Equestrian Fields (Acoustic)

[Makazi 317]

 

Here's a short acoustic piece I did over the course of yesterday and today, mostly to experiment with some sounds. Hope you like it!

 

Background is by scrafgty on Deviantart. 

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Ok.

 

This piece sounds more like a piece you'd hear in an outdoor mall. The percussion takes away from the open field feel you wanted. Also, the piece was a little fast. Maybe slow it down to about 100bpm. You had it around 121bpm.

 

In terms of chords, you limited yourself to the I and iii, knowing this piece is in Ab. Noticed you stuck a ii in there.

 

A progression that I suggest is this one

 

I-ii-iii-I-ii-V-I

 

Couldn't really hear the flute because it seemed like the guitar was drowning it out.

 

All in all, a nice piece, but it could always use improvement.

[Makazi 317]

Ok.

 

This piece sounds more like a piece you'd hear in an outdoor mall. The percussion takes away from the open field feel you wanted. Also, the piece was a little fast. Maybe slow it down to about 100bpm. You had it around 121bpm.

 

In terms of chords, you limited yourself to the I and iii, knowing this piece is in Ab. Noticed you stuck a ii in there.

 

A progression that I suggest is this one

 

I-ii-iii-I-ii-V-I

 

Couldn't really hear the flute because it seemed like the guitar was drowning it out.

 

All in all, a nice piece, but it could always use improvement.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. ^^ I recognised that the primary progression was alternating between I and iii with a bit of ii. I thought I had used a V and vii° at some point, but again I'm really new to trying to write songs from a technical perspective. I did, however, know it was in Ab and even called it such as opposed to G# to avoid double sharps as per your advice. ^^

 

I might try a version without the percussion, and I'll raise the volume of the flute (actually an erhu). Perhaps I should also quantize the cimbalom part?

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

Thanks for the suggestions. ^^ I recognised that the primary progression was alternating between I and iii with a bit of ii. I thought I had used a V and vii° at some point, but again I'm really new to trying to write songs from a technical perspective. I did, however, know it was in Ab and even called it such as opposed to G# to avoid double sharps as per your advice. ^^

 

I might try a version without the percussion, and I'll raise the volume of the flute (actually an erhu). Perhaps I should also quantize the cimbalom part?

You should really quantize everything. It will give the piece a more natural feel. For the style that this piece is written in, you want to get the best out of the human feel.

 

If you're going to have percussion at all in this piece, it should be light hi-hat or light shakers. Wind chimes would work too.

 

But really, the base idea of every song must come from a technical standpoint. Personally, when I compose, I multitask, creating pieces from a technical and expressive standpoint.

[Makazi 317]

You should really quantize everything. It will give the piece a more natural feel. For the style that this piece is written in, you want to get the best out of the human feel.

 

If you're going to have percussion at all in this piece, it should be light hi-hat or light shakers. Wind chimes would work too.

 

But really, the base idea of every song must come from a technical standpoint. Personally, when I compose, I multitask, creating pieces from a technical and expressive standpoint.

 

My approach for years has been the very antithesis of technical. See, what I would do is I would hear something in my head, or hum a tune; I'd get that idea, then I'd go and mess around until the music matched what I thought up and I had turned it into a full song. Other times it was just taking an emotion that I felt and then experimenting until I felt like I had turned that emotion into a piece of music. My solo guitar piece "Lavender" was created in such a way, and I'm not sure if you've heard it, but my more recent piece "Distance" was also created in such a manner.

 

While lots of my music is still based around the approach of "Hear it in my head, turn it into a song", I have been trying to be a bit more conscious of my music technically. It certainly helps lift the fog of mystery off what I'm doing and allows me to easier understand what works and doesn't work within a piece. Once I further understand these technical concepts, song-writing should be much simpler for me. It will take most of the guess work out and allow me to express my ideas more clearly.

Edited January 10, 2016 by Makazi

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,824]

My approach for years has been the very antithesis of technical. See, what I would do is I would hear something in my head, or hum a tune; I'd get that idea, then I'd go and mess around until the music matched what I thought up and I had turned it into a full song. Other times it was just taking an emotion that I felt and then experimenting until I felt like I had turned that emotion into a piece of music. My solo guitar piece "Lavender" was created in such a way, and I'm not sure if you've heard it, but my more recent piece "Distance" was also created in such a manner.

 

While lots of my music is still based around the approach of "Hear it in my head, turn it into a song", I have been trying to be a bit more conscious of my music technically. It certainly helps lift the fog of mystery off what I'm doing and allows me to easier understand what works and doesn't work within a piece. Once I further understand these technical concepts, song-writing should be much easier for me. It will take most of the guess work out and allow me to express my ideas more clearly.

Ok. The thing is, once you get that basic idea, that's where the technical part comes in. It's when you have to develop your ideas, twist them them around. As I've said before, too much of the same thing will disengage your audience.

 

When I started composing music. I had a big idea in mind. I then took that idea inside my head and used some mathematical principles to find ways I can convey the same thought but with different chords, melody lines and harmonies. Then I'd proceed to write it down. I would then create developments based off of altered versions of the melody I hear in my head.

 

Development is perhaps the thing that could make your pieces really shine. I can help you with this.

[Makazi 317]

Ok. The thing is, once you get that basic idea, that's where the technical part comes in. It's when you have to develop your ideas, twist them them around. As I've said before, too much of the same thing will disengage your audience.

 

When I started composing music. I had a big idea in mind. I then took that idea inside my head and used some mathematical principles to find ways I can convey the same thought but with different chords, melody lines and harmonies. Then I'd proceed to write it down. I would then create developments based off of altered versions of the melody I hear in my head.

 

Development is perhaps the thing that could make your pieces really shine. I can help you with this.

 

I am still in the process of learning at my own pace from various sources. As aforementioned, I'm not too comfortable with handing out my Skype, so the forums is probably the best place to contact me. If there's anything you feel like could help, feel free to drop me a message. ^^ I may also contact you via the forums if I have questions about something I am attempting to learn.

[Grepper 3,192]

As Thunder Dash stated, it is a bit simple. I like the basic idea though.

As he said, it would probably work out better if it were a bit slower and had no percussion.

[Makazi 317]

As Thunder Dash stated, it is a bit simple. I like the basic idea though.

As he said, it would probably work out better if it were a bit slower and had no percussion.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I actually tried messing around with some of his suggestions, and I didn't feel like it fit what I was aiming for. Withal, I'll have a new version up in a few days or so.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Makazi