Songs Without Words Vol. I

Hi Everyone!

I've been sick for the last month and to be honest, it’s been quite hard to be productive. During the downtime, I ended up writing three short, lyrical piano pieces inspired by Felix Mendelssohn. I tried to keep them quite short and simple hope you find some joy in their simplicity!

I would love to hear your feedback and opinions on it!

Songs Without Words No. 1.pdf Songs Without Words No. 2.pdf Songs Without Words No. 3.pdf

Hi @MinGry

I put myself behind the piano and tried jamming a bit on it. Here are my first impressions:

Piece 1:

- mm. 1-23:

- The melody material is interesting.

- I found the accompaniment too simplistic: the chords are too obvious and they lack some "colours". What I did while jamming was to create a pedal, by keeping the A at the bass (along with the chords you use, E, Dm, Am), and adding some colours on the way, e.g.: Dm6... I would also make it more "lively" by replacing the half-notes at the bass by continuing the eigth progression. I always found that creating a good accompaniment - one which is interesting and that "promotes" the melody - was the hardest part, so don't dispair, you're not alone.

- mm. 24-28, I liked the transition: simple and short, with an interesting third voice.

- mm. 29+, good to fall back on the melody, but I felt it was a bit too early to repeat the exact same pattern: I would recommend to add a bit of variation (either in the rhythm, the accompaniment or the melody itself)

- m6: I believe F sharp would be more correct than G flat (as you're temporarily in the A scale)

- m10: last note of the treble, I felt G sharp would be more appropriate than G?

Piece 2:

- overall, pleasant simple piece, with an agreeable melody --> I feel it had less potential than in the first piece, it didn't inspire me as much.

- the accompaniment is also very simplistic, which makes it an excellent piece for beginners.

- the end of the score doesn't correspond to the music

Piece 3:

- again an interesting melody.

- the bass is more elaborate, but would deserve some more colours. Typically, when you play a chord e.g.: m. 11, try not to start with the same note as in the melody, and try as well to not always start by the fundamental of the chord (F is this case, which you could have replaced by an A - also part of the F chord. In m. 12, the bass could start with a B flat, making your chord a C7, ideal to then reach your chord F in m.13 - also an interesting chromatic progression at the bass)

- in m8, you introduce some dissonances (C and C sharp), that may well suit a jazz piece, but I felt it didn't fit very well with the overall athmosphere of the piece. I tried a C9 - starting with a D and descending, I felt it fit better.

Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed discovering your work, and playing around melodies of pieces 1 and 3!

Take care,

Julien