#2

First outing for my second character piece yesterday in class. This one has a bit of a quirky character. It began in my mind as a rhythm in 11/8, which I scribbled down and then played around with. I like the result - it's been fun to write. I still have to come up with a good ending and do a lot of detail work, but most of it is in place.

As for feedback: the class agreed that my current ending was rather abrupt. I didn't like it either - it was something I finished quickly the night before, so I was hoping for ideas on how to improve it. And of course, they did offer good suggestions and things to try (thank you!!). Ideas included:
- Maybe return to the pitch E. I was thinking more of my chords than of a specific pitch centre when I wrote it, but E is definitely a prominent pitch, so it would feel more final if I end there.
- Take a look at the hypermeter and make sure this is a logical point to end at (may need a few more bars...)
- Use a recognizable gesture to signal the end - like a short, high chord followed by a pause and then a low, sustained chord. Or maybe just stepwise resolution, as is common in cadences in tonal music.
- Just play around until I find an ending I like, something that fits the character of the piece, maybe something "cheeky"... something that will make the audience chuckle...

Other suggestions: 

- Explore more of the range of the horn, especially the lower register. It's a good idea - and I personally love playing in the lower range of the horn - so I'll see if I can fit any of that in. 

- Throw some more "wrinkles" into the rhythmic idea - change up the placement of the group of three eighths, use some syncopation... 

Lots to think about over the weekend! I want to get these first two pieces finished up so I can give the parts to my horn player friend who's going to play them with me :)