Star-Gazing

This is a very old idea for a piece I had long ago, that I finally got around to arranging for the solo piano (before, it was an awkward chamber trio). I will upload the score soon! It must be cleaned first.

I hope you enjoy this piece =)

Thoughts/comments/criticisms welcome ^_^

In case YC eats my piece, here's a Box.net link:

http://www.box.net/shared/i7hyohpz8h

Update: Here's the score.

http://www.box.net/shared/soz5lufirn

Star-Gazing

I liked it very much till about 2:15, with its fresh and original minimalism. But then, I do have a soft spot for well-executed ostinatos. The scales you employ after the 2 minute mark all sound a bit ... trite to me, however, and the middle section does meander on and on. So I'd redo the part from 2:15 till 3:47. Otherwise great piece! Keep up the good work.

Huh -- that's interesting you should say that. "Trite" wasn't exactly what I was going for in that section ... but it's sort of related to it, in a way.

The piece is, in a sense, about having a certain "magic", and then losing it ... and then coming about to slowly regain it. So you picked up on that, and I'm glad, but ... I didn't really mean it to meander, either.

I don't know ... I'll think about it :hmmm:

In any case, thanks for dropping by and sharing your honest opinion! :) It's much appreciated.

Well, maybe "trite" isn't quite the right word. It's just that scales are way over-used IMHO, and that I often tend to find them a bit annoying. But once you get rid of a few of those (such as the ones around 2:40 and the big one around 3:45) it's a perfectly good piece. I really like your approach to minimalism (which all too often is just an excuse to write boring, repetitive drivel).

I'd have to disagree with dddhgg on this. I don't consider the scales to sound trite or over used at all. I'm not even sure how one goes about over using a scale anyway. Given the title is Star Gazing I feel that the repeating ostinato fits perfectly with your theme. First I would question if this is truly a minimalist piece. I'm not sure that is what you're going for in this, since you pretty much abandon that concept at Bar 15. That's not to say I don't like what you wrote after that, it's just that if this was truly a minimalist piece, it probably wouldn't work there. However if that is the case and you are going for minimalism, I would say you might want to consider removing pretty much everything after Bar 14 and develop the ostinato and the bass line melody more as the piece progresses.

I do have an issue with bar 22. It seems a little out of place with the rest of that section. You may want to consider moving that towards the end and developing the idea until it progresses into what you wrote in the final bars.

All around though this is a great piece and you did a wonderful job with it. It has a nice dreamy quality to it and a very calm and soothing tone, perfect for star gazing!

First I would question if this is truly a minimalist piece. I'm not sure that is what you're going for in this, since you pretty much abandon that concept at Bar 15. That's not to say I don't like what you wrote after that, it's just that if this was truly a minimalist piece, it probably wouldn't work there.

You're right -- I wasn't trying to confine myself to the one style of minimalism it starts off as, but rather just write however I felt like developing the piece. Since I'm not concerned with making the entire piece minimalistic, that's not an issue :)

Thanks for commenting Bedner! Much appreciated :happy:

I really like your approach to minimalism (which all too often is just an excuse to write boring, repetitive drivel).

:lol: Thanks! It was actual well-done minimalism that started me on composition, so it will always have a special place in my heart. I too do not believe in boring, repetitive drivel ... hahaha.

Being a fellow writer who tried to imitate the feeling of star gazing...I felt it reasonable for me to listen to this haha

Now, as you know, I am not the guy who will give you all these musical terms and know everything to say about a piece. My reviews are more of an audience listen that will say what things will help listeners enjoy more, not what makes them more musically well done.

With that being said, you thoroughly kept me interested throughout the piece! It is so interesting how your keys are going from beautiful melodies and then adding minor sounds. It can considerably relate to actual star gazing, as a comment you gave me actually that the stars are so beautiful that it even hurts you inside to look. Your song is describing those emotions, that the stars are so awe inspiring yet also somewhat paining. I just love how the melodies go if you haven't got the picture yet hahahaha x)

Personally, I enjoyed 2:15. I think it was a great way to give the song some variation while keeping in a great melody. The end was very well done as well when it returns to the original theme.

All in all, from just a listener looking to enjoy a piece, I heavily loved this

Definitely great work with this.

-Matt

Wow, thank you very much, Matt! :D Yes, I do love the stars very much indeed ^_^

Hi! After your flattering comments on my latest piece (thank you!) I've been browsing your stuff - you've covered a really interesting range! Anyway, I particularly enjoyed this one and listened to it several times. I love the left hand melody that starts in ms4! And I really like the change of mood in the Andantino, although for some reason the harmonies in ms18-19 don't do it for me (but that's a personal preference). Although I can see where the "trite" comment comes from, I feel that most of the Moderato section works well, and it's only the repeated left hand quavers from ms48 to the recap that I find less interesting, even there there is lots of interesting stuff. So, overall, really enjoyable to listen to. I shall continue my perusals of your vast catalogue of work!!

Gosh -- thanks a bunch! I'm quite honored :blush:

Not everything in my vast catalog is particularly good :lol: I've been on the site a while now -- about 2 years now, I think? -- and my earlier compositions are pretty awful, at least they are to me, while my more recent ones (like this piece!) are much, MUCH higher in terms of quality. You'll probably be able to tell which ones are more recent. Also, my solo piano pieces tend to be much better "fleshed-out" musically, to put it crudely, I suppose.

Thank you very much for your comment and thoughts on the piece! I really appreciate it =)

Well, I don't want to be the combo-breaker, but I have to give my honest opinion :P . I have listened to may of your works, and I find that this work is "more of the same". Not to say it's bad, there are some good elements - but I think it might be time for you to try out something different, to go in different directions... I think the ostinatos, arpeggios and rolls on soft harmonies that are present in much of your music have gotten stale. I think you have the potential to write some great stuff in other genres, with different ideas - it would be well worth your while to explore that, in my opinion. Now, that is just my opinion, and it has been tainted by the fact that I'm working on three vastly different large works over the past months, but I think that a "breath of fresh air", so to speak, is needed in your works.

Not that you aren't an awesome guy or anything :toothygrin: .

I'm glad that you're honest :nod: I need honesty in any feedback directed toward me.

But I also need to make sure of something -- when you say that it's more of the same, do you mean out of all the works that I've uploaded to YC, or out of the ones I have on my YT channel?

On my YT channel, I've uploaded my "official" compositions that I feel have been finished -- and out of all I've written here on YC, there are only a few of my pieces there.

I think your criticism is true when it comes to what I've uploaded to YC, but in my "official" compositions, I don't think that it's gotten stale ... yet :)

I do in fact have my sights set on exploring some very different styles of music in the future -- and hopefully that will go good ^_^ If not, at least I'll probably learn something from the experience.

Thanks for dropping by and commenting, Hugo :happy:

P.S. I should go change my signature and make it clear about the purpose of my YouTube Channel :lol: