Some Compositions of mine.

[Lot]

(sorry for poor quality. Dynamics and volume are missing is some places) ((Also auto play is on, so after the song is over it will switch to the next one. not sure how to fix that lol))


This is my first piece actually written out. It's for piano
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/logos-in-fuga

Second. Meant to be performed on violin, guitar, and bass violin
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/a-minor-trio

I wrote this for a friend's wedding. Originally meant for 4 voices. Lyrics from the 128th psalm.
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/psalm-128

First of a 3 parter. I only have two of the 3 parts written though .
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/quartet-in-g-dorian-the-ides-1

second part, which was originally written before the first part.
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/quartet-in-g-dorian-the-ides

I wrote this while in private composing instruction with Andrew Ardizzoia (amazing composer IMO). The piano bass line doesn't come out as loud as it should. The bassy string is meant to be a vocalist, singing select lines from the E. A. Poe poem "The Bells".
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/the-bells

This last one is an atonal composition I did for fun. Also I heard that ASU wouldn't accept you into the comp program if you didn't have atonal pieces.
https://soundcloud.com/k-s-boyles/two-lines-of-thought

So If anyone would like the sheet music, I will happily provide.

I have a few more, but I just haven't gotten them up yet.



Feel free to criticize/analyze/inquire

 

[Coolydudey]

Bravissimo Lot!

Harmonically, your pieces are quite open-minded, even loose. It's interesting, but it's not something that I personally enjoy much. Basically, I like strong harmonic connections to guide you through a piece and provide anchoring points. Closing/descending harmonic connections that come at the end of a phrase are always parts of a piece I enjoy most. Also, your pieces are too continuous; I mean this in the sense that I prefer wavy phrasing: starting mellow, building up, then slowing down, closing, and giving way to the next phrase, with a little break.

You have some cool ideas though. I imagine that if you had proper recordings of these (all the pieces sound a little mechanical right now), they'd be really quite a lot better. This shows the expressive sophistication of the pieces.

Thanks for posting, it's always interesting to listen to this kind of stuff.

 

[Rocco]

With most music I listen to for pleasure, there is a fairly clear essence to the piece... like its emotional main idea or something. There will be parts that I especially enjoy, of course, but my enjoyment of the whole piece is dependent upon there being a sort of thematic cohesion throughout.

All of the music you've posted has moments in it that make me go "hey, neat" or "gee that's interesting," but each piece as a whole doesn't give me the impression of having a story of its own. Like... I can't tell why you wrote it in the first place. It doesn't have much to say to me besides "Here, have some notes."

When I first started dabbling in composition, (not to say I'm some expert now. Far from it.) I had the opposite problem. There was SO MUCH I wanted to say with each new piece, that I never figured out how to develop an idea, and would hop from section to wildly contrasting section on a whim. The critique I'm making of your music is that individual ideas basically comprise the entire piece, varying very little through the duration.

One thing that I found helped me tremendously was imagining that I was writing music for a scene in a movie or video game that featured complementary emotional content to what I was attempting to capture with my music. This way, I had conceptual train tracks to follow instead of forging my own way through the jungle of options.

Anyway, thanks for the contribution. I hope you keep updating as you complete things so we can hear your progression.

 

[Lot]

Thanks for the responses. I'm wondering how much was sound quality and how much was my actual writing. Perhaps I might invest in some software to improve them.

I think what you guys have said would be pretty fair. I kind of wish I had a response back. As all my music goes, The Bells is the one I'm most proud of. Being the last one that I've done. What do you think these pieces might say about my mental and/or emotional state at the time of composition? If you don't want to listen to them all again, I understand.

During the time writing most of these I was taking a lot of theory classes and listening to Buckethead a lot. I just felt the need to write. Around three years ago I got really mixed up in the head and depressed. Haven't written since. I wonder what my music would have evolved if I stuck to it. I am trying to get back into it, though.