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Does the harmony need adjustment here?


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The piece I am writing is a representation of rain falling, thus the staccato accompaniment and the minor key and even the name of the piece being Tears of the Sky. I have 3 sections so far in my piece, though there will be more. One thing I have in common in all the sections so far is a pedal note. Here are the sections:

  • A - Staccato accompaniment + Flute melody - E minor - Bars 1-12
  • B - Octave and chord accompaniment + Counterpoint between the cello, violin, and flute over lament bass - E minor later modulating to G major - Bars 13-23
  • C - Staccato comes back + Violin melody - G major later taking the circle of fifths route back towards E minor - Bars 24-32

The C section is what I'm asking about here, particularly starting at Bar 30 where the modulation back towards E minor begins. That said, I wouldn't mind getting feedback on my A and B sections as well. You see, this is what starts the circle of fifths modulation:

Image result for D7 piano

A D7 chord, which is moved to from a G major chord so I -> V7. From there I moved to A major, which then just continued the circle of fifths motion. By the time that the sequence has been played 4 times, I end on A minor. I know, I could have gone straight from A major to A minor, but I thought I needed to balance the short modulation to G major with a longer modulation back to E minor if you get what I'm saying. I'm wondering though if I need to adjust the harmony, because, I am hearing a bit of unexpected crunch there in the circle of fifths progression that started with a simple chord relation. It all feels resolved to me at the A minor harmony that ends the circle of fifths progression. Perhaps this is a sign that I should continue in A minor for a while before landing back in E minor. But anyway, does my harmony there need adjustment or is it fine the way it is? Here are the MP3 and PDF of what I have so far.

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Your compositions are sounding a lot more purposeful, which is great. Congratulations on your imporvement.

I do think the modulation is quite "crunchy", as you called it. I think that in this case, you could go way simpler than that. 

G - D7 - Am - Em - Bm - E7 - A Major or Minor, you decide.

If this is used with good voice leading, it will make up for a really smooth modulation.

Other paths are surely possible, I was just sujesting something for you to try.

Good luck!

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1 hour ago, Jean Szulc said:

Your compositions are sounding a lot more purposeful, which is great. Congratulations on your imporvement.

Thanks, I'm glad that it isn't just me seeing improvement but others too.

2 hours ago, Jean Szulc said:

I do think the modulation is quite "crunchy", as you called it. I think that in this case, you could go way simpler than that.

Yeah, I did notice that crunch which is why I asked if I needed to adjust the harmony. Knowing that I could go way simpler than the circle of fifths that I initially used is nice to hear.

2 hours ago, Jean Szulc said:

G - D7 - Am - Em - Bm - E7 - A Major or Minor, you decide.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will try that and see if this gets rid of that crunch. I'm thinking that possibly it's the staccato that is bringing that crunch, so maybe I should try to get a smooth legato between each of these chords and then see what that implies for the staccato.

2 hours ago, Jean Szulc said:

If this is used with good voice leading, it will make up for a really smooth modulation.

That's good to know. I'm not aiming for a sudden motion to another key here.

2 hours ago, Jean Szulc said:

Other paths are surely possible, I was just sujesting something for you to try.

Good luck!

And thank you again for the suggestion, I will try it.

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