Music Question Thread

[waterdancer]

Hello, it's me the crazy pianist again. 

I've done a lot more work on the piano composition I shared a little while back. It's still not perfect, but wanted to get some more feedback to see if I'm on the right track. Hopefully I'm moving forward to creating a better composition, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Added a few more sections to try and break it up, but the actual sections I've left quite similar, changed a few notes and rhythms, and endings of sections, also added some tempo changes, rits and accelerando and such. Will probably add more of this as I go on, still learning how to master Sibelius, but hopefully I can use it to its full potential before I have to submit the composition.

My intention is to add in a much calmer introduction section, since I've still got around 30 seconds to play with, but all of the ideas I've had so far have been discarded. Beginnings are the one thing I never seem to be able to do at all. But yes, just keeping in mind the start of this won't be the starting place of the final composition, so it's not going to be as abrupt and in your face.

Rui, I tried using the interrupted cadence for bars 32-33 but I still don't think it sounds as smooth as it could be. Would you have any suggestions as to how to fix this? I definitely don't want to finish on the C# Minor chord, since I begin the next section with that, but nothing I've tried so far is to my satisfaction.

Unity, I have tried to get more of by repeating a couple of sections, though as you suggested Rui, I've added a couple of changes so I am not simply repeating the exact same passage. But let me know what you think, I need all the feedback I can get my hands on.
Enjoy! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubXe0x5C9dM

[RuiAce]

Hello, it's me the crazy pianist again. 

I've done a lot more work on the piano composition I shared a little while back. It's still not perfect, but wanted to get some more feedback to see if I'm on the right track. Hopefully I'm moving forward to creating a better composition, but I'll let you be the judge of that.

Added a few more sections to try and break it up, but the actual sections I've left quite similar, changed a few notes and rhythms, and endings of sections, also added some tempo changes, rits and accelerando and such. Will probably add more of this as I go on, still learning how to master Sibelius, but hopefully I can use it to its full potential before I have to submit the composition.

My intention is to add in a much calmer introduction section, since I've still got around 30 seconds to play with, but all of the ideas I've had so far have been discarded. Beginnings are the one thing I never seem to be able to do at all. But yes, just keeping in mind the start of this won't be the starting place of the final composition, so it's not going to be as abrupt and in your face.

Rui, I tried using the interrupted cadence for bars 32-33 but I still don't think it sounds as smooth as it could be. Would you have any suggestions as to how to fix this? I definitely don't want to finish on the C# Minor chord, since I begin the next section with that, but nothing I've tried so far is to my satisfaction.

Unity, I have tried to get more of by repeating a couple of sections, though as you suggested Rui, I've added a couple of changes so I am not simply repeating the exact same passage. But let me know what you think, I need all the feedback I can get my hands on.
Enjoy! 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubXe0x5C9dM

It's still a bit over the place but there's significant improvement. The difference is that now, there's several characters present in the composition, which is fantastic. The problem lies in that sometimes, the new character (or change of tone or whatever) is introduced in a really 'strange' manner. Every now and then, this is actually good, because it produces a bit of tension. However too much of it is kinda unnecessary.

E.g. Of course, the diminuendo contributes to bringing the melody back down, but bar 10 feels a bit too much. The chord sequence there feels a bit overdone and keep in mind that your upper note represents the melody, which you want to be a bit more 'fluent' if you're trying to bring in something calmer. Maybe even split it into two bars so that we have a slower change of pace and dynamics?

Not gonna point out too much of 'where where where' this time, and this is because the composition is actually coming together. Critiquing too much here would risk you damaging your composition to incorporate all the feedback. Play it again and just look out for when some things are a bit too much (e.g. I found bar 10 was too rapid at making it calmer)

One good thing that has come (which I'm not sure, if it was there previously) - The key change at bar 30 actually feels in place now; it feels very connected to the previous key.

Bit daring using two glissandos here.

Maybe start by delaying the resolve into bar 33. Your key changes, but you use the rit. in a way such that it seems to attempt to finish off that section asap. Also you didn't really use a cadence; it can't have been interrupted because it was i-v and not v-VI, but more importantly it doesn't follow cadence principles; it's just a chord progression. (Besides, the interrupted cadence is extremely hard to use; it's probably the least 'smooth' of the four principal cadences.)

For starters, I'd delay the resolve a tad more (definitely no more than 6 bars of delaying). Then, tweak the rit a bit. That ritardando was placed so that the notes that built up the scale pattern were played a bit too slowly. Finally, with the notes, two comments. First is a bit optional; consider if you want a scale pattern, or just an in-between note. E.g. in one of my pieces (obviously different key) the ending was more like G, then Eb (in the octave ABOVE), F# (back to original octave), G. That maybe worth mentioning. Second is in regards to the actual two chords. You can consider writing a chord in first inversion instead, by making the bass note the third rather than the root of the chord. You can also consider stepping it down. Could also take out some of the notes in the chord; you may be surprised, but a chord doesn't have to include ALL the notes in it, if you do it right

I'll be honest, it's smoother than what you think. I feel as though it's more the way that it gets built (the slowing down) that makes it feel weird.

[waterdancer]

It's still a bit over the place but there's significant improvement. The difference is that now, there's several characters present in the composition, which is fantastic. The problem lies in that sometimes, the new character (or change of tone or whatever) is introduced in a really 'strange' manner. Every now and then, this is actually good, because it produces a bit of tension. However too much of it is kinda unnecessary.

E.g. Of course, the diminuendo contributes to bringing the melody back down, but bar 10 feels a bit too much. The chord sequence there feels a bit overdone and keep in mind that your upper note represents the melody, which you want to be a bit more 'fluent' if you're trying to bring in something calmer. Maybe even split it into two bars so that we have a slower change of pace and dynamics?

Not gonna point out too much of 'where where where' this time, and this is because the composition is actually coming together. Critiquing too much here would risk you damaging your composition to incorporate all the feedback. Play it again and just look out for when some things are a bit too much (e.g. I found bar 10 was too rapid at making it calmer)

One good thing that has come (which I'm not sure, if it was there previously) - The key change at bar 30 actually feels in place now; it feels very connected to the previous key.

Bit daring using two glissandos here.

Maybe start by delaying the resolve into bar 33. Your key changes, but you use the rit. in a way such that it seems to attempt to finish off that section asap. Also you didn't really use a cadence; it can't have been interrupted because it was i-v and not v-VI, but more importantly it doesn't follow cadence principles; it's just a chord progression. (Besides, the interrupted cadence is extremely hard to use; it's probably the least 'smooth' of the four principal cadences.)

For starters, I'd delay the resolve a tad more (definitely no more than 6 bars of delaying). Then, tweak the rit a bit. That ritardando was placed so that the notes that built up the scale pattern were played a bit too slowly. Finally, with the notes, two comments. First is a bit optional; consider if you want a scale pattern, or just an in-between note. E.g. in one of my pieces (obviously different key) the ending was more like G, then Eb (in the octave ABOVE), F# (back to original octave), G. That maybe worth mentioning. Second is in regards to the actual two chords. You can consider writing a chord in first inversion instead, by making the bass note the third rather than the root of the chord. You can also consider stepping it down. Could also take out some of the notes in the chord; you may be surprised, but a chord doesn't have to include ALL the notes in it, if you do it right

I'll be honest, it's smoother than what you think. I feel as though it's more the way that it gets built (the slowing down) that makes it feel weird.

Alright, thanks so much Rui. I'll take all of this on board and keep playing around with it. It's a good thing I've still got 5 months until Major Works are due 

I'll try not to pester you too much in the lead up until then, but I will probably post an update every now and again just to get your feedback again if that's fine by you. I'll change Bar 10 and get rid of the second glissando, perhaps do a descending triplet pattern instead... Also you mentioned the manner in which I introduce new characters is sometimes strange, was that just mainly Bar 10 (and obviously the Bar 33 change), or where there other parts that really stood at as being strange and needing to be fixed?

Cheers again, and I hope you don't mind if I include your feedback in my composition journal. You've been so helpful, thank you 

[DalvinT]

Music Aural Exam is tomorrow... And I actually have no clue on how to answer an aural question!
Like I get we need to identify, describe and explain the effect...
But I think I'm struggling on how to approach it and really maximise my marks during those 6 playings...

I find that I don't know what to write and end up having little written on my page.

[jamonwindeyer]

Music Aural Exam is tomorrow... And I actually have no clue on how to answer an aural question!
Like I get we need to identify, describe and explain the effect...
But I think I'm struggling on how to approach it and really maximise my marks during those 6 playings...

I find that I don't know what to write and end up having little written on my page.

Check out these Aural Exam tips Dalvin!

Best of luck mate, just remember to write down what you are hearing in the music - At the core, that is what they are testing, how well you can identify and describe sounds

[selinayinz]

Hi! I am currently studying music 2, and I am struggling with my core composition. Does anyone have any tips in beginning to form a piece?

As a music 2 student, would it be too risky to compose a singing piece for the core composition? I really like musical theatre style/ballad type music such as Les Mis 'On My Own' and Rent 'One Song Glory' types. I'd like to tell a story... do you think it would be able to get high marks? Has anyone attempted it?

Mod Edit: Post merge

[jamonwindeyer]

Hi! I am currently studying music 2, and I am struggling with my core composition. Does anyone have any tips in beginning to form a piece?

As a music 2 student, would it be too risky to compose a singing piece for the core composition? I really like musical theatre style/ballad type music such as Les Mis 'On My Own' and Rent 'One Song Glory' types. I'd like to tell a story... do you think it would be able to get high marks? Has anyone attempted it?

Hey Selina! I didn't do Music 2, but I did two elective compositions for Music 1 that scored really highly, so hopefully I can assist

I always found that the best way to start putting a piece together was to sit at the instrument of choice and just improvise. So, for my orchestral piece, I sat at my keyboard with Sibelius/Garageband open and just randomly played melodies and chord progressions on the strings and brass, trying to find something that sounded good! I'm not much of a piano player so it was very basic, but I ended up with a rhythmic idea that I had on the low strings, developed that into a harmony for woodwind. By then I had set the tone of the piece and worked from there.

For my guitar piece, again I just sat at my guitar and improvised. My teacher called me the strangest composer she'd ever seen, because I'd literally do most of the actual composing in a night or two, then I'd spend a month arranging the ideas into structures and the structures into a piece. Most people develop the ideas over a much longer timeframe

You could also listen to some pieces in the style you are composing for! I would listen to pieces from famous films (I did Music for Film as my elective) to see what worked, what composers did to create tension in certain scenes. Being able to listen to a successful composition can really inspire great ideas

The only risk I'd see for a vocal piece would be the lyrics. Not only do you need to write melodies, harmonies, rhythms, all the musical stuff - You need lyrics, and that's a tough thing for most people. Your lyrics will be marked just as harshly (I'd imagine), as the musical choices you make, so make sure you are up to putting in that slight bit of extra work! I think if you are keen you should do it though

[Snew]

Hello!
I got my notification for my core viva today. One of my ideas for my statement is "compare Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2 and Classical Jazz Quartet's interpretation, and how this contributes to distinct tone colours."
Do you think this is too specific?

[jamonwindeyer]

Hello!
I got my notification for my core viva today. One of my ideas for my statement is "compare Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2 and Classical Jazz Quartet's interpretation, and how this contributes to distinct tone colours."
Do you think this is too specific?

So this is comparing an original to a cover? I like it! A few challenges, I like to play devils advocate:

- How will you use your excerpts? Will you play the first one and discuss for 5 minutes, then discuss the other for 5 minutes? Or will you break it down and highlight differences on a section by section (or even just the way specific melodies are treated or something similar)?
- Can you feasibly discuss tone colour in a sophisticated way, for two pieces, all the way through the 10 minute Viva? Is there enough to discuss, or would bringing in the other concepts make it easier?
- Why are you comparing these two pieces? In terms of the topic you are covering with this Viva (EG - Music of the 21st century, Classical Music, etc), how does it relate and why choose these two? This is often the toughest part, a justification for why you are speaking in the first place, why it relates to the topic (and it can't be as simple as "It matches the style of the topic."

[Snew]

So this is comparing an original to a cover? I like it! A few challenges, I like to play devils advocate:

Exactly why I came to you Jamon 
I'm not quite sure whether it would be better to spend 5 minutes discussing each one or dissecting smaller sections. In all honesty I hadn't even thought that far I was thinking that I could bring in all the other concepts and talk about how they contributes to the overall distinct tone colours - jazzy and late romantic - if that makes sense? otherwise i'll probably just take that part out of the statement - or maybe something like "how are distinct tone colours created by the concepts."
I think my justification (apart from both being 20th century ) is just I think its pretty awesome that someone could take a classical piece and transform it into something so distinctly different - that a new interpretation could create an entirely new sound!

[jamonwindeyer]

Exactly why I came to you Jamon 
I'm not quite sure whether it would be better to spend 5 minutes discussing each one or dissecting smaller sections. In all honesty I hadn't even thought that far

I think smaller would be better - Perhaps like two rounds of a section each, so four excerpts total?

I was thinking that I could bring in all the other concepts and talk about how they contributes to the overall distinct tone colours - jazzy and late romantic - if that makes sense? otherwise i'll probably just take that part out of the statement - or maybe something like "how are distinct tone colours created by the concepts."

I think the word you want there is style instead of tone colour!

I think my justification (apart from both being 20th century ) is just I think its pretty awesome that someone could take a classical piece and transform it into something so distinctly different - that a new interpretation could create an entirely new sound!

Your Viva Voce topic could be:

Exploring how the concepts of music are manipulated differently in the style of jazz as compared to the late romantic style of the early 19th century, through consideration of Classical Jazz Quartet's creative interpretation of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.2

Jeez, it's a mouthful - You could probably do better if you spend some time, but what do you reckon?

 

[DalvinT]

Hey! If there is any piano god there, I really need help on my piano technique lol.

SO one of my HSC pieces is Rachmanioff - Prelude in C# minor and for me, I feel so exhausted everytime I practice second and third section.
Like my arm and fingers gets so tired and my arm feels really warm? and tight? ahaha... I DON'T THINK THIS IS NORMAL.

Is there any tips or ways to correct my way of playing to reduce this?

[jamonwindeyer]

Rui will help as our resident piano man but do you do warmups, exercises or anything of the sort before you play? I was the same for guitar, I used to cramp up if I jumped straight into a hard piece without at least a little bit of something simpler first

[RuiAce]

Hey! If there is any piano god there, I really need help on my piano technique lol.

SO one of my HSC pieces is Rachmanioff - Prelude in C# minor and for me, I feel so exhausted everytime I practice second and third section.
Like my arm and fingers gets so tired and my arm feels really warm? and tight? ahaha... I DON'T THINK THIS IS NORMAL.

Is there any tips or ways to correct my way of playing to reduce this?

Can I have a look at the score? I get a better understanding of why this happens when I see the actual notes causing it

(I will be busy for a majority of the day so I might not get a proper reply in ASAP. I have to think more when it comes to music instead of HSC maths.)

[DalvinT]

Rui will help as our resident piano man but do you do warmups, exercises or anything of the sort before you play? I was the same for guitar, I used to cramp up if I jumped straight into a hard piece without at least a little bit of something simpler first

Haha yeah I do always lol