• Baroque/Classical Piece - Organ Symphony
    9 replies, posted
This is quite a departure from what I usually write. I wanted to see if I was capable of writing something in this style in the first place. I'm not sure if I'm totally satisfied with the result but this is what I have so far. [URL="http://soundcloud.com/alphazero66/organ-symphony-part-1"][/URL] [media]http://soundcloud.com/alphazero66/organ-symphony-part-1[/media]
Sounds more like square dancing music. It's just way too rhythmic. Also, classical pieces never repeat the same melody over and over like this. There's [b]way[/b] too much repetition. There's always a significant amount of diversity. You should also invest in a good orchestra VST. It's not a bad piece of music but I wouldn't call it a symphony nor would I classify it as classical.
Call it what you will, then. And in fact, there is classical (or Baroque, in this case) that has a significant amount of repetition. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DNgZbW_Y0Y[/media] I could probably find much more like this. There's hardly a significant amount of diversity in this. There's only a couple breaks in the middle of the piece for a short organ interlude. Like I said, I've never written something like this before. Obviously, mentioning Bach was probably the wrong thing to do because I was by no means comparing my music to his masterpieces. I'm just not sure what else I would classify this as.
There's not much repetition in that piece you posted. It actually changes quite a bit. I understand that there are repeated phrases in that piece, but what you did was essentially create a few unique interludes and progressions and then throw them on repeat for the entire song. That's different. I'm not getting down on you for comparing yourself to Bach, which I know you weren't. I'm just trying to say that if you're going for a classical piece, you're definitely going to need to put a lot of effort into creating a coherent score that evolves and transforms rather than repeats and repeats.
Yeah, that makes sense. I didn't mean to come off as defensive -- I know I have a long way to go. But I appreciate the criticism. I realize I was in error in calling this classical; I know it's some type of symphonic music, but I'm unsure of what exactly this would be considered.
Nice piece, but not really a symphony. [editline]17th July 2011[/editline] Symphonies are usually a lot longer. Don't they have different movements too? I know very little on the subject so please correct me if I'm wrong. :v:
Yeah they do. I wasn't thinking this through... And I don't know shit about anything either as you can see :v:
The reason the Handel piece is repetitive is because it is most likely in ritornello form, which essentially is a repeated main theme played alternatively with 'episodes' of original music. Your piece is not dissimilar in this sense, so if it's an entirely Baroque feel you're going for then it works fine. I haven't listened all the way through yet so I'm writing as I go but did you change key at all in the piece? It's quite difficult to maintain interest entirely through melody so to improve this, modulate around the place and if it's a Baroque style you're going for then do it quite a bit. Actually I did just notice a change to the dominant which is a good start but immediately moving to the dominant about 3/4 of the way through the song is more reminiscent of what Westlife do than what Bach or Handel might do! Basically without going into too much detail, you need to mix things up: Change dynamics, change key, change/develop your melody! Also whilst I remember the cadences, especially the last one, could do with strengthening! To really drive home a cadence, make sure all the parts are moving together (not necessarily on the same note mind you) and with a very definite harmonic direction. Sorry if any of this comes across as inflammatory, that was not my intention. It's a good start and with work it can get a lot better! Also when naming/classifying the piece, don't jump on the symphony bandwagon. A symphony is a specific musical structure but people use it too much to describe what is essentially orchestral music! I would say your piece is an organ concertino!
Not inflammatory at all. Thanks for the advice. I'm not formally trained in classical theory, so I got a bunch of stuff wrong. I may work on this at a later date.
Instead of adding to the debate on what to classify this as, I will comment on the music itself and say that I really like it! It's very pretty sounding. [editline]19th July 2011[/editline] Listening to it again, with all the repeated parts, I could see this being made into a march or something.
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