47.92Mini-composition exercise

Write a 24-bar piece in C minor/Dorian, all in ordinary 4/4.

Rules:

• no meter changes
• one 3+3+2 riff
• one three-eighth motif repeated across barlines
• one three-bar phrase
• one quartal section
• one sus→minor reveal
• one functional G7♭9→Cm cadence
• one full half-bar silence
• final clear rhythmic return to beat 1

If listeners perceive rhythmic complexity despite the entire piece staying in 4/4, you have succeeded.