Piano Sonata No. 1 in Eb Major

A little piano sonata originally composed in 2018. I tried touching it up a bit... I'm still not happy with it (for example I left out any dynamics except in the beginning and ending measures), and i'm publishing it still in its rough form. Here's why: I think this piece illustrates one of the main problems I face when composing, which I've mentioned before but basically is: too many ideas for multiple ways i could do things, + lack of knowledge that would guide me to choose one of those options over another. I often feel like I have no guiding forces governing the choices I make when composing, and so I end up with pieces that don't have that cohesive deliberateness indicative of someone who really knows what they're doing. Any feedback is welcome, on this piece specifically or on how I could solve this greater issue with my composing.

That being said, please enjoy 😅 I'm still quite fond of this sonata, it's got a decidedly galant sound but with my own idiosyncrasies thrown in.

It sounds very good and I identify it in that early classicism style.
I think it has good themes and a quite spectacular development.
The only thing I have to object is that the union of the sound of the virtual piano and the speed of the piece makes (for me) that the musicality is lost a little.

Greetings.

@Luis Hernández Thanks! Yeah the virtual piano is terrible lol. The speed though, do you mean you think it's a little fast?

Yes.
For my taste it is a bit fast. 
But it's a personal thing. I think the phrasing is lost a bit and the repeated notes, for example, sound totally percussive.

On 5/3/2025 at 8:39 PM, user011235 said:

That being said, please enjoy 😅 I'm still quite fond of this sonata, it's got a decidedly galant sound but with my own idiosyncrasies thrown in.

Yes its Good.....................What TEMPO-BPM.......... is that ?

6 hours ago, FILMSCORE said:

Yes its Good.....................What TEMPO-BPM.......... is that ?

 

Thankyou Luis

I didnt realize that there was a NAME for playing that fast...........so it can be done in Real-Time.

10 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

Yes.
For my taste it is a bit fast. 
But it's a personal thing. I think the phrasing is lost a bit and the repeated notes, for example, sound totally percussive.

 

I totally hear you, i think it's the midi piano creating most of those problems. But a performer could take it a few bpm slower, i wouldn't mind

Really nice!   I would just suggest more dynamic markings but otherwise if someone told me this was a lost piece by Mozart found in some dusty music library in Vienna, I'd believe them.

@bkho Ohh haha thank you, i've got a lot to learn before i'm near someone like mozart, but i appreciate the compliment nonetheless. Totally with you about the dynamics, they went through like four different iterations before i decided to cop out and leave them "up to interperetation". Maybe i'll try again

On 5/3/2025 at 8:39 PM, user011235 said:

too many ideas for multiple ways i could do things

Thats a Good Thing..................

Hi @user011235!

I like the classical style sonatina, very Mozartean.  I love the energy in it.

For it I would probably stay long in a single key in the development section like you did here, as the music lingers in Bb minor b.21-47, almost the same length as the repeated exposition! I would probably keep modulating for more  harmonic moving forward. The 12th interval in the LH of b.31 would be too big for pianist to be played together. I would also prevent the augmented seconds such as in b.35, since it sounds a bit weird under a classical style sonantina personally haha. The retransition in b.54 is quite short for me as well for a dominant preparation back to Eb major tonic!

Despite being nitpicky I like this. Thx for sharing!

Henry

@Henry Ng Tsz Kiu Thank you for the review!

19 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

The 12th interval in the LH of b.31 would be too big for pianist to be played together.

 

Ugh i knowwww i just love it so much. I'll have to find a way to get a similar sound but playable...

19 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I would also prevent the augmented seconds such as in b.35, since it sounds a bit weird under a classical style sonantina personally haha.

 

I'm afraid i don't hear what you mean - which one is the augmented second in that bar? I just see minor thirds

19 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

For it I would probably stay long in a single key in the development section like you did here, as the music lingers in Bb minor b.21-47, almost the same length as the repeated exposition! I would probably keep modulating for more  harmonic moving forward.

 

The retransition in b.54 is quite short for me as well for a dominant preparation back to Eb major tonic!

 

I know i really wrote myself into a corner in those places haha

Thanks again for the feedback, i'll keep all this in mind for future pieces!