.pdf

I don't mean the regular fuzz or distortion or even 'clean' but with "effects" closer to what seems to be called "modulation" these days, inevitably including delay and reverberation. And I wasn't thinking of the genre called "atmospheric". So there'd be the guitar with a standard orchestra, quite reliant on effects.

I've vaguely started a composition (my playing is far from competent!) but am designing various stomp box effects...some may exist readymade but I haven't found them! Also home-made saves a fortune against readymades. It may be possible to incorporate other sounds, such as pink noise passing through a filter (akin to a long waah-waaahhh!). A few ideas present themselves. 

The idea may not work but it'll be a couple of months until I find out. 

Have any others explored such things?

I've long been resigned to the idea that nothing I write will ever be played by a real human, but recently I've been looking at services where professionals will record music for you.  I got a quote for recording some flute/oboe duets from a service called Supreme Tracks, and while I could certainly afford it, it is a non-trivial chunk of money.  So I'm trying to decide whether to do it.  It feels kind of like a frivolous way to spend that money, you know?  Like I'm a bumbling amateur paying to flatter my own vanity.  On the other hand, I can tell myself I'd be supporting real artists (i.e. the musicians) by doing it. 

Honestly, what I'd really like would be to have my wind quintet recorded, but considering the price they quoted for the duets, and adding in that the quintet is more technically challenging, I can extrapolate to conclude that that would be ridiculously expensive.

Just kind of musing here, but I'd be interested to hear anyone's thoughts or experiences with paying people to record your music.

 I found this concertina performance by Noel Hill.