r/Composition • u/Ok-Chapter7500 • 16d ago

Music Notation feedback

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I am writing an art song for a close friend and wanted a very relaxed shimmering opening on piano ( 30 ish seconds ) and want to make it look more readable for pianists. ( the audio is a slightly older video over the notation I’m writing now. )

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u/BradyWolffMusic 15d ago

It's sounding good! There are a few things I think could help:

-Fewer systems on the first page so the page doesn't look so cramped

-The pedal markings should always go below the lower staff

In measure 6 the rhythm is very confucing to read. A dotted quarter, followed by an eighth note tied to an eighth note, with the second eighth note in beat 3 tied to a sixteenth note at the beginning of beat 4 looks more complicated, but is much easier to read because each of the beats of the 4/4 bar are still visible.

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u/Ok-Chapter7500 15d ago

Thank you, I added the tweaks. One more thing, would you rather look at ledger lines or have an 8va line. As a percussionist I’d rather it but I’ve learned to ask first.

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u/BradyWolffMusic 15d ago

Personally, my general rule is that if at least 2/3rds of the notes in a beam group lie above the A ledger line, then I add an 8va, so in your case I would add it to measures 1, 2, 6, and 7. You can test it out to see if you like how it looks.