Mo Ghrá (My Love) - Piano Sonatina in E flat

Hi guys,

I just completed my first piano sonatina, entitled "Mo Ghrá", which translates from Irish to English into "My Love". It consists of three movements, each of which are quite short in comparison to movements of pieces in sonata form.

1. "Mearghr

In the first movement, you may want to put some more variation in the left hand, for example use a different type of accompaniment for your A and B section, because it becomes a little boring after a while. The playful melody would work really well with a "stride piano" left hand, I think, but that's just my opinion.

For the second part, I think I hear some weird notes, but I'd need the score to comment. Same for the third part.

These "miniature" pieces are very cute :D But I think, they are insufficient for performing their titles.

In the first movement, you may want to put some more variation in the left hand, for example use a different type of accompaniment for your A and B section, because it becomes a little boring after a while. The playful melody would work really well with a "stride piano" left hand, I think, but that's just my opinion.

For the second part, I think I hear some weird notes, but I'd need the score to comment. Same for the third part.

I agree, a stride piano left hand might sound nicer, but I don't want to kill the pianist before the second movement starts =P.

And what exactly do you mean by 'weird notes'?

These "miniature" pieces are very cute :D But I think, they are insufficient for performing their titles.

The titles represent what I feel when I listen to these pieces myself, not what the listener is supposed to feel when they listen to them. I strongly believe that the listener should ignore the titles that the composer has given to the pieces, and come up with their own.

By "weird notes" I mean notes that sound weird to me, out of place in the chord or something. I can't really specify unless I see the score because my hearing isn't that good.

This is really good! I especially liked the second movement, it's very impressive. I found the really high notes in the third movement to have too much reverb though, almost to the point of irritation, just a minor complaint, overall it's a great little piece.

Jackson

By "weird notes" I mean notes that sound weird to me, out of place in the chord or something. I can't really specify unless I see the score because my hearing isn't that good.

There's sheet music here, but it's really badly done, just generated straight out of logic express:

http://www.motronsoftware.com/Portfolio/Mghram1.pdf

http://www.motronsoftware.com/Portfolio/Mghram2.pdf

http://www.motronsoftware.com/Portfolio/Mghram3.pdf

This is really good! I especially liked the second movement, it's very impressive. I found the really high notes in the third movement to have too much reverb though, almost to the point of irritation, just a minor complaint, overall it's a great little piece.

Jackson

Thanks =], I will look into the reverb problem more closely

The second movement was awesome! I love the hard rock piano feel, it was different yet cool.

I would shy away from the alberti bass though, you used it throughout the sonata and it seemed like you just fell back with it when you could of been more creative in the left hand.

Good stuff man :D

Vince

The second movement was awesome! I love the hard rock piano feel, it was different yet cool.

I would shy away from the alberti bass though, you used it throughout the sonata and it seemed like you just fell back with it when you could of been more creative in the left hand.

Good stuff man :D

Vince

Thanks =], yeah, I think I did neglect the left hand a little in this piece. I'll be more creative with it in the future.

Thank's for the sheat music. In the second part, bar 17, those chords are a bit harsh, but that's an artistic decision. They do seem unplayable though. Have you checked your composition for playability? I'm not a pianist, so I can't really say, but those are some wide voicings at a really high tempo...

In the third part, it might be better if you but the accompaniment on the bottom staff (in treble clef of course). You could also write some of those really high notes an octave lower with an "8va" symbol.

Weird notes to me are the chromatics in bar 11, 24 and 27. What is the chordal idea behind these?

"I strongly believe that the listener should ignore the titles that the composer has given to the pieces, and come up with their own."

That's nice that you believe we should, but it doesn't work that way.

Nice work, though it seemed very aggressive which I never got used to, given the title.

The third was appealing. The others I don't think are my thing.

Would this qualify to be a full piano sonata? Maybe sonatina or a suite.

Thank's for the sheat music. In the second part, bar 17, those chords are a bit harsh, but that's an artistic decision. They do seem unplayable though. Have you checked your composition for playability? I'm not a pianist, so I can't really say, but those are some wide voicings at a really high tempo...

In the third part, it might be better if you but the accompaniment on the bottom staff (in treble clef of course). You could also write some of those really high notes an octave lower with an "8va" symbol.

Weird notes to me are the chromatics in bar 11, 24 and 27. What is the chordal idea behind these?

You're correct, I didn't notice that these chords weren't playable by most people, I'll correct this in the near future somehow.

As for the sheet music, it's not official sheet music, I wouldn't publish this, it's just something quick generated from Logic Express as I said in an earlier post.

I'm not quite sure what you mean by chordal ideas, but I understand why you might find them a bit strange.

"I strongly believe that the listener should ignore the titles that the composer has given to the pieces, and come up with their own."

That's nice that you believe we should, but it doesn't work that way.

Nice work, though it seemed very aggressive which I never got used to, given the title.

It works that way for me.

The third was appealing. The others I don't think are my thing.

Would this qualify to be a full piano sonata? Maybe sonatina or a suite.

No, I would have called it a sonatina if I knew at the time that such a word existed :whistling:.

The first two movements were written when I was angry at someone I once loved, the first movement was mocking what I thought we had in the past, and the second movement was to represent the heartache I felt afterwards.

But the third movement is different because I wrote it during happier times, for someone that I felt love for. Perhaps that's why you find it more appealing.

I really enjoyed these very much. The second movement had a very Beethoven-esque sound to it, and I was expecting at some point for the left hand to take some variation of that running line, or some parallel line with both hands either direction, or some alternating between the two, etc etc.

As a piano player, this is very approachable for those who aren't fully "concert pianists" but for a more advanced player, i feel the left hand would get bored, since it is fairly static through the entire sonata. Not to say it's the same from start to finish, but each movement has a general theme that the left hand sticks to the whole time. I wish there was slightly more variation, to add a challenge for a more skilled player as well as auditory variation for the listener. But then again, it's not like you're writing this for any specific person to play, so that may be a pointless request.

Otherwise, great work. You stuck to the form well, any theory teacher would be proud, I enjoyed it very much.

Keep up the good work Steven. I noticed the title cause I too am Irish. I would consider the movement titles also in Irish with translation in the prog notes. It would add something different to things. You write from the heart, that is clear and that is good.

Jai

I really enjoyed these very much. The second movement had a very Beethoven-esque sound to it, and I was expecting at some point for the left hand to take some variation of that running line, or some parallel line with both hands either direction, or some alternating between the two, etc etc.

As a piano player, this is very approachable for those who aren't fully "concert pianists" but for a more advanced player, i feel the left hand would get bored, since it is fairly static through the entire sonata. Not to say it's the same from start to finish, but each movement has a general theme that the left hand sticks to the whole time. I wish there was slightly more variation, to add a challenge for a more skilled player as well as auditory variation for the listener. But then again, it's not like you're writing this for any specific person to play, so that may be a pointless request.

Otherwise, great work. You stuck to the form well, any theory teacher would be proud, I enjoyed it very much.

Thanks, I'm glad to hear that a teacher would be proud if I actually had one =]. Yes, the second movement was influenced by Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" Movement 3. I wanted to create something of it's nature, as a sort of a hidden tribute to my second favorite composer of all time.

And yes, as I said in an earlier post, I did feel that I had neglected the left hand a lot.

Keep up the good work Steven. I noticed the title cause I too am Irish. I would consider the movement titles also in Irish with translation in the prog notes. It would add something different to things. You write from the heart, that is clear and that is good.

Jai

Thanks, I translated the movement titles to Irish, I don't understand why I didn't do this before.. :blush: