All Activity

Theme and variations on a two motives D-F-E-C and G-A-F-E

Hi all! I'm back with a WIP progress piece that I am calling The End of Things - Suite. This has been composed in FL Studio using mostly the Symphony Series Instruments! The ending is unfinished as I plan to go back into a version of the theme from the beginning of the piece. Would love to hear some feedback and what you all think about this piece so far! It's been another foray into experimentation...much like my last piece. This time aiming to try new methods with harmony and building themes...as well as furthering my percussive usage when it's needed. Overall I am loving branching out of my "Compositional Comfort Zone" and trying some new (and often rewarding) things. Parts of the piece have a frantic, almost chase feel to them, others are sinister, and some are more heroic. Overall I wanted each section to feel like part of an End Credits suite...but that all felt like they belonged together in the same project...much like themes in a movie. Hope you all enjoy the listen and looking forward to your feedback! The End Credits WIP - Layne Lee.mp3

I am also working on a set of variations and mash-ups on themes not written by me (from a famous videogame). I am using so many themes at once that I am also feeling unmotivated lately to work on it. It seems like one of those never-ending snowballing out of control projects. I hope that I'll finish at least one part of it. I think because of my ginormous orchestral project, the next thing I'll want to write is a piece for 1 monophonic solo instrument accompanied by 1 polyphonic instrument (like the Dreamscapes contest rules). It would be a nice change of pace. And if I manage to write something "dreamy" then it will be all the more interesting. Besides that I was thinking of writing my own variations of more of the themes from the "Bits to Bangers" competition, since I already did the "Harvest Moon" Piano Quintet. I think I majorly prefer working on previously written video game themes, and if not that, then I prefer for my own music to retain a VGM style or media purpose to it somehow.

Am working on an Orchestral Variation on @PeterthePapercomPoser's themes. That's going to be my first orchestral piece and also first variation piece. One third of it has been finished but recently just sort oflosing the motivation a bit. I wanna write 2 serial piano pieces, and my life time goal would be to write a Choral Symphony using Chinese Poet's Du Fu's poems. Maybe I feel too tired working on many music these few months. Finishing a Piano Sonata, my dream the String Sextet which I feel so grateful to have finished, a Violin Sonata and a few piano pieces, maybe it's time for me to slow my pace down and absorb more music again. Henry

Thank you so much, Peter! I always appreciate the feedback. I had not thought of the BTTF theme comparison, but I completely hear it! Thanks for listening! I have been working on a piece (still VERY WIP) that I am planning on sharing here in the forum. Did more exploring of tools, settings, and more and have produced what I would describe as a suite. Haha! Will share soon!

Thank you so much! This was a big step out of my comfort zone for percussion. Glad you enjoyed it!

What are you working on at the moment? What do you still want to compose?

I'm here to ask, am i doing alright? Does anything need to be changed now before I continue the piece? I've fixed everything I can see but I'm not sure if there is more. Does it at least sound cool consistently? I'm going for an epic vibe. I also wanted to add, the oboe solo is the main theme

Thank you HoYin! I've been studying the effects of surprise in psychology. It was believed that a sudden attack in music after tranquility helped release the "bad spirit" or troubling memory. Anyway, I can't wait to have it performed live. If you know any ensemble willing to perform it, let me know!

Getting back into composition from a long hiatus, I decided to orchestrate a piano piece by Claude Debussy. The piece is a movement from his piano suite Estampes titled La Soireé dans Granade (Evening in Granada). I'm still not too familiar with Debussy's piano music as a whole, but this suite definitely piqued my interest in that genre. I wasn't aware at the time, but several high profiled figures have orchestrated this movement (and other movements of the suite), and I did avoid listening to them so I don't copy them. Link to the original piano composition: The audio quality is a little meh...this is the last piece I wrote before I switched out of Finale/Garritan to Dorico/NotePerformer. Any feedback is appreciated!

Thank you Henry for your review and observations. Indeed a compound meter in the time signature of the 1st sententia would have been a good alternative time signature. I will keep that in mind in future works.

Hi @luderart, The texture in these 3 Sententiae reminds me very much of the parallel organum, and I like the serious mood in it. For me the time signature of the 1st one may be marked in a compound meter so that the triplets signs can be replaced? Thx for sharing! Henry

Hey Pabio! Very nice canon! This one is more rhythmic and really moves the music forward. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hey Pabio! Very nice use of rests and contrary motion to prevent parallels! Since it’s all stepwise motion here, it really reminds me of Palestrina’s Ars Perfecta style. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @EnriqueMZ! Nice March! Maybe for me I would vary the rhythm a bit at the latter half, or change the accompaniment for bars after b.17 to dotted rhythm as well for a more exciting mood. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @Kiliminati! Nice little fantasy piece! Maybe you can change the 2nd violin to a viola or cello? Then you can have lower notes for the accompaniments. Thx for sharing! Henry

This is my "Three Sententiae for String Orchestra, Op. 354", an opus the composition of which extended over almost two years. It is my 56th opus consisting of sententiae, out of 70 opuses so far (as of July 1, 2025) (68 sets and 2 solitary, for a total of 225 individual sententiae). The composition of this set having started almost two years ago, I have since composed 14 more sets of sententiae! It is my fourth set of sententiae for string orchestra. I hope that you enjoy it. Here is the link to my previous set of sententiae for string orchestra: https://www.youngcomposers.com/t36499/two-sententiae-for-string-orchestra-op-309/

As stated in the title, this perpetual canon follows all diatonic intervals of the key of B-flat major, as every entry begins on a different degree of the major scale as a tonal transposition of the canon's theme. Since every voice enters while alternating between strong and weak beats as displaced accents, this canon could also be described as "per arsin et thesin", so to speak. Enjoy! YouTube video link:

Precisely because of the issues presented by the MuseScore 4 soundbanks I had to remove the cello's initial staccato. It made that single quarter note sound way too strong and became unwieldy when trying to get the playback functionalities to work properly. In any case, thank you kindly for all your feedback, including that which you gave for my other relatively recent compositions.

Hi @Vonias, I enjoyed your piece and I find it exciting. For the "atonal" part, I would say it is polytonal at most, at least it's what I perceive. The syncopation and asymmetric rhythms in this work, as @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu says, do remind me of Stravinsky, in a good way. And the vertical/ blocky, parallel writing too. The last part does surprise me with the tranquil, eerie vibe before the last blasting.

Thank you Henry!

Thanks!

Would it be possible to alert your members to the opportunity presented through The John Sanders Memorial Competition for Young Composers? I attach a text which you may wish to use. Best wishes Bill Armiger Hon Secretary The Sanders Society Budding composers are invited to take part in this unique competition Gloucester Cathedral in the UK has been 'home' to many renowned musicians over the centuries, including Dr John Sanders who was Director of Music there between 1967-1994. His composition 'The Reproaches', is widely regarded as one of the 20th century's most evocative pieces of church music and is regularly performed by choirs around the world. Following John Sanders’s death in 2003, The Sanders Society was formed and since then - corresponding with the renowned Three Choirs Festival in Gloucester - organises a successful and prestigious competition for young composers, drawing entries from all over the world. There is an £1,000 prize on offer, as well as the prospect of a possible publishing contract, and the opportunity to hear the winning composition performed during the Three Choirs Festival week in the matchless acoustic of Gloucester Cathedral by three of the UK's finest cathedral choirs . Details from: www.sanderssociety.org.uk

Thanks Henry! MuseScore makes contra sound extra realistic with that blowing sound.