# A Short piece for string quartet



## emiellucifuge

Ive been working on a short series of string quartet shorts. Here is one.
Please give me your opinions but only constructive criticism please.


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## chillowack

I've listened to this piece a few times, and these are my initial impressions:

1. The main motive is hard for me to make out...it might not be "catchy" enough? This was my impression throughout the piece: that there's no strong motive standing out. Thus the listener is not "pulled in" as much.

2. The dynamics are rather sudden in some places: bursting out loudly and fading away abruptly. I had to adjust the volume a few times. It almost feels like the dynamics are "sprinkled" around the piece for the sake of variety, rather than being carefully placed to invoke certain feelings in certain places.

3. Are you playing these instruments "live" on a keyboard, or did you program them into a Sibelius score?

4. I like your cello sound, it's better than the one I got with Finale. The violin sounds, on the other hand, have that "computery" sound a bit more.

5. I like that you're trying to mix up the rhythm of the instruments; I sense you've been practicing that. This still needs more practice though, because in some places the rhythm is abrupt, as if it's been interrupted in mid-flow. I believe that if you continue practicing that, and find a stronger melody, you can have an effective combination.

6. I also like the "question/answer" thing you're doing between the higher and lower registers, I think it fits the type of piece you're doing.

I hope these comments help! I'm happy to see another composer working on string quartets: hopefully we can encourage each other as we practice composing this form.


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## emiellucifuge

Thanks a lot, ill try and see what I can do to improve those areas!

Thats why I thought I would risk possibly hijacking you thread, it seemed like a perfect chance for some mutual critique.


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## emiellucifuge

Youre right about the catchyness. I find it very hard to write music that is completely tonal, or at least not discordant and also find it hard to allow the music to follow the listeners expectations.. I seem to want to defy them at every beat.


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## chillowack

You didn't hijack my thread at all, my friend: I was glad you called my attention to your piece, because I hadn't noticed it yet. Had I noticed it, I would have responded immediately, because it's the same genre I'm currently working on myself, and therefore it would appear on my "radar."

I see what you mean about the tonal thing: while your piece does stay pretty much in one key, it doesn't have a strongly melodic quality (at least, not yet). Of course, that isn't necessarily a bad thing: not everyone is a Mozart, and not everyone _likes_ Mozart. Some people gravitate toward dissonance.

It so happens that I'm on the other end of the spectrum--it's mostly about melody with my music--so maybe I need more of the dissonant style, to balance me out. I think eventually I will expand into this more, and I'm sure you will expand too.

Can I ask you: do you ever come up with tunes in your head? Or maybe variations on other people's tunes? This kind of thing happens to me often, and it's where I get my composing ideas. There will be the start of a melody, and then as I go about my day a little bit more appears, etc. until I've got a motive.

Is your process anything like that?


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## emiellucifuge

Yes you may not believe it but there is a delightful melody by a ukrainian composer called Bjelinski on which a set of short pieces for string quartets (which im currently working on is based) If you had heard the tune and the accompaniment you might see the tiny motives ive included, I also somehow always manage to disguise them - not sure if its such a good or bad thing.

But yes I do come up with tunes in my head.

From Your piece I noticed exactly what you are saying, it is important to balance them. Dissonance provides coloring and can be used for great emotional effect but I guess completely dissonant music is just as bland as a piece in C major with not a single harmonic deviation.

P.S I do like Mozart


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## chillowack

Yes, I agree: too much melody can be overwhelming. I'm conscious of the melody-heavy nature of my work, but I am grateful for it, because melody happens to be a musical currency universally accepted by humanity: it will always be in vogue, because it appeals to a broad spectrum of people.

However: most great film scores, for instance, are not exclusively melodic. They may contain strong and memorable motives, but they utilize a whole toolbox of emotion-evoking techniques and devices, of which melody is only one. So I realize melody isn't everything.

Nevertheless, I love Mozart too!


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