# You finally get to hear something by me



## Kopachris

Because I know you've been _dying_ to hear them!  (not really; I'm still trying to figure things out)

My first composition (I finally decided on the name "Klavierstück"), my Opus 0, I'm not going to share unless someone really, really wants me to, because I wrote it before I knew a thing about theory. I didn't even know how to cadence.

My second composition, which I wrote in May 2010 after reading a basic theory textbook, is a fantasy in C-minor. I apologize in advance for using midi to perform a piece for a solo instrument, but I 1) don't have any recording equipment, 2) don't play piano, and 3) don't have a piano to learn to play. It can be found here:

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https://soundcloud.com/kopachris%2Ffantasie-c-moll

In addition, I am now working on a piano sonata. I finished the exposition (which, truth be told, is the easiest part) within 24 hours. It took another two days to notate it in LilyPond. I'm going to continue editing it as I write and notate the rest. Here's the midi-recording-thing:

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https://soundcloud.com/kopachris%2Fpiano-sonata-no-1-in-f-major

If you want sheet music for either of these, just PM me and I'll email them to you.


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## Kopachris

Afraid to post? Don't worry, I won't lash out with some anti-modernist rant. _These_ *are* "practice pieces." Not so much as my canons, though, which heavily imitate Beethoven's style. I have one for SSATTBB currently in the works with lyrics and harmony outlined that I need to work on...

Like I said: these are practice pieces, and I won't lash out at anyone for saying so. Because I've had no formal training whatsoever and have no special inborn talent for music, I've had to to teach myself composition and rely primarily on subconscious pattern-seeking ability--"Such and such effect can be created with these elements; therefore I need to do some of this; now I should do this; next it would be best if I do this to tie it all together..." etc. Also, I am a vocalist; I do not play piano. This makes writing those canons far easier and makes writing almost anything else much more difficult. Thus the importance of these practice pieces: they allow me to become better at the _craft_ of music so that expression will become easier, and they allow me to find a style and method that works for me.


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## chopinsky

interesting piece. pretty good composition and maybe even great for a first composition. My first ones weren't nearly as good is this. Keep up the good work.


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## Aramis

You seem to treat left hand as some kind of basso continuo. It should FOLLOW the rest, not play role of steady setting. With proper transpositions in left hand this piece could be ten times better.


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## Sid James

Enjoyed your works, thanks for posting them. Liked the first one better than the second one, but it's difficult to compare them, as they're in different genres/forms.

Just talking here purely from a listener (non-musician) viewpoint -

*Fantasie in C-moll*
Nice sense of flow here & like how you interrupted things a bit with silences - that kind of made the piece a bit less "tight" or "closed." Funny how, in the way I "heard" it, putting those pauses/silences in there, made it have more "flow" for me.

*Piano Sonata No. 1 in F major - Movement 1 (exposition)*
Your "tune" or "melody" sounded quite different than "Baroque" things, which initially I thought of. You put some of your individuality/imagination in there, I think...


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## Kopachris

Aramis, I think I understand what you mean: the accompaniment should arise out of necessity from the idea. I'm listening to Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A major as I type this, and the accompaniment _feels_ necessarily part of the music. Though the accompaniment does not share notes and rhythm with the melody, it seems to echo it in some way that reinforces the theme. Now that I recognize it, I notice the same sort of thing in Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Mahler, as well. I'll keep that in mind in the future, thanks!


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## Kopachris

Edit to the above:

Or did you just mean how I used the bass as a sort of tonic pedal throughout the Fantasie? I used the pedal point intentionally, though I agree that it could sound better; it may have been a mistaken decision on my part.


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## Kopachris

*What I've learned so far (from working on the development section):*

When it is said that the sonata form should arise out of necessity for the themes, it is meant that the sonata form is a battle between two opposing themes. An excessively foreign theme should not be introduced immediately after the exposition, and when an excessively foreign theme _is_ introduced, it should be made into its own "sub-movement," like the trio of a minuet form.

Some themes are more capable of variation than others. That is, some themes must remain more intact in order to be recognizable. This includes what register the theme is in.

Also, the first bar or two of a theme often contain the strongest motif. Anything that follows may easily be varied and will be heard as a variation on the original theme.

However, motifs that occur later in the theme may also be strong, and may be used on their own or may develop into their own themes. They _may._

Following the idea of "sonata-as-battle," putting the first and second subjects closer together in time (as in the dogfight strain of a march) and moving upward as a sequence increases tension and is an easy way to climax (but not necessarily the best way).

Things flow a lot better when you outline the whole thing first (as long as you understand the principles behind what you're outlining).

Finally, about the role of silences in flow (as mentioned by Sid James regarding my Fantasie): the silences help create reference points that give the ear a sense of structure, tying off one idea momentarily and picking up another.

Oh, and I have no idea what this means:


Sid James said:


> Your "tune" or "melody" sounded quite different than "Baroque" things, which initially I thought of.


So, the first movement is still a WIP. On the other hand, I have a feeling the minuet movement is going to be much better--I already have good themes for both the minuet and the trio. I just need to work on flow...


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## ricardo_jvc6

Your first pieces are nice, you must give the melody a better use and please start to use dynamics.


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## Kopachris

ricardo_jvc6 said:


> Your first pieces are nice, you must give the melody a better use and please start to use dynamics.


I do use dynamics, they just don't show up in the midi (I don't play piano). If I wanted to take all day, I could edit the midi and add proper dynamics and ornaments (there are a couple trills that don't show up in the midi either), but I'm too lazy, so I just stuck with the auto-generated midi.


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## ricardo_jvc6

Kopachris said:


> I do use dynamics, they just don't show up in the midi (I don't play piano). If I wanted to take all day, I could edit the midi and add proper dynamics and ornaments (there are a couple trills that don't show up in the midi either), but I'm too lazy, so I just stuck with the auto-generated midi.


Can you use wav., wav. has great audio quality. I use wav. most of the times.


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## Kopachris

ricardo_jvc6 said:


> Can you use wav., wav. has great audio quality. I use wav. most of the times.


How do you mean, exactly? I do use wav, but to generate the wav file, it must first be a midi file. The program I use for sheet music, LilyPond, only allows me to export to a midi file. I can then make a wav file (for uploading to SoundCloud) by running the midi through a sequencer, as the midi only holds note information and not actual sound. Even if you use Finale or Sibelius, when you export to a wav, the program is actually running midi data through a sequencer. The quality of the sound depends on the soundfont (a bank of sounds for instruments) you use and the contents of the actual midi file. The difference here is that for formatting purposes, I only attach my dynamic marks to the left hand staff so that it appears between the staffs. Because the dynamic mark is really only on one staff, the sequencer only does dynamics for that staff.


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## An Die Freude

The opening of the Fantaisie is very Baroque for me. Not a criticism mind you 

Very good piece, I loved the short chords near the middle.

As for the piano sonata's exposition, amazing first theme, but the transition is so seamless I can't tell where the second theme starts! Where does it start?


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## Kopachris

An Die Freude said:


> The opening of the Fantaisie is very Baroque for me. Not a criticism mind you
> 
> Very good piece, I loved the short chords near the middle.
> 
> As for the piano sonata's exposition, amazing first theme, but the transition is so seamless I can't tell where the second theme starts! Where does it start?


Thanks. 

The second theme starts on m. 21, right after a lone ascending eighth-note arpeggio in the bass. Instead of being more lyrical, as the second subject usually is, the second theme here is tenser more energetic--the main line is doubled a third below throughout and uses more nonharmonic tones than the first theme. I've been meaning to change the whole thing to make the development work better (the themes will stay the same, but will be organized differently), but I've been busy with vector graphics (another of my hobbies) lately, so I haven't gotten around to it yet.


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## graaf

I can hardly give any constructive criticism, but I thought you might like to hear that I gave it a listen and was positively surprised with what I've heard. After listening both only once, I liked Fantasie in C-moll better, maybe it's just more approachable.


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