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When I first came on the site, I didn't really know what in the world to expect, musically. But over time, there were some musicians who just constantly blew me away, and inspired me. They've probably influenced the development of my music as well. Some of these are: Jason Woodruff (aka jawoodruff): His inventive use of tonality and willingness to immerse himself in unusual harmonies is pretty inspiring stuff. My favorite work of his is this: http://www.youngcomposers.com/pg/Music/jawoodruff/composition?entry=29730 Just a really dark, interesting piece, full of personality and thought put into it. This piece is what made me want to give more attention to detail and dynamics/articulations, for putting them in a work can make the difference between a dead piece and a living piece :lol: Another one -- Caleb Pecue (aka pequad): His addictive ostinatos and careful attention to harmony, and where the soul of much music lies -- in proper repetition -- I found very evocative. He is able to put things in the listener's mind, if you pay careful attention not just to the tone of the piece, but the expression of what the player would have to enact to play the piece. My favorite one is this: http://forum.youngcomposers.com/t21221/valse/ Just a simple, but incredibly powerful piece -- I can't get enough of it :happy: Yet another is this sly dog: John Axon (Aka...well, John Axon) As melodically talented as he is, what really caught my attention was the percussion in his pieces: they're always fresh, interesting, and even used with good panning! For example: http://forum.youngcomposers.com/t24649/jet-car-stunts/ So much of the atmosphere here is captured by the texture of the groove -- as well as subtle accents. Accents really are quite important in rhythm, I've found: they can influence the emotion evoked and feel of a piece simply by changing the "count"...or just make a piece sound really cool :P Haha! This is just a sample of the talent on here, and I'm purposefully leaving off many people so that you can join in and add your own :) Sooooo.... What Young Composer(s) here have had a profound impact on you musically?

Wow, everybody has their heroes, I think I have to browse this site more, but what I could call "Profound Effect" .... none, I mean, not yet In the discuss ambient, the articles (posts) from the Gardenerpedia are always excellent. Nikolas should come back here.

I'm not one to be a huge follower per say, but there are some composers here that I'd like to mention. As far as music goes here's my list. Blm22-Jacob Yates is an amazing composer for his age. When I began writing I thought it would be impossible to write anything of any quality, however jacob and other younger composers here make me feel that this isn't a hard feat and they do inspire me to continue writing. As for his pieces, I've liked every one. :D I'm thrilled to working on a collaboration with him . :D MaskedTrumpeter-Virgil is a truly remarkable FIRST piece for any composer and is what made me NOT give up on the Grand Lullaby (which ive contemplated on doing several times) He's also very great to talk to and offers great advice when needed! ThisIsAndyCullen- I have yet to talk to him personally, but this guy has got some skillzzzzzzzz. <--? anyways, His ellegy and irish folk songs pieces were brilliant and I'd could only hope to write something half as good as those. MaxCastillo-Although he only has one piece, Adagio is a truly beautiful ones and definitely takes the place for the best written piece I've seen here, composers like this inspire me to write stuff on my own! As far as personality goes, Elizabeth(jesusfreak)-Very nice person, had very encouraging words as I was wrapping up my piece and I can tell must be a joy to be around, people like here make me want to stay on the site! Impressario- I don't know that much about him, but he's a very nice guy and he tries to comment on every new piece he sees and he leaves great comments at that! I hope I can get to know him better as my composing career and stay on YC continues! -AntiA- Definitely one of the more knowledgeable members of the site, always tries to find something constructive to say, and is a great composer as well. -Tokkemon (despite the fact that not many like, him, IDK why? ) I think that he's a great person and only wants this site to thrive and reach its full potential. I haven't talked to him much, but he truly is a young composer and is already published. What an inspiration, I hope, i mean wish, i could be published at his age. Sorry for sounding cheesy, but those are some of the great people on this site among of some of the others already mentioned! :D

SSC - Probably the most influential user on the site for me, in terms of the incredible amount I learned from talking with him and reading his posts on various subjects. In all honesty, he played a role in shaping some of my basic beliefs about music (probably because I knew next to nothing when I began here). He's a very intelligent and funny guy; unfortunately he's not as active as he used to be. composerorganist - Definitely the most willingly helpful member on the site. He's never been averse to giving advice and helping out where possible, as far as I've seen - plus, he's the one who's often spurred me to continue working on whatever project I've undertaken at the time. From a compositional standpoint, I've been influenced by his continual experimentation with things unfamiliar to him - baroque fugues, new structures, textures, etc. His emphasis on counterpoint as a crucial element of composition has also played a role in developing my own views on the subject. Gardener - Come on now. You know what's up.

Hmm this is a great one. I really have few people here whose works have influenced me strongly. Rather it has been the comments and exchanges had that were influential. I'll answer your question Serge but first thanks to the following people SSC - My lessons in fugue with him and music in general were great. our discussion were great. I advise you go into the Archives (the ones ending 07 or 08 and look for lessons with composerorganist. You will learn a ton about baroque practice, fugue and aesthetics Gardener - He doesn't comment often but when he does his advice is golden. I suggest you read his comment son my mood pieces - http://forum.youngcomposers.com/t23971/first-set-of-mood-pieces/page__st__10 Voce - never was verbose but whatever he said was usually spot one and extremely helpful. Also, his great wide ranging familiarity with 20th and 21st century music enlightened me to many new composers. Anant - Egad, I almost forgot him! Well, always a great sounding board and always asked smart questions and good comments. Always admire to stick with his love of music and composition while pursuing his science studies. Black Orpheus - Very insightful and always asked good questions Jason (jawo0druff) - similar to orpheus and as one of the slightly "older" young composers we have had times to share our own challenges pursuing composition while holding down a job. Good luck with music school jason. Cannot wait to hear how you grow! Nathanial - great conversations on aesthetics and never held back expressing his thoughts on my compositions. Wish he were still around His name escapes me ... darnnit. Well look for his band orchestration threads. If you ever wanted to have your score checked for neatness and practicality - he was the man. I learned much the few times he commented. Ok, compositions which influenced. Magna Carta Textures (which I discovered a few months ago won the Young Composers AScap award - Magna was not present to receive his award) for string quartet. Basically that was my model for exploring extended techniques in my Cappriccio movement. Pilorius - His electronic and electroacoustic music is great and I urge you to explore it. I think his works here are underappreciated at YC. J graham - More admiration for sticking to his stylistic conviction and doing it SOOO well. His music honestly would not be my first choice to listen too only because the style he favors is quite saturated on the airwaves and informs a good deal of traditional pop music. and jazz. But when I do I am guaranteed a very good time. Ferk - I love his fluency with twelve tone technique and his piano pieces are as good as Webern! His experiemtnation is boundless and learned. Miss him as he always knew much more than you think he did as he was quite humble and self-effacing. Morgri - Always enjoyed his work and his recent chamber music I heard earlier this semester blew me away (well and his experimental piano piece) ps. awwh thanks Voce Sorry if I have forgotten anyone ...

You're sweet, Zach :) If I was to sound off on a few of mine I would say: Black Orpheus One of those cool guys who can seamlessly switch between composing in the classical and jazz medium. For me, that's a remarkably valuable talent. He's definitely worth a listen. Freeflow Phoenix : A cool chamber piece that incorporates elements of oriental folk sound, impressionism, and atonality sometimes! Waltz for Debby : A fun arrangement of a Bill Evans' tune for big band. Some of the horn lines in this are like, "Man. I wish my band could play that good." Marius A super professional and genuinely warm/cool guy. His compositions are unparalleled in their production values. He's always willing to share his insight. Check out these: Dreams of Electric Sheep : An intense experimental ambient track. Lotsa cool sounds mixed together well with very tasteful writing as well. Home Re-scored Segment : A jaw-droppingly impressive re-score of a beautiful documentary. Thanks, to everyone who make this site truly amazing! -John

I've actually been thinking about this quite a bit lately. I realized that Marius has had an enormous hand in my shaping as a musician. He introduced me to music that quite literally changed me. He's also been a huge inspiration to be both as an extraordinarily talented composer, and as a strongly motivated musician. As if this all wasn't enough, he's been a great guy to have a conversation with, and is very patient with my questions about everything. He may try to make light of what he does, but I think he's truly just a great guy who cares about musicians. Marius, hats off to you my friend. And in all honesty, thank you. :)

I really liked the beginning of this. Some of the middle parts seemed like they needed a little more to me.

i hated it :innocent: