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Hello all! It's been a long while since I posted, and today I come with my own arrangement of the Main Title Theme for Star Wars: Andor (originally composed by Nicolas Britell). I'm a huge Star Wars fan and have greatly enjoyed the show and its music. As such, I wanted to take my try at composing a variation on the main title theme. This is my first jump into making my own arrangement of music from the Star Wars universe and seemed like a good (and relevant) place to jump in. I made this in FL Studio using a combination of Spitfire Audio libraries (BBSCO Discover, Intimate Strings, & Epic Choirs) then arranged by ear. Hope you enjoy the listen and I greatly recommend listening to the score of the show whether you're a Star Wars fan or not. It's top notch! Looking forward to the conversations and feedback.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuPKJFu4FpE&ab_channel=KILI I've been really into fantasy music recently- thank you for listening!

It kind of depends for me on exactly what it is. In many instances, I like hearing a performance come back from live players and the little nuances that make their interpretation unique. However, I will say that it can be frustrating working with musicians with pop and jazz backgrounds. They're not so used to part-writing and often don't read sheet music. Their music is often much more chord + melody based and improvisational, so they often think that the pitches I've written are merely guidelines when they are in fact deliberately chosen because of how they will work vertically, as a unit, with other lines that occur at the same time, and they struggle to understand why them changing the melody the way they have messes up the piece.

Just wanted to say well done for completing such a monumental work. I haven't listened to it all yet; but everything I've heard so far has been amazing!

Definitely. We're not loving it as any claim to greatness or mastery (that really would be arrogant). We just love it because what's come out of us naturally resonates with us. Unless we're exclusively technical in how we write, we put, to varying extents, part of ourselves into the music. We write what we find to be beautiful, even if no-one else does, so it's not surprising that the same beauty strikes us when we hear it back.

After joining YC I have quite a lot of experience playing my own pieces now, though only by recording with only myself at the piano without an audience. Yeah this is exactly why I record my own piece with my own interpretation. I played my ( ) piano piece back in 2012 because it was to be submitted to the Exam Bureau and I found the trill of the Sibelius rendition disgusting, and the rubato was very unsatisfactory, so I recorded the piece myself. Even though it's full of slip, the recording is full of emotion and honesty, and I heard from my teacher that the piece's recording was played in Teacher's Seminar and those teachers were in awe of my playing which is full of slips haha. Playing my own piano pieces gives me a chance to polish the details further because music play by hands is much different than Augensmusik or Öhresmusik. I can prove this piano music can really be played. Also, even though the piece once composer is not belong to me exclusively, the interpretation from the original composer is important to know. I have also played through all Vince's @Thatguy v2.0 12 Piano Preludes. He did mention I brought in something he didn't think of before (at least not ruining his pieces haha). Actually when I receive reviews of my pieces I always discover something I have never thought of. No one ever plays my pieces haha, tho @PCC once arrange my piano piece Moment Musical for Organ. I would be excited if anyone plays my pieces, especially my Piano Sonatas, haha! Henry

What are your thoughts around performing your own piece or having others perform your piece? Performing your piece can be a great way to share your interpretation and intentions of your own piece, and playing your own piece forces you to assess the playability of your piece, and make adjustments where necessary. You can prove your piece can be played by a human, removing accusations that it is just a computer-generated "impossible" piece. However, since different people have different abilities and interpretations, playing your piece might not necessarily help in making your piece more accessible (though it still can), especially when one performs and reinforce opinions of one's piece, as if a self-fulfilling prophecy, where your piece is the prophecy itself, which can be limiting - but again, this can be countered with an open mind. Personally I always find it interesting how people can have so many different interpretations and ways of playing the exact same piece, with the exact same notes, markings and instructions, we all to some extend follow the score, took things out, or added things, according to our practical abilities and personal preferences, it reflects character - whether the persona or the person. Same goes to one's piece, one cannot expect everyone to have the same interpretation as you, even if you are the composer. Yet, it can be quite personal because your piece is almost like a part of you and when others play it it is like engaging with you/ a part of you. It can be fulfilling when someone plays or improvise in an interesting and you thought " Oh, I never thought of that", or way of expressing love, like between Schuman and Clara, yet sometimes one may be offended as what might be disrespect as well. Chopin liked it when Liszt played his Etudes with virtuosity but not when adding unnecessary ornaments to his nocturnes. How y'all experience this? Have you had experience of playing your piece in front of an audience (irl or online) - how was the reception like? Have you had someone else play your piece? how did they play/interpreted it and how you feel about it? Any other thoughts about these Personally I realized I have really played/ have others play my piece? Maybe I should haha, and post them in my socials...

Yea, it is good find out what works for oneself like you have done. I think at the end of the day, to try out and and do what works best for oneself - interesting to see how different individuals approach composing and how our habits may stay or evolve over time. Interesting to hear your approach: Personally, while I generally compose in sections, in order, before moving on, it is not a rule I will stick to strictly. Because I tend to change things after composing the next section so I feel it "makes more sense",the transitions are smoother, and the overall piece is more coherent overall. Sometimes I just have parts where I am not as sure about compared to others so I'll work on the others first, even if they may not appear in chronological order in the piece.

yeah, and that's why I think it is still possible to love one's music - as long as one does not impose it upon other people it is not arrogant I guess?

Hello Vince, Thank you truly for your kind reply. I am glad you were able to find a few notable things from my endeavors. You know, I would also do the same if I were a composition teacher; there seems to be a new demand for good-quality beginning-intermediate pieces since the current repertoire, in that area, is not very good. It would be nice to encourage composers to explore pieces/styles for new learners. Hope to keep you updated with new pieces.

Hi @Aw Ke Shen! Wonderful piece! I really like it a lot! I think your piece is very differentiated and has a lot of contrasts and a lot of different sections within it and ideas all thrown together. Perhaps another characteristic of scherzi is their (4) driving tempo and rhythms and (5) sudden and surprising changes in dynamics. You certainly have some sections of the piece which have intense driving rhythms in a fast tempo. And your score shows that (especially starting at measure 40) you do intend for there to be sudden dynamic changes, but the rendition doesn't really make that audible for some reason. Also I could add a 6th characteristic: the inheritance of a dance-like nature from the Minuet-Trio-Minuet form which the Scherzo came from. Even though the Scherzo is considerably faster than a Minuet, usually it can still be considered to have the same dance-like character. I'm also unsure if your piece is a scherzo because it is so heterogeneous. Like I said, it has so many different parts and ideas thrown together, while a scherzo would customarily just have the driving Scherzo idea and one contrasting Trio idea. But no matter, I am working on a Scherzo myself right now and it doesn't meet all the requirements either, so ultimately, it is up to you whether you call it a scherzo or not. Thanks for sharing!

I don't think it sounds arrogant. At its best, our music is a deep unconscious expression of our own essence. It carries our signature like nothing else does. If we don't love it, we don't have a healthy relationship with ourselves. Even if no-one else resonates with it - it's important that we do, else what are we making it for?

Yeah I may sound arrogant, but during composing my pieces especially with the String Sextet(my best piece ever), I did think of myself, my friend, and also us as 2 members of the whole mankind and how my own ego fits with others, and how can I express and excavate myself in order to express mankind and Tao. I never think I claim music because my inspiration comes everywhere. Another "narcissistic" approach is I always listen to my music daily for composing coherently. Only by getting to know my music so much I can generate inspiration that is free and refreshing but at the same time reasonable and coherent. Henry

I think this is a refreshing perspective on the potential positive aspects of this tendency of narcissism, in the specific context of music composition, with regard to my above response (dk why cant put this quote there but whatever). And especially here, I like how you expanded this idea to say it is not just that it can be positive for self development and composition, but can be a pre-requisite even, which removes the guilt of being narcissistic, as long as one strive for something bigger beyond oneself then, by viewing oneself as a vessel for something larger, narcissism is selfless, not selfish, or maybe at this point the specific words don't matter anymore, since the two are kind of one and the binary does not matter or exist anymore even.

I think as long as it does not make you discriminate other people such that one would harm them, at least narcissism is not that destructive. That said, just only hearing your own music has the risk of being in ones echo chamber. Even if one gets objectively better and like to - and thus - hear more of ones music, which is nothing wrong, it would still be great to listen to other's people good stuff to enrich oneself. I think the term narcissism can be quite subjective, nothing wrong in itself though at times, it can be helpful to use more specific terms or like"X type of narcissism" to describe some behaviours or attitudes.

lol, like Eric Satie's Vexations? but on a more serious note, I do like this piece, it is so classical yet so catchy and fun, something I would like to play, especially if forced to choose a classical piece that are not the ones I like , the boring ones. Also, this is generally suited for children and beginners to play, maybe at a slower tempo. One issue might be that it looks quite easily to trip off when playing in a fast tempo.

Continuing from this threads in reddit and here - https://www.youngcomposers.com/t47262/inquiry-for-parts-of-a-piecepiece-without-a-clear-tonal-centre-how-do-we-put-accidentals/#comment-1186752923 - where I asked for notation advice for my score and integrated them in my edits (thanks again to those who advised me), I would now like to ask how might I actually make this piece more of a Scherzo (whether its the conventional matrices of 3 time, ABA structure, more parts with playful/satiric parts, or beyond these) using the themes/motifs I already have or should I make new ones? https://musescore.com/user/62605720/scores/25131706 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O29_xr6AwbA This is because while I find there is contrasts as "touching/happy" parts and more allegro parts and quite some parts in 3 time, but they are (1) not really fun/playful (2) not really satirical (3) not really majority 3 time, I know a scherzo doesn't really need all parts as such but still... Imposter syndrome here, and my main title and initial for the piece is a Prelude, not Scherzo, though in the process I felt like I want a Scherzo (story can be found in my YT/Musescore). Some forms are more flexible than others, especially because people have broken the rules much and overtime. Scherzo seems to be a form which inherently is more flexible and encourage people to go beyond? Correct me if I am wrong. How flexible do you think the Scherzo form is compared to others?

Operetta Theatre (Latvia) and Marina Zirdzina's Family announces FIRST MARINA ZIRDZINA INTERNATIONAL VOCAL COMPETITION in the following categories: operetta, musical theatre, opera, solo and duet. Marina Zirdzina International Vocal Competition is created to highlight the cultural heritage of Latvian musical theatre, to highlight the diversity of operetta and musical theatre genres and to inspire young singers to develop their talent, artistic and vocal skills. It will celebrate the brilliant personality of the operetta diva Marina Zirdzina, bringing to life her characteristic artistic and professional qualities. Young vocalists of age 18 - 35 from all over the world are invited to participate. Competition will be held in two rounds and will be judged by an international jury: Deividas Staponkus (Lithuania), Heli Veskus (Estonia), Sonora Vaice (Latvia), Gregory Buchalter (USA). To take part in the competition, the participant must send a video recording and to complete and submit an application by May 31, 2025. Round 1 will be held entirely on-line. In the Round 2 on August 12, 2025 competitors will perform in person with Symphony Orchestra of the Operetta Theatre (Latvia) conducted by Gregory Buchalter (The Metropolitan Opera, USA) in the Great Hall of the Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music in Riga. Valuable prizes for approximately € 8,000.00 in total. More details https://www.vocalcompetition.lv and https://www.facebook.com/MarinaZirdzinaInternationalVocalCompetition or https://www.facebook.com/OperetesTeatris Contact us to vocalcompetition@operetesteatris.lv +371 25123145 Organized by Operetta Theatre in collaboration with Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music and BAFF (Baltic -Americam Freedom Foundation)

Thanks for reminding me about Schubert!

Updated version of the score here: https://musescore.com/user/62605720/scores/25131706 Most of the changes were done using the feedbacks fr reddit but thanks for the additional feedback here too, the score is now much easier to read, more intuitive and makes way more sense. haha : )

Some people have also suggested this and I have changed measures 35-39 to Cb Major (not very used to Cb Maj haha). I have also made other changes elsewhere, like to (suggested by you), also suggested by others (in reddit) "to specify the key signature" on the basis of more practical reasons like score readability.

Noted

Yea, this^ seems to be the consensus and what I observed as for this opinions (from reddit, where I also asked) seems more diverse, but thks for the input!

Hello! Thank you for your very detailed feedback, I appreciate you taking the time to listen even though you normally listen to a little something else! A lot of your suggestions are interesting and I will definitely consider putting them into practice. My music, as I wrote, breaks from the classical form, is full of irregularity and deliberate inconsistency, yet can be simple at times. I draw inspiration from many directions, including jazz, Czech folk music and others, each of which influences the music in a different way. The simplicity of traditional music, the wildness of jazz: they combine to create something very strange and, at first glance, perhaps confusing, out of tune. One has to get used to it first, because the first listening seems different from what one usually hears, even from contemporary modernism. Anyway, I'll certainly consider a lot of the things you've written, as they contain ideas about how to perhaps get more in touch with a wider listening audience. Thanks for that!