July 31, 200619 yr So here's the story: I wrote a song about a friend's dog, named Buttons. Now Buttons happens to be a toy poodle, which we all know, can be an extremely hyper/annoying type of dog, but also cute, in a weird sort of way. The song starts off where "The master" comes home, so of course the dog is BEYOND excited, even if the master was only gone for say, 10 minutes. The second part quiets down a bit, but still keeps the same energy (Buttons is still really excited) and he goes on a mission to sniff absolutely everything, run around in circles, and just be a really happy dog for a while. Eventually Buttons gets tired, and decides to take a nap, where he enters "Doggie Dreamland" and the piece finally slows down for a bit, BUT.... Buttons' sleep is abruptly interrupted when he realizes that another person (the milkman) is here. So, like dogs do, Buttons goes poodle commando on the household. The milkman comes to drop off their milk, and he gives Buttons a doggie bone, so it's all good, Buttons is happy, the 2nd theme is reinstated in a finale, and that's the song. Now here's a picture of the dog itself, and a little plotline that shows you when the styles change in the song. Buttons_.MUS
July 31, 200619 yr I LOVE THIS PIECE!!! It's so very playful and happy. I can clearly picture in my mind a small dog about to burst with energy running and sniffing and falling asleep and attacking helpless strangers. You can very accurately portray through notes and rhythm what is happening in a story and that, my freind is a gift, haha. Anyway, I don't think I have any complaints. Simply delightful!
July 31, 200619 yr Hahahaha. So cool. Love the piece. Very effective and idiomatic to the piano. Nice storytelling. We all need to write more programmatic music. Well done.
August 10, 200619 yr That's really cool! My only comment is that I didn't want it to end. I was thinking "What else happens to Buttons?" I'm not sure how I want to say it, but is there a way you could maybe make it so it finishes his day? Maybe going back to sleep or somehting? It feels like since his sleep was interrupted, the whole milkman thing is... I really can't think of how to say this. It's like he has unfinished business or something. Please excuse the incoherence of this post. I kept changing what I wanted to say in mid-sentence, and can't really describe it the way I'd like to. But even so, that was really cool!
August 13, 200619 yr What a really enjoyable piece! Thank you for posting it. It was delightful. What I really admire about it is the way you expressed the dog's emotions. Even if I hadn't known the titles you gave the sections of the piece, I basically could've guessed them from the musical changes. In addition, I love Button's Theme. The transitions into it are perfect, and it does exactly what I think a theme should do; that is, it defines character. You definitely get a feel for the character this piece creates, if that makes sense. If I had anything in the way of critique, it would be that I wish you had used the middle of the piano's range a touch more, simply because I have a personal dislike for loud notes near the top of the piano, but that's just me. And certainly everything you did built upon the character, so there's no real cause for complaint. Thank you!
August 14, 200619 yr I love the rythm in the theme, its very bouncy and happy, yet somewhat myterious at the same time. I enjoyed most of the harmonies, though some at the end seemed a little over clashy to me. The piece as a whole: amazing.
