String Quartet

Hi guys. I'm a new member here. My name is Max, I'm 16 years old, and I'm a music theory nerd. I have here a string quartet that I wrote, on which I hope to get criticism so I can improve my writing. Thanks a bunch guys.

String Quartet

Hello and welcome! Good to see that you are using some more modern harmony. It is hard for me to tell with this composition if you are intentionally composing in a somewhat abstract style or if you do not yet have a full grasp of tonal harmony. It looks like you are trying to implement a lot of key changes for the sake of using a bunch of keys. If you are going to compose in this style, I suggest using no key signatures and just marking accidentals. More importantly, I question your actual comprehension of the piece. While there is nothing wrong with it, I want to know how you came up with the ideas. Based on the amount of experience I am guessing that you have composing, I would guess that you didn't know what most of this piece would sound like before writing it down. There is nothing wrong with that as you are experimenting and I do so all the time. However, I at least can hear a fairly clear picture of my piece in my head before it is written. If you haven't yet, I suggest catching your ear up with your theory interest. Make sure you can sing those chords you are learning about, solfege melodies, recognize intervals, speak rhythms, enhance your musicianship. That all being said. I think the work is ambitious and displays some good knowledge of counterpoint.

Thank you. Yes I see what you mean. I hear what I write in my head before actually writing it down but sometimes when I write a part, I fail to keep what some of the other voices are doing in mind and as a result,I have to change my original intention with the other voices and make them conform to the tangent I went off on. I'll do my best to keep all that in mind when I'm writing in the future. Thanks

Perhaps when posting pieces, it would also be helpful to state your intent and also what you personally think of the piece so that we can more accurately determine if you are achieving your goal. There are a billion styles of composition and no composition is really wrong..

I wanted it to sound agitated. I didn't want it to be at all static. I wanted it to travel to a lot of different places and I like most of the places it goes, though some I like more than others. I feel that I might not have been thinking of the piece as a whole, when writing it. I could very well have been thinking very in the moment, bar to bar, and I wish my composing ability to mature in that I'd like to maintain a focus and have a better idea of how I want it to sound in it's entirety, after taking a big step backwards and looking at it.

Hi max. Welcome to the forum! You seem eager to learn here, thats good ! Feel free to share your own knowledge with others and comment on the works of others.

When I looked and listened to your piece I found it rather motivic. But maybe a better feeling of unity could be achieved by a more clear structure. How was your intention to structure your piece?

Some notational issue: ms 46. V1, dot or quarter rest is missing.

Hi Max! Welcome to the forums. :] I hope you like it here, I'm sure you'll learn a lot if you stick around for a few months! (Until you grow out of this place...)

So about your piece; personally I feel that this piece just kind of wanders about, without any certain destination. It has some good ideas, but they don't seem to lead anywhere or develop in any direction. It just kind of floats there, aimlessly, and there's no pull or gravity toward any kind of ending. Which is okay, as long as what you're writing sticks together, or is cohesive.

I dunno...I just found this piece kind of awkward in that it didn't really stick together. Did you have a specific plan or program in mind? If not, I think that might really help: take some paper or a Word document and plan out everything you plan to do. How you want to start, how you want to climax, what ideas you're going to develop and how you want to develop it. Only after you know where you're going should you start.

In any case, your string quartet does however show a strong sense of counterpoint. I think that you should put some slurs in some places, as there was a lack of articulation and I don't know if you want it to all be detache or separate bows. Other than that, you're off to a very good start! Keep composing; I expect great things from you.

This is a higher quality version of the piece:

http://www.box.net/shared/uzay3jphhx

I like what you have pretty well, but I advise you not to get TOO caught up in music theory: music that comes from YOUR mind and heart, drawing from what is close and inspirational to YOU, is likely to be better, musically...

Thanks for uploading, and welcome! :)