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So anyway, the last time I tried to write a symphony was almost 8 years ago, and it was so terrible that it's now called Symphony No. 0 and we never speak of it. I was 15 at the time. I suppose (most) teenagers aren't generally known for writing great symphonies. But I recently tried again. This is now my Symphony No. 1. I just finished it today. It's in one vast, slow through-composed movement. I wonder if, as you listen, it is obvious who my main stylistic influences were. The entire piece is built from one motif, the three-note figure that bookends the whole thing of the rising leap followed by the falling step. I've been working on this for about six months. This symphony was the product of a lot of experimentation and often changing course on the fly. Not only have I never written this much slow music all at once before, but these are the largest orchestral forces I've ever handled, with the greatest variety of orchestral color at my disposal. It's also the first time in a while I have allowed myself the luxury of a harp, as previously I had always been wary of giving myself the opportunity to commit any of a number of common orchestration blunders. I'm enjoying the fruits of the new Muse Sounds I have gained access to by virtue of switching to Musescore. They're wonderful. They can be a bit buggy, but sometimes it's almost scary how human they sound. Curious about how this will be received.

This dialog is pretty much correct I think. There's a difference between writing something abstract and writing something unidiomatic and needlessly difficult. Hiding behind supposed goals of abstraction and complexity to excuse bad writing is not an easily definable thing, but like pornography according to the Supreme Court, "you know it when you see it" if you are a relatively experienced composer. My use of harp is very sparing, but that's roughly in line with how it should be used. As Thomas Goss (of OrchestrationOnline) says: decoration, filigree, support. The harp is like dessert, adding great delicacy to a thin texture but rapidly becoming stale if overused. Every orchestration challenge he issues stipulates NO HARP CONCERTOS for a reason: beginner composers see the double staff and get overexcited about what they (think they) can give the harpist, and wildly overestimate the instrument's real capabilities. At the end of the day the harpist has an ungodly difficult part that just gets drowned or forgotten in the texture. Let the harp do what it does best. The harpist won't mind if they have to sit and count some rests any more than my poor trumpet players will. They're paid to do that, so to speak. Notice that some of the most idiomatic harp writing I employ comes in the come una danza sections where I use glissandi and rolled chords - two extremely common and standard harp techniques to just add some background lush flavor to the texture. The exact notes played, insofar as they make the right chords, aren't important. The most I have the harpist do in a foreground role throughout the entire piece is that little dainty rising scale in the reprise of the danza. Again, decoration, filigree, support. To the other point, this work is actually not drawing on minimalism at all. The glacial note values are an emotional expression tool, not an attempt to simplify or pare anything down. My contrapuntal lines are actually fairly intricate a lot of the time even when the note values are long and the textures are thin.

Wow, this is so great! You're a gifted writer, and I really love the fact that you took to heart your goal of constructing the entire symphony from the rising then falling motif. Brilliant execution of that. I admit I heard this when you first posted, but something this massive took a while with repeated listens to really figure out what I could even say, or what I even wanted to say haha. This is just bloated with drama, and a great introduction of your symphonic prowess. I've noticed that no matter what I'm writing, part of who I am and what my personal situation is leaks out into the notes. I'm curious how personal this is to you, since it's your first symphony "no.1" (😛)? It sounds so emotional that I'd have a hard time believing it was all puzzle fitting and theory crafting. I really enjoyed the overall arch of the dynamics. Even though it was slow, as you say, it had plenty of motion and variation within it that it wasn't a bother to me. But this kind of crescendo then diminuendo of the dynamics overall throughout it's duration was really cool, and helped make it cohesive as a one movement symphony. The melodies are all superb, it's so rich in emotional depth to me. I love how you're a phenomenal string player, but you didn't make this about the violin. The tossing around of motifs and careful planning of color balance was a treat. I also can't thank you enough for hiding empty staves, it makes it so much easier to read and much more worth a composer peer's time. I love this kind of discussion. THIS is what makes people better at composition. There's no right or wrong here, just opinions from talented people. I agree with Peter in a way. I'm not sure if he meant a literal scherzando, but a change in texture would be advantageous, especially for a one movement symphony. Right at M, I love where you go here. But I think this would have been the perfect spot to build your motif in a faster rhythmic way. I love the heavy drama here, the light-heartedness might not fit. But I found myself continuing to relisten to this spot, where it builds really massively and then ends solemnly. I just kept zoning out, and I think it's because I was so used to the slower texture that my ears wanted a change rhythmically. If this was movement 1 of a multimovement work, I think it's more than fine as is. But as a one-movement symphony, it may have been something to consider deeper, and definitely for future thought. Overall though, this piece of yours hits closer to my heart than you might know, as I'm almost done with a long symphonic work that's slower... and in the same key sig... and nearly as long... But I digress. 😄 Lovely music, wonderfully clean score, and congratulations on completing your first symphony! I've listened to this numerous times now, and can say that I'll reference this when I have my own orchestration or notation questions. Extraordinarily beautiful composition 🙂

Hi! @arpeggia. I really enjoyed this piece too! the chromaticism, dissonance, the use of accents which makes it sound as if the strong and weak beats subverts what is typical of a waltz, yet still stay consistent enough to be easily recognizable as a waltz, which makes it a very interesting and engaging! A lot of drama within a short span of around one and a half minutes. Well Done! I agree with @PeterthePapercomPoser that would be a good extension if you want, a middle, contrasting part to what already is there. Thks for sharing!

Hello @arpeggia! I really like this piece! To me, I don't see a problem with the title as I think it really fits the pathos of the piece - I would also describe it as perhaps "demented". I think for a piece with only one main section it still manages to stay interesting and create contrast with changes in dynamics and how you subdivide the beat. If you ever think of extending the piece I think it could work as an ABA form with the B section as maybe a slower and more eerie waltz in another key. I can definitely imagine that. Thanks for sharing this really enjoyable demented dance!

Hi, it was a bit of a challenge to categorize your style/work: impressionist - minimalist; however, I agree with the above insight as pointillist. I wonder what was your idea/purpose in integrating the choral work? By the way the orchestra has a wonderful texture/color. Mark

Alright, let's get this out of the way. Why would anyone copy you over Rachmaninoff (which they can for free)? Or Mozart (which they can for free), or Beethoven (which they can for free), or... you get my point? Why the annoying diarrheic PCC over the score? Can't you just put your name as a copyright at the bottom of every page? Even if you want to keep your anonymousness, can't you still do that while saying PCC at the bottom? And if you're that paranoid, post it on Youtube or another platform that won't go under in the near future. Once you post online, your piece is copyrighted. And if you're STILL paranoid, why bother posting a score in the first place??? If you said, "hey, I don't feel comfortable posting the score online", no one would fault you. ANYWAY, I agree with our dear beloved friend Henry. Although, I like your more unique approach to the form, and I think it works. One of my favorite things to do musically is to take a form and expand or revise it in some way. Your piece isn't the "typical" sonata form, but you do a lot of cool, almost improvisatory things in the exposition and other moments that in my eyes make the form more of a guideline rather than a concrete formula. Very cool. I listened to this a few times (mostly without the score 😛), and the repeat was crucial to me. It helped create a picture of the form when I would get lost. Very nice. Just when I thought I was getting lost, and even if the themes felt disjointed in difficulty and material, the repeat made it all work, and helped me know where you were once I heard it. Disjointed material can work together, but maybe in the future I would continue to explore ways to make it bond more seamlessly. For instance, your tempo is very rubato throughout, and if you had more sections where we could feel even something as small as a constant rhythmic pulse could do wonders in making your sections more cohesive. You seem to have a flair for the drama, and those moments were my favorite. All in all, very unique to my ears, and a wonderful performance. I love all of the emotion you pour into this; I can feel it with your playing. Your music is thoughtful and evocative, and I'm excited to continue listening to your playing/music. Well done 🙂

Hello @Olof Darin! Welcome to the forum! I am listening with headphones as instructed. I actually think this is quite lovely with some unease and discomfort inherent in the slightly dissonant language you employ. But I think this proceeds quite logically and melodiously throughout! You might get even more attention from fellow pianists on this forum who have also played their own sonatas like you have such as @PCC and @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, if you posted a score. Your playing is very good, especially in the fast parts! I don't think I've heard any obvious mistakes. I think I like the soft, chorale-like parts of this movement the best. The bell-like effect you achieve through your use of octaves in the extremes of the piano register is also quite creative! Thanks for sharing and good job!

As the poster above me asked: How well do you know your theory and the craft of composition? If it is simply that you're feeling stumped, or struggling to get it to sound how you want, then this is usually the source. I would also recommend you get a MIDI controller to input notes into Musescore that way if you don't already. It would be painfully slow trying to input it with mouse and keyboard. Your piano trio may go faster if you use a DAW and kontakt libraries instead of musescore. Then, you can just record your piece in real time, and with pianos, you don't have to worry about keyswitches and other MIDI annoyances. Honestly, it really isn't. Especially if your goal is concert/neo-classical stuff. It is better to put out 5 pieces per year that are amazing, then to release 10 middling ones just because you feel you have to hit a certain number. Even from the most iconic composers, only a handful of their pieces are really well known to the masses. In many cases, the composer spent anywhere from weeks to years writing them. Even bands, who typically are doing way simpler music than classical; each new album is a result of 1-2 years (or more) of songwriting and selecting the best ones for the album. Back in the days of record deals, labels would demand an album of X number of songs within a short time-frame, which is partly why "Girls, Girls Girls" is the only decent song on that album. Also, remember that Carl Douglas's only song of note was 'Kung Fu Fighting' 50 years ago and he wound up with a net worth of 5 million. In other words, if no one is breathing down your neck to get this done and paying you to do so, take all the time you need. Lastly, since you say you're in school it's safe to assume you're pretty young: Know that the field of professional orchestral and neo-classical music is not a pursuit for low-time preference individuals; it is mainly an old man's game. I lucked out when I was 18, and got my first professional job, but that is an extreme rarity. Most guys don't see any success (financially or otherwise) until they have DECADES of experience under their belts. So aside from the aforementioned advice, I'd say: Take your time, and just keep chipping away at your pieces. Even 1 bar a day is progress. Because as the saying goes:

Hi @PeterthePapercomPoser and @Hcab5861! I've modelled the overall texture and soundscape off of the bass aria of BWV 159 (which is imo the most beautiful aria Bach has ever written). The omission of a harpsichord continuo and the strings "harmonic halo" are both completely intentional - I want the mood of the music to be gentle, warm, embracing. In addition, I'm a little bit torn on Da Capo form. I think it works well in duets but by default I tend to avoid it. From a singer point of view I don't get excited about singing the first part of the piece exactly twice, and from a compositional point of view, your ritornello theme better be REALLY good to warrant a minimum of four exact repetitions (but more typically six to eight repetitions including fragments), at least for those themes that are tonally closed. I much prefer the scheme of ABA' in these cases (e.g. see the alto aria in BWV 197), where A ends in the dominant and A' ends in the tonic.

Hey all! I just completed what was for me a massive project, Three Scenes for Ensemble is a set of chamber pieces (one of my first compositions) which I composed and recorded at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin. I felt this would be a great place to get some feedback. I know it's a ton of music, but it would be incredibly helpful to even if focus on one measure to show an example of different choices I could have made orchestration-wise, harmonically, notation-wise, etc... Thank you in advance and I hope you enjoy! If you would like to support please consider also listening on Spotify. Score Video: About the Music! Credits: Composer: Nicholas Schuman, Flute: Thomas Hahn, Oboe: Anna Schulkowski, Clarinet: Constance Morvan, French Horn: Melinda Gál, Piano: Daniel Zhao, Cello: Josiah Simonds, Sound Engineer: Arne Bergner, Assistant Engineer: Marian Hafenstein

Hot dang boy are you lucky. You got a review from @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu. Man, just typing @H pulls up Henry first. He's our forums most illustrious member, and anything he says is Chinese wisdom we all learn from. Sorry, I'm an unsuccessful clown with a guitar. 🤔 This was great! And wow, for your first piece, you have a studio performance? Wow, holy opportunity! I hope you asked them every question in the book, because the more you know of their instruments, the better you'll compose for them. Do they work with your school? What's it like to study abroad and record in Berlin? It sounds like you have an incredibly interesting story to tell 🙂 I agree with Henry with the score being rife with labeling and coloring. It's cool to see your analysis, and there is an audience for that. It shows you care enough to explain in further details questions listeners might have, or that you know your stuff. But I'd post a version of just the score too; I bet it would get more views than the analysis version 😉 Your music is lovely, and for your first composition, this shows a lot of promise. I like that your background is film scoring and the like. It'll help shape your voice, because it's your inspiration. But I really encourage you to study up on the great composers. Watch Youtube for hours of the score videos. It's free, bruh. Look up Romantic-era composers first; it seems to suit the style of the film people. But let it lead you to others. Study scores of Chopin and Beethoven (and WOW, many more!) if you're writing for piano. A lot of your parts are elementary and conservative, especially in solo moments. Guess what, that's ok! You made it work, you went through the recording process, the whole shebang. You COMPLETED your project, and you followed through. That's what it takes to make it in my eyes, to see it through to the end. Congrats 🙂 My advice, like I said, is to keep studying up on the instruments. I forget... do you play an instrument? It would be greatly beneficial to you to continue to explore one instrument in it's full capacity and to write for it in tandem with your school studies and projects. I'm a guitarist, and my knowledge gained of the instrument always leads me to perpetual new ideas about what other instruments might be able to achieve. You seem like you have a lot to offer the musical world, and hopefully the forum here. There are loads of talented people here to learn from, and their advice is free. And if you want piano pieces performed, Henry Ng charges $1,000,000 USD for a complete full album. It's worth it Oh yeah, welcome 😄

Hi @Quinn St. Mark, Me like Vince don’t know the difference between them! I have never heard the term Saltarello LoL !! Watching this I think they are literally the same thing?? I really enjoy those complex chord progression! By the way, why don’t you write the piece in 12/8 so that you can cancel out all those triplets? I think those octaves in b.15 onwards can be really difficult to play! I mean even Brahms Piano Sonata or Chopin Scherzo no.3 are around the same or even slower tempo! I think like Vince said, you can develop a bit further first before having those virtuosic passages! Thx for sharing, it does look promising! Henry

Greetings! I am back with yet another Muzoracle casting - this time of our very own @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu!!! (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, Henry asked the Muzoracle "Will I become a great composer": My interpretation of the cards and dice are displayed below. This time I used brass and voices since the Major 7th card at left is in the suit of brass and the Perfect 4th card, underneath the Style card is in the suit of voices. If you'd like to find out more about Muzoracle and how castings are interpreted go here: https://muzoracle.com/ These interpretations I'm making seem to be getting more and more elaborate, while the musical pieces they yield seem to be getting shorter and shorter! 🤣 This piece is only a few seconds long but it is an accurate aural representation of the casting which is the main purpose of the music. But, if you have any suggestions for how I can extend these pieces while still staying true to the casting please let me know! This time the black Musician's die landed on Gb and the casting is descending, which means that the diatonic solfege dice that land on their respective degrees will descend to the next degree, while the chromatic solfege dice will ascend up to the next degree. So, the dice landed on Re (Ab), Me (Bbb), Do (Gb), So (Db), and Mi (Bb). These are the tones used in the composition. The direction of the melody is shown by the arrows on each page, and they also lead the reader from the preceding to the concluding statements in the casting. I just tried to find a way to symbolize the variety of different brasses playing at different times coming together at the end because of the orchestration card. And I added the voices since there's a voices card and accelerated to the climax since there's an accelerando card. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy listening to this short musical idea/aural representation of Henry's casting! Any comments are welcome.

I originally wrote the beginnings of a scherzando section that was going to appear at M, but I eventually scrapped it and put in what is there now. So it's definitely a thought I had, but I rejected it. I didn't think it fit. It broke the dramatic arc for me. I don't know very much of the oeuvre of either Bruckner or Sibelius, though I've started trying to explore Bruckner more recently and I am at least consciously aware that at times his influence did start to make itself felt as I got into the middle and end of the symphony. However, a much nearer and dearer inspiration to me is Mahler, and Tchaikovsky was on my mind heavily when composing the dance-like sections, despite me not really being aware of any specific piece by him that has those characteristics. I wasn't aiming to emulate any particular person though, so I could very well have created a hybrid style.

The thought of you in HK rotating your iPad around with possibly other distractions playing in the corner of the screen (like basketball haha) trying to read Peter's handwriting made me literally laugh out loud. You're the best Henry, I hope you win the lotto or something

Hi guys, here's a wrote song I composed and recorded. Would enjoy hearing your thoughts. Thank you!

Music hw sonata new fixed again wm 4.pdf Though there is some skill issue with my playing lol... Context Hw4 maybe better.mp3

G'day fellas, My Saltarello in C minor is easily my most ambitious piece, and the one I've been dedicating most of my time to over the past month. After a couple of weeks of chipping away, I feel like I've run low on where to take it next. I have written several more bars here and there beyond this point (and I'll be sure to include them in updated versions of this composition), but I thought I would first show you how far it goes before the first hiatus. By the way, does this sound more like a saltarello, a tarantella, or neither? Cheers, Quinn Saltarello in C minor.mid

Many incredible moments! It is bursting with color with a subtleness not everyone can balance. Bravo! If I may begin a discussion about some of the orchestration, you are free to respond by explaining why you made these decisions rather than me just claim them as 'mistakes' whatever that means in terms of music 🙂 - The flute is much too low to be heard over the instruments, many of which play in mezzoforte. I understand it is not a solo instrument and you want it to blend, but it would be completely swallowed up. It is also too low of a register to play mezzoforte itself since these low register are very delicate in terms of air flow. Usually you would right louder passages higher on the flute and quieter passages lower. Think about how the flute works overall, the 1st partial (octave) is reached by overblowing the given note, so the lower notes need less air by the nature of the instrument. Hope this makes sense. If you wrote the part an octave up, I believe you will still achieve what you were going for since the flute is still rich and woody until you get into the higher 3rd register. Another option, would be to right it as an Alto Flute, which is one of my favorite instruments. It has an incredibly warm and beautiful quality to it. - The second violin enters in a piano dynamic at the end of the first page and later on crescendos back into piano, i dont see a real need to have a piano violin over a mezzoforte viola, maybe you meant to write mezzoforte from the beginning? - I see you thinking very much like a conductor in terms of dynamics which is great, never loose that instinct, but the players may not interpret it how you think. remember they only have their own parts so when you have violin 1 playing piano and violin 2 playing mezzopiano, there wont be much of a difference. Sometimes less is more, or at least accuracy is more. Sometimes writing 'solo' over an instrument is all you need to tell the player to stand out or even simple crescendo marking or hairpins rather than inconsistent dynamics all throughout. I would say score read specifically with dynamics in mind, probably impressionistic French or Russian composers. - Also check your rhythms to make sure you don't blur any beats. You should always be able to see a strong beat. Amazing work overall, dont let my thoughts change this great creative accomplishment. Thanks for sharing! -Nick Schuman

Hi Henry! What an honor to have such a thorough and kind response, especially to my first post. I want you to know that it truly means a lot to me. Yeah, my themes are all over the place and as much as I wanted to make sense of it all, i still have much to learn about themes and development. Much of it came from the stress of a deadline (for school) and writing segmented sections which are later forced together. I love how you discussed it's 'aura' :). You gave me new confidence with this response and very useful criticism which I will learn from. I'm most definitely very excited to go check out and discuss music from other composers on this forum. Cheers! Nick Schuman

Are you sure your 12 distinct themes are complex and abstract or messy and absurd? Isn't the timbre of harp and strings pizz. different? Henry

Hello yet again! Here's another Muzoracle casting for you. (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, Jamie asked the Muzoracle if she will find true love: My interpretation of the cards and dice are displayed below. This time I wrote a piece for flute (because the Minor 7th card at left is in the suit of woodwinds and Jamie used to play flute), piano (because the Minor 7th card in the middle is in the suit of percussion) and soprano (because the Minor 7th card at right is in the suit of voices). If you'd like to find out more about Muzoracle and how castings are interpreted go here: https://muzoracle.com/ This time I managed to stretch out the musical materials and make them last 2 minutes. It is however just meant to be an aural representation of the casting and not necessarily it's own fully fledged piece of music with different sections (that's one of the difficulties I am having is how to bring structure and contrast to different parts of the composition while still staying true to the casting). The piece is in F# since the black 12-sided Musician's die landed on F#. The solfege dice landed on Se, So, Ti and Fa and I ornamented the piece with the minor 7ths above each degree since all the cards drawn were minor 7ths. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy listening to this short chamber work I wrote to represent Jamie's casting. Comments, suggestions, or critiques are of course, always welcome.

Eh don't rack your brain over it. I like that these are very short solilo... uh, pieces. Maybe form could be left for non-dice-related music. Or maybe your forms could somehow be derived from dice... hmm... 🤔 Anyway, this is my favorite one so far. I really liked the theme this time. But, maybe since it was randomly generated I randomly liked it... HMMM So much thinking this time, yeesh. But the theme and especially the left hand piano line were stunning. Maybe take from these when you're done and develop cool ideas further for future pieces? Overall though, definitely enjoyable to hear. Maybe the flute could have faded out with the other instruments, it kinda dragged a bit at the end to me. Thanks for sharing!

i love this concept and the music is so interesting. I used to be all up in these kind of “next level” things so the fact that you combined it with music is ingeniously creative to me.

I have a silly suggestion, but I guess this may work. You can download the song as an mp3 file using Youtube premium maybe.

I freakingly love the music in this scene…. Ofc!!!! Sometimes I wonder why there are so many great existing music to use and directors just choose to use cliche ones… I always like how Stanley Kubrick creatively use classical music in his films!

Hey @PCC, I really find the alternation between religious chant and folkloric rondo interesting. The movement is quite difficult to play esp. b.11 to 14, good job on that! The texture in b.67 reminds me of the finale of Waldstein. The counterpoint in b.86 is quite crafty with the canon of both the inversion and rectus! I hope it stays longer haha. Where does the rondo theme come from? Is that a quotation of the chant or just a new theme? If it’s a new theme I may hope it’s more related to the chant section! Overall I like this piece. I think there are lots of quotations throughout the whole sonata and it just stirs me up a little since I have a goldfish’s memory LoL! Thx for sharing! Henry

Your use of piano and harp is horribly excessive and unidiomatic! Try writing a piece that uses neither instrument -- at all -- and see what it forces you to learn about orchestration.

Here is a Minuet, which I recently composed. Apart from a classical style, there are also some elements of Nordic folk music. I would be very interested to find out what you think of it.

Uploading this in preparation of tomorrow's feast Context Music Hw3 calmer.mp3

Maybe it’s unconscious influencing!

Hey @PCC, I really enjoy your use of chants. Since I myself am planning to write a chant section in own Sextet, now I always love this kind of chant usage! I hope Sibelius Ultimate can write with unmeasured measure LoL! On the fugue, I don’t expect your get this chromatic when the subject and the chant is very modal. Again I like your use of canonic imitation which is also used in the 2nd movement. For me I may just turn down the virtuosity level in b.67 since I think it’s not quite match with the overall atmosphere of the movement! I think for the intensity you may use some 6 part stretto or 3 layers of augmentation? I think the subject will be easy to make this! Thx for sharing! I will finish the last movement. Henry

Hi @Cafebabe, The modulations are quite progressive here and it’s quite moody! I think you can add some more recognisable themes or melodies in the movement, since I feel like it’s more or less the same accompaniment pattern throughout the piece, though it’s saved by your good use of modulations! Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @Aria Donn, I love this so so so much!!!! Not because it’s in my favourite C sharp minor, but the tragic emotion, the struggle, the hope for brightness and the disappointment is so authentic and honest here. It’s a long slow movement in 18 minutes but I never feel a single moment that is boring, since anything which has real and honest emotion is almost always worth listening to. For me I love the coherence of the movement. Even though the motive is not really strict in a Beethovanian sense, it definitely provides the tragic sound with that sighing of minor 2nd and your clash of minor 2nd (which I use in my pieces too!). The orchestration is masterful for me. Your string writing is of course masterful given how great you play violin, but your Tchaikovskian use of woodwinds and Mahlerian brass is so great a combination in different passages. I love section G onwards very very much since you invite a lot of counterpoint here and I love all those dissonance. Definitely see the influence of Bruckner here with that famous C sharp minor slow movement. The climax in section Q is so so well built, as well as the cooling down of it for quicker note values! For the ending maybe I will invite some Picardy chords before having it crushed by the tragic C sharp minor, thus making the fate more cruel and tragic!! But that’s subjective. I totally agree with your choice here. A scherzando section will ruin the tragic aura of the piece and make it a cheap soap opera! It would be strange to invite some unwanted contrast when the main body itself is so well built and logical. I love your total darkness with a bit of light here very very much. Maybe I love C sharp minor too much, I personally feel like it can stay longer at the beginning! I think the A major contrasting passage gets in a bit early in section C! But that’s personal. Thx so much for sharing your masterpiece here Donn! I enjoy every second of it and I wish it’s just a slow movement of a huge symphony like Bruckner’s 7th, so I can enjoy more from it! Henry

For me I have to fight between the movements of Beethoven’s op.131, 132 and 135. And the winner is…. I just cannot not choose this one…… So full of life and praise and pain of life… It’s even more concise than the slow movement of his op.132 one… Everytime when I get sad or pain I go back to Papa Bee’s late quartets to find someone who always give me power.

Yeah @PCC, First I enjoy this movement more than the first movement! The mood is really religious and serious here which I like very much. Also the theme is more concentrated here when it’s a theme and variation! My head gets much easier on this! I really like the F minor here when a pianist says it’s tragic but also serious and objective. I really like the canon in b.29. So antiphonal here imitating a real church singing, and your playing is doing the justice here. The b.50 variation really reminds me the second movement of Schubert’s D959. Really similar texture and sound here!! The variation in b.74 is a bit unmoving for me with the thick texture. I hope maybe the theme can be played by left hand here! I like the key changes afterwards after staying in F minor for long. For me if I write with this theme I will definitely use the inversion of it. I think it has great potential for adding the inversion! A retrograde is possible too. Thx for sharing! I will try to finish the last 2 movements. Henry

Yo Peter, Thx for doing this for me! On the music I have the same thought as Vince…. WILL I JUST FAIL TO BE A GRRRRRRRRRREAT COMPOSERRRRRRRRR!!! Just kidding LoL! I find some of the casting quite interesting and maybe applicable to all of us as composers! ”You will experience a great inertia. You will be called to decide how to fill it. You may experience restlessness.” I think every composers or artists s experience the same thing right? Like they can’t stop their Muse bashing brains with loads of ideas and can only write them out! For the major 6th one (I’m lazy enough to type out the sentences LoL) I think every new pieces mark my growth and a new beginning! I hope I reach the status of the perfect 4th when I do have my own style! I think it’s everyone’s goal right? For the minor third one, I am always SERIOUS on my music to the point of boring music LoL! I do ‘t like self-pity since it’s uselessly illusionary. I think you can just use them as main motives of a piece? Or use them as the tonic keys of different sections while retaining the programmatic reference? Looks like our Peter is becoming the PeterthePsychic here LoL…. Thx for the piece and casting Peter! Henry

So I listened to the piece and the answer is what... no? 😛

G'day fellas, Happy belated Easter! I must have composed this tune at least two years ago, but decided to rework it a bit. I'm not overly fond of it, I will admit but believe that it has the most distinctly Australian feel out of everything I have ever written. You might also notice some ragtime influence in it, too. I'm considering writing a middle section as well, and hence making the piece into a ternary form. Yay or nay? Cheers, Quinn Humoresque No 1.mid

I don't usually like slow movements but this is quite captivating! Once the triplet subdivisions come in it doesn't sound that slow anymore. You seem to have gotten the hang of Musescore pretty well! I find it hard to discern the theme in such slow music though and it would've been great if you had included a scherzando section for contrast. I know you subdivide the music in various ways, but those subdivisions aren't thematic. Your melody is throughout the movement plodding along at the same slow rate which makes at least that part of it a bit monotonous. This review is based on just one listening of your work though so take it with a grain of salt. As to what composers you might be emulating: might it be Bruckner? Or maybe Sibelius? That's just a stab in the dark LoL. Thanks for sharing!

Hey @Quinn St. Mark, It’s definitely humorous and light hearted music! I love those glissandos and funny chords, plus the fleeing rhythms. Definitely a yay. But before that I feel this section alone can be developed for at least twice longer! Like this section alone it can be a small ABA with the middle B section in F major or some close keys, and then the middle section can be in Gb major in a contrasting mood which is less lighthearted for example. I think of the piece named “The Fountain” by Carl Bohm when I learn piano as a young teen and I think you can have that piece’s structure! Thx for sharing! Henry

Yo @PeterthePapercomPoser, I wouldn’t wanna write a description this long for a 37 second music!! My complain is the same as @Quinn: it’s too short!! So can your friend Lisa find followers?? It sounds like the outcome is not so good since it’s in c minor… (Me just trolling……) I think your composition style is already succinct! Thx for sharing your creative method to compose Peter! Henry

Yo Peter, My complain is also it’s too short. The beginning really reminds me of Gamelan music! I really hope that interlocking pattern keeps going and going! I think this one is actually a great idea LoL! Or even some aleatory music! Peter is showing his real colour here (from an MBTI perspective)!! Like me I would NEVER write such a detailed description on how to write my music logically since I usually just have a big picture never these details and with zero logic LoL!! And me find myself dumb too to rotate the images when my iPad I am holding now keeps rotating my rotations and I can never find the right way to read Famous PeterPapercomPoser’s Paper…. Nice sharing Peter! Henry

Hey @PCC, Actually it takes me more effort to read with those ridiculously huge “PCC” watermark than those tenor clefs LoL….. I feel like the movement is repeated. Where is the repeated sign? It’s hard to listen while following the score since it’s not the score you are playing LoL! I think you are really ambitious here. The motivic treatment and the theme are very like Liszt here. Many passages are living in the moment with the images you are depicting, like the crucifixion and crosses. I am treating the movement more like a romantic character piece than a sonata form regulated one since the momentary imagery is important than the structure here. Maybe for me there are too many motives here to be recognised so I don’t recognise any of them at all LoL! I don’t the piece with the paradigm of sonata form in my head but instead with momentary climaxes, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I like your playing of your own piece! (Btw I enjoy your hiccup between somewhere LoL!) Thx for sharing! I will take my time to go through the rest of the piece. Henry

This makes sense, considering I thought this was your piece from the title. I thought, "How come Luis isn't using chord names anymore?" 😄 Lovely piece Guillem, it's very elegant and stately as the style represents.

You're crafting some truly captivating sounds here! While I'm impressed with what you've achieved, I have a few concerns regarding the practicality of certain elements for a live performance. Firstly, let's discuss the organ melody as written. It's beautifully intricate, but in its current form, it requires an extra hand to execute precisely as you've composed it. This becomes particularly apparent when the melody coincides with sustained notes, making it challenging to perform without resorting to another registration with a separate hand (e.g., measures 7, 11, and 13). One solution could be to revoice the harmony to avoid overlapping pitches with the melody. Secondly, I'd like to address the bass line in the chorus. While the organ part is indeed grandiose, it tends to overpower any vocal bass, especially in the lower register. To maintain balance, I'd suggest removing instances where the vocal bass descends below the staff, allowing the organ to take precedence in that range. This ensures clarity and avoids the choir struggling to be heard, particularly in passages with voiced consonants like "rie elison." Considering the organ's formidable presence, it's crucial to carefully select registrations to prevent it from overshadowing the choir, especially given the nature of the text. The MIDI rendition might suggest a certain balance, but in reality, a choir of fewer than 60 singers would likely necessitate adjustments to the organ sound to complement the vocal parts effectively. Regarding dynamics and registration shifts, it's essential to clarify your intentions to the organist. While you've indicated four dynamics, it appears you're aiming for a consistent principal classic organ sound throughout, as hinted by the use of crescendos at each dynamic shift. However, it might be beneficial to specify desired registration changes either through text near double barlines or as a footnote. For instance, transitioning to a lighter, more flute-like registration when the choir enters could enhance the overall blend and balance, particularly during quieter passages indicated by decrescendos. You could then increase the intensity between verses. Overall, your composition shows great potential, and a few adjustments to accommodate practical performance considerations could elevate its impact significantly.

You know, I like this piece a lot. You break out of your usual style of writing here, creating a balanced contrapuntal texture that is not dense, with plenty of nice sequences and imitation that brings contrast (the hockets like in mm. 19 to 21 are great). I also don't agree with some of the things @Guillem82 mentioned: I don't see or hear any harmonic mistakes/unresolved dissonances, and I don't mind the doubled notes on the violin. Sure, it's uncharacteristic but in this case it works fine, just like the distant modulations. Moving on to things I don't like...I would surmise it as: There is no apparent organisation or plan of your musical motifs. Let me elaborate. Regarding the first point, I remember saying to you before to analyse what Bach does in the WTC with his fugue subjects in order to get an idea of how to develop them (the formal term is fortspinnung). I really would like to make this recommendation again. It is not just fugues, or even Baroque music that this skill applies to - a control and constant development of a limited number of musical ideas is a trait of virtually all classical music. Especially in contrapuntal music, a failure to do this ends up making much of your music "noodling", where you have correctly constructed melodies, harmonies and parts that work with each other, but virtually zero connection between one bar and another. As an example, when I wrote the fugal section of the Overture of my Keyboard Suite, I recognised that the driving rhythm will be 6 semiquavers-per-bar. To achieve motivic unity, I limited myself to three possible settings of notes to this rhythm: an ascending scale, a turn figure (both of these can be found in the subject), and a rising fourth from the 2nd to 3rd notes followed by a descending scale (found in the countersubjects). You can check for yourself that except at structural cadences, every group of 6 semiquavers in the 242-bar long piece belongs to one of these three settings or their inversions. This is a somewhat extreme example; the Air for example is far more loosely bound by motifs, but I stand by my point. When you look back on your fugue, ask yourself: what is it that ties the whole work together? To me, it's certainly not the subject! The lack of subject entrances aside, the head (very nicely composed) has a characteristic descending, dotted, pattern which completely disappears after the first few bars! The tail (also very nicely composed) comprise of a descending scale and a rising seventh chord in quavers. Both of these elements return very rarely for the rest of the piece. So, if your core musical idea isn't actually the subject, what is it?

Hi @Hcab5861, I really like how you change the harmony for the original Twinkle melody with a chorale usage of the melody! Although it’s a figured bass scoring, I would really wanna know the RH of the harpsichord (piano) too! Thx for sharing! Henry

I think before anything else, you need to work on the ritornello theme a little - it is for the moment way too short. The descending fourth - ascending second harmonic sequence you have written so far however is fine. Afterwards, think carefully about what you want to do for the stuff between the ritornello theme statements. There isn't really a particularly interesting melodic line at the moment.