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The reason there are no violins or oboes is that I wanted the brass section to provide the sparkle in this short piece.

Hi I’ve really enjoyed these pieces you’ve mentioned. Video game music and the like is a subgenre that fascinates me, but one I know very little about. I’ve carried on listening to a few more tracks. I think the orchestration is very rich and colourful. It’s true that the brass really stands out. Thank you.

Wagner. Scriabin. These I can say.

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while. The lamento bass is a famous motif based on the simple idea of the descending tetrachord (commonly in d minor). In my realization I build momentum with complexity with which I aim to demonstrate the range of possibilities within this short space. One can keep going with more variations. It is both a beautiful and inexhaustible concept. Prelude for the Soul.mp3 Prelude for the Soul.pdf

it sounds very contemporary and do I see sevenlets? those are very fun again. It has the modern sort of feeling contemporary concert feeling it’s nice though just wish that there were oboes and violins just for those who can play those instruments and only can and then they are motivated to play the peace, but then they can’t. Whether or not if you forgot or decided to choose them out, there must be a reason keep up the great work as always.

Stunning stuff. You had me captivated until the very end. The final movement is my favorite. Very well played, too! I must follow your work going forward. Thank you very much. PS i’m sending this to a friend of mine who plays the saxophone to have a listen.

Hey Vince! It's real fun playing this one! The time signatute looks and sounds difficult at first so I needed to clap rhythms on my legs first, but once I got through that it's much easier to play! The rhythm and use of pattern here reminds me of your Prelude no.9 which I also enjoy entirely: So in my playing I play it a bit faster, add some pedals, articulations, and whenever there's repetition of phrases I usually play the 2nd time with a slightly stronger dynamic. If you enjoy listening to this Prelude, you will enjoy it 10 more times by playing it! Thx for sharing this wonderful work Vince! I know you're getting busy but really hope you drop more great pieces to us! 💋 Henry

Oooooh man I do need to get myself updated on MJ ASAP 😅, been following updates via Facebook up to now. I am glad you're interested, the moment I saw this was possible (despite its evident flaws) I thought of MJ and the possibilities. I also made this short with it, kinda elegant if you ask me, judge by yourself: Vals del Tentetieso | Om. 98 | #piano #partituras Should have waited for the next Halloween competition then, hah! Many thanks for your commentary, Mike!

Mega Man ZX - Green Grass Gradation (found in a Super Mario World ROM hack):

Very well done man, incredible work and very creative, this is so much fun to listen to. I was watching your YouTube video because the effects are wild, and I was glued to the screen. This waltz is actually perfect for Halloween I think, just the overall mood. I think the left hand complements the right hand so well, and your key changing, modulations etc, literally keep me on my toes waiting to hear how you progress the next section. The right hand is really fun to listen to with your chromatic runs and trills. And none of these feel like filler to me, they all have purpose. One of my favorite parts is around 45 seconds in, when you get relentless with your runs, it just feels so satisfying. As far as the visuals, yes I am very interested. Music Jotter is very well equipped to work with outside software, especially Lilypond and Verovio. I just have to code it but MJ is 100% data driven.

Hi again! Since the last post I submitted here about a piece of mine was roughly a year ago, I thought it was perhaps not the worst idea to publish another now. Bad timing, I know, since there are still days to close the voting process of our "From Nothing, to Something" Summer competition, a competition I sadly did not take part in (sorry :'/), neither as a contestant nor as a reviewer. My activity in this forum has dwindled too much, and I do hope to fix it little by little in the future. Today I bring you my 7th waltz for solo piano for you to have a listen, review, comment, destroy, whatever! I will be leaving the PDF here, as well as the mp3. For those interested, I would like you to see the video format too, which has been done with a tool that Victor Reny at free-scores.com has been developing: the OPUS reader. I believe it uses verovio for rendering, and this library and Musescore 3.7 don't get on well with each other too much but still, I think when the software matures it will be neat. @chopin this may be interesting to you, since it's coded in web and your enormous work in MJ perhaps could interact with webtools like this better than Musescore, in order to create these visual effects. If it's not of your interest, sorry for the ping man! That said, here is the work. Hope you find it decent! Uploaded it with 2 pianos, just in case you prefer one timbre over the other 🙂. All should be in the attached files at the bottom of the post. 98 - Vals del Tentetieso [v1.1].pdf And the video: Vals del Tentetieso | Valses para piano | Om. 98 | #piano #vals #waltz Again, many thanks for reading & listening! Best regards and see you in the forums, Daniel–Ø. Vals del Tentetieso [v1.1].mp3Vals del Tentetieso (Érard).mp3

And let me add, we also have an internal private messaging system 😀. Welcome to the forums! I liked the piece, the effects at the beginning as @Grant Weep mentioned are quite catchy. The piece itself is a bit vertical but that's not necessarily bad, just pointing it out. The ending didn't really convince me, I think it would have been a nice opportunity to use the same effect you used at the beginning. That aside, we are used to see all kinds of scores so next time no matter how dirty it be, I'm sure it'll be of help for users to give you more detailed feedback. Kind regards!

Hi Luis. I don't know whether it be the music itself or the soundfont/VST chosen, but this sketch reminds me a lot of Dragon Quest VIII music, and that faint reminiscence alone makes me interested, and makes me like it too. Leaving you some examples here (but with an actual orchestra), if you don't mind, but since I feel I repeat myself a lot, perhaps I have stated this somewhere else! That aside, I quite like the glissandi in the harp and the percussion meshing very nicely in the composition. Thank you again for continuing to share your work here, Luis. Dragon Quest VIII Symphonic Suite - Cold and Gloomy ~ In the Dungeon Depths Dragon Quest VIII Symphonic Suite - Ruins of Darkness MIDI one, just in case: Dragon Quest VIII OST - Disc2 - Track08 - Ruins of Darkness Kind regards!

why u expose me bro

I need feedback about how should i continue. Piece in G dur.mp3 Piece in G dur.pdf

I really enjoy listening to this. I play the keyboard version, so the difference in tempo struck me at first. But your orchestrated version works really well. It's just fast enough. It doesn’t have all of the ornaments the keyboard has, and that might have something to do with how it can be faster without sounding too fast. Yours doesn't feel rushed in any way. The choice of the instruments works very well. It never feels weighed down with too many instruments sounding at once. I like that you didn’t double so much as to have these walls of sound that make the lines less distinct. I particularly like the Eng.Horn, Clarinet and Bassoons combo in measures 9-15. They are very clear and distinct but still in consort with each other. The same for the strings in 19-27. I’m far from being a sound engineer, but I think you know what you're doing when it comes to using the digital tools to make an overall realistic, coherent sound.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 9 9.5 9.5 8.5 10 8.5 8.75 8.75 Avg: 9.06 All movements are done well. You have excellent themes, appropriate and interesting harmony and very clear form. Your audio and dynamics are also excellent. And I normally don't compliment engraving of music, but in this case as far as the score goes, it looks really professional. Did you use Dorico for your scoring? Let me comment on harmony so you understand why I marked so high. Even though your harmony may not be as crazy as let's say, experimental or modern music, I feel you used appropriate harmony which complements your themes beautifully. It also helps that your movements are contrasting each other with style and mood according to the poem's stanzas. And one more point about your harmony, in my view, you are using it to portray mood correctly, while not sacrificing the integrity of your music's theme and structure. And as mentioned before, your themes are very fun and catchy. Honestly I couldn't find a dull moment, you knew just the right length before concluding each section.

Hello I’ve written another sketch for orchestra. In this piece, I’ve used ‘sound mass’ techniques in some sections, and harmonies based on fourths… I haven’t really thought about any specific chords, just voice leading. The first section is the fanfare; the second is the more subdued, evocative section. There are no oboes or violins, so that the brilliance comes from the brass. Fanfarria.mp3 Fanfarria.pdf

If you are interested, this is what Rimsky-Korsakov says about melody in octaves using woodwinds: The use of two instruments of the same colour in octaves, e.g. 2 flutes, 2 clarinets or 2 bassoons etc., if not exactly to be avoided is certainly not to be recommended, as the instruments, playing in different registers will not correspond one with the other. Suggested combinations: Fl + Ob, Fl+Cl, Fl+Bs, Ob+Cl, Ob+Bs, Cl+Bs In his book, he also discusses doubling the melody in the very high register (with the piccolo) or in the low register (with the bassoon, contrabassoon or bass clarinet). He also mentions some combinations involving two instruments from the same family that do work (because they are actually distinct, such as the flute and alto flute). As well as doubling the melody in three- and four-part arrangements, etc. And with examples of everything. A classic but essential treatise. Alan Belkin also explain this issue: Professor Belkin Notes: There is in fact a good argument to be made that the WW are not one group at all, but rather, three (oboes and bassoons counting as one – double reed – family, with the English horn as intermediary). Unlike the strings, woodwinds do NOT behave similarly to one another in various registers. For example, flutes get softer as they get lower, whereas oboes/bassoons get louder. This diversity of color and of register is the main cause of the difficulty in writing well for winds. The beginner is advised to think of each woodwind instrument as really three in one: a high instrument, a medium one, and a low one. Although the transitions between registers are of course not really so drastic, combinations of woodwinds with each other and with from other families work differently depending on register. For example, a low flute melody requires a different accompaniment from a high flute melody. This is also the reason that it is actually easier to score for a larger woodwind section than a smaller one: When the auxiliaries are available, the range available IN ANY GIVEN HOMOGENOUS TIMBRE is much increased. A chord scored for alto flute, regular flutes and piccolo will present less problems of blend and balance than one scored for 2 flutes and 2 oboes. Of all the woodwinds, the oboe is one most likely to cause problems for the beginner. It is a natural “prima donna” and, while its melodic character can be wonderful in the right melody, it does not blend easily with most other timbres in the orchestra (exception: oboes blend quite well with SOFT, muted trumpets).

Another musical quote from "The Occult" by Colin Wilson incoming! And if you've gotten this far, thanks for reading!

Hi Musicbro, (funny name! lol) I have been in the process of doing my reviews for this competition and I have finally made my way here! Attached is a pdf of some annotations. They are mostly surface level, with most of the comments on engraving and the notation. So, without delay, let's begin! ENGRAVING: You have a lot of engraving errors, from the use of wrong clefs, to rest errors, note placements, dynamic information and more. Please see the attached pdf at the end for the specific places in the score. A lot of other users have mentioned the harp and trust what they say. I have also marked some comments on the harp and I would refer to the harp comments as above. I am also linking this video which is my brief explainer on the harp. MUSIC: My main issue with the music is it's minimalism. There is one melody stated in the cello that gets passed around, yet the accompaniment stays pretty tame while the harp goes brrr. The ensemble is unbalanced and there is no clear sense of melodic structure outside the use of a phrase. To fix, creating the sense of variety or establishing roles in the ensemble would be my suggestion (Cello = bass support, Harp = Flourish, Winds = Accompaniment, Baritone = Melody). Thinking this way may help the coherency of the piece. Truth be told, it feels more like a harp concerto/ concertina versus an established chamber piece. I am limited on time and cannot provide a super detailed analysis, however good work on this piece and we'll be eager to see what you create in the future! M. Bro - Your dear beauty lovelier still [ANNOTATED].pdf

This week's suggestions, I hope you enjoy :) Steve Reich - You Are (Variations): II. Shiviti Hashem l'negdi (I place the Eternal before me) Philip Glass - Mishima/Closing

Hi James, Welcome to the forum and thanks for submitting this work! It's been wonderful seeing how various people have tackled the challenged I have laid out. Now, I am in the process of doing my reviews and it has come time to leave one here! To preface, I wish to address some things. I am a tonal composer and while I have written post-tonal, or post-modern, I have only done so in the academic scene. My taste is to romantic soundscapes and I may not be the best suited to properly address this work. However, I wish to give it my best shot! ENGRAVING: The engraving of this score is meticulous and leaves no errors. My only comments here is that in your copyright footer on the first page of the score, you misspelled "LLC" and put "LCC" instead. Just a heads up before you sell this work elsewhere. Another picky thing is with the front matter, I am not sure you need to specify "written for the YCF competition..." twice: before the notes and above the title on the first page of score. It makes more sense to see a dedication for the ensemble above the title or to the organization of the event versus saying "written for XYZ" twice. Seems a little redundant. The last picky thing is the page 19 to the end in the harp. I feel there is a better way to notate the cluster arpeggios. The accidentals tend to stick out way too much for me to say it makes sense. Visually it seems a little silly, especially the last harp chord. To me, even for those moments, using two stems, an extra stave, or voices to notate the individual notes, or help spell them out may be better; lastly, use of enharmonic spellings to keep the accidentals uniform (all sharps or all flats) may prove beneficial. (unless the goal was for every string to be used, which aha! That makes sense for varying accidentals) Essentially, I am reasoning that it may be more effective if you make the readability easy for the performer because a lot of challenge will go into the playability and technique. Some of your pedal changes are cumbersome for a harpist. Outside of these comments, nice work! MUSIC: This to me, is the hardest to review as personal taste plays a factor. I did look at some snippets off your Instagram and Twitch of the process, but I do not have the time to do a proper analysis, which I feel may benefit my own understanding. Your use of the whole tone scale is most prevalent throughout the work, and there are certain motifs that come back and can be remembered by a listener during the duration. The form, if applicable seems to be a large binary with sub-forms within them. These forms being separated at rehearsal-J with the harp to break the piece in two. However, to me, the midi doesn't do a good justice as it seems quite monotonous, even though the score has very strong dynamic implications and a singer would actually sing the written lyrics. To add, when it comes to the context of the competition, it casts more a dream than a romance. The soprano and tenor help the visual of two partners, yet, the nature of the work doesn't cast unbridled love, but a complex and troubled relationship in my opinion. Verlaine wrote this before the marriage to his Fiancée and there is a level of raw joy he may have felt. The ending of the work, after rehearsal-J seems to better capture that point, versus the front half, which is weaker in my opinion. As a chance for another to give a better addressed review, I believe @HoYin Cheung will have the tools for more direct feedback. Good work on this piece, and we'll be eager to see what you create next!

Thank you so much MK_Piano! I saw the score comments you gave me, I agree with every single one. I was a bit sloppy with the score creation. For the sound, I did use a combination of the section and solo strings to smooth it out, but it still didnt quite get the sound I wanted. I see what you mean. I will take this information to improve my future compositions!

Hi Matthew, Welcome to the forum and I'm glad to see another M-based name around here! It is wonderful to engage with other composers and I am very excited to see others participate in an idea of my creation. Thus, let's get right into my review! However, some things to address first: I am attaching an annotated PDF of your score with some comments. I do not have the time to sit down and do a thorough analysis, thus the feedback is aimed at the engraving and surface level details. However, I will elaborate my thoughts both on the annotations and the music here over the course of the comment. Please find the attached PDF at the end. Thanks! GENERAL COMMENTS: To start, your understanding of the ensemble is not quite right. It is not voice and piano trio, instead it is Soprano and Piano Quartet. Any piano ensemble INCLUDES the piano with the number of instruments. Piano Trio = Piano+Violin+Cello | Piano Quartet = Piano+Violin+Viola+Cello | etc. ENGRAVING: Next, I wish to address the numerous engraving mistakes in the score. The biggest being rest placement, dynamic placement and the spacing of the vocal text. These are annotated on the score, so please refer to the PDF to see exactly where and what I mean. To add, please ensure to add a double bar line when using key changes, and please restate the tempo when changing time signatures! A dotted quarter note and regular quarter note are NOT the same and you need to specify the change. As you did not in the score, it is confusing currently. Also, how come the articulations for the vocal line and instruments are not the same? There are spots where the violin and soprano are identical or state the same gesture over the course of the work, however they do not have the same articulation. I would consolidate and make sure the instruments also have the same articulations when they state the melody. Speaking of Melody, @Wieland Handke is correct with the writing of the text. You need to ensure there is at least one pitch for EACH syllable. A syllable can be sung over multiple notes, but two syllables CANNOT be sung in one note duration. An example would be measure 22, beat 3 with the word "Partner". MUSIC: The main issue with the music is how dense it is. You use all instruments constantly over the runtime of this work. There is no change, almost no instrument drops out for a long time, instead, it is just sound, sound, sound! What would immediately create variety is changing this. Drop out the piano, drop out the strings, and use other combinations. As is, because of the density, the voice can get overpowered quickly. If you wish to make the voice stand out, then make the accompaniment simpler or less active. If you have sounds going the entire time, then it beckons the question what is special? What needs to be heard? If you use all instruments all the time, then it makes them all less unique. Instead, if you were to reserve an instrument or chord progression for a particular moment, then you heighten its effect when heard! To add, changing who is playing the melody or doing the accompaniment is another aspect to look at. Lastly, spreading out the ranges of each instrument could be good as currently, I feel their ranges are all close and can lead to some pitch clashing if played live. Keep this as some food for thought going forward. To end, the recording is a little skewed too. I would not use the Violin, Viola or Cello Section soundfont for the singular instrument in MuseScore. It makes the strings sound way too lush and resonant for what a singular instrument can do. Consider changing it to be the solo soundfonts instead. If the violin sounds too whiny or slides too much, use a sound flag or text field to change the playing to "Ordinary". Good work, and we'll be eager to see what you make next! M. McAlister - So, on a bright summer day [ANNOTATED].pdf