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Anybody else have trouble naming scores?


caters

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This is literally the first time I’ve had any significant trouble with naming my score. Usually I give descriptive names to my scores like "Duo Sonata for Violin and Cello" or "March of Iwo Jima", that kind of thing. Less commonly I will name scores by their key like "Nocturne in Db Major" or "Funeral March in F Minor". Sometimes I will do both like "Canzone del Luna Nocturne in B Major" But, I almost never do things like opus numbers or Composition in Eb Major or other naming schemes. And usually the name is either the first thing I think about, or if I'm starting with a piano recording, it’s already in mind. Not the case with the Eb Major piece I started composing yesterday(I recorded the piano part and now I’m fleshing it out for Strings + Piano + Flute). And I’m in a bit of a conflict right now about what to name it. 

It starts off peacefully in Eb Major, like nothing could ruin said peace. And it starts quiet as well. All this makes me think Nocturne in Eb is a good name for it. But later on, it goes from Eb Major to C Minor via B dim7. And this then starts a dramatic and loud B section. Quite a contrast from the quiet peace that came before. Now I’ve heard dramatic nocturnes and i’ve heard peaceful nocturnes. But a Nocturne that goes from peaceful to dramatic and back, that’s rare. So I then thought maybe Song Without Words would be a good name for it, since the melody is quite song-like. But Song Without Words makes me think of Mendelssohn, the “Mozart of the Romantic Era" as some people call him because of similarities to Mozart. And I guess my piece does start with that melodicism characteristic of Mozart, Chopin and to an extent, Mendelssohn too. But again, what about the C minor B section? That’s more similar to Beethoven or Brahms than Mozart or Chopin or Mendelssohn. And when the A section comes back, the C minor doesn’t let go entirely. Again, that’s a lot like Beethoven, the minor key coming back full force in the middle of a major key section.

So yeah, I'm not sure at all what to name my Eb Major piece. Nocturne in Eb and Song Without Words both seem good and unsuitable names for the same reason, the dramatic C Minor B section. Also, Nocturne seems a bit less suitable given the ensemble it’s for being a decently sized chamber ensemble and not a small one. 

 

Examples of pieces which my Eb major piece is partly similar to include:

 

Peaceful Nocturne, Bass is similar in ways to my piece

 

Dramatic Nocturne 

Beethoven Drama, similar in a lot of aspects to the B section, but tempo is vastly different from my piece 

 

Lyrical Melody with Arpeggio Accompaniment -> This basically describes the A section as a whole, and Lyricism is something I strongly associate with Mozart as well so no need for a Mozart example.

 

I didn’t have any of these similarities in mind when improvising the piano part, I just noticed them after the fact, after I started notating the piano and fleshing out the piece. Anyway, any suggestions on how to resolve this trouble with naming my score? Should I go with Song Without Words because of the lyrical melody? Should I go with Nocturne in Eb because it starts off quiet and peaceful like most nocturnes?

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Anyway, any suggestions on how to resolve this trouble with naming my score? Should I go with Song Without Words because of the lyrical melody? Should I go with Nocturne in Eb because it starts off quiet and peaceful like most nocturnes?

I think Nocturne in Eb sounds good.

Edited by Atlantis_
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