Theme and Variations

Hello this is an assignment for my course at university. Let me please point out what this piece is and is not, and what I want to hear about in the comments

What this piece is:

My first composition university assignment (3rd assignment for this class, which I am doing well, so even if this was a total failure I would still have good marks in total)

A composition in binary form, a theme and two variations ONLY in the melody NOT the bass - As per the assignment rules

An exercise in showing the potential of a simple melody and what I can do with it

What this piece is not:

...supossed to be something spectacular or different

something that is supposed to sound amazing (granted it won't sound "terrible" but is mainly marked on it's written musical skills rather than purely aural)

Now what I would like you lot to do in listening is if you can tell me if it is harmonically sound, if it fits the title "theme and variations" well (e.g are my variations good?)

Or if you generally like/dislike (as I said, it's mainly just something I wrote down without an instrument - started with a bass line, added chords, fitted a melody etc...)

I may decide to write some more variations later on this, and turn it into something better than just homework, I was very much struggling trying to come up with dramatic variations being unable to write a bass variation

Theme:

Just started with a simple bass line - A B A A+ form - (4 bars each, as per assignment rules)

Variation 1:

A variation of ornamentation and extra notes, I went a bit mental here and decided to speed it up and make it sound furious

Variation 2:

Much lighter here, decided to go with a change of mood, hence key change to relative major (we are allowed to change the bass line here but only relative to it's key change from the theme)

Went with triplets and some note changes to give it a rhythmical variation

Enjoy and please let me know what you guys think/suggest would improve this.

Thanks

Theme and Variations

Don't want to bump this but I really need an analysis here, so can someone please listen and tel me what they think?

Sorry for all the delay, the forum is definitely a slow place nowadays :happy: . In any case, I'll be giving my comments presently.

First of all, I found one little harmonic bit odd -> at measure 3, you have a V (G Major) "resolving" to a III 6/4 (Eb Major/Bb). I would avoid that progression, especially since the major vth degree in minor tends to be very active (in that it desperately wants to resolve to i)... you're also using a 6/4 chord in a non-cadential/non-passing chord context... I don't know where in your studies of harmony and voice-leading you currently find yourself, but in traditional, "safe" harmonic language that kind of progression is undesirable.. it sounds rather anti-climactic, as it were.

As for your variations, I couldn't say anything bad about them, they are constructed in the typical fashion, but I would have tried to be a bit more adventurous! Keeping the same bass line isn't as constraining as it would seem - unless your bass was figured, the harmony can be changed, the register of the upper voice can be changed, another voice could be added - the possibilities are nearly endless for variation in the melody. I would have taken a few more liberties int he treatment of that theme. Otherwise, I don't see any reason you would fail this at all :D .