# My First Serious(ish) Composition. A Short Piece for Harpischord A minor.



## Fried fifer (Dec 14, 2013)

Hey guys. I've finally completed a piece with a form and proper harmonic end goal that is met. The instrument is harpsichord and form binary(AA'BB'), but the music itself i wouldn't want to say was influenced by baroque music or attempts to be such. Just really like the harpsichord as an instrument and binary form is short and sweet and worked well for my goals. The feel and style of the piece i'd have to say were most influenced by Beethoven, as he is who i was listening to in between writing it and his music i've studied more than any other. Especially Beethoven's Opus 2 Movement IV which is the only seriously classical piano repertoire I've studied extensively(i'm learning to play at student recitals at the end of the semester).
I know some of the parts are probably a bit crazy to play on piano but i think in general the piece is of reasonable difficulty. If I get permission from the music director to practice and then play this piece on the school harpsichord I will probably end up changing it as i attempt to play it and it will better fit harpsichord as an instrument. Also, i am thinking about blowing it up to full out sonata form but that will be a very serious undertaking so i'm going to have to do a lot of studying first.
Well, tell me what you think. Constructive criticism is most definitely wanted and feel free to be as harsh as you feel.
Edit: ha, forgot the link.

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https://soundcloud.com/john-calligan%2Fbinary-sonata-in-a-minor


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## Fried fifer (Dec 14, 2013)

Also i recognize it is quite silly. But beyond that. I think i can fix it up.


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## Fried fifer (Dec 14, 2013)

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https://soundcloud.com/john-calligan%2Fbinary-sonata-in-a-minor-r2
Okay PetrB brought up to things, which I had thought about, but, I guess, wasn't really worried about. 
A)Harpsichords don't have sustain pedals. I knew this and kept it in mind, but I double checked that all of the held parts in this piece are doable entirely with the left hand holding each note as it spells the rest of the chord. Basically arpeggio's, after double checking I can confirm that the held notes are never more than 5 at once and happen within an octave. So the sustained sound is completely playable on a real harpsichord.
B)The sound from the midi software I used was horrible. So I ran it through a free harpsichord vst I found online. He brought up a good point that I should share the freeware with the community so here is a link. Hopefully it will help anyone out there composing for harpsichord that doesn't have access to one. http://sonimusicae.free.fr/petititalien-en.html

So there is the link to the updated piece, I still plan on learning and playing it on the college harpsichord if I get the opportunity and will probably make a few changes then, but for now I changed a few small things.
Hope you enjoy, and if you do not. Feel free to tell me why and what you think. I know this isn't quite a work of art as its the first piece of music I've even ever completed.


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