First Composition

[jduhls]

Hi everyone - here's my first one (roughly). It's a piece for string quartet in E Phrygian (or C, I guess). Please take a minute (or 5) to listen. Too muddy? Boring? Disjointed? Please critique!

www.d1018523.dotsterhost.com/files/stringquart3_v7.mp3

(Rendered with Finale 2007/GPO 2.0)

[Forte]

Quite an interesting piece, and not bad for a first piece.

You use alot of heavy dissonances in places that you manage to with work well. What was your inspiration for this piece?

[jduhls]

Thanks for the compliment! Yes - I'm a big fan of dissonance - tension and anticipation although it's blind luck if it worked out well in this piece.

Inspiration..hmm... well. I'm not sure i'm the kind of artist (I wear this title VERY loosely) that works off of conscious inspiration, so-to-speak. But, auto-biographically speaking, i'm depressed, my father is struggling with cancer, i've recently quit smoking and i've been listening to a lot of Beethoven, Chopin, and traditional Tuvan throat singing and it's f&$@ing cold outside and I'm generally disappointed with mankind's poor behaviour toward each other AND the universe in general. Perhaps this can be a clue to my "inspiration".

[reith]

If indeed this is your first piece - it's good. You've made good use of the string sonorities; the texture is pleasantly thin / translucent, you've made good use of dynamics and developed your motifs well. I liked the way the cello takes the lead at around 2'00.

Dissonances? Well, right! I've often thought that an appoggiatura is simply the route to the next appoggiatura! Such dissonances as there were seemed fine. Do you happen to like Avro Part?

Anyway, nice, and look forward to more.
Reith

[jduhls]

Thanks for listening, Reith, and thanks for all the positive input! On the cello taking the lead - Yes, i think i'm generally biased towards the cello and the viola (I think it's because i'm more insecure with the violin - i make it whine rather than sing).

I haven't heard of Avro Part but i'll check him/her out.

Thanks again for your time!

[rjholtmus2]

Enjoyed this very much. I listened before I read any comments or any of your responses. It is funny that you mentioned "cold out side" because that is just what I thought while listened. I imagined a film - opening, a person walking in a snowy field, the camera starting high above tree top level, and slowly panning in on the person, following him (her) as the snow blows around. Then the camera swings to a front view of the person and the camera pans back to above treetop level and fades out on the last notes.

Film title, "Walking in a Meadow on a Snowy Day"

Very enjoyable. I may download it and listen again