Saturday 31 March 2012

Almost, almost!!

The end is in sight!

Coming in at 4'42", there are no more bars to be added in my Ora Ensemble piece. I just need to add in a few more articulations, dynamics, and just do some minor minor tweaking to the fast part (probably just adding some crunch to clarify the downbeat in the piano.)

I'm very excited about the upcoming read. I'm hoping that if it's recorded, I'll be able to use it for a future "portfolio item." I'm hoping that despite the rhythmic interplay, reading from parts will still ensure rhythmic accuracy. I'm sure reading from the score would be useful but it's too clunky and impractical.

The only thing that's proving tricksy is the title - nothing is leaping out at me. Here's hoping to inspiration on that front before Wednesday!

Friday 30 March 2012

Cluing up..

I presented again today in class, and it looks like my piece for the Ora Ensemble will be finished by the end of the weekend (although I'm sure adjustments and tweaking could go on forever!) I'm looking at it right now and although it's always fun to be writing, sometimes putting in that last bar just feels awesome.

Class feedback has been so useful for this piece.. I really feel like it has come together in a large part due to constructive comments. I got some good tips for the "climax" of the piece - the trill is a good way to add tension, but it originally only lasted two bars and didn't actually swell to the arrival. It was also suggested that the piano and flute keep their interplay, and increase the rhythmic interaction between them to the climax. With these edits, this section is already sounding much better and clearer in intent.

Off to do some finishing touches!

Thursday 29 March 2012

To recap...

After some more edits to my piece, it looks a little different than before! I've expanded the opening section with some motivic development, voice exchange, and sequencing, and I've brought back thematic material from this opening into the second, faster part. I also expanded a development section to try and have a "climax" in the piece that would be easy to come down and resolve from; I got the comment that it seemed like it was going somewhere but then never did. I got that feeling too - it would be nice to have an especially exciting moment or something.

It's sitting at just over 4 minutes now; I feel that it's definitely winding down and will end soon, which is good - the deadline is drawing close!

Thursday 8 March 2012

A New Piece

What am I listening toMoondog

"I'd like to believe, that when he was 16, he closed his eyes, and fell in the most weird, bizarre and beautiful dream."

After deciding to write for band and the Ora Ensemble simultaneously, I know that the chamber group is definitely more in my comfort zone and will be the piece done first (and likely better.)

I brought the first 1'30" to class, and the reception was actually pretty good (which was nice!) I'm trying my darndest not to abandon ideas after introducing them so that the opening section and the second dance-like section are coherent. I think that is mostly effective. I got some very useful comments, including the unidiomatic repeated triplets in the piano. I've changed them to octaves and other intervals in a (mostly) unpredictable pattern. That was another comment - repetition can lull an audience, so I should let even repeated/accompaniment figures grow and develop. The first four measures of the new tempo were commented on as being unrelated to the rest of the material; I've incorporated a little later in the piece, as I kind of like how it sets the tone of the dance section by introducing our key-ish centre with intensity - before it, the piano is silent and it really has a "bang" to it (or so I think!)

Right now the piece is sitting at 2'50" and has a required time of 4'00. I think I can expand it to fill that requirement, and I'll definitely have a return-to-the-beginning type ending that is slow and atmospheric, so that should help with that too. Maybe it's just that my attention span is short, but I like shorter pieces and writing shorter pieces.