Etudes 1-5 Opus 48

Hi Everyone Out there,

I'm a composer from Melbourne, Aged 17. The Following Etudes are for the piano and I would like the advanced pianists & composers on this forum to have a look (Would love some international feedback) and also possibly record them in Mp3 format. Thanks.

Style: Beethoven/Brahms/Alkan

Akhil Gardner

hi there,

i'm new here too. i recompiled your music using a Bosendorfer 290 Grand Piano Soundfont. not exactly recordings, but here's what they'd sound like with more realistic piano (than midi).

Op.48_Etude_No.1_in_Bb_Minor.mp3

Op.48_Etude_No.2_in_C__Minor.mp3

Op.48_Etude_No.3_in_Eb_Minor.mp3

i think your music is great but for Etude No 1 in Bb, don't you think it's a little too fast to be playeable? (at least i know my fingers are really slow)

I have a Steinway Grand Model C soundfont, Steinway Grand Model D soundfont, a Kawai Grand soundfont. if you have any preferences of pianos. let me know. (Bosendorfer's my preference for faster pieces like yours)

Op.48_Etude_No.1_in_Bb_Minor.mid

You have very good stuff. Very virtuosic indeed. Seems like you are trying to impress the audience with fast and bigger music, rather than poetic music. So how easy is this to play? It's supposed to be a study, not break the pianist's hands. I am willing to bet this is nearly impossible to play perfectly, not because it is fast, but because both staves seem to have alot going on, and they have big chords. Both hands moving constantly and playing big chords with such speed would be very tiring, even to the highest trained pianist. Disregarding that, you write good stuff, and this piece demonstrates that you take your music seriously. The piece is organized, and well developed. Just loosen up on the left hand a bit, or loosen up on your chords. Bigger chords aren't always better.

Op.48_Etude_No.2_in_C__Minor.mid

This piece was my favorite out of the 3. This is the most poetic too. Looks playable too, good! Much more dominant theme in this piece as well. There really is nothing wrong with this piece musically, sounds very good to me. Must say very creative too. Of course, the piece lacks variety, but that is ok since it is an etude. Very well done.

Op.48_Etude_No.3_in_Eb_Minor.mp3

Was E minor the best choice for such a fast piece? Too many white keys. Anyway, much more playable than your first etude. I really liked measures 3-5. Measures 5-12 just didn't seem to say much to me. Seemed too empty, and just a play on chords. The structure of the piece is vell done, I must congratulate you on that.

In General

On a bad note:

I sense too much virtuosity with too few signs of poeticism. Your most poetic of the 3 etudes is your second one, and I liked that one the most. Your writing needs to be fine tuned to accomdate the pianist. I also noticed a lack of melody in your music. Obviously we don't need melodies in music, but it does help to keep the interest of the listener. If you are going to write a "play on chords" that has to be done more carefully. Writing music that has no substance will sound "off" unless it is done carefully. You definitely have the skill to do this though. Furthermore, these are supposed to be studies! I think these are too hard to play in order to be called etudes. While very fast music can be easy to play, this music was a little rough on both hands, and would be too tiresome, in my opinion. Too much shoulder lifting. Chopin wrote fast music, but he probably wrote the easiest to play music. If you notice, you rarely had to lift your shoulders and hands while playing through his pieces, even when playing fast (An exception is the left hand, especially in waltzes and scherzos, but the left hand is much slower in his music).

On a good note:

Your organizational skills are exceptional, and you seem to have a good grasp for piano writing. You seem very eager to write better music, and it also looks like you put in good time into constructing your pieces. Your pieces seem to flow naturally, and I can tell that you have a good deal of potential.

Good job, and I look forward to hearing more works from you.

Hello Again,

Here are Etudes Nos.4 & 5.

Etude No.4 in A Minor: 6 Variations on a Theme by Paganini (Caprice Nr.24)

This theme has been Varied by 3 prominent Composers - Brahms, Liszt (merely a transcribtion of Paganini's Variations on the theme) and Rachmaninov. I have tried as hard as possible to be original and It seems to have worked and these are my Original Variations on A Theme by Paganini.

This etude, obviously, begins like any other set of variations - Theme followed by:

Variation 1: Large chords in the right hand and octaves in the left with a

frequent reminder of the semi - quaver theme.

Variation 2: An augmentation(double note values) of the theme with

constant/slow trills.

Variation 3: In triplets (Chords and Octaves)

Variation 4: Theme jugled by both hands in the presence of a counter Melody

Variation 5: Diminished Chords and Octaves in triplets.

Variation 6 / Finale: A rather weak attempt at a contrapuntal variation.

Etude No.5 in E Minor : Extremely Cheesy.

Poses a challenge even for Advanced Pianists. In Binary form (A Repeated). The theme, a fragmented melody, played in the left hand moving from bass clef to high trebel over the right hand's constant runnig passages. Quite a firey work.

(Previously Posted - Etude No.1 in Bb Minor, Etude No.2 in C# Minor & Etude No.3 in Eb Minor).

Would appreciate it if " Beefy Beef " also could convert the Midi's for No. 4 & 5 into Busendorfer generated mp3s as Nos. 1,2,3 & 3 were done fantasticly.

Would love more than 2 reviews !!

Thanks

Akhil G.

About Etude No. 4--I really don't understand the technical challenges associated with this piece, but the overall result is very pleasing to the ears. That is, I greatly enjoy how this piece sounds.

Originally posted by Central Scrutinizer@Nov 5 2005, 09:42 AM

About Etude No. 4--I really don't understand the technical challenges associated with this piece, but the overall result is very pleasing to the ears. That is, I greatly enjoy how this piece sounds.

Hi Central Scrutinizer,

Thanks for your feedback. The Etude No.4 in A Minor is not like any of the other 11 Etudes in this set, because it doesn't demand a great deal of Virtuosity and your right, the reason why the piece sounds pleasing is because of "Balance" and that is the technique behind the Etude is.

Thanks

Akhil G.

Etude 4

Perhaps your music is a bit too virtuosic for my taste.

I liked this better than Etude 5. So far, your etudes have been a bit on the harsh side. If I were you, I would try to be more poetic with your writing. This piece had little, if any varying. While you added chords here and there to make your "variations" on your one concentrated melody, it just wasn't enough. Too many parallel octaves. For example, measures 1-50 has parallel octaves nonstop. Don't get me wrong, I do like parallel octaves and use them in my own writing, but this does get tiring to play. Unless you are writing a study on parallel octaves, I personally would do without over usage of them. Again, 95-118 is too excessive. I usually use parallel octaves when I want to emphasize something. You lose that emphasis if it is overdone. You also lose musicality, as two notes that are the same can dilute your harmonization.

Again, 143-166 is too hard to play. Also, think about it, you have over 20 measures that really do no change up, at one continuous speed. This is not only tiring to play, but it can become tiring to listen to. I do hear your theme, but it became too tiring to my ears, especially with the combination of your parallel octaves and your huge chords that you use. Forget this virtuosity business, I want to hear how poetic you can write. You sound like you can be very good!

The structure of this piece, is of course fairly decent.

Etude 5

I didn't quite get what you were trying to say in this piece, I am sorry. I couldn't really pick out a dominant theme, (it was very weak). Too many 16th notes with little direction. To be honest, I couldn't find any direction in this piece. Usually if you are going to write fast music (ex. 16th notes galore) you need either a melody in your left hand to stand out to help guide the speedy notes in the right hand, or you need the fast 16th notes to secretly develop a theme. For example, fantasie impromptu sounds like nothing when played slowly, but when played fast, you can hear the themes. Another example is the end of Chopin's Ballade in G minor. If played slowly, I can't understand anything, it seems redundant. However when played fast, there most certainly is musicality.

Now to your piece, measures 6-25 say nothing to me. These passges in my opinion are redundant. Fast writing is tricky and needs care, especially with a piano. Try to write slower works, and then gradually practice with your faster passages. Writing fast music takes time and patience.

In general

Good ideas, good structure, and I like your motivation. Some of your music seems too rushed, and by that I don't mean how fast paced it is, I mean the musicality. You need more changup in your music as well. You want to keep the listener's attention.

Op.48_Etude_No.4_in_A_Minor.mp3

Op.48_Etude_No.5_in_E_Minor.mp3

there ya go.

Thanks Beefy Beef. Would also appreciate some feedback. & Thank You Chopin for the tips - guess what - the last 3 etudes in the set of 12 will be slow and I'll try your suggestions there. But in the mean time .... I've dug up some of my work from earlier this year. I've added it to the piano music forum and a string Quartet to the requests page. Thanks for the feed back and the mp3s.

Thankx

Akhil G.

Etude 4

Perhaps your music is a bit too virtuosic for my taste.