Leaderboard

Hey dude Apparently some aren't aware you aren't using notation software. Don't worry about your score, your program isn't designed for that. You're writing music and that's all that counts, and we have ears so we can hear what you're doing. I used to use Cubase to write music, and I submitted a piece for a competition here some years ago and all people did was whine and cry about the score, asking me if it's playable. I tried explaining that I wrote it to be playable, but it was impossible to make the score it creates legible. I didn't win, and I knew I wouldn't, but who cares. I wrote something cool, and I still like it to this day. If you ever want to try musescore or something similar, it's free, and I'm sure if it's not already optimized for mobile, something exists that does or it's soon to be in the future. Those are designed with score creation at the forefront, and if you ever get the hang of it, you might learn about areas in music you otherwise wouldn't. If you decide against it or like what you use now, that's fine too. Most people in the world DON'T use notation software for writing music. This site mainly has people who write with notation software because they're writing for performers, but your music is just as welcome. This had all the Halloween elements, and instrument choice was great! I'm not giving out any scores, but you get one of these: 🎃 I like the chord change at 2:15 or so, it broke up the static harmony really well. Sounds like your in minor, know all the chords you can go to? Try other ones out if you're ever stuck on ideas, might give you new options for your harmony. Your ideas worked really well together, nice job on this! Be sure to vote 😄

Hi, HoYin Cheung! Bear with me for a small while this time. Couldn't resist to quote this, I think it's a very good way to define the difficulty of some parts of this score. It doesn't seem to be an easy feat for neither the strings nor the pianist (perhaps the pianist has less trouble than the violin though!). I am in partial agreement with @MK_Piano here. I do appreciate the atmosphere you created in some parts (the piano solo w/pedal part for example), but after a couple of listenings, and while being true that "I wouldn't mind listening to it again" (and so I did, many times already), there is essentially nothing that makes or would make me gravitate towards this piece enough to listen to it much longer. At this point, I may have heard hundreds of these pieces, part here at YC or other forums such as free-scores, part LIVE, and while I honestly think you did a good job with the score and you probably took a while to write all of this... Truth is, that after the less and less likely initial surprise/shock it went directly to the same far away place in my mind that I am no longer curious to explore or remember. It just melt, liquid; fused with an immeasurable and diffuse blob of notes, clusters and dissonances that are all different yet they feel the very same and which time has taught me to withstand but never to enjoy. Truth is, I very rarely enjoy "contemporary" pieces of this kind, more of a mesh of dissonances stained with interesting material than anything else. They almost always simply "go through", and this one was sadly no exception. However, I would say the ending of this piece was ok, which is five to ten orders of magnitude better than what I usually think of ending sections/passages/bars of pieces that more weakly or strongly (I guess that's again subjective) resemble your piece. And as a rule of thumb with all pieces that come with a description first, I tend to have a listen or two before I read it. Now it would be impossible to me to tell you if reading it beforehand would have influenced me enough to be in agreement with what you claim to portray with your piece, but by having done the opposite process I can guarantee you that from my humble and maybe very wrong opinion (not only because I am not familiarised with Gaelic culture but because I am familiarised with the particular sound of this particular style of contemporary music) this piece did not evoke anything related with the story, not any more than other pieces or parts in pieces like...Dunno: • String Quartet No.1 - Javier Torres Maldonado • Ligeti: String quartet No.2 - Arditti quartet. Just in case, I am not sure if these are composers of reference (they ain't very famous but they ain't precisely unknown either) or that they do mimic your work, this is not what I tried to convey here. Finally and despite my not very benvolent words I would still judge your piece at least one or two orders of magnitude above any section of these two examples I have provided had they been brought to this informal cozy contest, so they may not do justice to the work of yours. All in all, thank you for your submission! Best regards, Daniel–Ø.

Hi again man, it's me, the long reply guy again! But this time I'm having a look at your quartet :). How important structure is. If there's anything I love listening to that would be 100 of 100 times how apparently simple stuff gets way stronger than what one can anticipate making intelligent use of structure. What first felt like a nice but not specially remarkable rhythm and material, later came back strengthened. It's something that our grand masters of the past knew very well and I personally never get tired of it. This is a very solid and aesthetically beautiful (in my humble opinion) quartet which although it doesn't stand out for doing anything revolutionary, it definitely doesn't need to! It handles very well the essential elements that make it up, and if this weren't an informal competition and I were to evaluate it seriously, it would be among the best pieces submitted these days. We have different tastes when it comes to engraving (I am not into rehearsal marks with bar numbers or big tempo indications, but I very much understand their usefulness). That aside, your score is very well engraved, again in my opinion. Congratulations and thank you for your great submission. Best of luck and...Hope you stay around! Kind regards, Daniel–Ø.

A 4:30 piece I made in online sequencer in G#. link to behind the scenes: https://onlinesequencer.net/4928420 I hope I at least get a 7.5 average rating

That is fine. what @Thatguy v2.0 is triue. All genres are welcome. Most composers here want their music to be perform. However, in the media world, that is far from the case. It still takes practice. It takes time to make solid demo. No rush.

Hello @Omicronrg9 @MK_Piano @UncleRed99 Thank you, my friend, for your generous comment. It must have taken your time to type all of these - which shows your pursue and love for music, as we all do on this community. But what are we pursuing in compositions? I really want to talk deeper in this matter, and please feel free to continue in this post.

Ah, I caught that Toccata and Fugue in D minor Reference lol Subjectively, I feel this piece could've been made much more enjoyable to listen through all the way, had you made different choices with harmony, in this work! While I understand the goal is to capture "Halloween" as a theme, every bar in this score seems to have some level of dissonance. Especially in the "F" section. You begin with a nice, but lonely piano texture, then comes in the strings, like nails on a chalkboard, much like most of the piece presents itself, in the strings. In my humble opinion, I feel when it comes to music, even the music that's meant to elicit a feeling of unrest, suspense, or thrill such as the Halloween theme should represent, finding a way to balance out dissonance with consonance is a very important aspect in creating something that can be enjoyed by everyone, or utilized within other works of art such as film for example. Telling a clear story using melodic textures that are able to be naturally resonated with is Important, if you were to ask me. Otherwise, the score had interesting ideas that should be commended. I will have to agree with much of the feedback that Daniel @Omicronrg9 has left behind for you to review. Thank you for sharing! Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 4 2 5 5 8 8 8 2 Average Score: 5.25

@UncleRed99 I can understand some of the confusion. As this was created and submitted for this Halloween event, my original goal was to make a skeleton dance. I was explicit in conveying that in the title and the brief description of the work. For some context, yes, I did mean to use “Esultante” to convey a jubilee as you are hearing the music from this dance reach a close. We are hearing the music from this grand gala. However, what is “chaotic” to us is fun for them as the “DJ” or Host raises the energy to close the party. To your point about the articulation in the cello, there comes a point in performance practice where you find out that articulation markings also convey bowing information. There are multiple ways to play a staccato within the string family (on or off the string staccatos). The context of the works implies that they need to lift or bounce the bow off the string and attack for the slur with another, single-bow movement. In the context of the work, they will bounce between their C and G strings respectively. In terms of blurriness of the chromatic notes? Clarity and hearing each individual note is not the intention, as it is meant to convey a little “rush” or “wisp” motion into the downbeat(s). Thanks for the comments.

What's up my boy. We've already spoken about this score privately. But I have to comment here, as well! I didn't mention the enjoyment of your use of the bVI chords in your transitions. Very tasteful and well placed. Pacing of the piece is very well executed. Also pleased to hear at mm.33 you found a way to make the playback work in your favor. 😉 a couple things to point out, from my perspective though. Your use of the term "Esultante" I feel is misplaced in this score, as a whole. That section is more reminiscent of chaos rather than "exultant," "jubilant," or "elated" (which is the definition of that term, from what I recall) which is but a small gripe, but a gripe nonetheless lol I also am questioning playability in some areas for Violin and Cello. I'm not a strings player, however, I would imagine some of the rhythms used in the rhythmic sections, and even in a couple areas of the melodic sections for either instrument, while they'd be physically playable, might not sound as it's written with any amount of ease. Not to say that it's not possible with practice, but for example, the Cello part, when ending a phrase in it's rhythmic areas, they're playing an eighth note followed by a sixteenth note chromatic triplet: I fear that this would come out more "muddy" than well articulated for many players, specifically being played in the lower register. Though, this is not a "problem", moreso a technicality, if we're being fair. But I digress. lol You can see my scoring chart + average score below, to conclude my thoughts on the score. Thanks for sharing, and I'm glad you decided to join us here at YCF 😉 Great work, and I know you'll keep on writing so I don't need to tell you, twice xD Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 8 10 6 7 6 10 10 Average score: 8.125 😉

This one is most definitely "Halloween". The subtle use of that Gb Tritone / Cdim. chord suggestion in the piano, as a part of the eighth note phrases on the right hand staff really makes the listener get that uneasy feeling. Overall, I like this piece very much, and would even go as far as to say I'd like to see it performed live! I'm sorry that I don't have more to add in regards to this score, today. I'm strapped for time lately, trying to make rent, working around poor weather to make that happen. 😕 I'm attempting to comment on all the submissions for the competition, with something at least. I hope this will do 😅 Thanks for sharing! Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 10 7 5 6 10 10 7 Average score: 7.87 😉

This is about half of a new slower part of the piece. I’m not sure at the moment how to incorporate it in the piece or whether to make a separate movement. All feedback is appreciated

Yeah, it feels nice to have someone else notice those decisions. In all honesty, I did not realize the Viola never had the melody until I did the A-minor Modulation lol So, I tried a solo Viola part at the section, but I know if played live, it was going to get lost in the heavy texture at Forte. So, I doubled it with the Cello to support as the Piano was doing the bass pattern. Also, 100% correct on the enharmonic spelling in the Viola, it was purely for voice-leading purposes versus trying to imply a different harmonic function. Thanks for the comment! 🙂

Hello @MK_Piano! I like the dark opening with all low registers from the strings! You mention Mozart in your programme notes. That G-A-B-C motive definitely reminds me of the opening of his D minor Piano Concerto K 466, as well as Beethoven's op.111 first movement. I like this light hearted dance, and the cello melody in b.13 which would later be reused in the Doloroso part. I like the B minor and nepolitan Db major chord in the Doloroso section, as it makes the music more unsettling, combining with the triplets, and it would be great if there are more polyrhythms here, like the one in b.43 to make the music rhythmically more unsettling! Personally I would want the Doloroso section develops a bit more as I feel like the modulation to F minor is a bit too early for me. But this is subjective in my part! For b.56 I may just write the viola part as Ab-Db to show the nepolitan chord, but I know that your G#-C# would like to show the upward resolve, as well as preventing a natural sign in the next bar's D so it's ok too. The modulation to A minor at the end makes the music brighter and I like how you vary the texture to get the music more exciting till the end! The ensemble writing here is almost perfect. One thing I would hope for is that you will give viola a chance to play the melody in solo! I always like its distinctive timbre as it doesn't get too stressed in its high register like cello, nor too hard in notes normally played by violin's G string. Thx for joining the forum and the competition! Henry

Hi @Kvothe! i quite like the pantonal opening, and the waltz at end is quite nice, mixing Tchaikovsky with some eerie touch. I actually feel a bit sad the rendition doesn't capture the col legno sound well enough! It will definiely sound much better with real instruments and create the ghostly mood. For me the piece can definitely be developed more extendedly, just like @UncleRed99 said. The ending sounds incomplete to me, as the whole waltz is a 16+8 structure. First you can definitely extend the 8 bar phrase to a 16 bar one, and you can add some contrasting sections within the waltz, possibly from materials in the pantonal to extend it a bit more. The opening for me can also extends longer for a more haunting mood portrayal. Second is the smoothness of different sections. There are 3 sections in the piece: the opening mysterious pantonal section, and then the 6/8 section, and then the waltz. Each of the sections sound isolated with each other and the transition, apart from the good col legno transition in b.41-44, sounds less smooth in b.17-18. I would suggest you at least add one more section to incorporate all of these presented materials together for a more completed synthesis and development of the piece! Thx for joining the competition and sharing your piece! Henry

My fault, already fixed it

@Dima I can't access your links - it says access is denied.

Hii, I had to say I really like this submission! It's so very fitting of the actual theme of halloween as a festival, reminds me a lot of dungeon synth genre and pixel art video game music. I love how the melodies intertwine and there is a constant flow that's being developed as well as the factural changes (from 1 instrument to many). I can definitely hear this going on in the background of a halloween party, keep it up! ^^

Hi Tristan. I'll try to be brief: your material is decent. I'm not puttin' grades in this informal competition but some variations here are not of my taste and would not pass. Others, maybe. I am not sure myself, for 4 hands at least. Passages like these seem very difficult to get right for one hand only: , had it been a B natural I would see it more feasible but with the speed demanded and the time you are required to sustain it, well I agree with MK's point: performers would ask you to change stuff right away or pass it off. If this is what you truly like though, don't hesitate to follow your path but be aware of the shortcomings when it comes to publish. Where is variation 12? Is the one that began at M248 perhaps? The score seems to go from 11 to 13 "Alla de Var. 12" but I don't see the Var. 12 marked. If it's that one, it's among my favourites along Var. 8. Regarding the engraving, the score is pretty much unrevised as likely 90% of scores submitted to musescore so no biggie, just another day in the job. Standard. Since it's not very heavy on content off-staff there are not overlaps (or I didn't detect any in a superficial analysis) and that's definitely a good thing. With this piece, in summary, I did like some things, disliked some others... So it ended up being about even, except for the final. Thank you for your submission, Tristan. Keep composing! Kind regards, Daniel–Ø.

Hi TherealAJGS. Nice drrrrumset! It needs a bit (or a lot, depending on how tolerant your ears be) of production cause there are parts where the sounds turns into a wall and it gets perhaps too muddy —Maybe that's your thing, though—. There's little dynamic shift apart from the one belonging to the instruments being present or silent into the piece which BTW, there are prolly more than five, right? I won't consider the score, I just took a look and it's a mess, only two staves, missing drumset (or worse, drumset into the parts with tuned instrument notation), and we could go on and on! But don't worry about it. IF you're interested, you may learn bit by bit, sooner or later. Imho score engraving is something interesting and worth learning. Music theory of any kind is as well, but you probably know that and I don't wanna be that guy! Now, the piece itself after 2-3 listenings seems a bit over the place to me. The arpeggio-motif is almost always present as some kind of glue but following that metaphor I think there's an excess of glue on the whole theme. It's like when you add so much ketchup to the burger that the burger ends up becoming ketchup, but with some meat. Combine that with the, again, lack of dynamics aside of "volume dynamics" (in terms of number of instruments) and prolly automatic sound normalisation and you get something with lots of room for improvement. It has potential, yes; the part in which you get the drumset going is awesome, and I would have liked more of that. But I believe it's raw and unpolished in terms of sound, but also in terms of structure. The beginning is also good. The ending, though, did not convince me at all. The halloween-ish sound, well you did include harpsichord and organ, but it sounds to me more like the tune for the local boss of this region (beta version), which isn't bad either, at least in my opinion. Thank you for submitting your piece and for participating in this little cozy informal contest :). Kind regards, Daniel–Ø.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 10 10 10 10 10 9.5 6 8 Average Score:9 very good The chromatic double stops in 1st violin might cause some to throw the score at you.

In the modern landscape, this, to me, was refreshing to listen to. I have experienced listening to bad post-tonal works where my peer thought more noise and crazy writing benefited the music or hall being played. I appreciate the landscape you painted and would not mind listening to this again in the future. Of course, on an objective level, this piece is difficult. I think it would be effective when played live, however, I would be the one to pass off learning it and give it to the next musician due to the ensemble difficulty lol. When applying it to Halloween, I think you have succeeded. Maybe not in the terms of the 'trick or treat' or lighthearted celebration that happens each year, but in terms of capturing the eerie and scary images a haunted house or creepy film shows. Good work!

Again, maths. Yes. I will now correct that.

Thanks for the rate! Just to clarify: Based on this table, wouldn't the average be 9.6875 and not 8.4?

Here's my score: Average score: 9.7(very good) I do not think much to say on this piece. Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 10 9.5 9.5 10 10 9.5 10 9

Welcome to YC! Anyways, great piece, with clear inspirations from Beethoven and some from Chopin's Polonaises. My favourite so far. Average 9.375 Very Good. Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 10 9.5 8.5 9 10 8 10 10

Hi @Maxthemusicenthusiast! Thx for joining the competition! The use of motives is very noticeable in the whole piece, and I love the sinister mood you portray in the piece with the crunchy dissonances. I feel like (subjectively) the piece is a bit too long because the music doesn't really move forward especially in the slow sections. I think it's fine in the slow opening, but when you reach the reprise of those slow sections after the fast middle section, I think you can cut the ending a bit, or at least add more varieties in it, for example invite more polyphony and interactions between instruments. For both the Andantino and Allegro sections I feel like the tempo can be faster to make the basso nova feeling more lively, and like b.58-66, having more individual voices instead of just the melody and the rhythmic bass. Thx for sharing! Henry

@Maxthemusicenthusiast has also submitted music!

Longer version