Leaderboard

I posted this piece probably about 2 months ago or so, looking for feedback during its initial rough drafted phase. And @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, I never did figure out a solid way to modulate in that one section, so if you see this, I hope you'll forgive the short 1-beat triplet used for the transition 😅 I tried my best but my brain wasn't working in the transition department. The original piece (written for solo piano) by Masao Aichi can be found here (includes playback using MuseSounds) I left some advice on his post there, explaining that monotony isn't typically the best approach to writing something that you'd like to have heard by a lot of people, and have them listen to it more than once or even all the way through. Scientifically, it's been shown that after 3 repetitions of the same thing, the human brain begins to tune it out. 2 repetitions engrains an idea, 1 repetition reinforces an idea, and no repetitions create a forgetful idea. So, in the spirit of helping to educate less experienced composers, I took his original piece shown above and created this work which includes a string ensemble accompaniment. He was elated with the result. I hope y'all will be too! Let me know what y'all think. -UncleRed A_Promise_With_You_-_Masao_Aichi__Kyle_Hilton__UncleRed99.pdf A_Promise_With_You_-_Masao_Aichi__Kyle_Hilton__UncleRed99.custom_score.mp3

There is a thread from WAAAAY back on this forum - I don't know if it's still here. It sort of discussed the topic here, though in different terms. I think from a DSM understanding (now DSM V) of what Narcissism is, I would catagorically say no, creativity can't and won't lead to narcissism. It's an explorative and iterative process rather than a pathway to anything - especially not narcissism! By the way, if anyone here thinks that they might be narcissistic and are worried about that... then worry not; the chances of you being narcissistic AND questioning yourself about it are incredibly small. A narcissist won't ask that of themselves. Finding balance in reviewing one’s work is essential and therefore there is a requirement: listen to your own work! Don't overindulge though. Keep balanced. (Would you just eat from the shrubbery?) Do listen to your own music. Analyse. Self-review. Be constructive. And then move on. (But re-visiting preiodically is good and healthy.) [Edited for terrible spelling msitkeaklsed.]

...

Added in an mp3. I'm still new to composing (especially the computer aspects), so some of the files needed to converted. Hope it helped!

Thanks @Markus Boyd and @Finish the Sextet for the reviews! Markus, looking at your page you're well versed in galant music, my favorite! I dont always adhere fully to the style (nor have i studied it nearly as extensively as i'd like) but it's a huge influence on my writing and its tenets resonate strongly with my own philosophy on music. @PeterthePapercomPoser brought up tonal variety and the possibility of a contrasting section as well; do you guys really think it needs it? The whole piece feels like a single thought, I wonder if sticking a modulation or minor section in there would disrupt that. I wouldnt even consider it a proper piece, more of an interlude. I know the piece is over 100 measures long, but it's just so fast. @Markus Boyd I replaced the pdf attachment, fixing the mentioned errors as well as two redundant dynamic markings. The strange phrasing at the beginning is because the first two bars are a pickup/intro - would a double barline after m.2 make that clearer? Also, I'm uncertain what you mean by increasing the independence of each instrument - my goal here was for each instrument to take the melody in a different section of the rondo.

Hi Peter, I like this too. The counterpoint is as great as usual. But like @chopin said I think the microtones here is not as effective as the Microtonal Sonatina in F#. In there the microtones add flavour which matches the satirical atmosphere there, like adding soybean sauce to a steamed fish. But here it's more like playing an out of tuned harpsichord with a normal Baroque invention, like adding soybean sauce to a deep-fried fish. I don't know why but that's how I feel. Maybe beause the invention form is too formailzed and forced us to relate it to Bach's invention, while the Sonatina doesn't. Thx for sharing! Sextet

Hi @林家興, (Don't ask me why I can type Chinese LoL!!) This one is quite enjoyable to listen to. It's funny and light-hearted waltz. Even though it's a easier dominant B it would still need some skills to incorporate that note to every bar without making the piece forceful and unnatural, so congrats for that. Thx for sharing. Henry

Hi Peter, I don't know how this one is related to Henry Ng Tsz Kiu's (oops I can't @him) gorgeous Sonata movement, but los geht's! Maybe the polyrhythm or the motive of fourth? B.34 sounds like b.56 of the movement. Listening this I start to know why Schoenberg thinks he writes like Mozart. I feel like listening Mozart here. The fun, texture and energy sounds like him. But it's a Mozart tainted by microtones. It sounds really funny listening this one! It's that by the famous Henry btw? But for me at least in this Sonatina it adds the ridiculous and sacarstic flavour in an otherwise more naive piece, and I like it! Thx for sharing! Sextet

Thanks for copying me in to this post. I think the piece has much promise, although there are several areas that need tidying up. For example, the opening bar which is blank need not be there; also, there is a time signature change indicated in bar 92 to 3/4 which is unnecessary as nothing is changing. As for development, the piece is 114 bars long and would benefit from some tonal variety. Consider how you can manipulate our emotions better... However the motivic development is generally sound. I notice you use irregular phrasing at times, notably for the opening theme which is a little usual, particularly considering regular phrasing then follows. One other thing you should consider is increasing the independence of each part. There is very little counterpoint. Overall, it is a good effort considering you spent only a "few minutes" on it; although a little more time could be spent on increasing its sophistication. Please feel free to ask any specific questions 🙂

(To PeterthePaperComPoser, et al), I appreciate your efforts in assistance. Frankly, after my school's Librarian (or, one of them) has exhausted all his methods of finding this d*mn sheet music, we have come to the conclusion that... it might not actually exist; at least not in modern sheet music. The few performances of it? They could have been read from the original manuscript. We could not find it as a standalone aria nor in a collection of any sort. So, I suppose my next step is to contact the performers (or their agency) and ask them directly how they became acquainted with the music; and what manuscript they were performing from.