Little Piece

Here's something I've been working on for a few days... still not entirely happy with it. Someone please tell me what's wrong that I'm missing!!!!

It contains flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, piano, violin I, violin II, cello, double bass.

Rhapsody in Eb.MUS

littlepiece.mid

littlepiece.sib

There's nothing wrong with it that real instruments won't sort out! It's EASY to listen to, very light and with a tinge of jazz/syncopation/progression. The scoring (so far as one cal tell with midi) is fine - it can't think there'd be any problem with balance. (I can't receive the sibelius score so I can't comment on that but my ear tells me enough). The structure is good - nothing sounds awkward about that. I noticed that for a change the piano has an equal role among the other instruments - nice. Also like the independent bass part a good bassist can keep that going.

If you made the scoring more elaborate, you'd lose some of the piece's easy simplicity (simplicity of effect - I don't know about playing it!!).

(You sound a bit like me, never really happy with a piece, always poring over it to make revisions large and small ! Perhaps more so because it's the size ensemble I love working with! Do you intend having it performed? )

The answer may be to put it down for a couple of weels before listening again. If then YOU don't like something it might be easier to spot.

cheers,

M

Thanks :(

Probably won't be performed, at least in the near future as university doesn't seem to like key signatures or anything tonal!

Hi,

very nice, especially the orchester piano part at 00.25. This is really really good, opens the mind of such kind. Later at 1:00 a bit confusing but nice rythmic ideas in it. Was good to listen!

Esim

Confusing as in sounds "wrong" or just in comparison to the rest?

Thanks :shifty:

Probably won't be performed, at least in the near future as university doesn't seem to like key signatures or anything tonal!

It might not be performed at universities, but in the wold of competitve high school marching band, it has the perfect chord structures and what not. i really like it. if you can write any more songs that sound like that and give them a theme, you could write for competitve high school bands. i realy enjoyed it.

dreams87, cdoublebas too low and out of scale of this instrument , sometimes the cello too.

there is no cello player in this world who can play the fast part in the middle.

I use a website to ensure the ranges of the instruments are correct:

http://www.dolmetsch.com/musictheory29.htm

Is this site incorrect? If so, what are the double bass and cello ranges?

And why can no cello player in the world play the fast part? It really isn't all that fast at all and I can just about the same part on violin. Or is this range problems again?

Someone out there help me... please!!!

Trying to compose for a competition and worried in case my ranges are all wrong! :unsure:

Someone out there help me... please!!!

Trying to compose for a competition and worried in case my ranges are all wrong! :unsure:

Sounds very good. I like the chord progressions. Your ranges seem ok, no glaring problems I found.

Good work. I especially like how you use rests to maintain rhythmic interest. Am I hearing hints of minimalism in this piece too?

By the way, I have no idea how Jabri got the idea that the cello part is impossible - because I'm not a cellist at all, and I'm pretty sure I can play it on a cello given enough time to practice. That said, you may want to consider transposing it up an octave - cellos playing quickly in their lower register tend to sound "muddy". Also, it's sometimes actually easier for a cellist to play in higher positions, because the hand can cover more notes without shifting.

Hi,

did you change it since last time (5 juli)? I think your problem could be, that your starting is so strong in this piece, so its hard to hold the quality at that till ending. As i said in my last posting that in middle confusing i did not mean the harmonics, they are ok i think. I ve listen it now 6 or 7 times and trying to explain. The confusing part is 1:03 to 1:10 clarinet goes in. But harmonicaly ok. And that part can also be good to confuse a bit to left the starting rythmic theme. So it was not negative. How to improve this piece, is difficult because its good. Some sugesstions: At 1:19 the piano sets in, you could let it play the string part from 0:25 now from piano maby? (the string part there is the highest level of tension you reach after start i think) In 1:22 to 1:31 you change to minor? There are some chords leaving the centre. Sounds a bit strange if its so short. I think allways to change the mood or leaving the centre of a theme so hard is difficult if in all time before no such change is in. Then you should stay longer there or stay at the main centre all the time. (Like one little piece of potato in a tomatosoup if i could explain)

I dont want to confuse you ;) this piece is very nice anyway but i want to give some suggestions (they could better or lower the quality also, this is something you ll deside ;)

The main theme (wich is played two times in the piece in 0:39 - 0:49 and 1:30 - 1:41) has a texture (played by piano and strings), i think could be done better a bit. You could try here something completely diffrent in the texture. Here are the strings better than the piano (as texture not as harmony) i think because piano just seems to play same as the melody instruments (not notes but meaning) as the strings play something diffrent.

Ok now i ve listen it 20 times i am not shure i should tell you this all and not delete my posting :o Still goes on: Starting with flute till 0:19 then clarinette plays it again. The modulation 0:18 to 0:19 between this repeats i dont like personaly. (Because its like an end and then the repeat comes, wich is allways the most easy sollution between the repeats) But your modulation from clarinette to piano is fantastic, so you could try here (between flute to clarinette on 0:19, not before because the pizzicatos are very nice) something like this.

The end is a bit abrubt wich harmonies with the piece i think. But you could let it end also at the chord in 1:48 (exactly on 1:48 and not 1:49) and use the ending two chords as modulation in the piece somewhere else, wich could be a rythmic surprise to the listener.

I will not delete this posting, so dont get confused your piece is really nice and what you are trying to do (i guess an explosion of a positive mood and expression) is one of the most difficult things. And your piece is difficult to do so i wish you very much luck. And if this posting is not a help then delete it in your mind :)

Esim