Ballad

Here is a piece I wrote in 2004. I made a score for it recently though. It was my first attempt at making a score.

:)

© 2004 Jair Crawford

balladmid.mid

ballad.sib

ballad.pdf

Could you tell us more about the piece? What you wrote it for, what idea's you had in mind?

From the MIDI, its a nice piece. A nice opening, nicely balanced strings with the piano.

The bass drum is good - gives a nice depth to the piece.

I like the way the piece builds up, to a nice climax, then slowly returns to only the piano and strings.

At the 119th bar, I think the strings need to continue for a little while longer, to fill that gap in the piano. From that point on, I think it would sound better without the strings, and just the piano on its own. Maybe bring the strings back for the held chord at the end, to finish the piece.

At 123, I think I know what you're trying to do with the cymbal, but the way it sounds on the MIDI, and the .sib file, it doesn't sound right. Maybe a sustained note with a trill would work better, I'm not sure.

See what other people think, I'm still new at this (Y)

Overal though, it's a great piece. A great ballad. Well done, and I look forward to hearing more of your work!

Thanks for the review! I wrote Ballad for my album.

I have it in .wav format but I do not know how to post a .wav attachment.

Oh ok, they're at cdbaby.com yeah? I'll go have a listen.

If you're interested:

Media Converter

Great website to convert between almost anything, easily between .wav and .mp3

I feel I should mention it was Robin who found that converter site ;)

I'm listening to the other piece's on your CD, I especially like By The Seaside, and Sunrise! They're awesome.

You've got great talent in this genre! :) Keep it up!

I'm uploading my .wav file to Media Convert right now. Do I just post a link to my file on Media Convert onto my thread here?

No, where you have the option to upload files, upload the MP3 to your post. :)

EDIT: Sorry, not a great explanation. When the .wav file is uploaded, you have the option to download the .mp3, or what ever format you chose. You can download it to your computer, then upload it again to this thread :)

Oh, it has to be MP3?

I'm not sure, what file extensions you're able to upload to the forums. I think .mp3 would give the best result.

I'll try the .wav first and if it doesn't work, I'll try the .mp3. WAVs have better sound quality. :)

Ok, here it goes, I hope this works... the mp3 link

As of now, I will not be posting an mp3. This is subject to change though.

Ok... what WILL you post??

Well, I'm trying to upload an MP3 on eSnips right now, in the meantime, I have a .sib and a MIDI file available. :)

Luckly, I can view both! Post them!

The .sib and .mid are already posted.

Hey, I love it.

Keep up the good work.

-Ballad-

In the opening, it seems to drone on, either due to the length of the feature or the repetitive lackluster chord progression. Around 4:39-ish, I think a solo cello will give the ballad a sense of loneliness and sadness. Well, that's based on my interpretation, but I still think it'd be nice with a solo cello instead of piano and strings.

It would seem to do well as an incidental piece. I liked the melodies, and the overall piece is pleasing. Good job =]

A link to a 30 second streaming MP3 is available now on imeems. If anyone knows how to make it full-length streaming, please tell me. :)

Hmm... Ok, apparently you need to log into Imeems in order to hear full length streaming. So to here the mp3 full length, create an imeems acount (it's free), and log in. :thumbsup:

I don't need to listen to any more than the MIDI to get a good idea of this piece... it's very simple. Nice calming, soothing solo, goes great with your chord structure, but the chord structure itself is a little boring... maybe try for a modulation upwards, it has an uplifting and deeply emotional effect if you do it right. Some of your chords can be substituted fine with different chords, and these different chords would then require that the next chord be changed to suit them, and alas, you find yourself going in a new direction. This would be especially effective in the beginning, where to me it seems like it goes on for a very long time, but doesn't really seem to be going anywhere musically.

Cheers, lovely mood you set here. ;)

I know what you mean about the 'long beginning'. However, the idea was to go through the first verse and the 'first' chorus quietly. Add more instruments for the second time through... (more drums, strings, and the sax), and the third time build the sound up even more... (dueting sax and lead guitar, added background dist. guitar, louder strings, and stronger drums). So, it builds up each time through. :thumbsup:

The chord structure, hmm... well, I don't really know any complex chord structures. Well, really, I don't know how to use any chord structures other than the ones I used here. Perhaps I should work on this.... I know what the problem is. I wrote this piece (and all my other pieces) by improvising on my keyboard. I tend to stick to the chord progressions that I know how to play well (limiting I know, but i know the chords so...). Remember that when I wrote this piece, I didn't look at a staff at all. I just wrote it from my keyboard. i did not score it until much later. So, I was limited to the chords that I knew how to improvise with.

I'm out of my league, technically, here...because I'm the one who's been calling myself the "Pop-Culture/Music Illiterate" in the forum lately :). Still, I do enjoy hearing the ways you chose to vary the melodic interest over the bass. For my taste (which, obviously, might be irrelevant, since it's classically driven), I would love even more lyrical lines with slightly more motion (seemed like 2 or 3 melody notes per note of bass were as fast as it got)--but maybe you're going for the laid-back feel in a "ballad."

Brooks

Thanks for posting! :) Yes. You are absolutely right. The melody is slow on purpose. I didn't want a fast and energetic melody (though I wouldn't necessarily call it laid-back either). I wanted to convey raw emotion through a smooth soaring melody.

:excl:Important Update: A .pdf file is now available.