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String Quartet No. 1 (Night Quartet)

Posted by Kevin Keating on October 27, 2012 at 2:38am in Music Analysis and Critique

This is my first String Quartet.  Subtitled "Night Quartet," it began as a very short solo violin piece I'd written called "Night Sonata" which I expanded into a quartet (2 violins, viola and cello).  The viola was the hardest to fit since I don't play viola and had trouble deciding whether it should follow the cello or the violin.  Nor do I play cello, but I understand how bass guitar fits in our band.

In the end I think it worked.  I'm learning theory and composition on my own a little at a time and am understanding more and more as I go along.  I'd really appreciate any feedback, good or not so good.  Thanks.  

Notation pdf: String%20Quartet%20No.1-Andante%20in%20Dm.pdf 

midi file: String%20Quartet%20No.1%20-%20%20Andante%20in%20Dm.mid

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Tags: bass, cello, composition, guitar, quartet, string, theory, viola, violin
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Replies

  • Carmen Gabrio October 28, 2012 at 4:45am

    May I ask what program you used to compose this? It sounds like something out of an old SNES game. (Unless this is what you intended to achieve a retro video game soundtrack sound) Aside from the quality, I quite enjoyed the melodies in this piece. It's fairly dynamic and flows well, but I also think it had one too many breaks where the notes should have been held longer. Overall, it was a pretty good listen.

  • Kevin Keating October 28, 2012 at 12:50pm

    Thanks.  I used the free download from MuseScore on my Mac.  It's an ok program.  No, I'm not, nor ever was a gamer so if it sounds like a game soundtrack it wasn't intentional.  I like minor keys, darker modes.  The playback in MuseScore is a little better than the midi but still not great.  The notes play for their alloted time and end more abruptly than if it were being played on actual instruments.  Thanks for the feedback and I'm glad it was worth listening to.

  • Adrian Allan October 28, 2012 at 2:45pm

    Some ok ideas in the melody in my humble opinion.
    For me it stays in D minor for too long. Even move to another dark key earlier if you want it dark, however brief a modulation.
    There are not enough marking in the score for tempo changes, dynamics, etc etc. Also some phrases or slurs would help.
    And instead of saying "end pizzicato", wouldn't "arco" be the usual word.
    Some good ideas, but for me: address the score and get out of D minor earlier.

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