1st Composition - Duet For Flute and Piano in C Major

Hi all.

I've enjoyed listening to the music on this forum, and decided to post some of my own.

I'm not a music student, but I enjoy it as a hobby. I play both the flute and piano. I'm actually an electrical/computer engineering student, but I take as many music classes as I can fit into my schedule.

This first piece is actually based off an improvisation I had. I don't really know what sort of techniques I used to come up with the composition. I usually hear a melody when I'm idle, or studying and decide to record it. Usally music theory comes in when I decide to record the melody and remove mistakes like parallel fifths, and etc.

I consider the flute part 2nd year since the student has to be able to reach D 2 octaves from middle C, and play 16th notes with relative ease.

I used mostly simple chords for the piano part, which I consider 1st year (which explains the very simple chord progressions).

This is my first post on YC forum. Any feedback is appreciated.

simple_duet_flute_piano.mid

Typical for 6-year-old composers...or beginners of all ages.

Wow, that's kind of harsh :whistling:

Tweak- have you considered adding variations to the theme? I imagine some well-placed adornments and arpeggios would be nice for the piece, as well as a slightly faster tempo. But in any case, it's kind of nice to hear something composed with beginning musicians in mind :laugh:

I must say, it's refreshing to know that there are some people writing for beginners.

This is a very nice piece, elegant, charming. It very much suits the level of player you are writing for. The melody is simple, catchy. The chord progressions are likewise. Everything technically seems to be in order...

HOWEVER...To sum it all up in one word and a conjuction, it's boring. Like Nico said, you never stray from the tonic key, you use only 1 4 5 progressions for your chord structure, and all in all the piece is a bit "amateurish."

Don't take that too harshly though! You have good musical ideas, but you must vary your theme (as 327o said), suprise the listener and keep them interested, and most of all, you must make your music your own. This piece could have been writen by thousands of people, none of which anyone knows the name of, and would likely, if written 300 years ago be labeled "Traditional Folk Song" or something ridiculous like that, with no name attributed. Mozart and Beethoven are known for their unique styles and having pushed the limits of music at that time. You must expand your musical ideas (get ideas by listening to lots of music!). This does not necessarily mean that your music must be more difficult, just unique.

This piece is simple, not like life (absolutely not like life), but simple, like what everyone wishes life would be like. I hate to get philosophical, but music isn't just ink on a page and pretty sounds! Example:

Life ≠ :whistling:

Life = :laugh:

I do not say all this to degrade your work, but only to incite in you something that is more than just fluff and sensitivity. Perhaps those who will play the music won't understand, perhaps they will, but that's not the point.

By the way, I do understand you're new to composition, or relatively at least, and that you may not be terribly schooled in music theory and instrumentation.

If you really want to get better...just keep working!

Take care,

Evan

Life ≠ :whistling:

Life = :P

LMAO. That is great. :laugh:

Typical for 6-year-old composers...or beginners of all ages.

Lol! You should hear my other pieces :D . My objective was only to get through an entire melody without unintentionally inserting dissonance, parallel fifths, and other musical beginner pitfalls (which I happen to do quite a lot, and not too well). Next I will try to see if I could use better chord progressions and try changing keys.

Tweak- have you considered adding variations to the theme? I imagine some well-placed adornments and arpeggios would be nice for the piece, as well as a slightly faster tempo. But in any case, it's kind of nice to hear something composed with beginning musicians in mind :P

I'm currently studying different chord progressions and harmonics. Arpeggios; that's a nice idea sounds more interesting then a simple 1 4 progression. I'm currently working on a more complex piano piece in a minor key (Actually, it modulates between a few keys). I hope to finish it soon.

This piece is simple, not like life (absolutely not like life), but simple, like what everyone wishes life would be like. I hate to get philosophical, but music isn't just ink on a page and pretty sounds! Example:

Life ≠ :whistling:

Life = :laugh:

I admit the piece's a bit simple (as in waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too simple), but I'll try more realistic pieces after I learn more about different chord porgressions and harmonization (The piece stays in 1 4 and 5 since I only knew 1 4 5 progressions at the time I wrote the piece :) )

Thanks all for the comments. They helped me improve my composition. Any more feedback?

Truly this is my first piece, but some of the other things that I tried composing but never finished were a bit too atonal for my tastes (Maybe I can try landing somewhere in the middle). I actually don't think any of the criticism is harsh. I knew you meant well, Nico. I just got a good laugh out of that comment :whistling:

I agree with everything everyone said.

Try variation, try new chords, try bigger themes, try modulation, and your music will improve SOO much! Once you learn all these things, they will all happen in your music subconciously, you won't mean to do it. It just sounds right. Also, variation will help keep the audience paying attention to your music. Try throwing in a nice leading tone, bringing you to another key and then restate the theme. So simple, yet it catches the audience by suprise, and holds their interest.

Keep writing and keep learning!

Evan Duffy

Personally, I think it's charming. All it would need would be articulation on the flute part - staccato, accents, and the like.

I admit it's simple - I'm sure you would agree - but the melody there. All it really needs is character with the flute and I think you have it.

Yeah, chord progresions are interesting but not always vital I'd say. If you think about, some of the best well-known songs only have those three chords (think of anything Christmas-y). For a first composition, I take my hat off to you.

Comhghairdeas! (means congrats in Irish)

Wow some of these comments.... yikes.

The piece is absolutely fine for a beginner, in fact it's excellent for a beginner. Remember it's for beginning pianists and flautists as well. He's not trying to reflect the depths of life through the medium of music, he's just trying to write a simple little song!!

It was very pleasant to listen to, reminds me much of something from a children's album.

I'll add to an already lengthy critique of a rather short piece!

I disagree with some things that have been said. I think your piece is charming, tweak, and you have done well in starting by trying to construct a coherent piece. I've heard too many pieces written by "EXPERIENCED" composers who try to do too much at once. Those pieces sound terrible, and have no sense of melody or harmonic progression. They put the cart before the horse.

A lot can be said for creativity within restriction. Sure, you're restricting yourself a lot at first, but it seems to have pressed you to become more creative. You've proved you understand form and simple harmony and melody; now just expand your boundaries no more than you can stand at once, and you should do just fine!

I'm eager to hear what you come up with down the road! By all means, write away, I'll keep an eye out for you on the forum. The only critical analysis I can really give this piece is chord voicing... sometimes the piano sounds a little muddy. Try re-voicing some of the chords: not changing the chord, just putting the parts of the chord in at different points. Play with the chords at a piano to see what sounds good. As a (general!) rule, notes should be further apart the lower down you go, to avoid muddiness (though sometimes that's intended). For example, in measure 17, try removing the low E and see what happens.