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Welp, the end has come. The season finale is here. Now I can write for guitar again. I used a lot of forms and styles for this set of pieces, and decided to write a love song type of thing to end it. This was inspired by Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" theme, as well as Pink Floyd's David Gilmour. Lot's of lovey dovey pentatonics in this. Hope you enjoy, and thanks so much to those who have been following along with the progress! You guys are awesome, and when I make final edits, I'll be sure to take everyone's comments and advice into consideration.

Aria in c minor written to my son Jonas 05.05.23.

I felt a bit miserable, I hit record and improvised around a theme that suited my mood. Listening back, my ears wanted to hear the rising staccato motif played in counterpoint which would have sounded cool i think. The second improv is short and sweet, it sounds familiar somehow and it got me thinking about where in my mind the music comes from. Just as our personalities are a mixing pot of every person we've interacted with, our speech is like a kaleidoscope of all the conversations we've had, our music when played on the fly must be like the twisting of a kaleidoscope where all the colourful pieces are just getting mixed about.

This particular fugue, whose final version has been transposed one half step down from the original, has been the result of a rapid burst of creativity that often comes and goes in waves around this time of the year. Even though it was finished before midnight two days ago, the thought process of deciding on an extramusical title has taken a little longer than usual this time. In the end, I have dedicated this humble work of mine to the marvellous and everlasting art of Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, in commemoration of his famous oil on canvas "The charge of the Mamluks" which, as we know, depicts the insurrection of the people of Madrid against invading Napoleonic troops in May 2nd 1808, this exact date 215 years ago. The title itself, which roughly translates as "The unrelenting night train" is meant to evoke the profuse skirmishes that took place before the Puerta del Sol as the French colonial cavalry charged against the revolting crowds, thus igniting the first instance of bloodshed in what would come to be the Spanish War of Independence. Here's a royalty-free picture of this iconic painting among Goya's many masterpieces: Following the continued advice of some among my audiences, who suggested relieving the density of the counterpoint at certain points within my fugues, I have finally decided to try out this method, et voilà! I honestly can only say I could not possibly be happier with the result. How stubborn I was in keeping the full weight of the contrapuntal texture throughout the vast majority of my works in spite of my dear viewers' counsel! Thankfully, the wall encircling my mind has now been breached by these new perspectives, which I will henceforth apply to upcoming future fugues of mine. Enjoy!

This is a retroactive post: I had sketches for this particular piece dating to mid-2022, and I decided to finish the rest of it by the end of 2022/beginning of 2023. I had just jumped into the world of free avant-garde atonalism (after listening to people like Takemitsu, Nono, Penderecki, Messiaen, Vivier, etc.) from the 60s and 70s, and I was captivated by the soundscapes they managed to paint using the unrestrained sounds they utilised, and the feelings they were somehow able to evoke despite writing music that was inherently musically 'wrong' to begin with. Admittedly, compared to those giants, my little prelude for solo piano does pale in comparison somewhat. I haven't given up on my post-tonality compositional dreams yet: I've had sketches for an Indonesian folk tale set in the style of an avant-garde late 60s atonal opera sitting around for a while now, but I haven't thought about working on those yet because it's hard to notate on software and I've only just gotten acquainted to a lot of extended techniques that one could use on various instruments. I don't know if there'll be very many people who'll enjoy this kind of music on this forum, but I still felt like sharing it anyway because I'm reasonably proud of this work. I find that it is difficult to achieve a balance between randomness and perceived 'harmony', often more so than writing conventional music. Whether you are pleased or repulsed by my work, I hope it's at least somewhat worthwhile and eye-opening (even if you'd rather keep them closed throughout!) 😉

I'm quite busy with non music life so I guess I'll try. Btw I most certainly would not be able to play that Piano part for learning just two years. Then again idk, I learn the Piano from a young age. The elephant in the room is A-flat major isn't really a "violin" key, so to say. That isn't to say you can't write for the violin in A-flat at all, but the extent of chords you are using is choking the violin with this key. One thing that is often neglected is the concept of "overtones", similar to why you would want to use the Piano sustain pedal not for the sustain effect, but for the richer sound. In the key of A-flat the chords seem to add nothing to this. I'm not a violinist so I am not qualified to give you the exact details. But if you have a violinist available you should really ask him/her how to write chords for it, in that case I would actually suggest you remove all the violin chords first, put an asterisk at every moment you want chords, then ask a string player how it could be done. But just in case, let me try to point out some things, all the really big chords (triple+ stops). Please bear in mind the standard tuning of the violin is GDAE. This means the lowest note has to be at least G or above, second lowest note D or above, etc. bar 19. no. you can't harmonic a e-flat on the violin unless you do it artificially bar 99, it's not entirely impossible to play a long note arco then trying to pizz with the left hand, but my question is "why?", the passage does not look or sound very virtuostic, it looks to be it's just there for the sake of it. I also noticed there is barely any slurring of the notes. The violin is supposed to be able to play long lines of melodies with great sweetness, use it!

pardon mistakes, this is one of the harder pieces ive composed. not notated yet

Greetings. I want to present another composition of mine, which I wrote in February 2023. This short piano piece, written in F-sharp minor, is based on "The Diary of A Forest Girl" by Aeppol, a Korean artist. This collection contains fanciful illustrations that I admire a lot, which later inspired me to write this piano piece. I managed to capture my performance on video, but it took me countless tries to get it right (but still flawed) since this piece was technically challenging to play. Anyway, here is the video recording, and let me know what you think about this piece. Carl Koh Wei Hao

Yet another improv, i worry im boring people with these! I'll stop doing it soon, I.promise! I've started writing down my compositions/improvs again. I have a couple of minuets I'll upload soon, I just get so distracted when I sit at the piano. I've composed, via improv, a piano sonata in C major, I was thinking of the third movement when I improvised this. It reminds me of Haydn, I want the third movement to be light hearted and playful because the second movement I composed is in c minor and I use every trick up my sleeve to pull on the heart strings. I wish I recorded myself playing it, I worry my memory of it could get corrupted because it has more complex counterpoint. The first movement is like a piano concerto and is full of flashy runs in both hands. It has a Mozartian air and I use some of his signature moves but it has enough of me in it so it's not a cringey pastiche. Well I hope not! The improv here is a 'first run' so it's full of hesitation and mistakes but it made me smile when I listened back to it so I thought I'd upload it, I've been quiet for a few days so why not. Cuckoo!

I haven't looked at composition in almost a decade, but a few months ago MuseScore 4 (which I'm still figuring out how to use) was getting good reviews and I wanted to try it out, and I've been picking at this ever since. I'm only a few drafts in, and there are many things to fix, and the score needs editing, but this is more or less how I want it. The Overture describes a struggle between Knife Rat, Murder Cat, and Good Doggo over a slice of pizza. It's structurally very simple: Knife Rat 1 - Pizzeria in the City Murder Cat, Personality 1 - My Bam is Boozled That They Took My Pizza Good Dog - Who Rightly Deserves All the Pizza Murder Cat, Personality 2 - My Flabber is Gasted That They Still Have My Pizza Knife Rat 2 - Murder All the scallopes Who Want to Take My Pizza All suggestions welcome. you might have to turn up the volume a bit high to hear it well.

Hello! I don't post here much anymore, but I'm an older "Old Timer" from the early days of this community. I compose mostly in Classical style of the late 18th-early 19th Centuries. I've been extremely busy writing all kinds of stuff, but here is one of the best examples of my recent output, my Symphony No. 9 in C. This work was premiered by the Delano Chamber Orchestra, Wichita, Kansas, under the direction of Dr. Wesley DeSpain on February 5, 2023. I may post a link to the live performance once I figure out how to edit it down. In the meantime, here is a link to a YouTube scrolling score video with high quality electronic rendering. Details on this work: Composed: August 29, 2019 - July 22, 2021 at Austin. Scoring: Full Classical-period orchestra - 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in B-flat, 2 Bassoons, 2 Horns (in C and G), 2 Trumpets in C, Timpani, Strings. Style: Classical, ca. 1790-1800. Duration: 33:30. I. Allegro maestoso (00:00) II. Andante sostenuto (08:00) III. Menuetto: Allegro brillante (16:25) IV. Vivace (22:55) - Electronic Rendering by Finale 26 music notation software "Human Playback" with NotePerformer 3 artificial intelligence assisted interpretation. I hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think. Incidentally, the structural repeat in the last movement is optional, and was omitted at the premiere.

Hi everyone! I am presenting the fourth movement of my Piano Sonata no.2 in A-flat major. The previous 3 movements are now all sorted in the post of the 1st movement one so if you are interested, go and check them out! This is my favourite movement of the entire sonata. First it's in C sharp minor, my favourite key. Second it really has something personal in it. The structure of it is very simple: 00:03 First Part, melody in right hand and octave accompaniment in LH 04:13 Second Part. original melody to the right with added Lamentoso in RH 07:34 Coda. Is that a dark reply to the first movement? The movement is named a "Lyrics" for me. Chinese poems are known to be lyrics, rather than long epics like those of Homer or Milton or Goethe. I'm trying to adapt the rhythm of Tang Poem, Lüshi here which contains five or seven words in each sentence with standard rhythm to recite it. It also contains many couplets. With reference to it I have a standard rhythm maintaining all over the movement and is having many couplets musically. In the first part the LH keeps having the octave accompaniment which can be boring but for me it helps create an unsettling feeling. In the second part, the original melody in the RH of the first part is transferred to the LH, while a lamentoso is added in the right hand. The coda returns to the first part version of the meldoy, but look at the ending. Is that a dark deeply or quotation to the con delore section of the first movement, b.82-98? The tragedy uncertain there is confirmed here. I myself feel like this movement is quite unrelated thematically to the rest of the sonata. But it's related in a different way. It represents the real hurdle in the subconscious finally emerges in front of you. The unsettling C# minor (Db minor) is hinted all over the first three movements: The con delore section (b.82-98) in first movement, that surprising Db minor cadence near the end of the second movement (which by the way is the answer of why there's agitation there), and the coda of the third movement tainted by Db minor. All prepares for this movement. I find this piece somewhat similar to the second movement of Schubert's D960, which is also in C sharp minor, but only after finishing this sonata. The movement for me is very dark hence very personal. I'm sure I have something dark personally and here it's expressed authentically. I literally get depressed every time after listening to this movement. How do you feel? Do you feel this movement boring or so with so slow a tempo and unchanging things? Let me know! As usual I'm going to attach the PDF and mp3 of the movement: Piano Sonata no.2 4th mov 26-04-2023.pdf Piano Sonata no.2 4th mov.mp3 (Please ignore the first three lines of p.1 as it's from 3rd movement!) And as usual I will attach the youtube video here of the scored version of the movement. There's some delay of the visual here though LoL... Please subscribe my channel! (Self advertising LoL!!!!!!!!!) Hope you all "enjoy" the movement! The fifth movement and the finale of the sonata will be a long way to go, as I don't start practicing it due to busy schedule and other accompanying stuff to do. See you soon! Henry

For me it is simple. I'm a student of music composition, and everything I do is with that understanding. I'm learning. Sometimes its good. Sometimes not. Were I ever to get to a public performance level, I would hope my approach has an audience, but I simply can't pander or be someone I'm not. For me, much of music stops around, say, 1945. I occassionally come across a modern/post modernist piece that appeals to me, don't get me wrong, but most of it I find derivitive, vapid, and, worst of all, UGLY. Life is too short to spend time on that, and we can get ugly anywhere in this world. I don't at all get the idea that we've somehow exhausted music in the common practice period/romantic style, and that we must move on. It seems patently false. My appreciation of the 1st generation Hollywoood film composers and John Willliams is founded on this continung to explore the ENDLESS possibilites. As others have spoken about here, if the music rings emotionaly true and effective, what can be more relevant? Maybe it's best to keep the nose to the grind stone, follow our inclinations while stiving to be better, and maybe the world will get our drift some time or another. Or not. I think most here are like me. We compose/create because we must. Its what we are. And there is/should be great satisfaction in being true to our nature.

I can see this from both sides - principally because I used to be entirely and firmly rooted in @J. Lee Graham's camp (you might remember reviewing some of my Classical and Romantic period type pieces - Symphony in E-flat minor etc?). Now though, I write mainly contemporary music which the academics would call more 'relevant'. I've been thinking quite heavily over the past few months about what music means in the modern day, as I prepare to go to uni to study music. I've sort of come up with a sort of personal philosophy - namely that the way classical music is presented is too stuffy etc etc. But to try to stick to the question at hand, I really don't think I have much more to say than music is relevant if it serves a purpose. You, the composer, decide that purpose. It could be just for your own sake - @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu's "obligation to write". It could be that you're composing for people to play and to take enjoyment from playing - what @J. Lee Graham has said just above me. Or it could be a political/social/whatever commentary, as is the state of much academic "new" music composed today. I personally believe that the only real purpose of music is to inspire emotion, to provide an outlet for emotion, to invoke emotions in your audience. And is that not as relevant today as 400 years ago, albeit with a wildly different sound palette?

Ah, relevance. Here's a question for you: why is it even important to be "relevant" as a composer? I've never understood this. It certainly doesn't matter to me, though it does to a great many others who worry about it unduly. I for one want nothing about this crazy modern world to have even the slightest influence on my art. I'm very happy indeed being relevant to an earlier time and place, namely 18th Century Europe. In the last few years, I have had a two motets, an anthem (admittedly in a more modern style), three chamber works, a Sinfonia Concertante, and a symphony of mine premiered by professional and competent amateur ensembles - the Sinfonia Concertante was even performed by an historically informed performance (HIP) ensemble on period instruments - and those are just the performances I know of (thank you IMSLP). The fact that my music isn't in the slightest "relevant" to our times doesn't seem to be hurting me any. Why should I worry about relevance? I'd rather beautify the world in my own way. I'm so fortunate that attitudes toward historicist composers are changing rapidly for the better. I fought long and hard to get where I am. It was as if I knew someday there would be a turnaround of values. If some of y'all want to spend your creative time beating the dead horse of "relevance," racking your brains trying to achieve that goal instead of just concentrating on making beautiful music, go ahead, I won't stop you. But I submit that your time and energy could be better spent just expressing yourself as best you can. Whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck.

@Rich: You flatter me extravagantly - but I'll take it! Thank you very much. @HtWinsor Thank you kindly! @PeterthePapercomPoser: Ha, I'm so glad you got a kick out of the Polonaise! You know, the historic and cultural antipathy between Russia and Poland never even occurred to me. I know that in Russia they used to like to dance the Polonaise though - Tchaikowsky wrote one of the best ever penned for his opera "Eugene Onegin - but other than that I can't think of much in the way of respect that Russia has ever paid to the Polish people, aside from coveting their land and resources - repeatedly. I think it has a lot to do with what are assumed to be the reasonable limits of amateur or student musicians. It may also be due in part to the fact that Finale assumes Horn in F when figuring range, but I'm not sure. Thanks for your comments and I'm glad you enjoyed the piece! @Carl Koh Wei Hao: Thanks! and yaayyyy, another thumbs up for the Polonaise, possibly my favourite part of the whole piece. Thanks for your compliments - I've been composing in Classical style since I was 9 years old, and I'm a lot older than most of you here, so I've been at it long enough! @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu: Thank you for yet another thoughtful and generous review! Those are supposed to be "hidden" - I didn't really want to specifically indicate pedaling to a live player, but only to direct Finale how to play it - but they still show up during playback. They are not in the final printed version. Yet another vote for the alla Polacca! Hooray! Thanks again Henry! I'm extremely busy, but I've been enjoying this more than I have at times in the past, so I may just keep coming back whenever I can.

I hope you don't mind but I took a closer look at the beginning of your piece, which I really like btw, and I jotted down an alternative that's perhaps more in style. I then improvised a little at the end to round it off. I play at a slower speed than you intended for your piece but it would work at either pace.

yeah I hear that too....you know, I should probably finish that at some point. Maybe once I move and will have no friends I'll have the time haha I felt that way too. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Peter, I always like to hear what you have to say. only the chosen few get to use that font Glad you liked the end, it was the only time I changed what mystic chord I was on. Thanks Luder, I was inspired by the forms you use. I don't know how often I'll be writing undeveloped music, but this one felt right to end the way it did, and I was like, "I think I just wrote a soliloquy." Thanks guys!

I don't want to be rude, but this honestly looks like you placed notes and symbols around randomly with 0 intent. Unfortunately, I can't listen to it to really determine its musical-ness since you provided no audio. On top of that, I can't see below the snare drum because you did the wrong page size. Despite these, I will attempt to provide something constructive. 1. There are several moments in the wind instruments where there is more than one note played at once. All wind and brass instruments can only play one note at a time, unless special techniques are used, which are notated a specific way. 2. Throughout the score, you use several markings that are either impossible, change nothing, or are contradictory. For example, none of the instruments shown on this score have sustain pedals, and yet you score pedal marks. You have some instances of the tempo marking Allegro Moderato repeating reduntantly, since there is no tempo change between. You have seemingly random crescendos and diminuendos and hairpins that overlap in contradictory ways. You also use the Volta 2 frequently despite not having any repeat bars, thus making it useless. It seriously looks like you opened musescore, selected the preset symphony orchestra, placed notes randomly, then clicked and dragged things from the pallete panel, named it, and called it a day. To me this reflects a absence of any knowledge of music theory, so first, I will suggest you take lessons on an instrument if you aren't already. This will give you a basic grasp of music theory. Next, I will suggest that you study these topics in depth: - How to write a Melody - How to write Harmony - How to write with Musical Structure - How to develop ideas - Instrumentation - How to use Voice leading All of these can be studied pretty thoroughly simply with google. With knowledge of these things, you will be able to catch the attention of listeners with melody, provide context to the melody with harmony, give the piece coherency with structure, transform the melodies with development, bring colour to the music with instrumentation, and lead listeners ears with voice leading. Hopefully all of this helps you in your journey as a composer. 🙂

I has a lot of troubles uploading this lol. Im trying impressionistic instrumentación, I always loved how Debussy and Ravel uses the orchestra and I wanted to do something similar. Also, any tips for instrumentation? The piece is not complete tho

It finally happened, yall! Huge deal for me and a really really important passion piece about my thankfulness for being able to study music in college. There are a lot of things I want to improve moving forward, but I hope everyone enjoys. Lots of passion between every collaborator in this premiere. I hope to hear it played again / have this lead to some things, but this was pretty special for me. Let me know your thoughts! Perusal Score: https://www.dropbox.com/s/c90o8gsfxu7xgsg/Desert Tales - Full Score.pdf?dl=0 Recording:

Hi @GospelPiano12, I am not going to repeat what Peter and Arjuna said as they are very useful advice. If it's 9/8 at the opening the tempo marking should use a dotted crotchet instead of a crotchet for measurement. I don't think you have to change the key signature since Db major returns shortly. Other markings like dynmaic and tempo marking can be added too, but I think you will add them anyway so no problems here. Well Arjuna you will hate my finished Sextet as it's in Gb major with 6 flats..... Thanks for sharing! Henry

Here is a basic score that I still enjoy even though it's short. Has a catchy melody in the middle that I'm fond of. Enjoy!

an interesting shower thought piece that i came up with while sick with covid last june. this is the only piece i've done in this style, and it's definitely very different than anything else i've done before.

This is a wonderful composition and I feel you've made the best of freedom that atonality allows. You seem to have hit what sounds right for the work and thus presumably for you too. I can't criticise the thematic material - obviously: there are motifs, bar 6 for example, that you use sequentially and I believe their evolution is one factor in why this work is easy to assimilate. You've also rather cleverly used silence a lot. You've allowed time for a listener to take in what's happening - the tempo. the pauses. Perhaps the slow tempo allows enough time for each event to be absorbed - with this style that seems important. I didn't question balance between 'randomness and perceived harmony' so perhaps my absence of comment tells you it worked for me. I did feel that balance in the use of your thematic material was dead on, though, the contrasts in register, tempo; the intrusion of sudden if brief outbursts worked well; above all between single notes and chordal moments, and dynamics. (I'll briefly mention that I too work without keys but it never worries me if I pass through tonal centres - or within the scheme (atonality) landing on a major or minor triad because that's how things want to be at that point. Also for me there's nothing random. Ideas may start randomly but they're usually edited to fit their context in the end.) So to sum up, a piece that's easy to assimilate and a pleasure to listen to. Refreshing. Congrats on the accomplishment. All the best with the next one!

Hey everybody! I'm new to this forum so this is my first post. I am an organist and accordionist and recently started composing my own music because, you know, why not? I enjoy doing it, but have had some trouble recently so I am looking for some advice on how I can improve. I am trying to compose in a baroque style, sort of like my two favorite composers, Bach and Vivaldi. I am trying some "simple" forms currently, like minuets and chorales. They don't sound terrible to my ears, but I know that there is lots of room to improve. The files are attached if you would like to help me out. (thank you!!) My first question is: How can I come up with good ideas (and continue the ideas)? Sometimes when I try to compose I just get nothing and end up deleting my work out of frustration. My second question is: How can I eventually build my way up to compose more complex things? I have tried other forms and some more complex music, but am unable to make anything sound natural. If anyone can help me out with this that would be great. I can't thank the people who do enough. Thanks again everyone!

Hey welcome to the forums! Very cool work you posted. Maybe you mentioned it, but do you play piano? I'm always curious if the composer plays the instrument they're writing very difficult music for. A few questions came to mind: stuff like this might be really hard to pull off, if not impossible do you want this pedaled? I just don't see how I could pull this off, but then again, I suck lol what does the orange note mean? I think a lot of the "hands together" stuff you do is really cool, but some of it seems VERY hard at that tempo Content-wise, I think this is really cool. It has kind of like a minute waltz type of vibe which I really like, but it's also partly a challenge to keep up that break neck speed for 2:15. Sure it's an etude, but something I always try and think about is what the listener is experiencing. Even a few measures of well placed rests to let the phrasing of the melody breathe, or a gap in one of the hands I think would do this piece justice. Like I said, I'm no expert, but just some thoughts on your music. I'd love to hear feedback, and again, welcome to our forum! You'll find there are loads of great people here to get to know, and many are willing to share their advice on your music. It helps to offer others some feedback as well, you seem to have some talent and a lot to share. More often than not, a few words about someone's music will make their day, as I'm sure it does for you, and the more you mingle with people the more attention you'll get with your own music. Thanks for sharing, I'm excited to hear more from you 🙂

I don't always write in Classical style, and this Piano rag is proof. My friend Bernie Siben told me he very much enjoyed William Bolcom's "Ghost Rags," especially his "Graceful Ghost," as have I, so I thought I'd write my own somewhat creepy, mysterious ragtime piece, and this was the result, hence its name. It's challenging to be sure, but I have it on good authority from two virtuoso pianists that it's doable. I hope you enjoy! "Enigmatic Slow-Drag" - Ragtime Two-Step for Piano (2020). To my friend Bernie Siben, with gratitude for his kindness and support. - Composed August 17 – 23, 2020 at Austin. - Style: American Ragtime, ca. 1910-1915. - Duration: 05:32 - Electronic Rendering by Finale 26 music notation software’s "Human Playback" with NotePerformer 3 artificial intelligence assisted interpretation.

Hello everyone, dear friends ! Here is my last composition for orchestra. Always in the same spirit, but very happy to get to the end. I use here a thematic reservoir already used in a previous work, which was written for singing and piano, then orchestrated. But the development is totally different and I don't take over the structure. I wanted to favor the whimsical, squeaky side, certainly but not dark, with as much derision as possible. Thank you for your encouragement and comments that I look forward to! (And a small subscription on my Youtube page would also make me happy).

Hi @Carl Koh Wei Hao, This is very charming music. I don't know why, but the outer sections remind me Chopin's Mazurka especially his first one in the same key, op.6 no.1. The movement of the piece is so fluid and the work is so pianistic with all those decorative notes. The middle section is quite magical for me with the tonic major modulation and featuring high register with those broken chords. I just look at the internet and find the collection which gives you inspiration. Your music for sure suits the collection with the tender and light style! P.S @PeterthePapercomPoser ""Great job performing your own music which is a rarity! " Is this so??😈😈 At least I don't find it rare for me muahahaha! Thanks for sharing! Henry

This is another amazing improvisation. I'm using the first minute of this in the conclusion of my next video, which is about turning @Quinn St. Mark's Etude into something that sounds a little more like a performance. I'll be sending a mass email out to Young Composers about this.

What a completely different stylistic change compared to your Symphony 9! I have to say, ragtime music was how I got started with the piano, so this type of music has a special place in my heart. The beginning of your piece is really cryptic and dissonant. I love it! About 3 minutes in, this is when I started to get Scott Joplin vibes, more specifically with the Magnetic Rag. And the clear winner of this piece is your ending which I'm not even sure how to express my feelings around it. Perhaps I can describe your ending as an anticipatory ending. It's really a great way to come to a conclusion. For example, at 5:17, that could have been a conclusion right there. And then again at 5:22, that could have been the conclusion. But you string the listener along, and actually conclude it at 5:28, which is a really sneaky way of drawing the listener in, in my opinion at least. BTW, I'm going to see how my next video does around "transforming a midi file into a performance". Basically the idea is to take a midi file without performance data, and make it sound more like a performance. If this video resonates with my audience, I would actually love to use this piece as my next example. Especially because you have performance data. It would be a challenge for me, but I think I can make your piece sound more like a performance, despite Finale's human playback + NotePerformer. If you are up for it, let me know as I would need your midi file. Love the piece! And you'd potentially be the star in one of my future playback series videos!

Sup Vince, This is a great piece. It truly is. I love the sort of sombre yet not sombre mood that you've managed to create in this piece. Pink Floyd is my favourite band, and I can definitely hear some mid-Gilmour era stuff in this. I dont really have much else to say other than restating that this is a great piece. Adios, Arjuna

I started an outline for a short piece (a Tarantella) several years ago, but I never finished it. So I decided to finish it now. It is written in 6(8 (as usual for Tarantella´s) but I also considered a 2/4-th meter. What is your opinion? I would appreciate your feedback. I wish everyone a nice Easter!

Greetings. It has been a while since I posted something on this forum. So, I want to present a composition of mine, which I started working on in December 2022. However, the piece was finished after a six-month hiatus because I severely lacked inspiration. This Humoresque is a short piece for violin and piano, and I named it "Acciaccatura Study" since the main theme features grace notes in the violin part. As you might know, I rarely write chamber music and do not play the violin, so I may need advice on some aspects of violin part writing, such as bowing, double stopping, and harmonics. Let me know what you think about this piece. For the violinists: are the bow directions comfortable? Also, are the double stops playable on the violin? How about other aspects, such as staccatos and harmonics? Carl Koh Wei Hao P.S. The audio was generated on MuseScore 2.3.2. Acciaccatura Study.mp3

Edit: I changed the structure of the piece a little bit after posting this on youtube and used the fast section as a sort of coda for the piece. The new final version is attached as an audio file.

Thanks to @PeterthePapercomPoser and @luderart for the ideas in this. It was my first dabble at using the mystic chord and a #4b7 mode, as well as trying out a short undeveloped form. I like the result, and hope you do to.

Thanks Henry! That's good to know I've kept up with the variety. Interesting take on the introvert/extrovert, I think you're right! yeah you're right, it's too heavy. I'm going to look into fixing this for the final edit. Thanks man. This and no.8 had some moments that I might change, but overall I'm satisfied with the result. The main motif wasn't my favorite, but I liked how different it was from every other piece in this set. Kind of gave me Sabre Dance vibes. The audio ending is a mistake, thanks for pointing that out. I'm always glad to hear your thoughts on my music 🙂 Hey Peter, thanks for sharing some thoughts. I dug the groove too. It was a goal with this one to just run with development and see where it took me. shhhhhh....... they mustn't know

Hello Guys, Here's my new piece of music, Spring Night. I'm really interested in your opinion!

Well! Impressive! Intensely emotional and proto-Romantic-to-Romantic. This piece reminds me of Hummel in many places. Have you studied him at all? Some of the styling and virtuosic demands are reminiscent of him to me. In my opinion, titling this piece ( ) does it a disservice. This is a Fantasia. Might you consider renaming it? Again in my opinion, the final section in E doesn't quite fit. It might have been better to leave it in C minor or move to C major and end it similarly in that key. But these are minor quibbles. Whatever you do, or call the piece, it's a wonderful expression. My compliments!

Hello Henry has much more experience in this style, so there is little I can add. But I would like to comment on one particularity of this piece and that is that it sounds quite "mechanical". And the reason, from my point of view, is this: the whole length of the score is dominated by a constant eighth-note rhythm. It is true that in some parts some suspensions and a crotchet pattern are introduced, but without abandoning the former. I think this can be modified by working a little on the variation of the motives.

Here it is, as short as possible to say something.

do not compose your pieces, let them compose you

This is a topic too big to explore with forum posts, but it is primarily a matter of composition, and secondly a matter of sample usage. The "epic" trailer style is derided by more traditionalist orchestrators and composers precisely because originality within it is very difficult given the defining characteristics of the genre are quite rigid, and secondly: It takes the "pop song for orchestra" approach, which is not idiomatic to the ensemble and therefore winds up not sounding very orchestral at all. This manifests here (and in other tracks in the style) in the string ostinato, which is an attempt to apply the "chord progression" pop song, piano broken-chords style writing to the accompaniment/harmony in a way that dodges sample limitations. What's happening is that your accompaniment is constantly moving; jumping around in pitch against the brass line, but it is not moving homorhythmically, nor is it moving parallel, oblique or contrary to the main line. It also sounds like it is in much the same range as the brass, and thus: The brass line is muddied. The other thing is that it sounds like you have everything going full blast at all times. If everything is loud, then nothing is loud. So the dynamics need to be tweaked overall, but the melodic lines need more crescendo and decrescendo; with a sustain line, you want to ride the modwheel a fair bit. The next problem is that the theme is totally forgettable because it is exclusively legato/sustain, so it lacks a sense of pulse and the rhythmic structure of a melody is one of the most vital aspects, especially for anything jaunty or what I would call "epic". For example, if you take your keyboard and you play the C major scale descending, one note at a time, it just sounds like a boring scale. Do the same, but add the right rhythm to it and you get "Joy To The World", one of the most famous melodies out there. In short: You need to use a combination of short and long articulations, and certain notes need a clear emphasis in attack to determine the pulse and pattern clearly; something that just can't be done with exclusively-long notes. But this is an extremely common problem with modern virtual orchestration: Using different articulations to create something that sounds musical since most libraries are recorded in a very dumb manner that doesn't create much homogeneity between samples. What you will be forced to do is layer articulations like a staccato over the legato patch, but the success of this varies greatly from library to library. It took me almost 15 years to find a combination of libraries that really work well together for writing the 20th Century Styles I specialize in. If it were my piece, I'd probably do the following: • Remove the string ostinato as accompaniment and instead choose harmony according to each individual note of the theme and give this a separate rhythm that contrasts but supports the main theme and plays at a softer dynamic • Make the bassline work contrapuntally to the theme, utilizing a lot of contrary motion. A pedal tone could be tasteful in spots. • On first introduction of the theme, have the entire ensemble quieter and double the brass, either in the same section or different, but I'd utilize sixths, thirds or octaves. If it were solely brass, parallel fifths in spots could be good too. • Add more attack to the melody by layering in some short notes, maybe even doubling with pitched percussion. • Add call and response and other flourishes and orchestral flair during the last couple beats of the sustained notes in the theme to create more motion and interest • Have different parts of the theme stated by different sections and doublings, within the same phrase. I hope some of these ideas help.

Here is present three works as arrangements/interpretations on John Stanley's voluntaries for solo organ as works for string orchestra (and solo violin(s)). I found these pieces in a youtube video with the score and immediatly saw the potential for arranging it as orchestral works. Voluntary in G minor (op.5 no.7) in two movements. Video: Voluntary VII Original Organ Version Voluntary in D minor (op.5 no.8) in three movements as a concerto for two solo violins with strings accompaniament. (I especially like the outcome of the 2nd movement) Video: Voluntary VIII Original Organ Version Voluntary in D minor (op.6 no.5) in three movements. Video: Voluntary V Original Organ Version

Thank you for your comments @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu @Omicronrg9 I understand what Daniel means with the lack of expresivity but my intention was more like what Henry said. For me, in this style, is more up to the interpretative process than the arranging, so I wrote only a very few expression indications stated by Stanley. About the harpsichord... Actually, my intention was to leave a basso/continuo line and indicate when to play only cello solo and tutti, and not to introduce the harpsichord. I like the sonority it adds but, as Daniel said, now I also think that indicating it but for only doubling bassi is a waste (but now I'm not really interested in writing down all the part and I will leave it for the interpreter). Probably I will leave only one part as basso as I stated before. Talking about the tempi, "Andante Largo" is supposed to be the original, this is why I wrote it, and I understand about the feeling of insufficient contrast. As an arranger I mostly tend to be more close to the original than to interpretate the score and give it a more personal outcome, but maybe it's something to work on. Also, I will add the original versions of the works now in the original post.

huh

Here's a short waltz that I'd like to share with everyone. The original score was created last 2014 as a soundtrack for a video project in college. It was originally for a couple string instruments. In 2019, I transcribed it for solo piano. In the process of transcribing, I accidentally swapped the treble clef of the right hand with the bass clef without changing the note order, thus changing the entire tone of the main melody. It sounded off at first but then I thought, it's not bad at all! So I took that "accident" and incorporated it into the final version of this piece (you'll notice that measures 41 to 56 is like a copy of the main melody but different). Then a few days ago, I finally decided to complete this version. I had fun revising this one, and I hope you enjoy it as well 😁 Waltz in C Major.mp3 Waltz in C major.pdf

G'day, Nice work so far, a few points: As Peter has already pointed out, the lowest note a violin can play is G3 (the g directly below middle C). I think you should change the key from Dflat major to D major or another string friendly key. As a string player who hates Sight Reading (there are loads of us) five flats is a nightmare to look at. Also, D major is a lot more resonant on string instruments. Some slurring directions (e.g. Violin I, Bar Five) are unplayable. In string music, slurs represent bowing. I wish good luck to any string player trying to play that passage in one bow. Other than the above criticism, this work is going well. Hope to see the finished product. Nga Mihi Arjuna

I have no idea why I did not post this here, but I am going to start up a string of tutorials on my Youtube channel. I talk about tuplets at the very basic level, and why you may want to use them in your writing. Give the video a thumbs up, comment if you wish, and don't forget to subscribe if you want to see more of this type of content from me. Video is really long, but I break all my content up into chapters. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve my videos. For example, if there's too much dead space I can try to make my videos progress a little faster. Or if the videos are just too long, I can break them up into smaller segments. I'm literally experimenting with video length.