My composition "nocturne"

[flashyfingers]

First off, it is really hard to compose. It takes forever to physically write out music. Wah Wah

Anyways. Tell me what you thank.

UPDATED

Short preludes 1,2,3;

https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/6d8b40d005516167a8807c5d80738314a06f913d

https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/ff163617e1abd087dc1006b9c1878ebadfaeb923

https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/4c956710120bf01bff7ef4a4d0f99200c410d025

Nocturne no.1

https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/ba6d4b813bd46a9d5f90faeba27a730c67f4ef1e


I am currently in the process of starting 2 more preludes, and am currently composing the second nocturne. I really want to write a sonata, too.

I will be studying under a composer that teaches at our college, and hopefully I will have the resources put together in order to start a piece for piano and orchestra...after a while.

cheers!

[awesom_o]

Yulia,

Firstly, thank you for sharing your work. It takes great courage to compose. It requires even more courage to share compositions with the public.

A few thoughts:

Everybody poops. Most poop smells pretty bad, especially from up close.

The trick is to poop with such elegance and dignity that it causes you no shame: think of the natural composure with which animals poop every single day.

It takes enormous discipline to crap out even a little bit of good music every day.

In Germany, I have heard that toilets contain a small ledge upon which one can examine the nature of the stool itself. The consistency of the stool can give us a great deal of insight into our general health and well-being. It is no coincidence then, that  Germany has produced so many of the finest musical minds to date. Remember what Beethoven famously said about 'Wellington's Victory', one of his lesser compositions?

"Was ich scheisse ist besser als du je gedacht!" (What I poo is better than anything you could ever think up)!

Good poo has considerable structural integrity. It leaves the body easily, without strain, and generally in one piece. Less good poo tends to leave the body with more difficulty.  It is often runny, and tends to be significantly more malodorous than its well-formed counterparts. 

How do we make sure to poo nicely?

Eat a healthy diet that is mainly vegetarian. If you make a conscious effort to eat more fiber, it will reflect in terms of the quality of poo that your body produces.

Your pieces contain too many notes and not enough music. Get away from the computer, and set parameters upon yourself. These parameters will force your imagination to develop, and improve the conciseness of your musical structures.

Try really hard to make something brilliant out of a very limited selection of materials:
For example:
Two-voice counterpoint (one voice for each hand) and ABA form!
This is a tried-and-true formula with which you can create stunning miniatures, given enough study and practice.

As you gain experience in working successfully within the limits of self-imposed parameters, you can begin to change or remove the parameters according to your own taste and preference.

Make every effort to do a bit of writing each day!

[flashyfingers]

Dear awesome-o,

thank you so much for looking over my poo(s)!
These were not difficult for me to create, but my limit is in my hands. I can't hold a pen for very long and cannot work on the computer for very long, either. Hence, I have to produce sections of music at a time.

I do try to write every day, indeed.

In the nocture, I plan on writing a very simple middle section, then recap some of the first section's material, then write a coda.

I am still only writing miniatures. Am hoping to find it in me and have the strength in my hand to hold a pen, use a mouse for longer periods of time, etc.

It is easier to write on a piece of paper, yes. I do need to get away from the computer.

Thanks again!

P.S. Musical poops feel good! haha

[awesom_o]

I know the feeling of being limited by one's own power of concentration. It can be most frustrating.

I have recently begun using opportunities such as train journeys or airplane rides to force myself to concentrate on composition work for longer and longer periods of time.

Although I would like to eventually compose large-scale musical works, i.e. operas, symphonies, quintets, quartets, trios, etc, for now I must stick to what I can handle, i.e. 2-3 minute compositions for two-hands, one piano. One day my imagination will be powerful enough to write for larger forces. I am only 25 years old, and in composing terms, this is practically infancy (unless you are a Mozart, Mendelssohn, or Chopin).

I think the most important thing that you can do is to begin keeping a musical diary of sorts. A sketchbook of manuscript that you use to jot down miscellaneous ideas, melodies, fragments of counterpoint, etc. Anything that interests you, write it down!

This is your rough-sketch book. Do not attempt to write any actual PIECES in it. Simply collect ideas, and build your collection of ideas steadily and surely.

Use another book to begin actually WORKING with your fragments. Don't seek to produce a master sketch here; allow that to come later, organically. This 2nd book is simply for DEVELOPING the ideas that you have collected in your rough-sketch book. It is still a rough sketch book-but not AS miscellaneous as the first book. In the 2nd book, you can begin to weave your ideas together, and start building larger and larger collections of ideas.

When you feel you are ready, you can begin a 3rd book. This book will serve as a collection of rough-drafts of your final pieces. Of course, all the time you will still be collecting things in your 1st book, working on your ideas in your 2nd book, etc.

Gradually things will 'float' from book 1 to book 2 and then to book 3. Occasionally, when the Creator smiles particularly fondly in your direction, you may be able to take material from your 1st book and SKIP the 2nd book entirely, and in this way, a finished piece can come into being quickly and efficiently. This is a sure sign that you are making progress!

When attempting to invoke the Muse, you must realize that you are at the mercy of the Creator. Regardless of what you may or may not BELIEVE in, when you compose, you are ASKING for the Unknown to pass into the realm of the Known. You are ASKING the Creator for a direct favor.... that He/She/It will allow you to channel real creative power through your pen and into your musical creations!

If the prayer is sincere and it really is your destiny to bring beautiful music into the world, then your prayer WILL be answered, provided that you work hard every day.

Or as my great-grandmother used to say, "The Good Lord loves to help those who help themselves!"
 

[flashyfingers]

Very good ideas. Yes.

I do keep musical sketchbooks. However, I find that writing with a pen or a pencil just wastes so much time in drawing circles and filling in the notes. Should I get a fountain pen?

Also, when it comes to developing full ideas from book II into full songs, can this be done in sections at a time, days at a time, or does completing an idea mean that you would sit down and write the song from beginning to end?

And yes, I do have faith and love for the almighty one... He gives me so much strength. I believe that he knows what each of us can and can't handle, and so he only gives as as much as we can bear. It's not as much about obstacles as it is about completing the task that god has assigned to you. Because everything we do, from our birth, living and death, it is through the will of god.

JS BACH used to write amen. In lord's name. at the end of compositions, as a dedication of his work to god's word. Now, that is beautiful! Bach makes me cry like a little infant.

Everything that challenges us, is brought before us with the idea of god. You see?

[awesom_o]

I've had some success with fountain pen, but I prefer a good roller ball for general practicality. And pencil is my weapon of choice most of the time.

I think you can do anything in sections at a time. It is nice when ideas come together rapidly and a piece forms itself over the course of a day. Recently I found a fragment of counterpoint that was almost a year old that I hadn't seen since its conception. Upon liking it, the structure of the finished work emerged quite smoothly. My progress on it quickly overtook that of the other piece I was working on simultaneously.

Some pieces, the process is not smooth. Often I give up on what I am working on, being unable to find the inspiration I am looking for. I have many unfinished works, and very few finished ones.

[flashyfingers]

I find that it is easier to either write about something very private and unique only to you (something so intense that you can always relive the memory) or to write about something light and sentimental (where the feeling does not have to be anything, and you are not defining death with a specific song structure. Basically, writing to create emotion vs. writing because you are bursting with emotion).

As far as completing ideas, I have the most trouble with transitions. I have HORRIBLE terrible ADHD. I mean, totally crippling, on some days. Music is so overwhelmingly full of possibility, that I want to jump at every single one. But that is not how it works. It's like solitaire, actually. That's how it works.

THE END SHOULD ALWAYS BE SPONTANEOUS! Sort of like dating. First the flowers and a date. Spending time together, thinking about one another. Anticipating, wondering about a first kiss. Sexual attraction, wine, music, conversation. (blah blah blah...) then, you may have to come up with new ways to be spontaneous. This is hard. But you must do it. This can be anywhere from "hey, I'm making dinner in my speedos" or "hey, lets get a puppy!" to "will you marry me? (poor example, on my end.) But, hey. The point is that a proposal is a grand gesture (according to cheesy books and cheesy movies) and so must be the end in music.

hehe

[awesom_o]

I also suffer from ADHD. I think it is very beneficial to my work as a musician, though.

On the subject of emotion: there are different perspectives on this matter. One that has come to interest me greatly as of late is that of Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky saw the common association between music and emotion(s) as being a popular misconception.

  "Music is given to us with the sole purpose of establishing an order in things, including, and particularly, the coordination between man and time."

Igor Stravinsky

[flashyfingers]

I completely agree. Sometimes ADHD is a blessing. However, when it comes to doing mundane things or anything in general, I can get pretty bored very very easily. Which results in childish fits and even body aches.

As far as Stravinsky goes, I absolutely adore him. But, again (as in my "masculine repertoire" thread). I find it very difficult to play the music, I guess you just explained why. Because his music is there-just because...Most people do believe that music is written at the highest point of emotion and believe music to be spontaneous all the time. I suppose parts of it are, sometimes entire pieces and even opuses! Some people might be very disappointed to find out some music is written just because, just because a person has a clear vision, and not something they must, as Ravel said, "tore it out of me by pieces, note by note."

Emotion literally moves us. It pushes us to play things differently, faster or slower. Emotion is dynamic and fluid. In music such as Stravinsky (brain buster music), one might find themselves motionless, sitting at the piano, looking for something to grab onto, either with their fingers or their mind...This was exactly my dilemma.

Quite a phenomenon, music can be. That is what I call this brain buster music. And everything else, that which defies earthly beauty (such as Chopin ballades...you just can't beat that!) now THAT is simply MIRACULOUS.

[awesom_o]

Another quotation I find very interesting is by Krystian Zimerman.

'Music is not sound. Music is using sound to organize emotions in time'.

There are indeed many different perspectives on what music is all about!

[flashyfingers]

Another quotation I find very interesting is by Krystian Zimerman.

'Music is not sound. Music is using sound to organize emotions in time'.

There are indeed many different perspectives on what music is all about!

very good quote!

[flashyfingers]

Update! Update!

[awesom_o]

Is there only the one page, or am I having a special moment?

[flashyfingers]

yes, the second nocturne only has one page so far. But I did finish the first nocturne (rather prematurely...but it will be a while until there is a more consistent length to any of my pieces!)

The first nocturne in the link above, as well as the short preludes are all updated.

[awesom_o]

It would be awfully nice if we could hear you playing your own pieces!

Personally, I would be reluctant to post a naked score, without a performance to give some idea of how it could be done...

In fact, I think it's most effective to post a video of a performance, and then provide the score to people upon request !

[flashyfingers]

It would be awfully nice if we could hear you playing your own pieces!

Personally, I would be reluctant to post a naked score, without a performance to give some idea of how it could be done...

In fact, I think it's most effective to post a video of a performance, and then provide the score to people upon request !

Ok! That is a fine idea. I will work on performances of my pieces!
I've been running out of rep ideas, anyways! Everything is either too  boring or too difficult, and I'm more interested in composition than performance, anyways!

Stay tuned for THAT specific update, but not any time soon, because my equilibrium is still messed up from that 5th ear surgery I JUST had.

[awesom_o]

What do you mean by your equilibrium?

[flashyfingers]

I'm dizzy and it feels like I am falling, a lot.