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Thank you.

Because of controversy surrounding the following piece being generated with the help of artificial intelligence it was at first disqualified from the event. But the staff have since changed their mind and will allow @Vonias to participate:

@Vonias - The staff have discussed this further and come to the following conclusions: 1) The Christmas Music Event is not a competition and there are no rules so there was no prohibition at the outset against AI music being submitted (we will include such a prohibition in future competitions) 2) Anybody trying to get an Ardent Reviewer badge should be warned that AI was used to help in the process of producing any given piece of music and @Vonias does mention this in his description. Therefore we've decided to reinstate your piece in this years Christmas Music Event!

@Kvothe Greetings! Thank you so much for reviewing my piece! I see what you mean about using treble clef more for the higher stuff instead of ledger lines. i do the same thing with high bassoon parts, and I should probably pay more attention to that. As for shifting positions as I've called for, I've written this piece more for a highly proficient player - not a virtuoso necessarily, but the equivalent of someone with a master's degree in performance - and what I've written shouldn't present too much of a problem for a player of that calibre. I'm a violist myself, and I can play this. I've also showed it to another violist, and he found nothing prohibitive about it. Thanks again very much!

Bump 😅

I What AI? I am unaware of any AI currently on the market that is capable of rendering sheet music as high-quality, "1:1" audio. If there was already such a thing, the sample library market would have imploded. But you said you "Prompted" it. Well, I'm similarly unaware of any of the major music AIs being able to deliver anything 1:1 based on a description. If such a thing existed, Suno and whatever the other big one is would already have been trounced. I tried to get these things to generate just a drone all by itself and it couldn't even do that, so I don't believe that, based on a prompt, you got an AI to deliver these complex harmonies and such "1:1" Absolutely no way.

Can you be clear as to what exactly is AI generated? I've used AI to create music using Suno, and it's never this harmonically intricate, not even close. Just clarify for us what role AI had in this piece.

this is actually extreamly impressive I have to say I do wounder how is that chopinish feel achived? because right from the start this feels like something he would write, and I honestly have no idea how you did that

oh that sounds wounderful honestly! now I'm a bit jealous as I am sixteen as well and I don't get close to your level but oh well everyone starts somewhere :3 I'll take into account your correction about the sharps and flats, and maybe I'll extend the piece when I have time, thanks 😄

He's accusing me of just clicking a button to generate music. I think you are missing the point here. There was great effort in creating this piece. If you're looking for reasons to exclude anyone during the holuday season, so be it. Have a merry christmas.

You generated the second score after the fact of the AI-recording. So we don't know if the harmonies and melodies were generated by AI or by you because you could have simply generated them with the AI and then simply transcribed the result to get a score.

Right, but this isn't an AI generated work. The score, and midi are my own. It's an AI generated recording.

The staff have discussed this issue and we have decided that we shouldn't allow AI-generated works into the event. People who are going to try to get the "Ardent Reviewer" badge will be tasked with reviewing all the entries into the event and it would be unfair to require them to review an AI-generated work. This is not bullying.

Dear friends, hello everyone! I'm Zhang Wenhao, a singer-songwriter from China. Today, I'm here to share with you a pop folk song with Russian elements. Its name is "A Dream Boat On The Night Sea". This song tells the story of meeting a deceased loved one in a dream and re-establishing a connection with them. 亲爱的朋友们，大家好！我是来自中国的创作歌手张文灏。这次来跟大家分享的是一首带有俄罗斯元素的流行民谣，名字叫《夜海的梦舟》。 这首歌曲讲的是在梦里见到已经去世的亲人，和亲人再度产生联系的故事。 歌词如下/The lyrics are as follows： 作曲/Composed by：张文灏 Zhang Wenhao 作词/Lyrics by：张文灏 Zhang Wenhao 还是偶尔悄悄见到你 在有那座院子的梦里 你牵着我的掌心 粗糙中有暖意 仿佛从来都不曾离我而去 还是偶尔会作痛隐隐 在每一个清晨的梦醒 你呼唤我的声音 和慈祥的身影 仿佛从来都不多片刻留停 啊～夜空是回忆停泊的湾 啊～月光是思念扬起的帆 啊～梦舟满载着相思万般 温柔地驶进我的梦来 啊～梦中你牵着我的手 啊～梦中的你音容依旧 梦中的院子 藏着小时候 梦中往事 藏进夜海的小舟

Don't overact, I am just asking how much effort you put in your composition to consider it as your entry, because if someone just clicks a button and makes an entry, it will be unfair to other entrants who write their music 100%. So in your case it's 50% right? Henry

Well, look at you Mr. PC. My "AI Creation," really is 1:1 with my composition. If you'd feel better with me being bullied out of the entry, by all means, so you may have more fun.

So what's the part in the "piece" that is composed by you but not generated by AI? If the part is small I doubt it should be counted as your entry. Henry

"The Fury of Ukraine," was written backed into a corner by the media. I felt no choice but to compose my way out of it. I used CSound mainly, to compose. Some sounds are generated by Garritan. To create the third movement, I used an envelope - manipulating attack, release, hold, and sustain - and heavy reverb, to make it sound like a symphonic orchestra. I misplaced the score, somewhere. I'd have to venture the archives (dungeon) to find it. The first and second movement are the same music, just different in medium and presentation. I. First learned of the Patriot Missiles from my Uncle. My hope of a missile intercepted another missile was fascination, that I shortly realized "Wait, countries are going to launch missiles at another country?!" My uncle would casually state, "Not just one missile, multitudes of missiles." Luckily, my hope outweighed the fact of the matter: a barrage of missiles were going to launch somewhere, and the enemy did not know about it. The first movement of "Fury of Ukraine," is an artist's depiction of what that would sound like; no actual footage of sound was used, all sounds are generated by the artist. This is an example of aesthetics seeping into the arts, instead of the arts created aesthetics. What is under all the Artemis sounds, is a dispatch conversation, the concern for the artist how war shapes the behavior of our brave police officers. Though police are granted the use of mechanical force, and an advantage from the average citizen, but are not to be perceived as a militant force. That would go against our constitutional freedom. Comparable to the sounds I heard on the television, missiles intercepting missiles, the crackling was reminiscent a few dimensions from hell letting loose, but the silence in between was the work of miraculous intervention. My uncle told me to keep the Patriot System a secret and since, I have saluted each component in its making with great esteem. I now understood why he was so leery of Russia. II. Betrayal is a sanguine emotion. What's worse is how a sense of normalcy stings the soul, mixing emotions into a turmoil. That if we didn't have certain parts of the brain, we'd misunderstand the 'impulse' to create violence then and there. Zelensky, the leader of Ukraine, has considered stepping down from leadership if it meant helping Ukraine, but that was after his feeling of disgust having to accept a deal, under duress, from the US President over minerals. He's becoming more defiant to our leader. I listen to the second movement watching Zelensky's emotions flitter like a flame much like in the music. You can hear when the deal takes place in the music, and provocative trills send the listener in bewilderment as something happened. Reality moves slow at first, and the trill is unrecognizable. When reality is sped up, the trill can be heard and one is left in bitter extolment. III. Con Gusto, is a musical step away from the bitter cold politics to a snowy landscape exotic with strings, horns, all built on a fugue. A fugue is closer to home to Ukraine than it is to America, as the fugue was invented in Germany. I'm sure the affluence of Bach is heard stronger in the region creating a sense of stir. Con Gusto, is the feeling of energy gained from clarity. The haste can be heard as each instruments intricately intertwine to a meaning as a whole. A fugue demonstrates a whole through its sum of parts, and I imagine a well country comparable to a well oiled machine. IV. Chorale March, is a musical language that exceeds this world. The language is remedied from what Beethoven established in his romantic ideals, and in the 21st Century all music that has once been created may be further extended as a new, or neo, idea. Beethoven's romantic ideas are further known as neoromantic. The music comes from the big storybook of God, the artist uses as a peek into the future. The sounds are soothing, and begins with a big sigh. All sounds are 'cordant to create the greater sense of rational, that order is a necessity in our world to survive. If you listen to your heart, you will hear a great deal of happiness echoing through history, that when we work as a whole there is sometimes friction - there is always peace within. You can hear what is bare for the human in the absence of identifying personas, that I am only with my country when I want to be, that I am only who I am when I want to be, and to simply pause you can feel the love of God and him smiling upon us in our efforts to create something worthy of ourselves. Though, it is sometimes a symphony to remind us to pause.

Thank you my dear Kvothe As i said to Henry, “Yes, this sonata was modeled after Schubert, and yes, it is classical-romantic both in terms of structure and harmony. I’m incredibly happy that the final result is what it is. As for the next step, I don’t know. For now, I’m writing what expresses me — something classical to early romantic in style.” Thanks again for your apreciation and your attention

Hello my dear Henry. “Yes, this sonata was modeled after Schubert, and yes, it is classical-romantic both in terms of structure and harmony. I’m incredibly happy that the final result is what it is. As for the next step, I don’t know. For now, I’m writing what expresses me — something classical to early romantic in style.”

A piano piece I wrote called Lazy Day. I think I could've elaborated more in some sections but overall fits the theme of the song 😄 Looking for feedback on the piano score as I know notation is not my strong suite. Thanks in advance & hope you enjoyed listening! Lazy Day Score.pdf

Yeah, I am not thrilled about this. Movies theaters will so longer be thing.

On the 4th movement: Ronodo-Sonata? As henry mentioned, and I agree with him, the character and mood fits within the classical period sonata. It is light and humorous. What makes more interesting is the modulations. We are not moving to direct close keys by 5ths. No. We are moving chromatically; and possibly enharmonically to keys that are futher away! This was the trademark of romantic period. The romantics wanted to push the bounds of tonality. Even Wanger obscure it, which opens to the door to 20th century. The next step: maybe look into romantic style. Rolen wrote about this. 🙂

So the big news today is that Netflix will acquire Warner Bros. and will now own all sorts of IP including Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Batman and so much more. Immediately, they wasted no time at all announcing "shortened theatrical release windows". In essence, they are aiming to kill movie theaters entirely. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/us-netflix-warner-bros-acquisition-9.7004170 This is going to put a tremendous amount of people out of work and lower wages across the industry just so that Netflix can increase subscriptions (and no doubt jack up the price further). Why is this bad for you, as a composer? Well, the TV and Film industries remain the most lucrative path for composers between not only composer fees, but longtail royalty payments. Even mid-tier indie films have the potential to pull in millions of dollars in revenue against tiny budgets at theaters. For example, at a film festival I recently attended, some of the films that had been short films in prior years went on to become multi-million dollar projects. Simply put: Streaming means smaller budgets and as an individual film is no longer a product unto itself, especially not if you can only stream it on one service and not "rent" it like on Amazon Prime, the "profitability" of that film is essentially zero dollars now. Because everything is consolidated under one subscriber base. Even with hundreds of millions of subscribers, there is no way that this fixed income can be redistributed to fund anything resembling quality content in any sufficient amount. That means lower pay, lower budgets, and even less room for risks and originality than what Hollywood is already starved of. Regardless of what you think of him, now would be the time for the orange man to do something about these growing monopolies, but what he'll probably just do is more tariffs. Personally, I think this move is going to be a big, possibly final nail in the coffin of the American movie industry. The earning potential for everyone down to production assistants is going to plummet in the American movie industry, and I think you'll see all these people turning towards European and Asian markets. There will be even more creative brain-drain on North America than there already is. Curious to know what you think about this?

Thanks Henry! That upwards leap in b.58 is definitely a cry of anguish for me. Glad you liked it! I was actually considering dropping the whole first movement: so great minds think alike! I agree it's the weakest of the three, perhaps because it's too pastiche, and also feels like it's treading water in the middle section. Since Vivaldi was a major inspiration, I was trying to evoke his violin concertI in my style of composition. For example the repeated notes in the third movement coda are typical of his music, and help to inject extra impetus and energy.