Looking for peer reviews for this piano and bass clarinet piece: Sad Song, April 2026

Hello everyone,

This is a piece I finished in April. I'm looking for general feedback on the overall structure, the melody, and the harmonic progression and of course the notation.

Thank you in advance for listening and looking over the score!

Best wishes,

Laurent

Sad song final.pdf

Hello

First of all, I’d like to say that I found the piece lovely and very pleasant to listen to.

At the start, the piano has quite a ‘minimalist’ pattern, but then it breaks away from that and sounds a bit odd. However, given the prominent role the piano takes on later, I think it’s fine.

I haven’t checked the range or anything. But could the clarinet be a standard one rather than a bass clarinet? In many places, it’s in quite a high register.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for offering,

For melody, I like the satisfying resolution on ending with the root note for the clarinet,

(I know this wasn't the feedback you asked for, but) When I listen to the song, I don't initially think that the song would be considered sad, I more felt like it was intriguing and somehwat bouncy, if you wanted to make it sound a bit sadder, I feel liek you could make the piano softer and have a bit more reverb (just in general less sharp) and a slightly lower bpm maybe?

I do like the song a lot, though, it's always so nice hearing live instruments (atleast I think it was live) like how you played the clarinet yourself, and I liked the switch ups of instruments like with the other piano coming in later to change around the atmosphere, great job!

Awesome sauce,

Forty6

17 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

Hello

First of all, I’d like to say that I found the piece lovely and very pleasant to listen to.

At the start, the piano has quite a ‘minimalist’ pattern, but then it breaks away from that and sounds a bit odd. However, given the prominent role the piano takes on later, I think it’s fine.

I haven’t checked the range or anything. But could the clarinet be a standard one rather than a bass clarinet? In many places, it’s in quite a high register.

Thanks for sharing.

Hi Luis, Thank you very much for your words, I'm so glad you enjoyed the piece. I know what you mean about how it doesn't quite go in the direction suggested by the opening bars. It is a bit of an odd feeling, I agree, which sometimes I get and at others I don't so much, but I haven't yet quite managed to work out how it comes about. But the way the piano works towards these moments of agitation is central to the theme. About the clarinet, it sounds like a bass clarinet to me, with its somewhat hollow woody timbre, even on the high notes, which conveys a specific kind of sadness in contrast to the often agitated piano. But then again I was not there when it was recorded, so I can't be entirely sure... Thanks again for your comments. Best wishes

4 hours ago, Forty6 said:

Thank you for offering,

For melody, I like the satisfying resolution on ending with the root note for the clarinet,

(I know this wasn't the feedback you asked for, but) When I listen to the song, I don't initially think that the song would be considered sad, I more felt like it was intriguing and somehwat bouncy, if you wanted to make it sound a bit sadder, I feel liek you could make the piano softer and have a bit more reverb (just in general less sharp) and a slightly lower bpm maybe?

I do like the song a lot, though, it's always so nice hearing live instruments (atleast I think it was live) like how you played the clarinet yourself, and I liked the switch ups of instruments like with the other piano coming in later to change around the atmosphere, great job!

Awesome sauce,

Forty6

Thank you for your comment and your suggestion. I'm glad you enjoyed the piece! I suppose it's meant to be a slightly different take on sadness than usual: a contrast between the simple melancholy resignation of the clarinet and the agitation of the piano. I hope that comes across a bit nonetheless... Thanks again for taking the time to listen. Best wishes

Thank you for sharing this, Laurent — I listened to the recording and followed the score, and the shape of the piece stayed with me. I liked how the piano carries the first nine bars alone: that repeated, accented pattern at quarter note = 95, in 4/4 with three flats in the key signature, sets a quiet, restrained mood before the bass clarinet enters, so its entry feels like a voice joining a conversation already in progress. The bass clarinet's low, warm register suits the title beautifully, and I agree with Forty6 that the final clarinet phrase, with its triplet figure settling onto a long note in bar 58, gives the piece a satisfying, unhurried close. Your point about the contrast between the clarinet's melancholy resignation and the piano's agitation really does come across for me, especially in that opening — the piano keeps moving while the clarinet sings more simply above it. If I were developing it further, I would be tempted to let the piano thin out for a few bars when the clarinet holds its longest notes, just to give the bass clarinet even more air — but the balance as it stands already works well, and thank you for sharing such a thoughtful, well-notated piece.

2 hours ago, Ali Baghbani said:

Thank you for sharing this, Laurent — I listened to the recording and followed the score, and the shape of the piece stayed with me. I liked how the piano carries the first nine bars alone: that repeated, accented pattern at quarter note = 95, in 4/4 with three flats in the key signature, sets a quiet, restrained mood before the bass clarinet enters, so its entry feels like a voice joining a conversation already in progress. The bass clarinet's low, warm register suits the title beautifully, and I agree with Forty6 that the final clarinet phrase, with its triplet figure settling onto a long note in bar 58, gives the piece a satisfying, unhurried close. Your point about the contrast between the clarinet's melancholy resignation and the piano's agitation really does come across for me, especially in that opening — the piano keeps moving while the clarinet sings more simply above it. If I were developing it further, I would be tempted to let the piano thin out for a few bars when the clarinet holds its longest notes, just to give the bass clarinet even more air — but the balance as it stands already works well, and thank you for sharing such a thoughtful, well-notated piece.

Thank you Ali for your message and your appreciation of the piece. Best wishes from France. Laurent