# Incomplete piano piece played by myself



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

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https://soundcloud.com/clavi12tone%2Fcomp-in-prog-5-sep-2014-2wav

Here is the link. Its an unfinished piano composition, hopefully I've done it justice enough that you can get the gist pretty well. I tampered with the sound a little to make the sound quality less dry, and its inconspicuous, don't worry.

Hope to hear your thoughts, and maybe even suggestions on where I could go with it.


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## Igneous01 (Jan 27, 2011)

It's hard for me to form an opinion on this, as its very short and some development is missing. It feels a little Bachian, or something akin to an early Beethoven work. I would be interested in hearing the ideas developed more; personally for me, I felt the repeat was a little too obvious. As a small suggestion -maybe filling in 2 measures of some 'new' material before the repeat would make it flow better?

Overall, its a nice start, and you played very well


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

By repeat, do you mean at :43 or so, after the part where the meter changes? Or do you mean after the modulation to G minor where I reused material from the beginning before departing into something new?


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

It sounds, harmonic vein and configurations both, more in the realms of Haydn / Haydnesque (maybe Handel) than anything else.

What is there is oddly like remnants of a mosaic, with huge gaps in between segments missing. at the 14-second mark, the 30 second mark, etc. Each sounds like whole chunks of further material and developments (not necessarily formal development) are absent, and whatever segments there are as fragments of a longer work found and then glued together.

For your own edification and entertainment, it is another sort of 'model' writing in a style of the past. Ergo, since so much is at the moment 'missing,' and the fragments there not set in stone, it is open to go in at least two directions from where it now is.

1.) Complete it as if it is an exercise in writing in old style,
or 
2.) Complete it, while further rethinking / revising some of your idea of it, to include more contemporary harmony smoothly incorporated with some of what you already have, turning it in to a neoclassical piece, which would merit more attention as to possibly being performed vs. a well-executed period style exercise.

As it is, at each of those junctures I mentioned, and throughout to the end, put together as it now is, it sounds like visible seams with a lot of the garment not yet cut to fit or added on. 

My comp teacher would have called out at each of those junctures the moment I played the next measure, "Not yet!" -- exactly the feeling I got at each of those spots


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I've finished this piece. Since it simply moves forward, perhaps it would give listeners a different perspective. I have yet to record it.


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## violadude (May 2, 2011)

clavichorder said:


> I've finished this piece. Since it simply moves forward, perhaps it would give listeners a different perspective. I have yet to record it.


I would like to hear the whole piece. It's kind of difficult to judge it based on fragments.


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## hreichgott (Dec 31, 2012)

Igneous01 said:


> feels a little Bachian, or something akin to an early Beethoven work.





PetrB said:


> It sounds, harmonic vein and configurations both, more in the realms of Haydn / Haydnesque (maybe Handel) than anything else.


I was going to say Scarlatti. Now everyone is covered. 
It's harder than one would think to write original material with time-worn tools, but I think you've done it. I would enjoy hearing more of your pieces as you continue to develop. I know you play piano, do you play a lot of contemporary music to feed your creative imagination?


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## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

Pleased someone inferred my Scarlatti inspiration. Definitely one of my favorite composers lately. Thanks for the compliments hreichgott.

In answer to your question, I am not really an advanced enough pianist/sight reader to go through a lot of music quickly, so I have no experience playing contemporary works. 

But I'm not as conservative of a listener as my username and professed primary musical interests let on. Serialism and non tonal music is fine, even brilliant when well executed, and I love much of the early to mid 20th century and a little beyond. I've yet to be convinced by work in minimalism, post minimalism, polystylism, and tapes, and "noise" and the like. 

This is my first attempt at composition in a while, and I have another piece in roughly binary form that is in the works, maybe more obviously following some Scarlatti-isms. I am just pleased to be able to modulate, use proper voice leading, and have themes that carry on longer than previously, which may not seem like much by the fragment you heard, but is tremendous improvement from before. Maybe one of these days I'll get a good composition software set up and start moving into other instruments and forms.


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