The Great Lighthouse - Part I

Hello everone 🙂

My first post here is part one of larger composition I am currently working on. The composition is called The Great Lighthouse and is inspired by Christopher Paolini's book Fractal Noise.

Part one is written in largo - A minor and is called Discovery.

Please enjoy and any feedback would be appreciated 🙂

Musescore: https://musescore.com/user/60829534/scores/32485457

Hey! I feel like I am called to reply as I too just published (on this site) a piece about the Ocean. While not directly similar, I find the coincidence of seeing another work detailing a small part or structure of the sea too good to not look at! 

I have a few things to say about the score: Engraving, orchestration, and motif usage. I have downloaded the score off musescore and am currently writing annotations on the work. I will share my annotations in a separate comment. However, for my own knowledge, can I ask how far you are in music? Are you a pianist, woodwind, brasswind player, etc? Are you experienced in theory, orchestration,etc?

Just looking to know about your background as I wish to avoid possible obvious comments. 🙂

6 hours ago, MK_Piano said:

Hey! I feel like I am called to reply as I too just published (on this site) a piece about the Ocean. While not directly similar, I find the coincidence of seeing another work detailing a small part or structure of the sea too good to not look at! 

I have a few things to say about the score: Engraving, orchestration, and motif usage. I have downloaded the score off musescore and am currently writing annotations on the work. I will share my annotations in a separate comment. However, for my own knowledge, can I ask how far you are in music? Are you a pianist, woodwind, brasswind player, etc? Are you experienced in theory, orchestration,etc?

Just looking to know about your background as I wish to avoid possible obvious comments. 🙂

 

Thirty years ago, I was an accordionist. Now I’m just a hobbyist. Feel free to leave any comments, they might not be so obvious to me 🙂

21 hours ago, Marek said:

Thirty years ago, I was an accordionist. Now I’m just a hobbyist. Feel free to leave any comments, they might not be so obvious to me 🙂

 

Hello again! I just finished my comments and am eager to share. Please find this PDF for your convenience! Go to the end of the score to see the final comments.

May anyone else on this thread also consider checking out the comments and share your thoughts!

M. Neupauer - The Great Lighthouse (ANNOTATED).Pdf

7 hours ago, MK_Piano said:

Hello again! I just finished my comments and am eager to share. Please find this PDF for your convenience! Go to the end of the score to see the final comments.

May anyone else on this thread also consider checking out the comments and share your thoughts!

M. Neupauer - The Great Lighthouse (ANNOTATED).Pdf

PDF

• M. Neupauer - The Great Lighthouse (ANNOTATED)

First of all, I want to thank you for the review.

- "diminuendo al niente" is exactly what I was looking for, thank you 🙂 Fixing this will be laborious, but relatively simple.

- theme - I thought I had a theme, but apparently not, since several people, including you, have confirmed that they didn’t recognize it.
This will be difficult to fix, as it disrupts the overall flow and feel of the piece. Actually, I’ll have to redo the whole thing.

- accompaniment - This is my nightmare; I’m still struggling with it. Personally, I can’t stand whole notes anymore, but so far I haven’t been able to come up with anything interesting.

In any case, thanks again, your review really helped me 🙂

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Hello Marek

Please don't despair or feel Broken hearted, for trying hard to make a composition be appreciated, for being Special .

It is appreciated and special , because its Totally Unique, your the one who created it.

Medicine can taste Horrible, and make you feel ill, but in the Long-Term, it can actually help.

and its the same with advice from those who are qualified to give it ,and without payment required, so thats a good thing. 

This is your First Post, and it was good, but MK's  advice can also lead you to better things in future posts , so please don't be too despondent

There's even greater scores for you to discover , in your future compositions.

i wish you luck.

MK.............. Im pleased your  post was recognized by PeterthePapercomPoser!

Edited Monday at 01:40 PM3 days by interlect

2 hours ago, Marek said:

First of all, I want to thank you for the review.

 

- "diminuendo al niente" is exactly what I was looking for, thank you 🙂 Fixing this will be laborious, but relatively simple.

- theme - I thought I had a theme, but apparently not, since several people, including you, have confirmed that they didn’t recognize it.
This will be difficult to fix, as it disrupts the overall flow and feel of the piece. Actually, I’ll have to redo the whole thing.

- accompaniment - This is my nightmare; I’m still struggling with it. Personally, I can’t stand whole notes anymore, but so far I haven’t been able to come up with anything interesting.

 

In any case, thanks again, your review really helped me 🙂

 

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

 

 

The beauty about music is that even simple things can sound complex or can be just as effective. Before you completely scrap your work (as we all know that is annoying to do), with the theme consider writing a 2-bar version, 4-bar version, and 8-bar version. You already have a motif or material to base from. You can do this separately on a manuscript or other file before the main work too.

With the accompaniment parts:

To Me, sometimes long sustains in the orchestra translate to when I use the sustain pedal on the piano. Where I take the long harmony I am sustaining from my improv and translate it to paper. The French Horns are great for gestures like this, or even simpler, the strings. (Bassoon + clarinets are good too!) 

Take whatever harmony, divide between the accompaniment instruments and just hit the harmony every few beats or on the beats. It’s probably the most basic way to pulse harmony. 

Edited Monday at 02:33 PM3 days by MK_Piano

Nice mysterious, atmospheric intro. I really like it!