please help - composition =(

hey can someone help me please!?!?

i need to write a music composition for piano.

what it needs:

-it has to be in any key signature other than c major

-it has to have a theme and two variations and then a then a finisher i think.

-the theme has to be 8 bars long

-anymore info you need and just ask

=) please please please help! i realllllly have no idea of what im doing.

Ok, why are you doing this if you have no clue? Is it a class assignment? If so maybe you should have paid more attention in class?

oh.. thanks..

=(

I agree with Jon, should be more attentive in class. However, since I am bored right now. will type in a somewhat helpful reply :/

I gather that you need a "Theme and Variation" form of composition.

Here is what I would do ;

- Sit at the piano and start playing simple melody lines that comes to me. Irrespective of scale/mode.

- After quite a bit of rambling , I would really like an idea phrase that i played. So I would try and build it more, in the key that i want it to be. Lets say its D Major.

- Make a 8 bar melody theme out of it.

- Try different chords for your melody. keep it simple at first.

- So now you have a Theme 8 bars long. write it down or record it if you want. then listen to it over.

- While listening to your Theme think of melody lines that can be generated from your theme (Variations). Your options depend of the style of music you are composing for.

For a classical pieces:

You can start the First variation could use the Harmonic melody. i.e. Raise each melody note by 3 notes (within the scale, so F# become A, and B becomes D) or by 5 notes.

You could shorten your notes and make more runs in your melody. So crochtets in a Theme are split into 2 quavers. Choose wisely how you do this , end result should be a Good melody line not a flight of stairs on the music sheet.

During this the chords for the Theme remain the same.

-For the Second variation you could change the key to a related major (D to A ; increase by 5). from major to minor ( D to Dm), or major to its related minor (D to Bm) . From If your Theme is in minor you could change to its major (Dm ->D), (or Dm->F). Such changes are quite tricky but simple trick is to use this transition:

For D-->A

D|Bm|E7|A

to answer your question both of you,

i have been away in hospital because of a fever. i have missed out on several lessons. yes i asked for an extension but since i came back so late he said he cant give me one and i have to do my best. he is a crap teacher and i hate him.

so im sorry if i didnt pay any attention in class.

=(

So write something, post it here, and we'll help you improve it. But asking people to do your work is low. At least try.

/teaching

i have tried to write numerous amounts of different melodies all of which are apparently 'wrong' according to my teacher. so i was looking for help.

What class are you taking? Have you had harmony yet? If you have been in the hospital the school would probably let you drop the class and try again next semester.

A good melody to start should have some rhythmic variation but be relatively slow moving. Then you have to harmonize that. Most composers vary the melody by adding rhythmic color to it.

The melody should be simple so you'll be able to make some changes. It is better to make it in 4-voices harmony.

In the first variation you may change texture (for example, using harmony figurations), add some new voices, add ornaments to the melody, but DO NOT change the tone.

Second variation may be in the parallel tone (for example, if the melody was in D-dur, it will be h-moll).

The final variation is have to be written in the main tone. You can simple replay the melody or make it in the polyphonic style. Then you may add a coda.

Theme of 8 bars is a period consists of 2 sentences, I think.

First sentence of 4 bars should be finished with dominant, and second can be a variant of the first but using full cadence.

See how Mozart did it in the first part of his piano sonata in A-dur (K331).

P.S. Sorry for my English. I'm russian, so I used the russian terminology. Hope you'll understand.

^

|

|_____ Thats good suggestions

This is a strange request....

Post what you have and we can critique it

"I need to make a painting today, can you help me with that?"

See what I mean?

i know it sounds a little strange but i guess i AM strange. sorry =( i just suck at music but my parents think im good at it? i have no clue why... maybe cause i teach myself guitar and learn piano... i dont know.

yeh im stopping next year because i do really suck at it and i hate the teacher that teaches it.

im sorry if you guys have gotten angry or annoyed at me. just ignore me. ill find a way to do it.

What is he looking for stylistically? From what you said, little can be "Wrong," per se. Has your prof mentioned what he's looking for?

see thats the thing. he says its wrong go do it again.. no suggestions. thats why im majorly confused. im not a genious like he boasts to be -_-

Write four random half notes in the first two 4/4 measures. (Your theme.) In the next 2 measures, write those notes again, changing the last one to a different random note (first variation). Again, write the same four notes in measures 5 and 6, changing the last note again to yet another random note (second variation). Then write the base note of the key you're using (say, an E for a piece with E-major key signatures.). Use two whole notes tied together for this, to fill the remaining two bars. This is your "finisher".

Your teacher might say it's "wrong" (strange thing to say about a composition in the first place), but it fulfills the requirements. So if he asks you to do it again, change one note and give it to him again with your best innocent look on your face. Repeat until he gets bored and accepts it. Or until he shoots you. But as a composer you have to take certain risks.

EDIT: Oh, I just saw that the -theme- had to be 8 bars long, not everything together. Doesn't change much though. Just make the theme 8 random whole notes and the same for the variations and again always change the last note for the variations.

Regardless of what you went through, that doesn't mean others should do the work for you. We can comment on work you've done, but we can't tell you how to compose your piece. I'm sorry that you're in such a tight spot, but you are not helping us understand what you need.

It might help to explain what you've tried that the teacher deemed "wrong." It might help to describe the class and the purpose of the assignment. It might help to give examples of things the teacher may have mentioned in class.

How do you expect people to react when you say, "I have to compose a piano piece. Tell me what to do"?

okay!

i give up! if you guys are going to get angry at me and think its wrong then just ignore me. i know im a loser.

i give up now.

Whatever, there was good advice in here. All you really had to do was write something, post a midi or pdf, and then we would've tried to help you, but instead you made excuses and now you are throwing a fit. Bravo.

Hey jay.music,

why are you articulating the opinion that you are a loser?

You aint! take concrete steps to achieve what you want to.

As for your teacher? yes ask him what he really wants. maybe, ask him for a set of guidelines he THINKS are neccesary in a piece of good music.

and, for God's sake, don't ever think youre a loser. there are two kinds of people on earth. those who think they can do it, and those who think they cant.

and they are right!

YOU CAN DO IT!

Whatever, there was good advice in here. All you really had to do was write something, post a midi or pdf, and then we would've tried to help you, but instead you made excuses and now you are throwing a fit. Bravo.

This is exactly right. You are not a loser. But we can't write it for you. There have been a lot of REALLY good suggestions here. Now it's your turn to use those and write something. Then post it here so we can HELP you. But we cannot help you if there's nothing there, and we also can't do your homework for you.

As long as you make excuses why you can't do it, you won't do it. I promise that if you actually show us stuff you've worked on, we'll be kinder than your teacher has been, and we'll give you advice on how to make it stronger. But there's nothing we can do if we don't see you doing something.

okay!

i give up! if you guys are going to get angry at me and think its wrong then just ignore me. i know im a loser.

i give up now.

hey can someone help me please!?!?

i need to write a music composition for piano.

what it needs:

-it has to be in any key signature other than c major

-it has to have a theme and two variations and then a then a finisher i think.

-the theme has to be 8 bars long

-anymore info you need and just ask

=) please please please help! i realllllly have no idea of what im doing.

by "finisher", do you mean "coda"?

and the first requirement, the no-c-major requirement, sounds kinda, well, lame to me.

just write a normal sounding four measured long music phrase and end it with an imperfect cadence. then write another phrase to answer the first phrase and end it with a perfect cadence. switch the rhythms around a little bit in the first variation. switch the lefthand pattern around for the second variation. clump everything together and put it into the coda. end with perfect cadence.

thats the simplest way i can think of.

thankyou to the guys who supprted me =) as i said i didnt ask for you guys to write it for me! i just needed help. i didnt chuck a spaz i just cant handle stress as well as others okay?

i did finish it with help from the people who didnt judge me. thanks guys =) i learnt heaps too so ill use that for the future.

Out of curiosity, how did your piece turn out? Care to share it?

share your piece!!! :D

i hope my advice was helpful, even though now that i think of it, my post sound kinda stupid.........