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When we write music, we do so in a particular style, right? And that style will have a set of rules and principles that guide our art. My question was intended to better understand how you write music, your aspirations etc. Because I can approach my critique from my own training (common practice period) but that might not be applicable to what you're trying to do.

Hello everyone. I have two very different pieces I'd like to show you guys First is my etude in E major, which I composed a few months ago. The overall form is very much like chopin etudes, but the harmonic language, particularly in the b section, can become more like late liszt or even impressionism. The main exercise of the etude is a focus on voicing and keeping the fast right hand very light, which is difficult since the voiced notes are double stemmed with the 16th note arpeggiated-like figure. The right hand can also get a little awkward in certain parts, the left hand requires specific articulation, and I even wrote the piece using 3 staves. The pedaling is also a big challenge, and I myself struggle with it as you may hear in the recording. With all that said, while I believe it’s very musically difficult, it is definitely nowhere close to the harder chopin and liszt etudes technically, but I hope you found it interesting to listen to and let me know what you guys think. Heres my recording: https://youtube.com/shorts/_oecn04h1xg Then this is my second etude in C# minor, the one after the one in E major, which is more recent. The main challenge of the etude is maintaining a cantabile melody in the left hand thumb (and index finger), alongside a smooth rolled chord gesture in the same hand, and a rapid, but light, right hand with a 10 note tuplet in 32nd notes, which acts as a sort of ostinato. As you can tell from listening to the piece, it is very different from the first etude, which was more chopinesque in form, lisztian in harmony (particularly mid period liszt), and slightly impressionistic in texture. In this etude, however, I decided to expand further on the impressionistic aspect of my writing, experimenting with these flowing textures and ambiguous harmonies through devices like polyrythms and tuplets, changes in meter, the arpeggiated like flow of the right hand ostinato, having two different time signatures with the same number of beats working together in measures (for example having 12/8 and 4/4 or 9/8 and 3/4 together, and ravel does exactly this in “une barque sur l’ocean” in his miroirs), as well as using extended harmonies and other other random harmonic stuff i figured out through hearing these composers and improvisation which may be too difficult to explain in this text lol. Anyway, I had a lot of fun with this composition, I learned a lot of new things through it, I hope you enjoy it, and let me know what yall think. Here is the recording: https://youtube.com/shorts/JzwQNJA4yO8 Etude in E major - Full Score.pdf Etude in C-Sharp Minor, No 2 - Full Score.pdf

Thanks I wasn't sure what happened; I will try this Edit: Ok I went and tried to do that and now I think it's too quiet at the end...

At the risk of sounding like a doofus...I don't know how to answer...uh...sad and hopeful?

Hi @Mikayla ! Thanks for posting your music! I couldn't finish listening to your piece however because of the amount of clipping in the rendering that was hurting my speakers. You can get rid of that by bringing down the levels in the mixer of all the instruments to 50% or slightly lower.

What is the ‘style’ of music you are aiming for, to help us tailor the feedback?

First time writing a piece for this many parts. Not sure if I did a good job. I've played all these instruments before so that gave me some confidence, but I would like some feedback. Thank you for listening! Woodwind Quartet Sheet Music for Flute, Oboe, Bassoon, Clarinet other (Woodwind Quartet) | MuseScore.com Woodwind Quartet.mp3

You have created a guide on harmony! Awesome! So many of us are prepared to impart knowledge and experience without a single penny. I think such things are a wonderful testament to the commitment and passion of this community.

Yeah, I have a lot of feedback actually So, what about this exactly makes it a Chaconne? According to Britannica: "The musical form of the chaconne is a continuous variation, usually in triple metre and a major key; it is generally characterized by a short, repeating bass line or harmonic progression." I would be sure you know what the type of piece your writing is before naming it such. Musically, there are a lot of issues that need correction, and generally I think more care could be taken when writing this piece. Since it seems you're trying to write in a classical style, I will judge it that way. First of all, provide dynamics! Is it forte, piano? where would the dynamics change? Rehearsal markings are for rehearsals. Since this is a solo piano piece, you don't need rehearsal markings. You also don't need them every 4 bars. To mark the new variations, simply use double bar lines. Next, the left-hand block chords are really clunky. This is partly because they frequently jump around in root position. Even when writing keyboard music, keep voice leading in mind. But also, the simple fact they're block chords lends to its clunky nature. The left hand is providing accompaniment, and block chords are just uninteresting. Give some rhythm to it. Or make them broken chords in some way. The right hand has no melody, just broken chords, until bar 9, and then it goes away again. This is a Chaconne, a type of theme and variations, what exactly is being varied. The melodic writing itself is workable, but unclear. The notes you pair with the melody seem to have been chosen a little haphazardly. They really just reinforce the harmony, which is already very clear thanks to the block chords, and doesn't support the melody at all. It also has similar 5ths that make it sound clunky. Again, keep basic voice leading rules in mind. The rhythms in mm. 13-15 are very "pop"-like and feel out of place here, but that's not necessarily bad. Just make sure whatever you're doing, you're being stylistically consistent. The suspended chords in mm. 17-20 are non-functional and are extremely dissonant and out of place. Likewise, the left-had arpeggios starting m. 21 don't outline any functional harmony. Harmonically, the interlude just meanders. Structurally, a 4-bar theme doesn't really lend itself to anything interesting, especially with the fast tempo and very short and (and overused) chord progression. An 8-bar theme or longer would not only be more interesting but would give you more to work with for the following variations. Another structural issue is the lack of direction. In something like a chaconne or passacaglia, the harmony loops, so you can't really develop the music with modulations, sequences, etc. But there still needs to be momentum. Have each variation increase in dynamics, or note-duration, or something else, but make it gradual, and make it feel like the music has a goal. Right now, it just meanders, and it makes it quite boring. So, to summarize: work on the accompaniment to make it more interesting, make the melody stronger and clearer, consider expanding the duration of each variation, and make sure the music has a momentum.

Good evening, Many of you know me as a die hard zealot of the common practice period. But I have been experimenting recently with model / non-functional harmony. My reason for this centre largely on my admiration for the music of Jeremy Soule (famous as the composer of the video game series 'Elder Scrolls'), the film music of Howard Shore (e.g. LOTR) as well as my general appreciation of minimalism (Max Richter, for example). In many respects the theoretical basis of modal and non-functional harmony could not be more different - even sacrilegious - compared with CCP given the more 'liberal' approach to voice leading. For example, there is often an appetite for omitting the third of a chord for the effect it produces can be aligned with the 'scene' being supported (e.g. inducing a feeling of emptiness and mystery) as well as usage of consecutive 5ths to produce an 'archaic' style of voice (which could work if the scene involves exploration of a dark, ancient ruin, for example). Thus, with this type of music, what matters is less the 'rules' than the effect the writing produces. This has fascinated me. Although my own background, in which many of these 'rules have been embedded into my consciousness, taking this different approach to music has its challenges. It is all too tempting to revert to the voice leading that I know best. But it doesn't necessarily need to be one or the other... perhaps I can combine the two approaches. So I share with you my first serious attempt at this style. A few notes on my approach: In the first half, I prioritize establishing a tonal centre around C & G. The E is intentionally omitted to create tonal ambiguity - are we in C minor or C major? The first violin opens with a central motif that I later manipulate and exchange between the different voices at various pitches. This motif applies chromaticism that further adds mystery to the tonal centre Resolutions are avoided in a traditional sense: the cadence may end on an inversion without the third. Only towards the end of the piece do I start to apply resolutions but not without several evasions, before finishing with a compound cadence that marks the first and only moment with a complete cadence. Naturally I'd like to hear your thoughts. What do you feel? Also - those experienced in this type of music - what could I have done better? With thanks, Markus Weariness.mp3 Weariness.pdf

I split them into sections so u can see which parts are which btw E is the interlude chaconne thingy.mp3 chaconne thingy.pdf

Apart from you there's always one guy who can never get "Better than Thatguy" badge: @Thatguy v2.0 himself lol!

Thanks for the feedback, @MK_Piano ! As you commented, the exact repetition was too much so I added some variations and also moved the repeated melody an octave higher (with some instances of octave playing) for contrast. I also added more internal notes, improved the melody a little, and exchanged a couple measures for improving the flow of the theme. Thank you so much for these links! Specially, I was browsing through both of them yesterday and found them really insightful! As I commented, I did not try to imitate Ghibli sound in this theme (probably I used to many notes for that, since Hisaishi in Ghibli's films tend to stick to whole, quartet, and some eight notes) but I want to do it some day and that is why I am trying to learn his pieces in piano first. I will make sure to review the channels to understand the style better. Thank you!

Hello @Thatguy v2.0! I enjoyed this piece! It has a kind of blues atmosphere. Playing in a bar with some drinks, people-watching, and having fun. I especially like the 0:46 section and the one starting from 1:42; this piece is intriguing. Since this is so well composed, I feel like I will probably never be able to get the "Better Than Thatguy" badge, haha! Thank you for sharing! Best, Lithl.

Hi there! It's been a while, mostly because of internet issues. Hopefully everyone around here has been well :) I never share much about these, I figure I'll start trying to be better about that. Because of said internet issues, I started focusing on writing by hand, and it's been great. As I translated back and forth from paper to Sibelius, I felt my voice was more intimate and clear, without the possibilities of what a computer can do. Especially for dynamics, just reading the score without playback has been instrumental in getting better at envisioning dynamics. Maybe that sounds dumb, but it's been a plus in my new writing habits. I've actually more or less finished all of these (there are 24 in total), I've just been touching up scores. I'll probably give a few weeks in between each post, but the goal is regular posting. These preludes aren't preludes to fugues or any other planned pieces, but rather preludes to a future voice I'm always amending and crafting. I also think a prelude should be somewhat experimental, and with each one I've strived to have some interesting nugget to explore compositionally that I haven't before. With this one, No. 17, I wanted an abstract rhythm to be dominant, for the tonal center to be constantly moving, and a palindrome-like form as a structure. This is one of the strangest of the bunch, and as always, and advice or comments are welcome! I hope you enjoy 😁 Prelude 17.mp3 Prelude 17 - Full Score.pdf

Allow me to offer my interpretation: When it comes to the basics of music composition, there are two fundamental concepts/ vocabulary: Melody and Harmony. Melody describes the side-to-side motion of music. Harmony is the up-and-down motion of music, aka chords. Think of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, or of your favorite movie theme; what you might notice is that you can sing or hum the tune pretty close, however can you also sing the chords? Most likely, the answer should be no, as chords contain multiple notes played together/ at the same time, which is something the average person cannot do. Thus, when it comes to creating a melody or adding harmony, we tell our brain to think in one or two ways. As Markus was describing, the entire ensemble plays the same note/ pitch a lot. Straight away, looking at beat one of measures (mm.) one and two, both Violins and Viola play the same pitches: Bar 1 = F4 (F above middle C), Bar 2 = D4 (D right next to middle C). When played live by a quartet, you'll immediately hear that the music doesn't sound "full" or "rich," instead, it will just sound like the same note distinctly louder than the cello. If you want the ensemble to sound full, you need the instruments to occupy the other pitches of a chord. Since you say this work is in D-minor, then immediately in the opening chord, we expect to see D-F-A. However, your chord is missing an A-natural and the result is a thin sound. To give body and foundation to the opening bar, add an A-natural in the Viola, and move Violin 2 down to D-natural. By making a change such as this, you will make the opening chord strong and resonant; to add, with F-natural being in Violin 1, it will naturally stand out and draw attention to the instrument versus having three instruments do the same thing. Now apply this thinking to other measures in the work. Instead of doubling pitches and repeating things, try to fill out the instruments by making them sustain different pitches of a chord; allow them to be unique and enjoyable. Attached on this comment is my educational PDF, and mp3 for the examples, on understanding Melody and Harmony. It was made for a different user, so please excuse the pronouns or context in the latter half of the document. (Which I need to update). PDF-Undstanding Melody.pdfPDF-Undstanding Melody.mp3

could u explain that as if u were explaining it to a music theory noob? also in bars 1-8 violin 2 has the melody

i know a tiny bit of music theory i also play violin and played viola for a little bit and its been a week since i got my flute

A piece I've had in my back pocket for a while, that I finally am posting because of Cantai. I wrote this piece because I was having a tough time connecting to poems, and after years of not writing for voice I wanted to just do something. So I wrote the words myself, as if it was for my fiancée. I love you.mp3 I love you.pdf

Thank you, ND. The saxophone was completely improvised. This whole song was improvised into creation. We recorded the sax first; just random, ugly, sounds that we were going to make music of, and also make beautiful somehow. Immanuel Wilkons Matte Glaze Is the current inspiration, and what I'm listening to. I also listen to Kamasi Washington, Patrick Bartley, and Emmet Cohen, among others. The track took over 14 years to make. It was first released as a single in 2014. The track began in 2010, then waited years for the rap artist to appear in my life. It was controversial for me. My family hated it; I became the Blacksheep, and everything you'd expect coming from a family that doesn't appreciate rap. It was primarily the reason why I made this song, so I wasn't leaving anything out. Oddly enough, when I released this song, several artists were boycotting their art because Obama was our president. It's a foolish thing to give up a precious gift for foolish reasons, and since - I have been producing rampantly to make sure that I'm not part of that. Anyway! This song describes the power of a really talented Sound Engineer, Andrew Uher. Working with him was amazing. We were both fresh out of college, with music degrees, and wanted to express further what we learned in music. I owe the mixing to him; he truly is a prodigy at his craft and knows his stuff, too! I invite you to really explore your colleague's talent and dedicate (this song really sat for years until completion) and believe in what you are doing in music. Keep at it!

it’s a good piece, but I have some suggestions about logistics and playability and all that stuff Octaves with harps I’m not a harpest. I’m pretty sure you may have to watch out if you’re going to be playing octave runs on one hand. Well, I have done with my competition piece. “ on pastel skies” that I have written for mallets with octave runs that are split in between hands as double verticals. So one hand would play the center note in the octave above in the left hand would play the center note in the octave below. just some stuff to watch out for. Also for cello’s and I don’t think so, but possibly for baritone as well you should use tenor clef rather than alto clef and also, I saw what you did with the implementation of the oboe d amore anyways, another thing I would point out is near the end with the pentatonic sounding thing was a little too loud. Honestly, this was good writing. You just chose the wrong dynamic. It would fit better more smooth at a forte or something a little lower melody 8.7 Harmony 6.8 Form and structure 7 Creativity 4.78 Engraving 6.5 Orchestration and playability 6 execution 8 Taste 7.5 average is 6.91 The reason why your creativity originality score is tanked is due to similar title with other scores in this competition and also simply putting the name of the competition as a title However, though you must acknowledge that your execution score, unless if some miraculous magic happened, would also get tanked if you tried thinking outside of the box so it’s kind of a sacrifice unless if you know what you absolutely are doing.

I see, i should start sharing more then, thank you for the advice!

Thank you for such kind words! However i like tuning the harpsichord very high because of a necessity of sound, in the case of soundfonts a higher tuning make them sound better for some reason. Plus is also a tad bit historical, because in regions around italy they generally used a higher pitch than usual. The so called "Venetian" pitch.

Thank you! It's not an aria, it's a famous child tune that is commonly played by begginer musicians!

This is so nice. The structure, concept, and mixing - all of these are high-level and creative. I really liked it. Did you make the saxophone line, or is it an improvisation? That sounds cool. Can I ask you what music you often listen to or are inspired by? If it's a bother, you don't need to answer it! Anyway, this is great work! Well done, amazing!