Diabelli Project 139 - Piece for Solo Oboe

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme, these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

This is the third flash composition sketch I've done for solo oboe. Looking back at the other two, I can see some similarities, but there are some major differences (see Nos. 74 and 65. Sometimes I wonder if sketches made for the same forces are bits of a larger work. In this case, I don't think so. It seems that this sketch is more of a development of the earlier ones. And that's one of the points of this exercise -- to get more comfortable creating.

As always, you can use any or all of the posted Diabelli Project sketches as you wish for free. Just be sure to share the results. I'm always curious to see what direction someone else can take this material.

Diabelli Project 074 - Piece for solo oboe

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

A while ago I dashed off another piece for solo oboe (see: Diabelli Project 065), but this one's different. The previous sketch was in 6/8 time, this one has no fixed meter. Of course, they could be different movements of a much larger work. 065 centers around A, while this one has D as a tonal center. Hmmm. (click on image to enlarge)

I might make my two solo oboe sketches part of the same work, but you don't have to. What happens next? That's up to you. As with all the Diabelli Project sketches, I offer this freely to anyone who would like to use all or part of it. Just let me know the results!

Diabelli Project 065 - Piece for Solo Oboe

The Diabelli Project is about offering my weekly flash-composition sketches freely to all. Like Antonio Diabelli's theme these sketches aren't great music. But perhaps (as in Diabelli's case) there's a Beethoven out there who can do great things with them.

I continue my cycle of solo instrumental works. Writing for the solo oboe can be challenging. It takes a lot of effort to keep the lips clamped tightly on the double reeds, so it's important to build in rests. The lower register of the oboe is warmer and richer than the upper. I used that to create two parallel musical ideas. There's a slow-moving one in the lower register, and a fast-moving one in the upper. The difference in timbres, speed, and even pitch choices should heighten the contrast between the two.

What happens next? That's up to you. As always, you're welcome to use all or part of this sketch. Just let me know what you come up with!