All Activity

I made an updated version below, with quite a few tweaks to the composition, and the midi production. Just wondering, since you're a percussion specialist, which instruments would you use to bring more texture? Not sure the seed shaker was a success. It sounded better in my head! Likewise the tambourine. (N.B. Dynamics are optimised for midi, not real musicians.) Full orchestra improv #15 (with ZL compressor).mp3 Full orchestra improv #15 (with ZL compressor).pdf

Hi all, It's been a while since I posted an orchestra composition. This is the first draft ... it still needs to be reviewed and brought up a finished state. However, it's all here. As I stated I have not titled the work. I am open to all suggestions .... My objective in the composition is to develop the introductory motifs and create a balanced arch from start to the end of the work. As always all feedback it appreciated. Marknewmusx10-24-26.mp3 Marknewmusx10-24-26.pdf

This is a completely reworked version of my earlier piece, Floating Dance. It originally started out as a waltz, but as I kept working on it, the music gradually took a different direction. It eventually became something quite different, free from any traditional musical form. I hope you enjoy this new version! „Melodic Rhapsody8“.mp3„Melodic Rhapsody8“.pdf

What I would appreciate feedback on: The overall harmonic balance and voice leading. The transition into the Andantino (Trio) section and the return to Tempo primo. Rondo G dur op 1.mp3 Rondo G dur op 1.pdf

Nice little waltz. Some pointers: this is actually simply in F minor, which has 4 flats in the key signature. The raised 7th is very standard in minor key music and part of the harmonic minor scale, nothing modal about it, especially not phrygian. All those G sharps and C sharps would be spelled as A flats and D flats as well, and those pedal markings would not work on a real piano because it would just muddy up the sound. Repedalling every measure is pretty safe here. You don't need rehearsal markings; those are for rehearsals with multiple performers, but this is for solo piano. "legato" being on both staves is unnecessary. "Normal" is not a marking that appears in piano literature anywhere; if you want the legato to stop, either remove the legato and slur the passage, or where you have "normal", put "non-legato". I also feel that since the chord progression and motivic content repeats ad nauseam throughout the piece, it doesn't really merit being over 5 minutes long, but that is my opinion. Since it seems you also feel it's too long, here's what I would suggest. Remove a section, or more. I think this could work as a simple Ternary form or Rondo for example. And make the different sections contrast with eachother Listen to this beautiful waltz for solo guitar by Barrios and pay close attention Agustin Barrios Mangore's "Vals Op. 8, No. 3" played by Raphaël Feuillâtre on a 2020 Julia Wenzel it has a very clear structure: an introduction followed by the A section in D minor, which goes twice. Then onto the B section, also in D minor, but notice how he switches the new section up, even when in the same key: completely different rhythms and motifs, different register, different chord progression, etc. This section also goes twice. Then a brief return to the A section, going only once. After that, he switches to D major for a huge contrast in the C section, basing itself on one of the motifs from the B section, and this section is itself in a mini ternary form, before it transitions back to the A section and closes. For your piece, I wouldn't attempt to modulate like this piece does, since you don't quite yet have the skill to do so successfully, so keep it simple in scope. I hope this helps.

Hello! I need to go to sleep, so I will just tell you my first impressions! (I will come back, probably) Very good, thick textures! I like it! Seems very American in style, I love the flute part and the timpani part. The timpani part reminded me of Shostakovich 7th Symphony for no reason. The second theme seems interesting, it definitely feels fun! Igtg tho or my dad's gonna kill me... Bye! -TristanTheTristan (unfinished)

Hi! Thank you very much for your thoughtful comments. I only started posting pieces on forums a couple of days ago and it's a real thrill for me to get indepth commentary such as yours. I love that you share your intial reaction of surprise about certain aspects and that you then see how these aspects make more sense as the piece develops. I say this because it mirrors my own experience: when I write pieces I play around with a lot of ideas and it's all a bit disjoineted and messy and then I gradually find ways of threading everything together and end up with results that surprise me, or take time to make sense, and also find myself doing things I wouldn't have ever done deliberately in order to adapt to the needs of the piece that's emerging (like these slightly "empty" bars in 10, 26, 36 and right at the end.) I also got the sense that the end was a bit short and I could have doubled it, making it more dense in the second part, but I tend to err on the side of caution in terms of keeping things simple and limpid and it might be worth reassessing that habit in this case. Most of all, I loved that you got this sense of it being "lifeless, but in a good way." I must say I was a tiny bit piqued for a few seconds until it struck me that it was spot on, another way of describing my overall feeling about the mood of the piece which is something like "surveying the first rays of dawn after having been up all night..." In fact I could have integrated that idea into the title somehow instead of opting for one which is perhaps a bit enigmatic. Anyway, thanks again for your comments, very much appreciated.

Hello, Welcome to the forum. I'll share some thoughts, having listened to it 3-4x now. I was very confused in the opening bars when you go I/V and then hit the listener with a very sudden i. But then, this decision seems to pay off when the piece takes off and like 75% of the piece has this idea of shifting maj/minor tonalities. Bar 9 seems a bit empty, though as the piece progresses, I think the idea starts to make more sense. So, you do something similar at bar 26 and again at bar 36, and you sort of finish the piece with this idea. So I want to be careful with my feedback...since this seems integral to the structure of your piece. m21 sounds pretty cool. m28 things really start taking off, the opening bars start to make more sense now. m48, the LH part of the chord is real nice. Personally, the ending seems way too abrupt. In my opinion you got this nice, almost hyponotic sort of pulse going and it just ends all of a sudden. Even if you just faded out (which I guess is more of a modern convention, they probably didn't do fade outs in Beethovan's day), that might work better. Someone recently posted a piece about trying to make piece about a lifeless doll. I don't know what it is about your piece...but it seems sort of lifeless? But in a good way! Hope that helps.

Hello everyone! This is a recent classical piece I finished in July. I'm looking for general feedback on the overall structure, the melody, and the harmonic progression and of course the notation. Thank you in advance for listening and looking over the score! Here is the link to the music & score: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJfmJDZKKDY Laurent.

Hello Lithl! Yes! I do like this sort of beautiful post-classical vibe sort of thing. I like to refer to it as a more neo-impressionistic style personally since I tend to see a lot of crossover between both the very modern contemporary style music as well as some ideals of the impressionistic era. I've never heard of Nils, but I think I have at least heard of John Adams. My inspirations come from the composers Max Vinetz, Caroline Shaw, Ravel, and Christopher Cerrone. Highly recommend listening to the following for each: Max Vinetz: Stars On the Ground and Wax Catalog Caroline Shaw: Plans & Elevations Ravel: All of his works, but particularly his string quartet for this specific piece Christopher Cerrone: High Windows I did set out to make the composition more and more strong as time progressed since I didn't like how some classical songs made a hook and then did something random and not memorable right after lol. I'm just not really a fan of that, I want the listener to have to reach the end to get to the cool parts. This was recorded by a professional quartet which was hired! Thanks for the kind words, Lucky

Hello Everyone! Today, I am sharing an old work of mine that I have been reorchestrating and revising: The Golden Lakes. PROGRAM NOTE: The Golden Lakes is a short and evocative work for concert band telling a story of night and day upon a lake. Inspired by the geography surrounding the home of the composer, The Golden Lakes evokes the glimmer and sparkle of light from the sun as it crests over the horizon into darkness. During the night, the lake is left vulnerable to the winds, darkness and more, ever waiting for the sun to come back and bring warmth. Originally composed in 2024, this work was commissioned by Kistler’s former band directors. In 2026, this work went under revisions by the composer in the early fall following a period of chamber works he created. This version presented to you is the piece he revised in 2026. Join the concert band as they take us into the landscape and paint us the scenes from The Golden Lakes. This work is set to be a Grade 3-4 for wind band. If you wish to know more about the work, check out the "About" section on page 4! Lastly, if you enjoyed this work, leave a reaction and a comment detailing your thoughts! AUDIO_Golden Lakes.mp3 SCORE_GoldenLakes.pdf

My dear friend, indeed, this collaboration was a dream come true. It was an enormous honour and joy for me. And, as always, I want to thank you for your support and your wonderful words. May you always be well, my dear friend!

You are so lovely Vasilis! Thx to you I met new ppl in your channel! To me I wrote it and conceive the piece really as a “Musical Moment”, which means I never thought deeply in how to develop the piece or so, but only get directly from my heart to write what I want. Maybe those emotions are long stored in me and I just took them out in this piece. My writing motto is simple: Be honest. By listening your playing I know we are connected. If we aren’t you won’t play this great. Maybe the beauty is hidden in the piece, but it’s you who excavate them out! You for sure love the piece more than I did!! Nah you have to admit that your playing is better! 🤩 But thx for enjoying playing the piece, it makes me feel happy and honoured! ❤️ Henry

My pleasure to play it! I thoroughly enjoy it! As you’ve said in my Musical Moment, sometimes performers can look into a piece in a different perspective or approach that even the composer doesn’t think of, but all the notes and inspiration come from the composer himself! Plus, I’m also a composer myself so I love creating things from any score, whether it’s written, not written or even against it haha. Thx for dedicating one of your favourite works to me! That makes it more special! Henry

My dear Henry, First of all, I want to tell you what an enormous honour it was for me to have you perform my sonata and dedicate so much of your time to it. I cannot thank you enough. You cannot imagine how happy you have made me. Regarding the sonata and its sections, what you said about the B section is exactly what I had mentioned in a comment somewhere, although I cannot remember where. The B section is much more dramatic, restless and profound compared to the playful character of the A section. And you conveyed this contrast through your playing even better than I ever could. Your interpretation of the B section was truly exceptional. Thank you for everything, my dear friend. Apart from being written with great affection for you, this sonata is also one of my favourite works among everything I have composed.

To tell you the truth, I don’t love this piece that much until Vasilis played it. To me I only wrote it in 2 days and hence not much emotion with it (not like my Sextet or Quintet when I wrote them for years hence have a lot of emotions towards them), but Vasilis excavated the essence of my piece out, plus his own interpretation of the piece. Big thx to him! And a thx to you for loving the piece! Henry

Hi @Grant Weep ! You should, I agree that Vasilis’s version is much better than mine!😄 I think it’s just our different stylistic choice. For this whole piece I didn’t think much and just let the music grow itself. I could have changed the 1st and 2nd crotchet with different thickness though I didn’t haha! Haha that’s a REAL BIG compliment from you! Please keep giving me constructive criticism haha! Thank you! Henry

I can see a lovely collaboration here! I enjoyed it. I didn't check this piece of yours, Henry, but it sounds awesome. I love your performance too, by the way. And... Vasilis — your interpretation is right in the middle. Your touch and Pianoteq make a wonderful, gentle atmosphere. I don't know why, but when I listen to your playing, I feel warm vibes like autumn colors or something like that. Hey Henry, this piece is now under Mr. Vasilis Michael's magic, huh!? Beautiful, both of you guys! Please feed me such stuff if you guys have an opportunity in the future 😊 Best, Lithl.

Hi @Lucky ! Thx a lot for your engraving suggestion! I know it’s one of my major weakness and I look to improve it! I even got a copy of the book myself! Thank you! This complement is more than enough for me! Henry

Hey my Vasilis! I feel bad not to reply earlier since this piece is dedicated to me! For me at first I find the piece humorous to listen to, but only by playing it I realise all the details and contrast of different passages. This piece is again primarily Scarlattian and Schubertian, the energy and phrasing is Scarlattian while the harmony, like the modal texture and Augmented sixths, neopolitan sixths are Schubertian. I really enjoy playing it! It’s much more difficult than the score appears since there are lots of details. Also I occasionally ignore your markings because I feel the piece in a different way haha. For example in section B I feel like the piece can be more dramatic, so I ignore the decrescendos. Thx a lot for dedicating this piece to me! Henry

Hello and welcome to YC, Mr. @Lucky! Let me tell you my impressions. I enjoyed this piece! This piece has some sort of post-classical vibe with a beautiful space. Do you like some of that stuff? You know, like John Adams or Nils. It's also wonderful how it grows stronger toward the second half. By the way, how did you record this? Did you record with friends, or did you hire musicians? I'm just curious. Anyway, a lovely and beautiful piece! Wonderful, well done :) Best, Lithl.

Thank you so much for your wonderful words, my dear friend! I truly appreciate your kindness and the time you took to listen so carefully and share your thoughts. I would also like to make clear that my intention was never to create any kind of comparison between Henry and myself. Quite the opposite! My only wish was to serve this beautiful piece as best I could and bring out as much of its beauty and musical expression as possible. It was a genuine pleasure and privilege to perform it. Thank you once again for your lovely words and your friendship. It means a lot to me!

Thank you so much, my dear friend! I’m really happy that you felt something different in this piece. Interestingly, the whole thing began as a two-hour improvisation, which gradually took shape and eventually became this Allegretto. I had Schubert very much in my mind during the process, and in a way, that’s how this little piece was born. His musical world has always been such a great inspiration to me, and I suppose some of that influence naturally found its way into the music. Thank you again for listening so attentively and for sharing your thoughts. I truly appreciate it!

Seeing as how a lot of the pieces posted here are more classically based...I will share something that I wrote during my own "romantic" era. For many years I did not listen to these pieces...aside from the music, there are events/stories that happened in my own personal life related to the music that made thinking about pieces too painful. But I think that it has been therapeutic to discuss and share music with you all in the past few months. So here it is. I wrote this when I was much more younger, much more angsty and had more hair. I am most proud of movement 3...if you only had time for one of these, please listen to no3. It's my baby. It's one of those pieces where I can die happy knowing that I did at least one nice thing in my life. Sadly I don't even know if I have the actual sheet music anymore, might have been lost to time. But the bare bones notation remains. I was a bit obsessed with the Chopin ballades when I wrote these, I ended up learning Ballade no 1, no 3 and no 4. So I've always felt like movement 1/2/3 sort of corresponded with the 3 ballades I learned. Anyways, hope that you guys enjoy...my technique has not been great these days, probably can't really play these pieces anymore in my old(er) age.

Nice, I listened to both. I think I prefer your version Vasilis. I don't know why, but measure 15/55 sound off to me. Measure 55, more than measure 15. I was wondering why and thus looked a bit closer at the sheet music. Perhaps it's because you usually change the chords around for the 1-2-3 (quarter/quarter/half), set up...but on measure 15 and 55...you skip that pattern and simply go for a pure repeat of the chords with no variation. It's like my brain is expecting it to have a slight Schubertian change in the chord, but it doesn't happen. I don't know that this is necessarily a bad thing, but something that stood out...a little bit when I listened. Since you are obviously a talented composer, I thought that I'd be a bit more nitpicky than usual with my feedback. Hope it helps in some way. Loved it overall. Classical music lives on!