Original Compositions

[TheYoungMathProf 11]

I have recently gotten my hand on the free program MuseScore and just simply poured my talents into it. Here are a few pieces of my work, though all of them or either incomplete or are something I want to go back and expand on.

 

Blitz

My first work. I played the trombone for 9 years, so the necessity to make a brass duet struck me as my first goal. The other horn I selected is baritone. It is complete, but very short, and I might go back to add more to it.

 

Counter

This work I based somewhat loosely on another composition I heard on youtube 

. It is incomplete, as I am trying to maintain a certain degree of originality and it is hard to deviate from a melodic line so perfect. I will just have to wait until I experience some inspiration.

 

Resonance

This is my latest work. It is also technically complete, but dreadfully short. I was able to harmonize 3 instruments simultaneously though (flute and violin, with a moving string bass part), so I consider this piece to be a small milestone. Not gonna lie, but I almost gave the string bass the moving flute line near the end as a tribute to Octavia, but unfortunately, it sounds better this way IMO. Still, here is a link of the moving line for contrabass. 

 

Any critiques are openly welcome. 

Edited December 21, 2013 by TheYoungMathProf

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

@@TheYoungMathProf, 

 

Oh hey, Musescore!  I used that for a while.  It's a pretty decent program with a pretty friendly user interface.  It always had a tendency to crash on me, but it was free, so if that's my only complaint, then it's still a damn good program.  I switched over to Sibelius about a year or two ago, but I remember Musescore fondly.  Anyways, you're reading this to hear what I think of your music, so let's get to that.

 

I think that all three pieces are quite enjoyable!  They're short though, and I feel like they should continue.  Of the three, I personally enjoyed Resonance the most, though Counter was a close second.  I guess if there was one technical point to comment on, some of the harmonizations feel strange.  Unfortunately, I can't say exactly why (I was not blessed with perfect pitch).  If you modulate at all during them, that might be where, because modulations can be quite difficult to do smoothly.

 

Anyways, I found these to be quite enjoyable, and please continue!

[TheYoungMathProf 11]

@@Antismurf9001

 

Thanks! Although I have a load of experience playing music, I have no education on music theory so I kinda just guessed at the correct pitches. I am currently reading up on some things though (like harmonic and melodic minors, which I plan on using a melodic minor in my next composition) and hope to become more technically accurate over time. I really do love modulation.

Edited December 22, 2013 by TheYoungMathProf

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

@@TheYoungMathProf

 

Oh wow, with no knowledge of music theory, I'd say that that's pretty impressive!  Yeah, reading up on that sort of stuff is definitely a good idea.  Just a tip with minors (something that I always tend to screw up), remember that the seventh pitch in a scale is often raised a half step (example: Eb to E natural in F minor), unless you're using the III or VII chords, which aren't exceptionally common to use.  If you don't do that, then you're technically using an aeolian mode rather than a minor scale.  That's not really a problem (I personally love the aeolian mode and I probably use it way too much) but if your intent is to use a minor scale, then you have to keep that in mind.  I'd also recommend reading up on cadences, because those will help to make your endings more definitive.

 

Come to think of it, if you want, I can take a look at your scores and do a bit more of an in-depth analysis.  It would be far from a professional opinion, but I've taken a few years of music theory courses and it might be useful (and honestly, I could use the practice  ).

[TheYoungMathProf 11]

@@Antismurf9001

 

Alright! Feel free to let me know what I did wrong...and what I did in general, cause I have no clue. XD Basically how I started making these is I would choose a key signature, make a melody, then some chords. If the melody sounded off, I would adjust the tones while usually keeping the rhythm. Then I would make a counter melody base off the melody and follow the same steps. I like to think I have great aural skills, despite having no actual knowledge. I hope to change that in the future though.

 

 

 

Blitz

Blitz.pdf

 

Counter

Counter.pdf

 

Resonance

Resonance.pdf

 

 

Also, here is a sneak peak of the other composition I have started. This one is actually a tribute to a certain bass playing pony. I only have the melody for it right now, so even without perfect pitch, you should be able to follow pretty easily. It is in the form of Ab melodic minor.
Strings_Attatched.wavStrings_Attatched.pdf

Edited December 23, 2013 by TheYoungMathProf

[Antismurf9001 1,271]

@@TheYoungMathProf 

 

Alright, cool!  I've taken a quick look at all of them (I'll go more in-depth later when I have a chance to print them out), and have a few comments.  The first three (Blitz, Counter, and Resonance) I believe are all modal at the beginning: Blitz in C phrygian, Counter in Bb mixolydian, and Resonance in E aeolian.  There's absolutely nothing wrong with that; like I said before, I love modal pieces and there's a lot of freedom that comes from using them, but if you were trying for major pitch classes, then these are not.

 

Strings Attached is in Ab minor (as far as I can tell), but I would highly recommend that you transpose it to a different key signature.  It sounds fine in that key, but string players really hate dealing with a lot of accidentals.  Also, at the end of measure 4, you have a Gb that should probably be raised to a G natural if you want people to accept that it's in minor.  The reason that it's important that this specific note should be raised is that it moves to Ab, which is the tonic (first note) of the scale.  I'm trying to think of a way to explain it technically, but I'm coming short, so you may just have to trust me on that one...  Basically, if the seventh in a minor scale is going to move to the tonic, then it should be raised a half step.

 

 

 

I like to think I have great aural skills, despite having know actual knowledge.

 

Oh yeah, I have no doubts about that.  It's really surprising the musical knowledge you pick up just from listening to music.  I remember the first time that I was asked to compose at the end of my first music theory class, my classmates and I were extremely surprised that we would, for the most part, just naturally follow the rules of theory.  The knowledge we had was just an explanation for why what we were doing worked.

 

So yes, I'm going to try to do a more in-depth analysis of the pieces at some point (assuming that you still want one), but with Christmas and New Years around the corner it might be a while before that happens...  Do feel free to bug me though.

 

Oh, and great work!  I know that composition is far from an easy task, but for your first pieces, these are quite good.  Good luck!

[TheYoungMathProf 11]

@@TheYoungMathProf

 

Strings Attached is in Ab minor (as far as I can tell), but I would highly recommend that you transpose it to a different key signature.  It sounds fine in that key, but string players really hate dealing with a lot of accidentals.  Also, at the end of measure 4, you have a Gb that should probably be raised to a G natural if you want people to accept that it's in minor.  The reason that it's important that this specific note should be raised is that it moves to Ab, which is the tonic (first note) of the scale.  I'm trying to think of a way to explain it technically, but I'm coming short, so you may just have to trust me on that one...  Basically, if the seventh in a minor scale is going to move to the tonic, then it should be raised a half step.

 

So yes, I'm going to try to do a more in-depth analysis of the pieces at some point (assuming that you still want one), but with Christmas and New Years around the corner it might be a while before that happens...  Do feel free to bug me though.

 

The reason I didn't raise the Gb in measure 4 is because I read about melodic minors and it says in the descending lines, it should be Gb, but now that you point it out, it could be considered the pickup to the next measure, which would make the line ascending, and therefore requiring G. Thanks!

 

If you want to do an in depth analysis, that is fine with me! I can only improve from what you have to tell me, so I am all ears. I wouldn't want to inconvenience you with any perpetual nagging though...I'll start with only 5 PMs a day. XD

 

In any case, I went ahead and transposed Strings Attached (name subject to change) into A minor, and have added the Violins 1 part. Have a taste.

Edit: I ended up not really caring for the "violins" sound, and I prefer the single "violin" sound, so that has been changed. This is what I have so far.

 

Strings_Attatched.pdfStrings_Attatched.wav

Edited December 23, 2013 by TheYoungMathProf