My first post - 3 part "song" in E-minor

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on young composers. I wasn't sure what type of piece this is, so I just called it a "song". I have a background in classical piano, so I think there's a Beethoven influence in there somewhere. The song is roughly in 3 parts, starting in E minor, then modulating to E major, then back to a similar chord sequence as the first part (E min) but with an arpeggio in the left hand.

I know basic music theory, but most of this was done "by ear" a few bars at a time in a sequencer (Sonar). It took about 1 and a half hours to do. I only use a bit of theory to work out how I am going to give the piece a bit of structure. Note that the playing is not quantized and a bit clumsy - I don't know enough about Sonar to correct the mistakes yet (I also wish I had a sustain pedal and weighted keys - I am just using a basic synth-action controller keyboard). I eventually want to turn my compositions into either string quartets or even fully blown orchestral pieces, but for the moment I am sticking to piano because its what I know. Please let me know what you think. Thanks :)

song1.mid

Hi! This is my first time commenting on some-one else's music here, so I guess we're even! I really like your piece and I love the way you move between chords; you are able to move to harmonies that don't necessarily follow according to the theory rules gracefully and very convincingly (I especially love the F sharp major at 0:47).

One little harmony gripe: the second chord (a diminished chord) is really dissonant compared to the sorrounding chords. If it were my piece, I'd prolly use a D major chord (not dissonant and leads to the G major), but that's just because I've been hating diminished chords lately :angry: Otherwise, to my ears, the chords follow naturally and the melodies are great.

The rhythm is fairly predictable, which is neither good nor bad; my biased radical contemporary composer preferences usually tend towards things which are rhythmically spicier (the syncopations in the 1st movement of Beethoven's last Piano Sonata, op. 111, for instance). I loved the moments when you broke free from the expected rhythms, such as the slowing down arpeggiated B7 chord before the return to E minor (1:00-ish), but your harmonic motion prevents the rythms from being boring elsewhere in the piece, so you probably shouldn't worry about that much. Great piece!

P.S. I can never think of clever titles either... :laugh:

First off, welcome to YC. This is a nice, simple little piece. You are going about the process right in replying to as many others as you have the time for. Be patient and people will comment. The more you compose, the more you will understand how to use your equipment and the more you will understand how music works. Keep it up.

Welcome to yc and well i like your piece. at a few moments i caught somthing but nothing to bad, so very nice. :unsure:

Nice, simple melodic work, especially the last part.

The clumsy playing was a great problem...it sounds very 'drunken'.

The left hand action is very static, and predictable...you could experiment a bit with that, because it doesn't compliment the good melody.

Oh, and welcome!

Thanks for your comments everyone!

Welcome to yc and well i like your piece. at a few moments i caught somthing but nothing to bad, so very nice. :D

What did you "catch"? Cmon, a little constructive criticism won't hurt!

Nice, simple melodic work, especially the last part.

The clumsy playing was a great problem...it sounds very 'drunken'.

The left hand action is very static, and predictable...you could experiment a bit with that, because it doesn't compliment the good melody.

Oh, and welcome!

Yep sorry about the clumsy playing (I don't think the "drunken" description is far from the mark) - like I said, not used to a synth action keyboard and it might sound better if I knew how to input the notes 1 at a time (with correct timing). Thanks for the comment about the left hand... do you mean experimenting with the rhythm or something? I was mainly concentrating on just writing a good melody with the right chords. I do realise that it is fairly simple, but I am only pretty much a novice playing by ear.