Trumpet Concerto

Could people critique this piece for me please?

I'm writing it for my brother, and I've only got the first movement done, but I want to see what people think of it.

It's not intentionaly written in any particular style, just my style.

And don't worry about the trumpet high notes, It's my brother who would be playing the piece, and he can hit the notes.

All criticism/comments welcome, even harsh criticism, as long as it helps me improve the piece.

Thanks

trumpet_concerto_in_Bb_maj.mid

trumpet_concerto_in_Bb_maj.sib

This is surely a very nice piece of music.

Now the clarinet in the opening was very good, and that whole first minute with the melody in the strings. at 1:50 i like the trumpetworking with the strings. But there was a break that was i little too long at 2:15. A very pleasan melody in the trumpet to 2:50. The whole solo part is quite good (to 4:00), but those strings got a little old at some point, again a nice trumpet line to 5:00. Again the strings and the woodwinds like in the beginning, the ending is neat with the trumpet cadenza and all. It is avery nice piece so far, but my advice to you would be to add more trumpet lines that are a little harder to play, just to break the constant melodies. G job!

I'm here just to give my personal opinion, fyi, cause I just started the whole composition gig. So please, take my advice with a grain of salt and cut it in half.

I like the instrumentation transitions within this piece; they're very smooth. I agree though, the clarinet rocks! It sounds fun to play, considering I'm a clarinet player. I like it especially that at some parts the strings are just there to enhance the winds and not totally dominate. I think it's really cool how you kept the feel of the piece, even when it got slow.

Okay, now I'm going to try to critique. The ending of this piece is neat, but I believe the introduction to the buildup here could be longer or more pronouced. This piece seems to drag and repeat at bit much for those who don't listen to this type of music much. To keep interest better, I suggest a longer ending.

Yes, I listened to it all and again, I'm new so bear with me.

Thanks and good luck,

Dbzgod9

Thankyou both for your advice, and praise!

I'm going to try to write some of your suggestions into the piece.

I'm going to work on something to break up the monotony of the strings. Any ideas for that? I'll also try to add some more virtuoso trumpet lines, and just generally try to improve the piece.

Thanks for your criticism dbzgod9, it was good - dont put yourself down because you're new.

I'll keep working on the piece, and maybe start on the second movement.

Good work with the concerto! It's certainly off to a great start. A couple of suggestions that came out to me as I was listening to the piece:

with the big chordal orchestral hits (around seconds 39"-45" of the piece) I think it would be cool to have the timpani do a big roll or some neat dramatic rhythmic figure. Also around 1'40" the same could be done

2'20" I found the sudden pause here to be a little bit strange.

3'11" I liked how you used pizz. in the strings here--this is one good way to vary the texture of your accompaniments (which you seem to be considering doing to add variety in the piece)

4'55" again maybe a drum figure or roll during the chordal hits in the orchestra

Also, I found the ending to be a bit unexpected, almost like, "ok, I think I'm going to end the piece now" Maybe if you extend the ending section (almost like a coda) this will make it seem more natural. (By the way, a great example of a coda to end the piece can be found in Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra mvt. V. You'll know when the coda arrives because the dynamic level suddenly drops and the strings have busy passage work--you can tell the big end is coming)

Concerning adding trumpet virtuoso lines, I'd check out the two staple concertos in the literature: The Haydn and Hummel Trumpet concertos. There are many virtuosic passages in the outer movements and I would especially encourage you to take a look at the 3 mvt of the Haydn concerto. There are neat mordent-like figures which sound really flashy and could be cool to incorporate into your piece. A more modern concerto example could be either the Arutiunian Concerto or the Tomasi concerto

Good Luck with the piece! You are doing a great job so far and I look forward to checking up on your progress as the piece develops more.

Ok, thanks for the advice, and again, thanks for the praise.

I've actually never heard the Haydn and Hummel trumpet concertos(well I've heard a little of the 1 mvt of the Hummel).

I try and find a copy of those.

Yea, i think you're right with the coda idea.

I don't have the Bartok actually, do you know what other pieces a similar thing happens in?

I've had a lot of negative comments about that pause, so I'll have to try and rework it.

Thanks alot, that was helpful criticism!

I know I'm posting loads of times in this thread, but there aren't very many reviews, so I may as well address them in more detail ^_^

About Codas, many of Beethoven's pieces have them. What are some of your favorite pieces? Maybe we can find one of them that has a nice example of a coda for you to study.

I love Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. Also his 4th, but not as much.

Most of the great Mozart Piano concertos, and his 5th violin concerto.

I like Chopin's 2nd piano concerto.

I realise I'm only talking about concertos here, but that's what my piece is, and it's my favourite genre.

I'm also trying hard to broaden what I listen to, but I don't get the chance to listen to much Romantic music.

I generally listen to Mozart or Beethoven.

I love Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto. Also his 4th, but not as much.

Most of the great Mozart Piano concertos, and his 5th violin concerto.

I like Chopin's 2nd piano concerto.

I realise I'm only talking about concertos here, but that's what my piece is, and it's my favourite genre.

Concertos are my favorite genre as well! And let me tell you that your concerto is a great work: It's fun, it keeps the listener interested, and the instrumentation is very well written. I loved the trumpet line, while at the same time I found that the orchestra was used brillantly to back it up. The passage that started around 3:40 was my favorite part of this great work.

Very well done!

Thanks alot! That means alot, from a fellow concerto lover, lol.

Do you have any suggestions for how i could improve it?

Edit: I'm now working through the first movement, and I can see how much there is to improve. Really loads, lol. But hopefully when it's a bit reworked, it'll be better.

After the first minute, I'm finding I quite enjoy this. The music is pleasant without being overly giddy. It's just enjoying itself, and the trumpet, what little we've heard of it so far, is doing the same. There is no pretension in the ismple themes you've arrayed before us, and that makes for an easy listen. :-)

The sudden silence around 2:20 did catch me by surprise. Were you having trouble thinking of a better transition? Oooh, love the trills at 2:45. And the switch to minor, very well done! Nice touch! Every piece in a major key needs a sudden shift to a minor key to keep us on our toes. :-)

You seem to know how to write for a trumpet. You are giving him good long clear notes to play. That's an excellent idea for a trumpet, let the bell tones sound! And you have definitely given him enough time to breath. So many folks just write these huge melodic lines expectig the players to be able to breathe and play at the same time. Oh, I love the trumpet line at 4:30! Very challenging for most players, but it would sound so awesome if we heard it played for real!

What I really like about this piece is that it continues to move and change as it goes. So much music just sounds like the same thing repeated over and oer again unimaginatively. Though you don't really change the metric pulse ever, we never less feel a sense of forward motion, almost irresistable.

The return of the opening theme here at the end is good. It feels completely natural. And very satisfying. It gives us the chance to feel some closure in the music, which I find very important. All in all, excellent and fun work! I whs your brother best of luck with it. :-)

Thanks alot for your kind analysis!

I've changed the silence at that 2:20 area now.

Hopefully it's better.

I've changed quite alot of the piece, but I'm still working on it.

I'll post up the new version once it's satisfactorily finished (is that a word? lol)

I've been keeping these suggestions in mind, and hopefully it will be a quite a bit better piece when I'm done.

I don't have much of a way with English, do I? lol

I actually finished working with this movement quite a while ago, but I never got round to posting it up, so here it is.

I can't even remember exactly what changes i made.

Anyway.

Here you go. Hopefully it's a bit better.

trumpet_concerto_in_Bb_maj_modified.sib

trumpet_concerto_in_Bb_maj_modified.mid