Composing a piece for the piano

[Coolydudey]

Thought I'd let you guys know that probably some time in the summer you'll get to hear a piece of music composed by a fellow INTP. It's not great (haven't finished yet), but it's interesting.

It will be my first one. Unfortunately, I am only a mediocre pianist, so it's taking a while.

So have you guys done anything similar? I know one poster here does some freestyle guitar(?) playing with friends.

 

[GodOfOrder]

I have to do basic compositions, as a final each semester for my violin lessens. They aren't very good but they get the job done.

What style is it in?

What is its basic form?

It sounds cool, i cant wait to hear it

 

[Brontosaurie]

cool

drop beta?

 

[walfin]

I wrote this a long time ago and realise I lost the score, I just rewrote it from memory without benefit of a piano or speakers so there might be errors. Play and see if it sounds funny.

It is a rondo, by the way (i.e. ABACA).

 

[Coolydudey]

I have to do basic compositions, as a final each semester for my violin lessens. They aren't very good but they get the job done.

What style is it in?

What is its basic form?

It sounds cool, i cant wait to hear it

Heh, nice.

The style? It's a bit of an oddball: not modern, with a very large emphasis on harmonics. However it is very simple, and distinctly not belonging to many of the (well-known) earlier stylistic periods.

The basic form so far is: arpeggio of a scale in 1st inversion on the left hand, simple melody on the right. This is just about to evolve into more complex stuff on the left hand, followed by more chaos on the right, before receding back into a more melodic setting.

cool

drop beta?

If you mean to say record my progress so far, I must refuse, as the piece must be heard whole...

wrote this a long time ago and realise I lost the score, I just rewrote it from memory without benefit of a piano or speakers so there might be errors. Play and see if it sounds funny.

It is a rondo, by the way (i.e. ABACA).

Sight-reading being my worst skill, I'll pass this to my piano teacher tomorrow

 

[Lot]

I was a comp major for a brief while. I loved writing pieces of music. I never got any performed, though. If I new ow to upload midi files I would share them. My main musical influences were Bach, Bartok, Scriabin, and one of my private comp teachers Andrew Ardizzoia. I guess I could post pdf files of the sheet music, if anyone is interested.

 

[Coolydudey]

I was a comp major for a brief while. I loved writing pieces of music. I never got any performed, though. If I new ow to upload midi files I would share them. My main musical influences were Bach, Bartok, Scriabin, and one of my private comp teachers Andrew Ardizzoia. I guess I could post pdf files of the sheet music, if anyone is interested.

Perhaps you could make the midi into mp3, or upload them to YouTube and link here? I'd love to hear some...

 

[Coolydudey]

It looks like it's going to be long-ish, probably 5-7 minutes. I'm going to modify the intro a bit, but has anyone got that kind of patience?

 

[Meer]

Chop out anything unnecessary. Don't show any mercy.

This to me seems like a very rigid and mechanical way to write music.

 

[Coolydudey]

It's not that, I just decided I didn't like the intro that much, so I'm going to modify it and shorten it a bit.

 

[Coolydudey]

I decided now that its a perfect introduction to the piece, so I'll keep it. I'm at the spot where everything is just about to go crazy (I mash the piano because I haven't figured out what to play next, and its just such a build-up I can't help it...).

 

[Wolf18]

Thought I'd let you guys know that probably some time in the summer you'll get to hear a piece of music composed by a fellow INTP. It's not great (haven't finished yet), but it's interesting.

It will be my first one. Unfortunately, I am only a mediocre pianist, so it's taking a while.

So have you guys done anything similar? I know one poster here does some freestyle guitar(?) playing with friends.

I have been thinking about composing something for piano for quite some time (as a matter of fact, I was thinking about it a few minutes ago). When (read: if I ever) I am finished, I will post on here.

How long have you been playing piano?

SW

 

[redbaron]

I love that the music section of INTPf is starting to get some user-created content.

Better not let us down @Wolf18

 

[Wolf18]

I love that the music section of INTPf is starting to get some user-created content.

Better not let us down @Wolf18

Right. I'd better get started; I wouldn't want to get beaten up by a smilie.

SW

 

[Coolydudey]

I have been thinking about composing something for piano for quite some time (as a matter of fact, I was thinking about it a few minutes ago). When (read: if I ever) I am finished, I will post on here.

How long have you been playing piano?

SW

Since 5 years old, but I was never really interested until a year ago which means I'm not very good. I was pushed by my parents until then.

 

[Rocco]

Dudey, I hope you follow through with this. The process of composition is so interesting, but other music forums are only really interested in offering opinions of finished or in-progress pieces.

I'm a composer who's been wholly uninspired for like... two years now? And it's exactly that inability to share the process with people that keeps me from being more prolific.

So yeah, keep up the updates, and best of luck with your piano piece! (And nice to meet you and stuff!)

 

[Coolydudey]

I was just about to say that it should be online within a couple of weeks. It's only ok, and I'll only be recording it on an upright, but if I get the expression right it should be pretty damn fine...

P.S. welcome, albeit in an unusual subforum.

 

[Coolydudey]

Update: The piece is finished! I will type it up and eventually record it, stay tuned!

 

[Rocco]

If you post the score (or better yet, a MIDI file), I'd be happy to render it for you if you'd like.

 

[Wolf18]

Since 5 years old, but I was never really interested until a year ago which means I'm not very good. I was pushed by my parents until then.

Same. Exactly the same. 3 weeks ago I was home sick and it clicked. I really enjoy it now.

I have started to appreciate the pure logic and perfection of JS Bach and, as a left-hander, I am beginning to appreciate his gift to our minority.

SW

 

[Coolydudey]

The score is finished; I will get my piano teacher to play it tomorrow without any annotations (just notes), and see how well he can do it. I'll upload the stuff to my OP when I am done wit the recording (I will need to request special permission to edit OP).

 

[Rocco]

Still waiting!

 

[Coolydudey]

Not to worry; I'm going to get a mic, and try to find a piano to play it on (I will be in a different country for the next month, so won't have my piano around). Don't forget, the patience I am putting in to not upload a crappy version is much more than any of the guys waiting on the piece here....

Plus: it's no masterpiece. it's cool, but the world can definitely wait for it.

EDIT: a piece I'm really enjoying listening to in the meantime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5ItNxpwChE

 

[Wolf18]

I'm almost done as well! How long is yours, Coolydudey?

SW

 

[Coolydudey]

Pretty close to 5 minutes. One of the cool features of the piece is that it can be played in different moods (sad-melancholic, dreamy, good mood), and I probably will upload a couple of different versions. Therefore, the time will vary a bit.

 

[Coolydudey]

RESULT: Borrowing a condenser microphone tomorrow, should have the piece on-line within the next 48 hours...

 

[Architect]

When I was younger being a composer was a great aspiration of mine. The idea of architecting a symphony was quite attractive. Never got to doing it until much later in life, when I realized that it wasn't my true interest.

I still haven't lost the interest however and plan to write some little pieces at some point.

 

[Rocco]

Two things:

1. @Coolydudey needs to get on the ball.

2. We should totally start work on a modest all-INTP album project.

 

[Coolydudey]

I have a recording, but it's no good, so I'm holding back...

 

[Rocco]

Aww... I'm tellin you, man. If you'd let me see a midi, I can record it for you. If you could play it into a midi sequencer, and send me the result, I can make it sound like you performed it at a big ol' concert hall on a Steinway grand.

 

[Coolydudey]

I could upload notes. Do you prefer that?

 

[Rocco]

Best: A MIDI recording played live by you.
Good: A MIDI file containing all of the notes and rhythms.
Okay: A legible image of the sheet music.

 

[Coolydudey]

I thought that was what you would say... I'll see if I can figure out how to get a recording out of my electric piano...

 

[Rocco]

Check your email.

 

[Coolydudey]

Forum - Hang on! We should have it ready for you in the week.
Special thanks to Rocco for all the work. (Horror- there is no smiley for applause). Well done.

 

[Coolydudey]

Finally! The piece is a MIDI recording off a piano played through some neat software to make this music.

1) The raw version, taken straight from the piano, straight from the notes, with very minor corrections: https://app.box.com/s/5g07zj52ndqnoodlh2ce

2) Rocco's edited version, which really is (slightly embarassingly) very good, quite possibly better than mine. Depends on your tastes: https://app.box.com/s/vja06tnfip80yb7azhw7


Another round of applause for Rocco! Thanks very much.

 

[Lot]

I am very impressed. Not only composed well, but played well.

This makes me want to upload some of my pieces. They are all midi, though. Any good converters you or rocco know of?

But back on topic. I really liked this. Lets hope there are more soon to come.

 

[Coolydudey]

PM me your MIDIs (or send them via ee-mail if you can't PM them) and we'll (me and Rocco) do some work on them. The stuff I use is mostly torrented, and I don't know to what extent his stuff is. If you're ok with that, I'll tell you how we did it.

The piece was my introduction to composition. That's why in my version, I kept it simple: every single arpeggio in the left hand is in root position, which also was a challenge: make something musical and interesting with such a boring left hand. In Rocco's rendition, this is not the case, he did some editing of his own.

Which version did you prefer?

 

[Brontosaurie]

haha reminds me a lot of my own playing with those melancholy chord progs, although yours is more contained and structured

kudos for putting it out there

good piece!

 

[Rocco]

Very nice work, Cooly. (Coolie is Italian slang for butt, by the way. It's the equivalent of "toosh". Just thought you should know)

I was planning on making THE recording of this piece. When the composer decided to download a DAW and a piano library himself and figure out how to make recordings without any help, which impressed me, I offered to back out and let him do his own thing. He asked me to finish my version anyway, and so I strayed from the original blueprints a bit. That's why his version is dreamy and ethereal, while mine is biting and impassioned in places.

As for my process... it's not nearly as simple as "a converter", though that sort of solution exists.

First, I imported Cooly's MIDI performance into Cakewalk Sonar, and made edits to most of the chord voicings throughout the piece. I also smoothed out some of the jerkier passages by moving notes and/or adjusting the tempo on the fly. The most notable change I made was to even out the rhythm and glissandi of the intense part at 3:08. Then, I auditioned a few piano sample libraries to see which one was the best fit for this piece. I picked the "Steinway B" instrument from East West.

Next, I made my way through the piece, measure by measure, adjusting the timings of the sustain pedal on/offs to best fit the sound of the samples. I followed that with note-by-note velocity edits to make the performance as diverse and musical as I could (This is often called "humanizing")

That just leaves production. (For the record, all of the plugins mentioned come out of the effects suite prepackaged in Sonar, called "Sonitus".) First, I manually scanned the piece with a parametric EQ to pick out some trouble frequencies, and lightly cut them. I also added a minor low-cut shelf out of habit and perhaps superstition.

Since most of the piece is on the quiet side, except for the aforementioned intense section, I opted for a small amount of compression to enable the rest of the piece to be audible without the intense part breaking eardrums. The final touch was some "Concert Hall" reverb. The preset in Sonitus is pretty decent, but I always tweak it substantially just to feel like I have 1337 skillz.

@Lot: What programs are you already familiar with, as far as digital music is concerned?

 

[Lot]

So I finally found out you can convert midi in Itunes. So here is what I got.
http://intpforum.com/showthread.php?p=380812#post380812

Sorry for posting the tracks on your thread cooly.

 

[Wolf18]

Finally! The piece is a MIDI recording off a piano played through some neat software to make this music.

2) Rocco's edited version, which really is (slightly embarassingly) very good, quite possibly better than mine. Depends on your tastes: https://app.box.com/s/vja06tnfip80yb7azhw7


Another round of applause for Rocco! Thanks very much.

I have only listened to version no 2. It is fantastic – thanks for sharing! Mine is quite different from yours (and not as good IMO) but it should be posted soon.

SW

 

[Rocco]

Lot, why don't you post it up in a separate thread? I'd feel weird commenting on any of this in Coolydudey's thread.

 

[Coolydudey]

I have only listened to version no 2. It is fantastic – thanks for sharing! Mine is quite different from yours (and not as good IMO) but it should be posted soon.

SW

Try listening to the other version too, they're an interesting contrast. I'm getting a feeling of anticipation now everybody is posting their music

 

[Coolydudey]

Lot, why don't you post it up in a separate thread? I'd feel weird commenting on any of this in Coolydudey's thread.

Definitely. If you don't want to, that's fine, but I think it deserves its own thread as well.

By the way, the rendering you did in iTunes is fine, I was just looking to help you get something higher quality.

 

[Lot]

Lot, why don't you post it up in a separate thread? I'd feel weird commenting on any of this in Coolydudey's thread.

Gotcha. I totally understand.

 

[Coolydudey]

Btw, I think that if you only listen to one, listen to the first, but it really is interesting to hear both.

 

[Coolydudey]

After abandoning a couple of ideas quite a way in, I've finally settled on the style, mood and start of my next piece. It's coming along really well. Includes a little tribute to greensleeves (the youtube song I posted above)

 

[Coolydudey]

Finally had the right idea that will let me continue with my next piece.dont know how fast I'll be able to progress with it at uni, but that's probably a good thing.

 

[Coolydudey]

Ok, it's finished! I need to practice some more, then you will have it ready (hopefully) in just a few days. I might make a separate thread just for the pieces, and keep this one to post on progress.

This one may (at some point) have a version with a string quartet in it, or some other instrument (yes, i view the string quartet as one instrument).