Thread: Fugue For Quartet, No. 6 (first Draft)

First of all, thank you for sharing, I like it!

You said it yourself, this is not a fugue. Since you are dealing with contrasting moods rather than melodic counterpoint, I would reconsider the title to something that reflects the process you use.

That being said, you have a lot of different material here and I think you can expand each section much more. Since you are dealing with a variety of different sections that have no definite linear progress, I would suggest you consider making it a mobile form a la Stravinsky (e.g. Symphony of Wind Instruments). These types of forms are something I've been getting very interested in lately, and I think they are more akin to experience (and it is how I naturally come up with material anyway, and it seems you might be similar).

You may think that the transitions are rough, but that is a quality I like at times. I don't know if you would consider this one of those spots, but right after the fast arpeggios near the beginning when the rhythmic pulse suddenly slows down and you have the silence, I think that is a beautiful moment. It is as if you have suddenly changed perspective and have zoomed out to a larger picture.

Something you might want to try, even if it is just an experiment, would be to think of each section/mood as an individual entity. Expand each separately and then treat them as objects you can place in any order (you will naturally find an order that you prefer). Things can come back transformed, or maybe will only happen once. Maybe you don't get the whole picture at once and a section is cut up and spliced together with others. Maybe when you first hear something it is only a fragment that reveals itself later. Putting the contrasting moods next to each other in different ways may bring out new qualities.

Again, this is something I have recently started doing and have found great success. It has opened up possibilities and connections with my material that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise and has made composing more of a discovery. Hopefully it is of some help to you. Keep going!

Thanks for your input syzygy.

The pause you mentioned, that occurs right after the arppeggios, is actually one of the transitions I personally enjoyed. Others I have been rewriting and debating over.

Your mentioning of splicing together and repositioning fleshed out parts is an interesting suggestion. I will indeed experiment with this a bit. I've attempted this to a minor degree, but I think adding a true melody to certain parts will make this process easier to communicate. Seeing a small phrase in different mood/light so to speak.

Once again, thanks; I appreciate your suggestions.

Sounds like movie music. Good harmonization between your instruments. I like it. Edit: I also love sloganizer I'm gonna have to steal this idea from you