Beautiful Sky

Here are some piano pieces I composed and performed for a piano album I wrote last year. The music is written in a less 'serious' and 'analytical' way to my normal composition method. I just wanted to write music that was lyrical, relaxing and hopefully beautiful. I hope you like it.

Ryan Yard: Contemporary Composer |

It does take a little time for the music to load but please do be patient as the pieces are all relatively short.

I think means of escape is the the best one in the collection.....well written.....maybe it's just a feeling of mine but there are moments where i can hear a bit of Micheal Nyman influences......your music without any doubt sounds very modern....that's very nice.....that is something that isn't allways easy to achieve especially when you study and listen to classical music the whole day......

"Beautiful Sky" was wonderful.

How did you write/record that? I use Sibelius (Midi) and to be honest, it's utter crap.

If you used a computer program of any sort, which was it?

I despise Midi, but I'm stuck with it for the moment ;)

Hi Thomas for your reply, its nice to see my music getting a review again. Despite my contributions to the site, my music has had minimal response which is a shame, oh well, maybe people will listen some more now, particularly as I always endeavor to include scores (which not everybody does)....end scallop! ;)

The whole piano album was recorded live on a grand piano and recorded by a good friend of mine who is a multimedia developer. The album actually was made as a dvd with a collection of beautifully shot footage to accompany the music.

It's funny how Means of Escape is considered the best as it originates from a dance track I wrote when I was very young and inexperienced. I just sat down and realised that the tune was really beautiful at the piano, the original is very funny to listen to now!

I use Sibelius to prepare my scores, and scores are available of this piano album.

Thanks again for your kind words and please do check out my orchestral and chamber works and my concerto in major works...end plug;)

That was another thing I meant to ask! :)

How much did it cost to get the "BBC NOW" to perform your orchestral piece?

Like I said, I hate MIDI because it kills the music. No resonance, no incidental discords and no naturally flowing rhythm.

I write things in Sibelius, and they sound nothing like they do in my mind. Not to mention the instructions and dynamics that either don't work or are depressingly formulaic! ;)

I write for the Music, not for the accomplishment. Sibelius (As a stand-in for an orchestra) is paltry.

I agree, sibelius does not play with any conviction but it does play accurately, which is useful from a composing point of view. I don't listen to my sibelius files anymore because I am confident that what i have written is what i want.

@ BBCNOW. I actually won the opportunity to have it played in a workshop, so did not have to pay which was lovely! :)

Damn!

The best quote I got was

Beautiful Sky was...well, beautiful.

The drone is very effective at invoking the imagery implied by the title. I found the foray into the lower register of the piano somewhat unravelled the atmosphere, though. And the bit at the end I wasn't a fan of. But lovely work, all things considered.

You mentioned a DVD accompanying the music - is there a downloadable rendition of this available anywhere? I'd be very interested to see it.

I think you succeeded in your goal. I enjoyed both 'Beautiful Sky' and 'Alone'. I think on your webpage, though, 'Means of Escape' links to 'Alone as well? Anyway, I couldn't get that one, but would like to hear it.

Overall, I found 'Beautiful Sky' more interesting. I like the motive in the right hand and then the melodic fragments that gradually materialize underneath it. That's something you don't hear everyday.

I agree with Mike a bit on the end (and that was before I read his post, honest!), but I'm sure you had a reason for writing it that way.

All in all, very atsmopheric and nice job on the performance as well.

Thanks for your comments. Not sure why the link took you to alone again but I will try and rectify that.

Just out of interest, what is it about the ending that you are not sure about?

I have rectified the problem at my website and am now including the full album to listen to. Please do let me know your thoughts on all of the pieces as I am considering writing another album in the future so all feedback is welcome!

lovely work. thats all I want to say. It reminds of my sister .Her name is pierina.

We are both from Peru.

lovely work. thats all I want to say. It reminds of my sister .Her name is pierina.

We are both from Peru.

I was about to say!

This Music is very ethereal. Which means that it is above the limitations of National and Cultural borders.

What you have succeeded to do (Though you're not the first, you've certainly reminded me of the power of such Music!) is write a song that "touches" people of all cultures (Or at least a great many cultures)

I would likely get the same response if I played song to an 8 year old, or an 80 year old.

It stirs something deep within I think :o

Thanks Thomas, that's one of the nicest comments I have had about my music. A lot of people tend to describe my music as 'beautiful' even in some of my more dissonant music so I guess it is a stylistic feature of my voice. I wrote this album of piano music primarily as a less cerebral way of composing and just to write music that would sooth and relax people. I am planning to do another album at some point but my schedule is really too busy to do that for at least a few more months.

Most people I know comment on Means of Escape as being the strongest piece. Do you agree with that?

Thanks once again!

Well I'd say "Means of Escape" itself is "stronger" on dynamics - which probably makes it more assertive.

Beautful Sky's vagueness and suspension pedal related 'dissonance' is "strong" in its own right, but possibly for different reasons.

When I write, I prefer one of two things. Subtle, gentle dissonance - or strong 'fanfare'-like major/minor transpositions. I rarely mix those, lest it become too avant-garde.

I think I like Beautiful Sky because it's similar to what I'd write (And I find that people will rarely deviate from writing the Music that they like - It's that signature that helps you identify composers aurally)

For example, John Debney's movie scores sound a lot like Alan Silvestri's - Probably because he heard Silvestri's work and thought to himself "That's wonderful!"