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Thank you Henry. She was a beautiful person and loved music. She sang in choirs all her life, and encouraged my musical pursuits. She once told me quite recently that she had something she always wanted to express in music (she started piano lessons at age 88!). I almost broke down on the spot. I am her son, to be sure. There are occasional posts on "Why Do We Compose?" This is why! To EXPRESS--wordlessly-which to me seems to be where all the really important parts of life are hidden... Henry! I had a long think on the simple question: "How to start?". We have Mozart's unison example on his masterpiece in G minor. But this has been overused. Brahms starts with the quiet/mysterious in his 1st quartet. I settled on this rising, dramatic intro using a bit of motif and this --what I thought at the time--throw-away figuration as a filler- But the "filler" ended up being another motif through the movement! A "discovery"! The chorale gave me fits!!!! I had the melodic line very early, and the string part wrote itself, but the rules for progression here are quite strict--as you probably know. At last, after some piano/paper and pencil work I resolved my major errors and --POP!--I hope Felix would approve! I'm fond of the noodling violin in the repeat and violin /cello phrase. The fugato syncopation to start is one of the few rules I worked by! The contrast with the regular beats provides some "built in" tension. I think this is correct? I will look at your suggestions--but yes! here the transitions gave me some fits---I will absolutely look for improvements. Glad you liked the coda. This came early--the basic idea, and I knew I needed to expand on it to successfully conclude, so I again used a rising syquence from G minor to a C minor key in the two iterations---closing with a faint echo of the upward push from the opening. The VSL sound set really pops here. The piece works best when I stick to proper chamber music style--- a dialog among equals-- But the more "symphonic" sections (all voices together)have a place. I' m not done doing some patch-up (It never ends). Transitions between sections still vex me and I am looking to trim measures to keep things tight and forward moving. I'll post (probably several!) corrected version. A workshop with real musicians is coming. I'm committed! I may finish the rondo (and piece) first to get more bang for the considerable bucks. I really REALLY appreciate your comments, Henry. You, Peter, others in this community have been my true teachers and I hope you agree I am coming along-- because of your help. This is the longest, most involved, and first proper sonata form piece I've done. First fugato! And pointed criticism and encouragement have made growth possible. I've lost my great musical friend here in my "real " world. But my virtual musical community lives on, and my mother would most approve. Thank you. Thank you all.

[ 2-28-25: EDIT: ADDED CORRECTED 1ST MVMT TO THIS POST FROM LATER IN THREAD....] At long last I've gotten my Piano Quartet 1st movement into a near- final form. There are details that need attention, but I think it is time to hopefully get some feedback. It took a while--my father developed severe alzheimers, we had to move them, sell their home... And then my mother passed---who gave me my love of music. Composing has helped me commune with her..... *************************************************************************************** A Brief summary of the 1st mvmt: This is in classical sonata form: exposition, development, recap with a brief coda. Exposition: 1st theme in C minor, 2nd theme in F major, return to 1st theme and codetta Development: A: Development of 2nd theme into minor, some diminution of the theme, and looser feel B/C: Introduces a third theme, in 4/4 time a major key inversion of 1st theme turned into a Mendelssonian chorale w/ piano, leading as an intro to... A fugato passage based on the 1st theme regularized in half notes in A minor (4/4 time) Coda transforms back to 6/8 and C minor... Recap: Return of 2nd theme in Eb major (instead of F) 1s theme in strings and them a grand statement w/ piano, joined by string to finish. Coda: Introduce another complimentary motif/new material manipulating main theme to close on strong cadence. ************************************************************************************************** I generally like it, but working with recap textures/thinning and trying to abbreviate for the sake of momentum might be something I look at. The FUGATO passage is my first, and was hard won. I think it works. I learned a ton working on this piece. Third movement Rondo in C minor next... (I include an MP3 of the second movement (PQ Mvmt.II VSL WS MASTER), using the new very expressive Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron solo violin... )

I am looking for feedback on one of my compositions https://musescore.com/user/53049012/scores/20469397 This is the muse score you could use it as an audio. YouTube also works as audio

I love all the space in this, it really lets the notes breathe and my ears digest the otherworldly sound. It would be cool in a space video game. This might sound cool thrown through a synth versus the piano samples, do you have access? Very cool music bruh

I love this. Sure, you'll get advice from others to aid your growth, but breaking through your comfort zones and boundaries will be your ultimate teacher. You won't always succeed, and you may fail and trash numerous attempts at a first draft, but this "good" type of stress is the hallmark for your greatness. I actually turned off my critical ears while listening, and just enjoyed the music. There's always something special yet sorrowful when deeper convictions are what inspire and lead us to jot the notes down. Your voice is wonderful, and your music portrayed a logic and skill that made the length necessary. I'm very happy to have listened to this, and hopefully your future movements are written and crafted soon, as I'm eager to hear what you have for us next. While Henry pointed out some of the technical parts that could be improved, I think as a whole your were successful in capturing an emotion unique to you. Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed this.

I have concocted yet another microtonal piece! This time I realized that I could mix-up the varieties of stepwise motion that I use in my microtonal pieces. Besides the regular half-steps and whole-steps in a scale, I delved into steps that are slightly smaller and slightly bigger than a whole step (3/4 steps and 5/4 steps). I used the steps in this piece, to build a microtonal variety of a pentatonic scale. I hope you enjoy the weird result! Thank you for listening and I would really appreciate any suggestions, critiques, comments or observations you may have!

I really liked this piece! It's like a mixture between Blackwood and some pentatonic music from asia or even gamelan. I didn't hear anything odd and it's good nice colors and a catchy rhythm. I do feel like this could be the A or B section of a longer piece though, or even a little suite. Also maybe I'm missing small 1 measure bridges/transitions at some points, like where you go back to the initial theme. And experiment with what kind of cadences are possible and natural sounding in the tuning system you used. But great job. 😁

Hey Peter, For me this one sounds like an out of tuned Chinese melody with a Schubertian Moment Musical no.3 accompaniment. It’s really weird haha. It’s Chinese New Year coming and it will be a great New Year tune LoL. Henry

This sounds like an old honky-tonk piano lol. The concept of the piece is catchy and I love the beat. The most interesting part to me is at around measure 31, where you make use of the microtone in such a way that it sounds like you are slurring the chords to change key. Something I've been wondering about microtonal music is if completely different harmonies can be created. So far you've demonstrated subtle use of microtones to slightly alter the nuance. But what if they can be used to create harmonies that are completely foreign from traditional harmony?

Thank you very much Henry! Yes, I also think this is a step up from the original, but I think my current best piece is the choral one I composed a few months ago. Oh, the original also ended with a hollow sonority. I wanted it to have a very hard and Straussian color haha. I'll be sharing more in the future! See you next time. 🙂

Hey Ivan @Ivan1791, This sounds so nice. I dare say it's even better than your original piano version of it. The orchestration absolutely enhance the espressive power of the original piece. The fragile flute+oboe combination and an einsam horn like Brahms or Mahler. Just hope the strings can join as well! I love this very much! One thing to note: in the original piano version it ends on a Picardy 3rd. This time is a sheer minor ending. I think it kind of reflects your present condition and I feel sad for both the piece and you. Nonetheless thx for sharing this wonderful orchestral miniature to us! Henry