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Hello Everybody, I know it's been a while since I was last active here, but I wanted to share a new prelude I've composed. This is a rather short work I plan on sending off to a piano composition competition, since I think the recording will do it justice. Another thanks to my piano teacher who made the effort to record my work. Here is a description of the piece: “A Prelude written during a time of uncertainty, and it reflects the idea of anxiety + release. However, the trio section is especially beautiful. I recommend listening to it while eating vanilla ice cream; it will enhance your experience.” 🍨🍯🎹 Let me know your thoughts in terms of harmony, melody and form. Score Thank you truly

Hi @luderart! I quite enjoy this one with those alternations of chordal and fast passages which I think well fitting to an organ. I like those bare fifths and Phrygian mode which gives the piece more antique feeling. One question is that: is this piece only written for the manual part of an organ without a pedal? I would invite @PCC to review as well since he plays organ haha. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @林家興 I think this one is a good effort to write a variation which you succeed with a lot of different styles including contrapuntal, romantic and more impressionistic style. For variation 1, I think you should definitely explore and extend the fugue more haha. The subject is clearly not so developed when only the exposition of a fugue is presented, plus a counter-exposition with the inversion the fugue subject! Also, you could have the viola stay in b.35 so that the subject entry in b.40 would be by First violin with a 4 part counterpoint there. For variation 2, like @Monarcheon I really like the harmony there. Just for the ending typically a pizzicato wouldn't be written with a long dotted minim but instead just with a crotchet? Variation 3 is my least favourite variation but it's just subjective lol. Just one stupid personal thought: I always think variations should be developed through the order of the variations, and I think you can add more variations in the E minor first with the more negative mood before going to other keys to explore different styles. Also, are there any reason why the variations are arranged in this way? Thx for sharing! Henry

Thank you so much my dear Henry. The andante came natural to me and I think I'm more than pleased. Thank you so much for your appreciation and your attention as always . Warm greetings to you

Hi @NicholasG! The brass passage in 0:39 is way too loud and it scares me lol! I think you should definitely tone down the dynamics there! I would say it would make a good trailer music. Thx for sharing. Henry

Hi @Bjarke! I like this Perpetuum mobile texture which really gives motion to the piece, as well as the imitations between the hands. The modulations are effective especially for a cinematic music. Of course, dynamic details would be crucial to propel the flow and drama of the music. Thx for sharing. Henry

Hi @Vasilis Michael! I like the light Mozartean touch of this slow movement. The use of minor harmonies in the 1st episode adds just the enough flavouring. The modulations in the 2nd episode is nice too. Thx for sharing. Henry

Hi @Samuel_vangogh! Like @Monarcheon said the use of 014 set is very apparent start from the beginning, as well as in b.20 choral texture which is basically the superimpositions of multiple 014 chords, which makes the whole music structurally tight. I actually like the direct shift of register since I think it's a good contrast particularly when you combine it with the change of dynamics, timbre and texture. I also agree with @Monarcheon that you could have added more rhythmic variety to the music but given the short time of the movement it's fine for me. Maybe add some more rhythmic variety if this movement would have a contrasting section. Also I feel like the piano writing could be more lucid. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hey Peter, I ignore all your casting and go straight to the music lol. I like the beginning which sound like serial music to me tbh and the irregularly regular rhythm between the brasses. The bitonality starting from b.11 is a nice touch too. Thx for sharing! Henry

LoLoL!!

sorry, forgot to press submit!

Happy Halloween... 👻👻👻👻👻

I don't how this is still happening but your vote isn't showing up on my end again... 😕

I took it.

I come to you with yet another Muzoracle casting. Lisa is a friend who has kindly bought me my own Muzoracle set (which lets me do these castings for people I know) and Chromatic Harmonica. Thanks Lisa! (Muzoracle is a storytelling/divination tool similar to the Tarot card deck, but with cards with musical concepts and 12-sided Musician's dice and Solfege dice.) This time Lisa asked me if her new breath notation (based on harmonica tablature) will help others with aphantasia to learn to read music. This is my biggest casting thus far - with 10 positions, so I had to take two pictures of it to capture the whole thing: My interpretation of the cards and dice are displayed below. The instrumentation of the piece was guided by the suits of the cards drawn. Since there were two brass cards drawn in the 3rd and 4th positions, I included Trumpet and French Horn. Then, in the 5th position we got dealt a card in the suit of Woodwinds, so I used a Flute. Then in the 8th position we drew a triad of strings so I used a Violin. And finally, in the 9th position we drew a Soloist of Percussion card so I used a Vibraphone. If you'd like to find out more about Muzoracle and how castings are interpreted go here: https://muzoracle.net/ This short musical interpretation of Lisa's Casting is about a minute and a half long. The piece is in Eb major since the black musician's die landed on Eb/D#. I then made the following harmonic/melodic underdrawing that I used in the composition of the music. I started the piece on a single solitary A note surrounded by Silence since the first card drawn was the Silence card. Then as the piece progressed, I added more notes (Cb, D, and G) and let the piece fall into a rhythm. I used the brass instruments first since they were the first to be drawn. Then the Woodwind card got drawn in the 5th position so I had the flute trill between F and Gb. The strings card gets drawn in the 8th position so that's where the Violin comes in, playing high E major (Fb major since its based on RA) chords as a triple stop. Then I used the Db and Bb to build a Bb half-diminished b9 chord with the Fb major chord on top since the 9th position is a Soloist of Percussion card (Vibraphone). The whole piece repeats before finally ending on the tonic chord Eb major (which I added simply for the sake of the music and a clearer tonal identity). If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading! And I hope you enjoy listening to this short chamber work I wrote to represent Lisa's 3rd Casting. Comments, critiques, suggestions, or observations are of course, always welcome. Thanks for listening!

This is really one of the competitions I enjoy the most on YC! Hope more ppl can take this survey so we know how to improve on our next competitions! Henry

Just made a new version of this with more varied instrumentation, including harp and vibraphone. Hopefully it's an improvement? Added some extra counterpoint on the doublebass, which I wrote myself. Not sure it works!

Thank you for your honest opinion!

Update! Ondine and Scarbo by M. Ravel Sonatas No. 1-3, Op. 2 Variations, and Op. 25 No.6, Op. 10 No. 1 and No.2 by F. Chopin Hammerklavier, Appasionata, and Waldstein Sonatas and Piano Concerto in C Minor by L. V. Beethoven Transcendental Etudes 1-5, 8, 9, and 12 by F. Liszt Etudes Op. 39 by C. V. Alkan Goldberg Variations by J. S. Bach And, Lastly, Trockne Blumen (Introduction and Variations) and Wanderers Fantasy by F. Schubert

I think the initial motif, consisting of one measure, is repeated too often (16 times). It then gives way to another motif in eighth notes that is also repeated many times. I don't think it's just a matter of repetition, but rather that limiting the motif to one measure results in a lack of musicality overall (there is no unity in the overall phrase). The cadenza suffers from something similar. On the other hand, there are some parts or moments where the writing is less suited to a real pianist than to MIDI-type sound. I think that if it were treated differently, in terms of accents and dynamics, it could be closer to a contemporary sound. Although the cadenza moves between a very classical style and a more naive one. In measure 85 there is a change, but the idea of the rhythmic ostinato remains throughout. The scherzo, in my opinion, is too fast. The trio promised a change, but the accompaniment is just as fast. At those speeds, which I don't know if they would cause fatigue in the performer, the musicality is lost (for me). I quite like the Lento, it has a predominantly quartal harmony that makes it very clear sonically. Some mega-chords in the left hand need to be rewritten using both hands. The change (transition) at bar 33 needs to be worked on, as it is simply an abrupt turn. The Allegro ma non troppo is also very good; it sounds very Mozartian. I think there are many different ideas, and a sonata is not just about taking different structures and placing them one after the other. Perhaps the complicated thing is to make it sound like a single thing.

I think the arpeggio in the accompaniment sounds better in the piano version; it seems more idiomatic than for an organ.

I think it has interesting parts, both because of certain harmonic contrasts and some syncopated moments. But it's a bit of a mix of styles, which makes it seem a little pastiche, like the ending with the arpeggios in the left hand, which is something new compared to what came before. It's difficult to transition between very chromatic parts and others that sound much more standardized. In conclusion, I think there are many ideas that, although interesting, blur the overall structure.

The competition is now over! Check out the results and winners!

Check out the results and winners!

MY_MUSIC_058_20251104_163157_164052521.mp3