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Piano trio in C minor movement 3.


Bradley Scarff

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Attached is the third movement of my piano trio. (yes completed before the second) I'm quite pleased as I wrote it very quickly for my standards. 

It's in minuet and trio form and is very short. 

please leave any thoughts down below. 

 

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This is pretty good!  The only thing that bothers me especially in the beginning is the waltz-like accompaniment you have in the piano.  I don't have as much a problem with it if only the violin is doing it but if it's chordal I tend to avoid those kinds of oom-pah-pah's you have.  There are many alternate options for accompaniment that would be more minuet-like such as a rising contour of quarter notes every three beats maybe voiced in 6ths in the right hand of the piano in the beginning.  I don't know if it's clear what I mean.  Overall I think this is really a great piece and shows lots of improvement from you!  I love the trio section too and the more lyrical melody it offers.  Nice job!

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19 minutes ago, PaperComposer said:

This is pretty good!  The only thing that bothers me especially in the beginning is the waltz-like accompaniment you have in the piano.  I don't have as much a problem with it if only the violin is doing it but if it's chordal I tend to avoid those kinds of oom-pah-pah's you have.  There are many alternate options for accompaniment that would be more minuet-like such as a rising contour of quarter notes every three beats maybe voiced in 6ths in the right hand of the piano in the beginning.  I don't know if it's clear what I mean.  Overall I think this is really a great piece and shows lots of improvement from you!  I love the trio section too and the more lyrical melody it offers.  Nice job!

 

Thanks! I'm not going for an "Oom pah pah" sound really, I just couldn't figure out a way to get it 100% the way I wanted theres supposed to be far more emphasis on the bass of the piano and more strength to the violin. without one overpowering the other. I was able to play a section of it with a trio at my conservatoire today and I'm hoping to perform the whole thing once concerts start back up again. 

 

Again many thanks. 

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As far as the oom pah pah, it isn't too out of the question. I've heard quite a few Beethoven scherzo's with that rhythm in the accompaniment. Scherzo and trio is the same form-wise as Minuet and Trio, so I think what you have is a Scherzo and Trio, especially with the tempo being as fast as it is. Examples of Oom pah pah in a scherzo:

Beethoven wrote this as a Minuet, but it resembles his Scherzos so I have it as an example. Second beat of the rhythmic pattern is often embellished, but still a basic Oom Pah Pah rhythm. Even the rondo starts with an Oom Pah Pah feel despite being in 4/4 time.

Off beat, but still feel that Oom Pah Pah in it.

2/4 time feel with a fast Oom Pah Pah to it, a bit like your movement

So, no need to worry about the Oom Pah Pah. I think you just need to change it from quasi Allegro Minuetto to Allegro Scherzando to reflect that it sounds more like a Scherzo than a Minuet and you're good to go with this movement.

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@caters I don't really think any of those videos you posted exhibit the kind of oom-pah-pahs that @Bradley Scarff uses in his piece.  Just having the 2nd and 3rd beats filled in with notes doesn't automatically qualify as being waltz-like, but Bradley's piece uses the oom-pah-pahs in a very waltz-like manner.  Surely there should be a difference between a minuet/scherzo and a waltz.  I was just trying to bring his attention to the way he was using his 2nd and 3rd beats - if he had a rising or falling contour for the notes he uses in the piano in the beginning it might sound more minuet-like rather than waltz-like.

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7 minutes ago, PaperComposer said:

@caters I don't really think any of those videos you posted exhibit the kind of oom-pah-pahs that @Bradley Scarff uses in his piece.  Just having the 2nd and 3rd beats filled in with notes doesn't automatically qualify as being waltz-like, but Bradley's piece uses the oom-pah-pahs in a very waltz-like manner.  Surely there should be a difference between a minuet/scherzo and a waltz.  I was just trying to bring his attention to the way he was using his 2nd and 3rd beats - if he had a rising or falling contour for the notes he uses in the piano in the beginning it might sound more minuet-like rather than waltz-like.

 

Well, I was just saying that I've heard that rhythm in more than just waltzes, that I've heard it in Scherzos too and that the fast tempo makes the movement more of a Scherzo than a Minuet.

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