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TSR Piano Society

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Reply 780

mikeski

Onearmedbandit

Are there any piano composers here who'd be willing to teach me a few things about writing for piano? :smile:

I've decided to make it a new years resolution to learn!

by the looks of your piecesm you should be teaching us! but if you think you need more tips why dont your search the net? i used google when doing my composition, was hard to find sites but i got a few in the end.

Reply 781

Onearmedbandit

Well the thing is that since I don't play piano I can't write things on it like I'd want to. I don't know what to do; I get ideas for themes and stuff in my head but I can never write them as well as I want to.

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pianist

bandit> looking at Lud's wig, i'd say you don't need any teaching :eek:

I couldn't compose something as complicated as that! Btw how long did that take to compose?

To be honest I can't remember, but it's not really finished yet. There are lots of parts I'm unhappy with, I just don't know what to do about them.

I think I wrote the main theme a long time before I wrote the rest... I jotted it down as an idea and came back to it a few months after. I would hazard a guess at about 10 hours in total to write.

Reply 782

coldfish

Well... looking at your Beethoven pastiche there are lots of chords which are unplayable by all but a very few pianists with huge hands. Couldn't the chords in bar 24 for example be inverted so as to be playable? I don't think it'd lose a lot if you did so.

I'll try giving it a play through tomorrow when I won't wake people up, and see if I have anything more constructive. :P

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And with the waltzes: Most piano waltz do tend to stick to the quite formulaic chordal accompaniment, with a bass note (normally the root) on the first beat and then two chords on the next two. Doesn't mean it gets boring, though, Chopin does some fantastic things with them. Patterns in the bass notes, slight dissonance and resolution between the first and second chords.

Mmm Chopin waltzes.

Reply 783

Onearmedbandit

Oh, I know about some of the ranges between notes being too large, and the sometimes the same note appears at the same time on both staves, but I'll sort them out ... later :P

Reply 784

mikeski

Onearmedbandit

Oh, I know about some of the ranges between notes being too large, and the sometimes the same note appears at the same time on both staves, but I'll sort them out ... later :P

most pianist can reach an octave or a ninth, i dont think many can reach more. and btw, your talking about the same notes being on different staves, there are a lot of pieces that i have seen for piano that have that, i think its just up to the player which hand he/she uses.

i understand what you mean by you dont have much knowldge of the piano, so you think that its holding your writing back, so is there any way that a friend or a teacher or whatever can teach you the basics? I'd hate to see someone as talented as you not being able to write fantasic pieces!!!

Reply 785

sexysax

Most concert pianists are expected to be able to stretch a 10th.

Reply 786

q1w2e3r4t5y

Onearmedbandit

I see.....

Reply 787

mikeski

sexysax

Most concert pianists are expected to be able to stretch a 10th.

i just just about get a ninth!

Reply 788

q1w2e3r4t5y

I can only stretch a 9th :bawling:

*tries to find a finger stretching machine*

Reply 789

schmetterling

Me too...

Occasionally I can get a 10th. For a few nanoseconds. :tongue:

Have you ever tried any of those heavy chords where you have to use your thumb to press two keys while your little finger is stretched to god knows where?

Reply 790

Excalibur

I can barely reach an octave. :redface:

My left hand seems more flexible... I can reach octaves, but when I have to jump around in octaves (like in mozart turkish rondo) it's impssible. Pah.

Reply 791

mikeski

*goes on the net looking for finger streching techniques*

Reply 792

coldfish

I can just stretch a minor tenth, but it's not easy. My little brother can do it with far more ease, but he never practices. Tchh.

Reply 793

q1w2e3r4t5y

wei_xin

Me too...

Occasionally I can get a 10th. For a few nanoseconds. :tongue:

Have you ever tried any of those heavy chords where you have to use your thumb to press two keys while your little finger is stretched to god knows where?

Yeah I've had to do that in a couple of my songs, there was a Chopin song I think it was a prelude in c minor where you had to do that.

Is it true in the olden days ( :p:

) they had this device that stretched your fingers out for pianists? :eek:

Reply 794

q1w2e3r4t5y

coldfish

I can just stretch a minor tenth, but it's not easy. My little brother can do it with far more ease, but he never practices. Tchh.

what a waste of talent! :eek:

Reply 795

Crimson Black

Smudgy 10th for me. I have tiny hands though.

Reply 796

coldfish

took a look at the shorter version of the Beethoven pastiche... and I think you're a little adventurous with your dissonances/harmonies. There are quite a few instances of you using a really quite odd chords, or using the fourth of a chord in the melody throughout the whole bar.

I'm not sure if I can go through the whole thing and analyse what you've done, but I recommend that where you hear dissonance you make sure that you know what you are doing with it. Remember that Beethoven was a classical composer, no matter how emotional.

There are loads of really cool bits in it though, I like the ending. :smile:

Alex

Reply 797

jcd

I am sorry that I haven't posted on here lately. It's good to see that we're still near the top of the societies page!

I'm not sure if any of you are aware of this website. It has live recordings of a large repertoire of classical piano music.

http://www.pianosociety.com

Enjoy :smile:

Reply 798

lskdgjsj

I have fairly small hands in some ways, but after years of piano playing I can easily manage a tenth in my right hand, and, surprisingly, an eleventh in my left. Being double jointed helps.