# Evan Kearney's Compositions (work in major progress)



## etkearne

Hi, everyone.

As I promised, I set up a SoundCloud account to start to upload my classical pieces to. I only uploaded two of dozens of pieces so far out of time constraints today (I was busy), but I chose the two for a reason.

Evan Kearney's Sound Cloud

The piano piece (which contrary to the title is actually for TWO pianos...or a person with four hands) is a lean into my more dissonant and even atonal territory (there are a few atonal segments in there but mostly just dissonant tonality), while the other work for the woodwind chamber group is more lighthearted and pleasant.

But both, IMO retain a modern feel.

I will try to "bump" this thread when I upload new stuff and you can share your criticism or if you like it, you can let me know of that as well.

I will try to keep uploaded one or two per day.


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## etkearne

I just added the first three movements to my "Suite For Piano & Brass Instruments".


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

I very much enjoyed your harmonic exploration. I thought the piano piece was the best out of the ones you posted, but the piano's accompaniment in all the other pieces wasn't very interesting. Homophonic accompaniment is good sometimes but you used it excessively. Any reason for this? Perhaps you should look at piano accompaniments in Lieder by composers such as Schubert and Schumann. Perhaps even give the piano some melodic material too and let it interact with the other instruments?


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## etkearne

Yeah. Thanks for the compliment. I didn't do much with the piano in the other pieces simply because I didn't really know "what" to do so that it wouldn't over-shadow the other lines. Perhaps I will give those links a listen and re-work it (which shouldn't take long). I'll be sure to let you know when I do that or post something entirely new!

_Everyone else: I don't bite! I am very open to criticism. I realize that harmony is my strong point and I am still working hard on orchestration, so please don't feel inhibited to give some tips._


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## etkearne

I should also note that I have a big jazz background which is a major reason for my over-repetitive half-note piano comp chords haha!


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Also, have a listen to the piano's role in works like these:


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## Billy

Hi Evan,

I am listening to your suites for Piano and Brass now and am enjoying them much. I think that a musician can learn much from the way you organize the music's harmonies. Your pieces are open and free flowing. Thanks for sharing them. 

Billy


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## etkearne

Thanks, Billy. Like I said, harmony is my strength. Orchestration is my weakness and I hope to improve it through putting material up on this site.

I redid the piano part for Suite For Brass & Piano movements One and Two this morning. It is more dynamic. I listened to some early Schoenberg for some inspiration...his pre serial work.


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## etkearne

Hey, everyone:

I finished up the Suite For Brass & Piano. It is up on Soundcloud. I took Composer of AG's advice and fleshed out the piano more, so you may want to give the older movements a re-listening. I also set it up in full stereo so that the instrumental lines are clearer to hear. 

At some point I will likely improve upon it, but I want to get some feedback first to know where to attack.

Up next? I am going to attempt a Piano Sonata in Three Movements in the traditional form but in modern musical language. I am excited to hone my piano composing skills.


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## etkearne

Check out the following, everyone:

Piano Sonata: Allegro Moderato

This is the first sketch of my new piano sonata which I started today (well, I started planning it last night) after I finished up the Brass & Piano Suite (which is also up on SoundCloud with improvements to the early movements).

I am forcing myself to eschew block chords when they are not necessary (although they still appear, just not as the lead) and trying to write very contrapuntally.

The piece in in G Minor but it modulates all over the place. It spends time in the Lydian Mode as well as the Acoustic Scale before "coming home".


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## etkearne

Sorry to annoy you all again, but this week has been rather good for pumping out compositional ideas. Now up on Soundcloud is Movement II of the Piano Sonata - Andante. 

I think this movement may be my finest work so far as I really have started to come to terms with composing for the keyboard console. I am moving away from block chords towards more textural and rhythmically interesting ways of expressing my harmonic language. I expect the final movement will turn out very well. I may actually return to Movement I to tweak a few things, but first I want to finish the third movement (of which I simply have a sketch right now).

I went to a music store today and stocked up on tons of Manuscript Paper since I had run out. They looked at me like I was a weirdo for some reason haha (I suppose I have a "mad composer" look to me now especially since I have a beard...). It is nice paper, though, and is spiral bound.

I am also, tonight, going to start my next work, Opus 6, which is going to be called "Music For Two Electric Guitars and Bass Guitar" and is my effort at expanding the repertoire for electric string instruments in classical music. It will probably be in my usual neo-baroque, 'expanded' tonality style unless I make a serious effort to restrict my harmonic choices. But I don't see why I should do that considering I know how to use the expanded tonality without doing anything stupid.


Sorry to ramble on...I am just excited to work more on the Piano Sonata and to start the next work. I will probably be working on both works together for the next week or two, I would imagine, so stay tuned for updates.

Thanks for your listening.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Just a question, do you compose straight onto the music notation software?


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## etkearne

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Just a question, do you compose straight onto the music notation software?


First, I format the work on a piece of manuscript paper in the following way. I section with letters (like A for Intro, B for Theme, etc.), then block off the number of bars on the sheet for each part. Then I will jot down which scales I want to employ and harmonize them on the side (I still do this even for Major Diatonic just to keep my practice up). Then I will script down the chord progressions and indicate the rhythmic progression of the chords in the manuscript. I do not write the exact slots for which voice gets which note, etc. until I go on the computer.

Then, for sections with very prominent melodies, like the theme in the sonata, I will write the monophonic score for the melody but leave out the chords, as I like to harmonize the melody on the computer (and I already wrote out the scale harmonization or scales if bitonal to the side...). So in the end, I have a few sheets of manuscript paper with a mix of chord notes with a rhythm to them and short melody scores...and a ton and a half of notes indicating what I want to generally DO with it. Of course, I forgot to mention, but time signatures are written on the paper manuscript, as are tempos in crotchet or dotted crotchet equals number.

Only then do I hit the score-writer in Cubase. And when that's done, then I tweak the instruments so they sound realistic as well as adjusting the overall volume so the peak volume hit is exactly -0.5 decibels from max (the industry standard). For instrumental pieces, having Cubase is very good because you can apply as many realistic effects as wanted, such as stereophonic delay (good for wind and brass to make it sound real), reverb (which I like for the piano), and equalization (good for brass especially...bring up 200-500 Hertz to get a warm sound, bring up 5000 Hz for a tinny trumpet sound). And of course, then you can go into the piano roll to adjust velocities to a tee if needed.

Hope that helps.


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## etkearne

UPDATE - 9 OCT 2012:

To give an update on my works and spare the forum the cost of starting a brand new thread, I will outline what I have recently worked on. Go to the following link to see my works:

Evan Kearney's SoundCloud Sets

Here you can access my works in set format. Since last time, the major new work is my Piano Sonata. Technically it is the second Piano Sonata I have written, but the first was rather amateurish, so I didn't post it (although I did, reluctantly give it Opus 1 just for organizational purposes). This attempt is much, much better and more mature.

First, it is actually in a modern sonata format. Each movement features an introduction, a strong theme, an intermezzo on the mode of the theme, and a nice recapitulation. Also, taking the advice of ComposerOfAvantGarde, I avoided block chords where they would be a "cop out" and instead used novel ways of expressing my harmonic message, which as we have discussed, is my main message. I write vertically.

The first movement is somewhat light-hearted. The second is moody and tense. The third is relieving and joyous - a celebration of sorts. Enjoy them all and GIVE FEEDBACK be it positive OR negative.

The other piece is the nearly complete "Music For Two Electric Guitars & Bass Guitar" which is a suite of (will be five) movements featuring one lead, monophonic guitar, one accompanying, chordal/harmony-oriented guitar (not many block chords though!!), and an electric bass which comes in to shave out good counterpoint. One thing worth noting is that the settings on the imaginary amplifier are changed movement-to-movement in order to suit the movement. So one movement, there may be some warm distortion, and another may be clean and clear. The two guitars are supposed to be a Fender Stratocaster (the monophonic one) and the Gibson Les Paul (the homophonic one). The bass is supposed to be a Fender Precision Bass.

So I have one more movement to write for that Suite, and it will be complete. Again, please listen and give feedback. This is rather adventurous ground for classical music IMO, so I am happy to be a part of it. It may sound odd at first but give it a few listens to come to terms with the new timbrel qualities.

So, in conclusion, thanks to all my supporters, especially ComposerOfAvantGarde, for criticism, good and bad. It is necessary so that I can get better and better. My next work, which I will start in the next two days, is going to be another Suite (what a surprise) for Strings, Wind, and Piano. It won't feature any particular soloing but will simply use all the instruments together to create great harmonies.


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