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Let me add something, even though it goes beyond the specific work in question; by chance, I came across an example just today. This is part of the first page of E. Elgar’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. A dense piece… Note that for the contrabassoon and the tuba it says ‘ad lib’ (ad libitum). This does not mean that these instruments should ‘play whatever they like’. It means this: -Optional instruments: The contrabassoon and tuba may be omitted. -Lack of players: If the orchestra does not have them, the piece is performed as normal. -Conductor’s decision: The conductor decides whether to include these instruments. This is what I was referring to earlier. Best regards.

Ok then, Sometimes it's 6 weeks, other times it's 3 months, but the longest is probably this, which from start to end was 10 months and 6 days. (42 weeks 6 days, nearly a year)

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dudeeee this is the coolest sh*t. ive never had a work dedicated to me before and with words from my own old poetry writing too? i'll have a lot more to say but for right now like, thank you so much!!!

Hello! As a pianist, I have no idea how an organ works, as in what is possible to be played, and what is not, but, harmonically speaking, I like the middle section very much. This piece truly brightened my day! The ending was a bit too 'straight-forward' I think you could went for a more 'voice-using' coda instead of spamming chords. In conclusion, I really liked this!

Hi! This is great! Do you have sheet music, perhaps?

Guys I am done Ferrum, here is your dedication https://musescore.com/user/96214813/scores/35260994 @ferrum.wav Times.mp3 Times.pdf

https://musescore.com/user/96214813/scores/35416328 This is my set of 34 variations on the famous theme Caprice 24. It is written in a minor, and has: Allegro Theme (A minor) Var 1 (A minor) Var 2 (A minor) Var 3 (A minor) Var 4 (A minor) Andante Var 5 (A major) Var 6 (A Major) Var 7 (F# Minor) Var 8 (D Major) Var 9 (E Minor) Vivace Var 10 (E Minor) Var 11 (C minor) Tempo Primo Var 12 (Bb Major) Var 13 (B Major) Var 14 (C# Minor) Var 15 (C#Minor) Var 16 (E Minor) Var 17 (A Minor) Prestissimo Var 18 (A Minor) Var 19 (A Minor) Adagio Var 20 (A Minor) Var 21 (A Minor) Var 22 (F# Minor) Var 23 (Ab Minor) Andante Var 24 (Ab Major) Var 25 (Eb Minor) Allegro Var 26 (Autism) Prestissimo Var 27 (B Major) Presto Var 28 (G Major) Molto Vivace Var 29 (G Minor) Var 30 (G Minor) Var 31 (G Major, Alla Polacca) Prestissimo Var 32 (A Minor) Allegro Var 33, Fugue (A Minor) Presto Var 34, Finale (A Minor) Variations on a Theme by Paganini.mp3 Variations on a Theme by Paganini.pdf

Thanks Luis, great points you raise. Hopefully you will have a symphony orchestra at your disposal one day! You never know...

Good luck! That's a very good one. I’ve been thinking about the comment on the role of the contrabassoon here, following on from what’s already been said. I understand that you’d like to use the woodwinds as a bass line in those sections; that’s simply a matter of timbre and so on. Although I’m a firm believer in absolute freedom when it comes to composing, it’s true that I also bear in mind certain general principles. One is the ‘economy’ of instruments. Although I’ll never have a symphony orchestra or anything of the sort at my disposal, I do like to write as realistically as I can. That’s why, if the parts for one instrument can be played by another, I don’t use it. The other principle is to double the bass (an octave up or down), and I notice you do this. This is something I was taught very early on. And there’s a reason for it: the low register is the least audible to our ears. There are exceptions, of course: when the orchestral texture is very light, it isn’t necessary. In this piece, most of the notes for the contrabassoon can be played by the bassoon. Let’s say up to the low C (B flat, actually). To put it another way, I might have used the bassoon for that contrabassoon line and supported it on the lowest notes with the tuba or the double bass. There are sections of the contrabassoon part that can be taken over by bassoon 2, for example in bars 22 and 24. It’s true that the bassoons are in part 2, but it isn’t necessary (with those dynamics – diinuendo and ppp). Well, anyway, that’s just my opinion, based partly on how I learnt it. I was taught that instruments such as the contrabassoon, the bass clarinet, and even higher-pitched ones like the piccolo, were there for when the standard instruments couldn’t play the parts. Sometimes I’ve been guilty of wanting to be too literal when transposing a piano piece for the orchestra. But I’ve also realised that there are times when you have to take certain liberties or make changes to adapt the sound to the orchestra. Best regards.

Hi @Lithl , Thank you for your comment and the kind words! I agree that the piece does sound kinda cinematic and I love your story - I think you expressed it very well :D. I like the idea of a "journey" of sorts and I'll keep brainstorming for a better title.

Hi, Bjarke. It's a really energetic piece. I feel a vibe close to Peter Bence. The flowing feel is good. However, I felt it's a bit cluttered. If you add more extreme dynamics to each section, it might resolve that issue and make it even better. I think the piece itself is good, though! Best, Lithl.

Hi, A Ko, listening to it, I felt it sounded a lot like a movie soundtrack. It’s a piece with a strong sense of storytelling. I can’t express it very well, but I imagined a medieval warrior returning home from war. It might be cliché, though. Up until 3:30, they are taking a detour, passing through peaceful meadows and areas with somewhat mysterious trees. Around 2:45, there’s a sign that they are getting closer to home. Then at 3:10, their hometown finally comes into view from an open landscape, and shortly after, they return to the brick-paved streets of the medieval town with their comrades. At 3:32, the local townsfolk are incredibly overjoyed. At 3:52, the warrior spots their children and family among the crowd, and after that, the credits roll. I'm starting to confuse myself with what I'm saying... This kind of thing is difficult for me since I don't have synesthesia, so please just take it with a grain of salt as one person's perspective. On the other hand, I feel like a title with more movement would suit this piece better rather than just "Poem for orchestra", though words related to a "journey" might be a bit too boring. Overall, I think this piece is going to turn out wonderful. Good luck with your piece! Best, Lithl.

Hi everyone, I recently completed a draft of a short symphonic poem, after a long period of writer's block and not writing anything. I haven't put all the finishing touches on my scores (divisi, part divisions, crescendos are all lowk messed up etc.), but I would really appreciate feedback/suggestions relating to development and harmony. I'd also appreciate knowing what images, if any, it conjures up for you as you listen to it (I'd like to figure out a more evocative title). Thank you for your time :D! Poem for Orchestra.mp3 Poem for Orchestra.pdf

Thank you so much for the kind words Luis. When I heard this prelude, I thought it was crying out for an orchestration: so I couldn't resist making one! Will probably have a go at the fugue and variation some time; though at the moment I'm working on an orchestration of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in B minor (Op.32 No.10), which is proving quite challenging!

I was trying to stick to the pitches from the original piano work: so the bass line is too low for bassoon. I could've used double-basses; but felt like contrabassoon would blend better with the other woodwinds. Double-bass can stick out sometimes when it's not balanced by the other strings, and has a more abrasive sound than contrabassoon in my opinion. There aren't many other options available for that low register. The only ones I can think of are harp, piano and bass marimba.

A lovely, expressive little piece. It reminds me of those solo instrumental phrases that Messiaen would suddenly write into his works. I think it makes excellent use of the oboe’s most effective range, bringing out the expression in some of the high and low notes as well. As for the notation, well, it depends on how you look at it or interpret it. In my view, the piece is in D flat major. There are a few moments where it strays from the key (bars 12 and 13, and also 20 and 21) only to return immediately. There are indeed many passing or incidental notes. Even though a piece is for a solo instrument, the harmony is implicit (whether tonal or otherwise). It would be interesting to harmonise this.

It’s a beautiful piece and your version is fantastic. It’s restrained and balanced, without any superfluous filler that ultimately makes it sound muddy and indistinct. And it sounds absolutely lovely. You’ve done a great job of separating the different voices implicit in the keyboard version, and that voice leading accounts for a large part of the orchestration’s success. In my opinion. I think the brass section is good, as it’s handled delicately and adds that touch of colour. I also really like the English horn, though I do tend to hear it more in solo passages than in the ensemble because it has such a distinctive timbre. Orchestrating a fugue is a bit different; I did one recently (by Bach). And well, I think with these styles you have to be very faithful to the original and add very little (in terms of melody or harmonies). And keep the parts very well separated. In this case, there’s an added difficulty because, although it’s a Baroque-style fugue, it’s clearly Romantic, meaning that, as well as the horizontal voices, Franck allows himself to add chords and thicken the textures as he pleases. A challenge that can be very rewarding.

I'v been revising this piece yet again. This time I focused on a more rewritten exposition like introduction that is connected to the material later and tried to make it more cohesive overall. Any feedback is welcome. Thanks in advance. War born draft 5 04-07-2026 - Flow 1.mp3 war born draft5 score.pdf

I always noticed that the song "Wicked Child", which was the third level of the original Castlevania game would work perfectly with a swing rhythm instead. So I finally got around to making it swing.

Hey @BlackkBeethoven ! I listened to your most recent mp3 with the string quintet pdf above. Overall it's not bad. I'd say there isn't enough spotlighting on the material the listener should focus on vs. the background - everything is the same dynamic and there's no balance between melody and accompaniment. Also it often sounds like a chorale exercise - chorales are a good beginning way to learn harmony and chord functions but when used as a model for other compositions can tend to create a cookie-cutter, chord-by-chord approach to composition - there are so many other ways of arranging things! The melody can be in any voice. There could be more melodically meaningful counterpoint and cross pollination between voices. Approached from a motivic standpoint your melody is non-descript and proceeds along with a lack of intensity and purpose. Overall, the biggest strength and flaw at the same time is the focus on harmony. When writing good melodies there’s often a lot of repetition and variation and potential for reinterpretation in different harmonic contexts (while the melody notes stay the same or repeat). There’s also usually a sense of ebb and flow in terms of climax and denouement which I feel this lacks. What I mean when I say this is that your melody lacks the terseness of say a Beethoven sonata melody. Your melody is very pedestrian and there’s no sense of rising and falling, of breathing. It lacks definition and there's just a vague blob of sound proceeding along slowly and it's really hard for the listener to focus on anything and get anything out of it. Imo and when I work on melodies, I don't usually compose a piece based on the first melody I come up with but keep popping out melody after melody until I have something that I think is worth spending some more effort on to refine or complete. To me it seems you're 1) focused on harmony too much and 2) pick your melodies poorly/without good judgment and consideration. Those are my thoughts. Keep composing and trying and you will get better!

Update - This is the structure I'm aiming for A - B - A1 - C - (ending) A - is lilty and slightly energetic with lush harmony B - is a chorale, hymn-like section A1 - original material returns (melody), but it's reharmonized, and with a different rhythmic feel C - I'd like to attempt something more modern where I have a this rushing overlapping rhythmic lines (like everything happening at once) before we go into this big chorale finish with suspensions and the like. String Quintet No.2.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SGU8fq9dRSEkF3T4KUgSZGHTdR4RvFs_/view?usp=sharing I've been working on the piece and I have some notes: Pg 1 - melody here needs to be edited with my new additions. And my accompaniment is so SATB, it's not sophisticated string writing at all I want this section to feel lilty and more energetic than it does rn. Really lean into the meter (maybe up tempo to 64-68) So that when we switch to 6/4 we slow down and bask in these lovely chorale harmonies. Pg 2 same issues as above - m. 15, get this smoooooth so our transition is nice. Decrescendo and slow the tempo down slightly, maybe add a measure of rest Pg 3 & 4 I love this (note for everything, add bowing and more dynamics) Pg 4 & 5 - transition back to A (this is A1) needs to make sense. Put melody an ocatve higher for variety and rhythm needs to be 3, while melody is in 2 (hemiola affect) One thing I want to focus on is getting some more variety out of the sounds I'm getting from the strings. Different counter melodies (especially in A1), passing the melody, pizz., ponticello, sul tasto, etc. I have some ideas sketched on later pages that I hope to use to play with the rhythm and sound more. This could be nice 👇🏾 1234.pdf 👉🏾 This is the edited melody for A mp3.mp3

I would give it to the bassoon ... you may have to adjust the other lines. By the way - why the contrabassoon? The timbre to support the melody is not the same as a String Bass or bassoon in resonance. Mark

Thanks Mark! I just love the colour of the English horn: so try to use it as much as possible, Would you suggest I move these passages into the bassoon or bass clarinet?

Alex, A lovely orchestration, though, I have some questions in the selection of the English Horn; especially in the lower register ... the actual projection may be more covered in the ensemble. Mark