Tri-City

An experimental etude...

Tri-City Free Sheet Music by Outis for Piano/Keyboard | Noteflight

Hello @Churchcantor and welcome to the forum!

I've noticed that you posted a large number of your pieces already, sometimes commenting on your own topics multiple times.  There's a few reasons why you should avoid doing that.  1)  Posting too many works in a short time tends to overwhelm the members and reviewers on the site and they might not pay as much attention to your work as if you posted one work at a time.  2)  Commenting on your own topic before anyone else has had a chance to reply also makes it look like people have already replied to your work in the "List of works with few reviews".  If a piece has more than 5 reviews it gets removed from the list even if all the replies are just you replying to your own topic.

This piece has a very clever name given that it explores the use of parallel tritones!  Cool idea!  I think calling it an "experimental etude" is a really good description!  But some etudes, besides being exercises in some kind of theoretical construct (in this case the parallel tritones and also some surprising use of polyrhythm) also manage to be musical and entertaining.  What with all the heavy chords and copious use of repeats this piece gets really tiresome to listen to even once (I also can't identify a reason why the repeats should be there).  I can't identify a melody or some kind of musical hook to get me to tune into it on more than a surface level.  There's also no dynamic contrast or balance between different elements of the composition, some of which could be more important than others.  It's a cool experiment though!  Thanks for sharing.

Well, not really commenting on my own pieces, unless I have to, but thanks anyway.  I use repeats, sure; so did Mozart!  Good enough for me.  I've been writing music for 38 years, and won't get any better at it than I already am. 

I guess the point is not that there shouldn't be repeats, but that they should still serve to move the narrative forward.  Da capo aria?  The first time the performer introduces the material, the second time they are encouraged to make it their own with ornaments or other small changes.  But for this exercise, the structure of what you were doing with tritones and scales is firm enough that there isn't much room for experimentation or nuance when it's played through again.  

Welcome to the forums!  And I disagree!  If you're alive, you are getting exposed to new musical ideas and influences which are sure to keep you growing.  Cheers.

It's hardly my best piece, and the repeats are there because it is an ETUDE.  Doubt it would be anyone's favorite piece!  Anyone who cares to perform it, however, is welcome to leave out the repeats.  

Tritones in scales, yes, but look at the left hand and what I am doing with ye old Church Modes, including Locrian...which the piece is in!  Tritone for a dominant.