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I guess the point is not that there shouldn't be repeats, but that they should still serve to move the narrative forward. Da capo aria? The first time the performer introduces the material, the second time they are encouraged to make it their own with ornaments or other small changes. But for this exercise, the structure of what you were doing with tritones and scales is firm enough that there isn't much room for experimentation or nuance when it's played through again. Welcome to the forums! And I disagree! If you're alive, you are getting exposed to new musical ideas and influences which are sure to keep you growing. Cheers.

Microtones work a lot better with strings because it just makes it sounds like the performers are slurring their notes. Funny how the whole piece is this eerie mood (bec of the microtones), but then you end in a major key. I love the part from 0:44 to 0:47. It's beautiful to my ears! Well done, you're nailing microtones in a way that makes the listening a fun experience.

Thank you so much! It’s truly rewarding to feel heard — even in the smallest details — especially when working in French, which isn’t always the easiest language to share online. I’m really glad it resonated with you. Laforgue offers us a message of lost love — cruel, universal, and timeless.

Haha, you’re absolutely right — it would definitely save me a fair amount of pencil lead! The reason I generally avoid using key signatures is that I don’t want to feel boxed into a tonal framework while composing. I need to be able to escape at any moment. (Even though in this case, the harmony remains fairly traditional — if slightly wobbly at times…) I’m also a bit wary of giving the performer the “harmonic solution” upfront — sometimes there are several, and it’s up to them to choose what feels most appropriate. So yes, I tend to approach the page as a blank, open space. Most of my manuscripts are working drafts anyway — I really should take the time to clean them up. And when I do, using key signatures might actually be a sensible option. 😉 As for the reference to Dichterliebe — thank you! That cycle has been with me forever… It’s sort of my singer’s Bible, you know. So yes, there may well be echoes of it in what I write — intentional or not. The coda of Dichterliebe is such a marvel — a very strange and beautiful thing — like a page gently closing, a consolation, the dream-kiss of a beloved. We are, after all, speaking of bitterness and love… so of course, we’re already halfway into that world. In any case, thank you for your listening and your advice.

Hi @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu! Wonderful and simple use of secondary dominants and classic sequences. The melodicity of the piece is also more defined and the pastorale nature of it is more solidified with the birdsong allusions. But it has its Sturm und Drang moments to it as well as the occasional random pauses before the birdsong gets its solo moment which is really a great way to emphasize that aspect of the composition. You underline the birdsong by exposing it in solo relief - very clever. Lately every piece I've heard from you has been getting better and better. And imo this whole sonata is an even more substantial achievement than your sextet! Great job and thanks for sharing!

Hello @Churchcantor and welcome to the forum! I've noticed that you posted a large number of your pieces already, sometimes commenting on your own topics multiple times. There's a few reasons why you should avoid doing that. 1) Posting too many works in a short time tends to overwhelm the members and reviewers on the site and they might not pay as much attention to your work as if you posted one work at a time. 2) Commenting on your own topic before anyone else has had a chance to reply also makes it look like people have already replied to your work in the "List of works with few reviews". If a piece has more than 5 reviews it gets removed from the list even if all the replies are just you replying to your own topic. This piece has a very clever name given that it explores the use of parallel tritones! Cool idea! I think calling it an "experimental etude" is a really good description! But some etudes, besides being exercises in some kind of theoretical construct (in this case the parallel tritones and also some surprising use of polyrhythm) also manage to be musical and entertaining. What with all the heavy chords and copious use of repeats this piece gets really tiresome to listen to even once (I also can't identify a reason why the repeats should be there). I can't identify a melody or some kind of musical hook to get me to tune into it on more than a surface level. There's also no dynamic contrast or balance between different elements of the composition, some of which could be more important than others. It's a cool experiment though! Thanks for sharing.