I have taken inspiration from neoclassical music, mainly focusing on minimalistic elements and trying to utilise different techniques all in the one-piece.

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Octaves:

An octave refers to the interval of 8. It will be the same note just higher/lower in pitch.

I find octaves to be strong and powerful, homing naturally best to the root position of a chord in the left hand. I like to use octaves when composing as when necessary it sounds more full.

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I have smaller than average hands so playing octaves on a piano for a prolonged period and time hurts a lot, to combat this in my composition I decided to do octave hits- bouncing my left hand down to hit the two notes in the first beat of the bar before bringing it back up to the midsection of the piano to continue playing there from the second beat onward. By using the sustain pedal this allowed me to have those lower octaves throughout without holding the keys physically for too long. This also allowed for flexibility and the opportunity to add in further notes underneath my main melody.

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Here are some youtube tutorials I found. I tried to adopt a straighter posture, to assist my piano playing and general mobility. I do want to try, for the performance, some more body language. To let the music guide me as I play and like all the best piano players I've observed, being rigid will only hinder me.

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I focused on creating sections as I found out that movement in your piece helps it tell a dynamic story and is more open to interpretation

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I was greatly inspired by the free time piano piece Louis Couperin (1626-1661), Unmeasured Prelude for Harpsichord n. 13 in F Major

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I wanted to try and incorporate a similar style/sound in one of my sections.

I used primary research to test out different articulation techniques and note phrasing for my musical themes to convey different emotional feels and find which one matched most closely. I tested things such as playing around with note length, hitting the keys hard to create short staccato notes which were jumpier, more lively than my quite melancholic main theme or in the opposite, Holding onto phrases for longer all in attempts to sound less robotic, more organic, human and as emotion-capturing as possible.