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I've just composed a little 22-second piece. Here's a performance by the spectacular pianist, Mr. Finale 2008 for Mac OS X:

"Nign-Tanz" (new link with 2 variations)

(edit: there seems to be an error with the link -- you might have to click on it twice to get it to work.)

I've got 2 ideas for this... one is to use it as a theme for a variation set, and the other is to just leave it as is for a collection of tiny miniatures, kind of like Prokofiev's "Fugitive Visions".

I'm much better anyway at writing tiny pieces that don't really go anywhere, than I am at writing big developed pieces. Of course.

So I'm wondering if I just shouldn't worry for now about writing big, fully developed pieces, and just have fun noodling with little 22-second miniatures. I'm not a professional composer, nor am I really writing at this point for posterity, but I do want to get better at writing. Maybe giving myself the freedom of not worrying so much about composing "masterpieces", and just writing whatever I can in however short little bursts, will actually be a good thing after all.

Hi Sam,
I think you should go with some variations.

Thanks, Harmosis. I was sort of leaning towards that already... I've had some ideas about altering the harmony of the last three chords (I-V-I) for variations -- maybe something like Fr6-V-I instead of I-V-I, or N6-V-bVI, leading the next variation into a new key. (Do variations ever go into new keys, aside from just switching mode? I've studied a few sets by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Bach and they all seem to stay in the same tonality; of course that's no reason why I shouldn't have my own variations modulate, but I'm curious if others have done the same thing.) Another idea is somehow to take advantage of the scalar bass line, or the little sixteenth note "twirls" at the beginning, as motifs to make up some new melody or bass line for a couple variations. The harmony is also made up almost entirely of IV, V, and VI chords, so that's another good opportunity for variations.

We just studied/composed some variations in my theory course at school last semester, and it's completely changed the way I've thought about variations. The past two summers, I wrote variations, but I always thought of it as really just keeping the same harmony and melody (maybe barely altering the melody), and just adding a completely new accompaniment pattern. Now I've got all these new ideas floating in my head from the class, about changing harmonies, using motifs, thinking about register and texture, structuring the entire set in some formal way, so that variations also relate to one another... I did pretty well with the 4-measure variations we wrote for the class, but now my own theme is 13 measures! So it will be an adventure.

Yes, if you want to get into something more structural, how about one of the binary forms, or even sonata form?

Sounds like the first thematic area from a sonata form to me.

Or the first few phrases of a fast section to a dumka.

Hmm. root position chords...how long can they go on?

rada

It depends, rada. If treated cleverly and with a bit of crazy modulation, or lack of tonality, you could keep it forever really... and then after 27 minutes break it! (the minimalism way!

Sam: I like what I'm listening. I would urge you towards small miniatures. Variations are damn difficult to do, imho (and not only my opinion), and sonata, again if you want to go to the expanded form, Beethoven wise, it might be very difficult again.

For miniatures, what do you think of the form A B A B A? (As you can hear, my piece now is A B A.) I've seen Grieg do that in quite a few of his Lyric Pieces, although I wonder if it gets a bit boring after a while.

Sam,

On a personal level I usually go further in forms. Having the same form all along will be boring, indeed. So, yes, I would stray away from ABABA after a while... Either way miniatures don't have to be the same length. If the 2nd one is a bit longer, then this one you posted would be fine at 22 secs! so what if it's short-ish?

Here's an update with 2 variations:

Nign-Tanz + 2 variations

I like doing variations (even though I'm not very good at them!)... I've done a set every summer for the past 3 years, so this summer will be #4. I've got some other little miniature ideas, too. What can I say, it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble, right?

I think for what you have written 22 seconds works fine. It has the feel of an introduction to some event or show.