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I added the following rule to the list: 4) Do not plagiarize other composers works or modify or use elements of another composer's compositions in your own works without permission and giving proper credit to the original composer.

The winners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place trophies will be determined by points allotted in the following way: Every 1st place vote in the poll gets 3 points. Every 2nd place vote in the poll gets 2 points. Every 3rd place vote in the poll gets 1 point. 1st place will be given for the entry with the highest number of points. 2nd place will be given for the entry with the 2nd highest etc. ....

Really nice work! I listened all the way through. The section from m 72-105 caught my attention so I took a closer look. There are a lot of good ideas here, but the counterpoint feels a little messy because there are a lot of voices on top of each other and crossing each other, so it’s hard for to hear each voice independently. M 76-80 is particularly noticeable. The second violin part overlaps with the first on and off. I would suggest maybe instead of the divisi in the seconds just give them their one independent line? Since the divisi overlaps the firsts quite a bit. Overall great work though, I enjoyed listening!

im really fond of how experimental this is. the variety is wilddd and the inclusion of handmade instruments?? very creative. i quite like how blended the different percussion timbres are and they definitely provide unique textures. it's fun listening to the rambunctiousness of the different percussions as they come and go. unfortunately, as @UncleRed99 has pointed out in the rules, there should've been only 3-5 monophonic or polyphonic instruments present. HOWEVER, i am not even going to try to discourage you cus this piece is funnn to listen to. i notice that the themes have distinct characters. they clearly portray a set of vibes and imagery. i can imagine a landscape according to the story. the score couldve been presented better. its very small and reminds me of my score entry for the "bits and bangers" yc competition years ago lol although the middle section feels directionless, the return of the beginning theme and texture ties it up!! its also appropriate for the context of the piece. the story that youve provided is very whimsical and i thoroughly enjoyed reading it!!! its honestly nostalgic for me cus i used to play and wander with my childhood friends too when i was a child. not to the extent of forests and a colonial place per se, but it was definitely an adventure. goood job!!! Melodies Themes Motives 6 Harmony Chords Textures 8 Form Development Structure Time 7 Originality Creativity 10 Score Presentation 3 Instrumentation Orchestration Playability 10 Execution of Given Challenge 5 Taste 7 Average Score: 7 (how rounded) end note: handmade instruments

Title Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste AVG The Voyage of a Lone Ship 9 9.5 9 9.7 8.5 9 9.5 9.5 9.21 Hi @ferrum.wav! This is a very creative piece. The harmonic development and texture is really rich here. Really appreciate your exploration of different playing techniques to create different textures. Good work! The motives is passed on throughout the piece and makes the piece coherent. I particularly like the part between 4:33 and 6:33 and I truely believe I am on a cruise! And it is like a parade. The build up and resolution around 8:30 is also very satisfying. Looking forward to a film that can fit your music! 🤣

Hello all. I had a really hard time figuring out what to do. I had a piece I wrote a while ago about Princess Tuvstarr and Skutt the Elk, where a geological formation called a tarn has an important role, but I decided I need to practice writing things for a deadline, so I needed some new idea. For those that don't know, I am ethnically largely Romanian (though I live in the US), so I settled on some Romanian landscape, and what better than the Carpathian Mountains! In fact, I had a drawing I made a while ago of a Romanian Shepherd (obviously as a furry, if you know me at all) in the mountains playing a Taragot - which sounds like a mix between an English Horn and a Soprano Saxophone. There's an old Romanian tale of a shepherd who lost his sheep, so I wrote this piece following that theme: a shepherd lamenting the loss of his sheep. Please enjoy :) Audio.mp3 Score.pdf

Title Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste AVG Lamentare Ciobanului - "The Shepherd's Lament" 9 8.5 9 8.5 8.5 9 9 9 8.81 Hello @ComposaBoi. I really like your work. I would say among the entries of this Soundscape competition, I find your piece the most "storytelling"! And that is acheived through minimal orchestration. I admire your gift in this aspect and I really wish I could write melody as you did. By the way, your choice of English Horn is quite tasty as it is mellow and antique and blend well with the sustained strings. Like other said, this work has distinctive sections like "chapters" of a novel. While they have different textures, the overflow is quite natural and the build-up is nice.

Title Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste AVG City Rail and Nightingale 8 8 8 8.5 9.5 8.5 8.5 8.5 8.44 When I close my eyes, I can totally picture a moving train in a not-so-hurry journey! And I treat it as a success in addressing what you titled. Good work! The block chord did depict well the shutting door and contrast with the ever-climbing line (as the train de/accelerate) as clearly different character. I find your rendition enjoyable, or fitting to this specific piece as the pianos sounds "metallic", or should I say less resonant, that reminds me of heavy machineries or the steel rails. Not sure if such sound can be acheived on a piano, but I am sure a prepared piano may be more ideal. The score is definitely professional and I love you added description for the motives with which I find it easier to interpret your music as a Soundscape. Fianlly, not really a part of the comment, but I would like to share you the a steam version of your work which I am luckily enough to hear it live many years ago, haha. "Pacific 231" by Arthur Honegger - https://youtu.be/wS6XAjd-9h8?si=kg9g1FoLiwjhjcME

Hey Jonathon @ComposaBoi ! I like the part writing here and the Cor anglais is definitely better than oboe for presenting the Romanian mood, I think. The melodies are really memorable to me as well. I would say in terms of structure you could have introduced more contrast between in the middle sections, rather than just modulating and changing the modality to major. To me there's an imbalance of structure as you put the contrast solely at the end, which somewhat sounds less move forward. I would also say the tragic ending in b.81 is a bit abrupt to me. I like the passage itself but the preparation to it is not enough for me with only an accelerating bassline and suddenly modulates from a different key. I am nitpicky here probably because I listen to @ferrum.wav 's piece before yours, so sorry for that! I like your piece though even if my words are nitpicky! Thx for sharing! Henry No less you are a German. Very precise value 😗.

Hey @ferrum.wav ! To me this is the best entry in this competition. You show complete understanding on the idiomatic writing and as you said, "to squeeze and extract as much as possible out of them". All those techniques and tessitura are served for the narrative of your pieces here, rather than a mere meaningless show off of what you know. In the intro where you present theme 1, the tremolos of strings in their lowest register definitely presents the unsettledness of a lone (not sunken lol) ship, plus the syncopated triplets which adds to it. Like you and @chopin mention the whole tone scale which represents water much like Debussy would do, but the whole tone scale itself is a trouble maker to make the atmosphere even more terrifying with no resolution available for the scale. The timpani to me acts like heartbeat here just like what Mahler did in his 9th. As the tension grows the wonderfully virtuosic passage in b.21 doesn't only mean to show off, but to enhance the tension as quick as possible. The pizz./arco alternation and the open strings are really well used here, as well as the bouncing of bows for the violin. The high register accompaniment of piano really reminds me of water as well. I will also have to say, Theme 1 sounds very much like your anime music themes too, as I've just relistened your arrangement on the Your Reality song. The glissandos in b.69 really intensifies the tension with the fiery notes in piano, plus the double stoppings and fortissimo, which prepares well for the storm section, For the whole tone storm you definitely depict the scene very idiomatically with timpani and piano marcato, plus tremolos and bouncing bowings which develops what you've done in theme 1. Most importantly you have spacing here between beats and with polyrhythm, so each instruments can bombard in different times, that's why even though the music is very strong here it doesn't sound messy at all. Next in theme 2 you provide a really good contrast in all aspects. Harmonically and melodically it sounds like a folk dance with all those open fifths and quartal chords and lydian notes, rhythmically the syncopations and dancing rhythm. I like the high register horn melody in b.113. Again here sounds like anime music, tho with adventure theme. I like the quasi fugal transition after the climax too. Next I really love the abrupt end to the fugato. It sounds like the celebrating mood for minutes is just imagination and is futile and the protagonist is still hanging their lives on an almost sunken ship. I really love this ending section. The pizzicato just sounds so sarcastic, and then the artificial harmonics even more so. It almost reminds me the ending music in the Usual Suspect: Like what you've said writing a great piece is much more important than winning any competitions, even if it's a YC competition and I'm sabotaging my own status as a YC staff to reiterate that lol. Writing for a competition is a great way to inspire yourself to write good pieces, but to win it or not I will never care if I know I write a good one, even if it breaks laws or rules or so. Congrats on such an achievement! It's tough but it's all worthy, isn't it? Henry

im not that well versed in renaissance writing style (and instruments), but it does certainly sound like it. however, i do find it difficult to associate with the given landscape. i also think its hard to do originality since you chose a distinct style and has to follow the rules in order to sound like said style. nevertheless, i quite like the harmony and melody. they sound playful, especially on the 3/2 section. Melodies Themes Motives 7 Harmony Chords Textures 8 Form Development Structure Time 10 Originality Creativity 6 Score Presentation 9 Instrumentation Orchestration Playability 9 Execution of Given Challenge 6 Taste 6 Average Score: 7.62 end note: renaissance good

Alright... I'll admit. Not my best work, but it's got it's own charm, I feel. I didn't have a ton of time to dedicate to this challenge, this time around. Long story...... Just the mix of the level of intensity my life is right now, and the difficulty in finding inspiration / motive to write something for this, made this one very challenging for me. I perservered because I value what this piece can teach me, moving forward, and what it might teach others who come across it. Well, here it is. "Warmth". (Composition based on the photo attached on the score's title page! I will also attach a copy to this post.) I wanted to depict the feeling of looking upon a rural homestead, and the "warmth" it brings to those who may call a place like this their home. So this is the image I went with :) Warmth.mp3 Warmth.pdf

I’ll look into it. Thanks.

Could this be address: 🎬 ★𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒍𝒆𝒓 TRIBUTE | A Fire Within© - Orchestral and Large Ensemble - Young Composers Music Forum

Thank you for the clarification. This would be the answer to my question.

uh oh. There is a tie for first place!

definitely gives off a morning mood. i could associate the music with the given landscape. although when i heard the first bar, i immediately thought of skyrim music lmaoo love the high register bassoon usages here (and high oboe too). they pair well and support the aesthetics of the piece. i do agree with the other comments of switching to tenor clef when this happens. score is readable, a bit bare. the harp here is treated as an accompaniment, and i wish it interacted more with the other two! or played in the foreground alone as a contrast. also, in my opinion, i'd definitely consider adding harp harmonics and glissandos as well (tastefully, of course). speaking of contrasts, i do notice them and theyre definitely subtle. however, i think it could do more while keeping the mood steady. there aren't also a lot of dynamic varieties. the harmony is still, similar with the melody. although the range that youve used vary, theyre a bit aimless at times. some motifs stood up, but others are not memorable enough. i do think they still support the imagery. the structure feels free, and the memorable motifs keep it together. it matches the mood. looove the ending: repeating of figures, saving the chord at the very end. verdict: i feel content. nice jobbb Melodies Themes Motives 4 Harmony Chords Textures 5 Form Development Structure Time 7 Originality Creativity 6 Score Presentation 7 Instrumentation Orchestration Playability 10 Execution of Given Challenge 10 Taste 8 Average Score: 7.12 end note: me when its morning on whidbey island

Written for the 2026 spring Young composer competition this work for percussion quintet features a wide range of natural and man-made percussion instruments to represent the integration of man and nature. Few years back me, and a few of my friends decided that it would be a good idea to cure our boredom by bringing a already busted up child size guitar meant for learning and to "" sacrifice it into the woods.'' the reservoir is a large body of water near where I live so it was a short distance, which then led to an easy walk into a bunch of colonial ruins where we laid the guitar and watch it rot away. Far deep in the reservoir lays a broken destroyed child size guitar that my sister got for her birthday as a child or something like that it’s been ever since sitting around around in the house and had transfer locations from her room to the living room room to the my room to the wilderness it’s final resting place. My sister never had been fond of performing music in her life. In fact she is quite horrible at it so my parents smartly in intelligently got her a low quality guitar anyways fast-forward a few years later, and I am now experimenting with multi instrumelity. However, though I got fond of extended techniques, playing it like a hammered dulcimer and even bowing the thing after me becoming friends with the lead guitarist to my modern day chamber band sort of situation, he starts to play it and at that point it only had two remaining strings. We all anonymously decided that we should bring it to the reservoir maybe hide a secret note in it after all the band was just a bunch of board teens, wanting something interesting to do with our lives, so what ended up happening was we snuck into the Reservoir found a foundation of an old colonial house and threw the guitar in it other than impact damage ever since the guitar has been rotting away however, though quite often me and my friends still visit it’s resting place only to see it in more final pieces I’m pretty sure I got rid of the note since it had some secrets that I do not want people finding and still to this day. It’s been resting there ever since. Percussion five has a lot of handmade instrument specifically for this work . The alcoholics shekere; is just a bucket with crushed up beer, cans, or soda cans is meant to be played in a similar style to a traditional shekere . the facidrum; faci- Latin for bundle, a bundle of resident sticks attached and tied up to a frame . Chopping block; a semi resonant piece of wood meant to be played like a table and a practice pad All of the other instruments should be self-explanatory Keep note that since because this was written in musescore bunch of playback loopholes has been exploited, although that there are more than five staves these are to represent each instrument in the set up rather than the actual part parts of represented by the groups that are bracketed. This is to create custom percussion set ups, and to satisfy an easier workflow with sound fonts. ' Sacrificed to the wilderness.mp3 Sacrificed to the wilderness.pdf

Title Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste AVG Sacrificed to the wilderness 7 8.2 7.5 9.5 8 8.5 8 9 8.21 Hi @Fruit hunter! You definitely achieved good texture in the music through the selection of a variety of interestingly picked instruments. It is a lighthearted and enjoyable piece to listen. Regarding the orchestration, if it is not for this competition, I will definitely go for more instruments in my work just like you do - but I still have to address the 3-5 instrument rules into the marking. Regarding the score, the notations are okay. However, I would love to see more visible lines and with the empty staves hidden, which I think is achieveable in the software settings.

helloooo "The Voyage of a Lone Ship" is a piece for mixed quintet (violin, cello, horn, timpani, and piano). it is based on a sketch from the website youraislopbores.me*. i've asked a random person to draw a landscape for me to base my composition on and what i got is this sketch of a lone ship sailing on the sea under a starry night. the piece contains many different aspects that i try to portray: the lone night voyage, the shimmering star, the creaking wooden ship, the wavy sea, the exciting morning conundrum, and the night fall once more. *of note, youraislopbores.me is a website where real people can roleplay as an ai and answer/draw prompts from humans. people can also be the role of the humans and give the "ai(s)" (people who's roleplaying as ai(s)) many kinds of prompts. therefore, this artwork is not made by ai. a real anonymous person sketched my prompt and created the artwork below. this website is an act against ai art in general. im going to be honest, composing this piece was a tough journey. i had to rewrote the early sections so many times and my motivation keeps dwindling down day by day to finish this, but ive pulled through!!! i'd say there are many things that i'm not entirely satisfied with the piece, but it's in a good enough condition for me to post. also mightve gone overboard with the duration, oh well lmao enjoy the piece guysss The Voyage of a Lone Ship.mp3 The Voyage of A Lone Ship.pdf

Melodies ThemesMotives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 8.5 7.5 9.5 10 9 8.6 6.3 I have again listen to this in the car before, but not actively scoring it so I must’ve forgotten a bunch of aspects of the peace. It’s not my cup of tea, but I listen to parts of it again and give the scores for the reason. Anyways, it’s a good piece and I love the cover art of this and also is this possibly an educational piece I do see finger markings

Heya! Been a while since I've uploaded on here. I'm currently in the process of completing a stage 2 composition (Year 12) and am experiencing HUGE writers block. My assignment is to replicate the "feeling" of another song. Meaning: use elements from another composer/composition to incorporate into your own composition. I've decided to go down the track of making it Studio Ghibli themed. My main focus being either Totoro or Spirited Away. I know that I'm going to tell a story through my composition, starting calm, and then turning mischievous, thinking about the soot sprites running trouble. Would anyone be willing to give me some feedback/suggestions on the composition moving forward? Anything would be greatly appreciated. Thanks 😽 Stage 2 Composition NO.2 mp3.mp3 Stage 2 Composition NO.2.pdf

Hello @Josephine_Maccrimmon ! Welcome to the forum! Sorry for a late reply. I think the beginning of this sketch set up the mood well. You have many things you can do to move the composition forward. First is harmony. You are just staying in tonic D flat major in the passages presented. How about a half cadence and then modulates to a different key? Like, you can have a phrase ends on Ab major which is the dominant chord, and then start in a close key and then gets back to tonic Db major. You will already get some progress with this formula. Next is the instrumentation. You are using the flute as the melody carrier. What about the other instruments? You could easily switch roles with each of those instruments, for example having piano/oboe/quena playing the melody. Another thing is texture. What about changing the texture to a more polyphonic setting and invites more counterpoint? Also what about a contrasting section with different mood, tempo and key? These are all what you can consider for developing a piece! Henry

i have not taken any composition classes before and also the title of the piece is just a placeholder, the reason why it's called Fiesta is that that it's the name of the song the melody originated from (also if u cant tell, the audio is just extracted from musescore) any feedback would be appreciated! thanks for checking it out! advanced.mp3 advanced.pdf

Hello @PikapikaHei ! Welcome to the forum! To me actually the piano writing is idiomatic! The melodies are also good. For me it would be the structure of the piece. You are going for an ABABA structure which the A and B sections provide good contrast with each other with different mood, tempo and texture. I would suggest you adding more developments in each of the A and B sections after their initial presentation, rather than just changing keys. For example the recurring A sections you could have developed the melodies with variations rhythmically and texturally. Also, it would be great if there is an assimilation of the two sections at the end. However, this is a very good attempt especially from someone who has never attended a composition class, so props to it and keep writing! Henry

ALL Perfectionists think that way................so its not a Bad Thing I recognized your style with my eyes shut...................so consequently, your compositions have there own unique Identity. i wish you luck in the competition.

Hi Kyle @UncleRed99 ! This one is a completely contrast with @HoYin Cheung "s piece I have just heard, as this one is sparse in spacing for the whole piece and in a more homophonic style. Maybe you think this isn't your best work, but indeed this one falls into your general style, with sparseness, homophonic texture and sentimental melody just like Jonathon @ComposaBoi said. I like the simplicity of the piece like Mike @chopin does, but I would want some excitement in the middle climax of the piece. This piece has a clear structure and direction when both the beginning and the ending are serene, and between the climax is placed in the middle in b.40 and b.64 with a slight dip between, thus having the climax graph looking like a Bactrian Camel. I think in the climax you could have added more counterpoint to make the texture sounds more full to provide an even notable contrast with the general mood of the piece. Although, I would say for a 4 minute piece it would be perfectly fine to just stay calm and serene with a little bit excitement between which is the piece you present now. One scoring concern is the tremolo with a staccatissimo, e.g. in b.32, what does that mean? I think it would be clearer to just write out the two repeated notes with staccatissimo on both of them. I enjoy this piece, thx for sharing! Henry

Dear all, This is a short piece inspired by my trip last year with my girlfriend on a winter trip to Alishan at Taiwan, and we were visiting it in the afternoon. The photo is taken at the entrance of the Alishan visitor's zone. It is a place of high mountains with tall, spiritual trees, among which we travel with light railways and walked through the bridges. Being from a city with concretes, this jungle is particularly peaceful and you can always find the beauty of nature there. I have always been eager to write a piece as a diary of my visits, and it is a completely good time (the competition) for me to write one. Hope you all like it! HoYin Alishan for Flute Quintet.pdf

Hi @HoYin Cheung ! It's a nice piece for sure, the quartal/pentatonic harmony in the piece representing the Alishan landscape is well noted. The motives are clearly well organized and noticeable, Many nice use of polyrhythms to depict the vividness of the landscape too. Although I will have to agree with @ComposaBoi on the structure of the piece , as I too find the direction of the piece less compelling and moving forward. I think probably it's the less contrasting timbre and spacing of each passages makes the pieces less contrasting, The whole pieces sound contrapuntal to me which I think in some places you could have the flute act as the sole melodic carrier with a more homophonic texture, and minimize the amount of instruments staying as it's mostly 4 or 5 instruments playing, when you can have some passages having just 2 or 3 instruments, or even solo passages to create contrast in the "less is more" side. Or some passages there can be octave doubling instead of having all 5 instruments playing different lines all the time. Although those above are only my subjective opinion and I still enjoy your piece. Thx for sharing! Henry

That is outside of the purview of Young Composer's Forum. So, @MK_Piano will have to take that up with @interlect on their own.

After reviewing eight of eleven contributions to the contest, there are now three ones remaining which challenge me the most. That are the ones of @InstrumentalistElle , @BipolarComposer and @HoYin Cheung . The reason for this is that they have so much in common, both in terms of their qualities and their style and mood. Since my comments would hardly differ, I have decided to copy and paste passages verbatim, which I will therefore highlight in blue, while my individual thoughts are written in the standard color as usual. With your submission(s), you have presented compositions that best meet the expectations one might have given the “Landscapes-Soundscapes” challenge: Pieces that depict a landscape as a “still life”, utilizing every conceivable timbre of the instrumentation, blending, etc., to create true “program music”. When listening, one can easily imagine a scenery from the nature: clouds, trees, a quiet lake or sea, a sunset etc. All this has been executed very well. On the other hand, the piece(s) are sometimes hard to memorize because there is few or even no thematic material in the sense of a recurring melody that is developed throughout the piece, giving it its own unique and memorable character. In fact, to be honest, as I listened to them in a loop —which is exactly what I did during a walk to familiarize myself with all the submissions—I sometimes thought the next section was coming up in the first piece, when indeed the next one had already begun. So I could imagine that this kind of music would work well as “ambient music”, for example, a CD someone might listen to at night if they have trouble falling asleep. Melodies Themes Motives: The motivic or thematic material of the piece(s) is used primarily to create a „soundscape“ depicting the certain scenes or images, such as the clouds, trees, mountains etc. Beside that, I would consider the motif presented by the violins in mm. 13 as the central, recurring „tonal“ motif which does not contribute to the „soundscape“ but provides a subtle melodic background. Harmony Chords Textures: The harmonic language could be described as „atonal“ due to its rich dissonances. However, with the above mentioned melodic theme, it is also interspersed with passages of „tonality“. Form Development Structure Time: The composition is not in a specific traditional form, the different sections or passages could be considered as „episodes“ or different „pictures“ of the entire imagery, which is fine for a piece intended to portrait a certain scenary from the nature. Originality Creativity: The creativity and originality clearly arises from the way how the different motifs create „sound snippets“ which finally draw the „soundscape“. Unfortunately, that creativity and originality does not produce enough memorable impressions to ultimately create a sense of „uniqueness“, so the piece is less recognizable than it should be. Score Presentation: The score is easy to read with no engraving issues. For aesthetic reasons, I do not like the last page with only 2 bars which could have been avoided by a better distribution of the bars around all pages. Instrumentation Orchestration Playability: Possible playability problems concerning the multiple stops have already been discussed. Execution of Given Challenge: You have clearly mastered the challenge of the contest with excellence, creating an inner imagery for the listener with your „soundscape“ that depicts the „landscape“ as described by the posted picture. And the term “soundscape” perfectly captures the nature of the piece. Taste: It's very nice for relaxing, though I prefer music that focuses more on thematic material and form (perhaps that's why I'm more of a fan of the Baroque or Classical periods than the Romantic one). Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 7.5 8.5 8.5 7.5 9 8 10 6 Average Score: 8.125

After reviewing eight of eleven contributions to the contest, there are now three ones remaining which challenge me the most. That are the ones of @InstrumentalistElle , @BipolarComposer and @HoYin Cheung . The reason for this is that they have so much in common, both in terms of their qualities and their style and mood. Since my comments would hardly differ, I have decided to copy and paste passages verbatim, which I will therefore highlight in blue, while my individual thoughts are written in the standard color as usual. With your submission(s), you have presented compositions that best meet the expectations one might have given the “Landscapes-Soundscapes” challenge: Pieces that depict a landscape as a “still life”, utilizing every conceivable timbre of the instrumentation, blending, etc., to create true “program music”. When listening, one can easily imagine a scenery from the nature: clouds, trees, a quiet lake or sea, a sunset etc. All this has been executed very well. On the other hand, the piece(s) are sometimes hard to memorize because there is few or even no thematic material in the sense of a recurring melody that is developed throughout the piece, giving it its own unique and memorable character. In fact, to be honest, as I listened to them in a loop —which is exactly what I did during a walk to familiarize myself with all the submissions—I sometimes thought the next section was coming up in the first piece, when indeed the next one had already begun. So I could imagine that this kind of music would work well as “ambient music”, for example, a CD someone might listen to at night if they have trouble falling asleep. Melodies Themes Motives: The motivic or thematic material of the piece(s) is used primarily to create a „soundscape“ depicting the certain scenes or images, such as the clouds, trees, mountains etc. However, the motifs are pleasant and simple, thus producing an impression of a never ending melody. Harmony Chords Textures: The harmonies emphasize the tranquil character of the piece. There are no surprising modulations or tonality changes. Form Development Structure Time: The composition is not in a specific traditional form, the different sections or passages could be considered as „episodes“ or different „pictures“ of the entire imagery, which is fine for a piece intended to portrait a certain scenary from the nature. Originality Creativity: The creativity and originality clearly arises from the way how the different motifs create „sound snippets“ which finally draw the „soundscape“. While the somewhat repetitive character of the piece does not produce enough memorable impressions to ultimately create a sense of „uniqueness“, it is easy recognizable for its unique instrumentation. Score Presentation: The score is easy to read with no engraving issues. Instrumentation Orchestration Playability: The choice of instruments—the oboe and bassoon combined with the harp—gives the piece a mysterious and ethereal atmosphere that perfectly captures the image of a morning when a light mist hangs over a still lake. Execution of Given Challenge: You have clearly mastered the challenge of the contest with excellence, creating an inner imagery for the listener with your „soundscape“ that depicts the „landscape“ as described by the posted picture. And the term “soundscape” perfectly captures the nature of the piece. Taste: It's very nice for relaxing, though I prefer music that focuses more on thematic material and form (perhaps that's why I'm more of a fan of the Baroque or Classical periods than the Romantic one). Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8.5 7.5 8 7 9 9 10 6 Average Score: 8.125

After reviewing eight of eleven contributions to the contest, there are now three ones remaining which challenge me the most. That are the ones of @InstrumentalistElle , @BipolarComposer and @HoYin Cheung . The reason for this is that they have so much in common, both in terms of their qualities and their style and mood. Since my comments would hardly differ, I have decided to copy and paste passages verbatim, which I will therefore highlight in blue, while my individual thoughts are written in the standard color as usual. With your submission(s), you have presented compositions that best meet the expectations one might have given the “Landscapes-Soundscapes” challenge: Pieces that depict a landscape as a “still life”, utilizing every conceivable timbre of the instrumentation, blending, etc., to create true “program music”. When listening, one can easily imagine a scenery from the nature: clouds, trees, a quiet lake or sea, a sunset etc. All this has been executed very well. On the other hand, the piece(s) are sometimes hard to memorize because there is few or even no thematic material in the sense of a recurring melody that is developed throughout the piece, giving it its own unique and memorable character. In fact, to be honest, as I listened to them in a loop —which is exactly what I did during a walk to familiarize myself with all the submissions—I sometimes thought the next section was coming up in the first piece, when indeed the next one had already begun. So I could imagine that this kind of music would work well as “ambient music”, for example, a CD someone might listen to at night if they have trouble falling asleep. Melodies Themes Motives: The motivic or thematic material of the piece(s) is used primarily to create a „soundscape“ depicting the certain scenes or images, such as the clouds, trees, mountains etc. The development of the motifs does not create any melodies but ongoing sound structures which themselves produce an interesting progression. Harmony Chords Textures: The texture is amazing. Together with the dissonances, the piece – while being slow in pulse – creates scenes with constantly growing tension or, vice versa, release, thus having a very cinematic character. Form Development Structure Time: The composition is not in a specific traditional form, the different sections or passages could be considered as „episodes“ or different „pictures“ of the entire imagery, which is fine for a piece intended to portrait a certain scenary from the nature. Originality Creativity: The creativity and originality clearly arises from the way how the different motifs create „sound snippets“ which finally draw the „soundscape“. Even if there is no „melody“ – which usually makes it more difficult to memorize a piece – the entire impression based on its mysterious mood and timbre makes it unique. Score Presentation: The score is easy to read with no engraving issues. Instrumentation Orchestration Playability: You’ve mastered to evoke an astonishing colorfulness from the string quartet, particularly by applying natural and artificial harmonics and flageolets, whereas that might be challenging to perform. Execution of Given Challenge: You have clearly mastered the challenge of the contest with excellence, creating an inner imagery for the listener with your „soundscape“ that depicts the „landscape“ as described by the posted picture. And the term “soundscape” perfectly captures the nature of the piece. Taste: It's very nice for relaxing, though I prefer music that focuses more on thematic material and form (perhaps that's why I'm more of a fan of the Baroque or Classical periods than the Romantic one). Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 10 8 8 9 10 10 7 Average Score: 8.75

Hellooo, I made this waltz as an attempt to approach music for pedagogic uses. I also tried to give it a 'funny' sound so this waltz uses a lot of dramatic/parodic gestures. I think it turned out pretty good and funny. Hope u like it!!!!! <3<3 ·<{:D Vals I.pdfVals I.mp3

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 7 8 5.5 1 7 10 8.5 6 Average 6.6 Not much going on motivically (not a bad thing) but the few that are present work well for the style, and I quite enjoy renaissance harmony. But I can't say it's original at all. Sounds like any other renaissance brass piece. The score is ok, be sure to put fermatas in all voices at the end. Not very well versed in the instrumentation, so I'll assume it's perfect, and the style and instrumentation certainly evokes the landscape. Good job overall.

A revamped and corrected version of a previously published prelude and fugue transposed from F-sharp minor to E minor, originally comprised of two separately uploaded works joined together as neatly as possible. YouTube video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMss1kFsid8 Prelude and Fugue in E minor.mp3 Prelude and Fugue in E minor.pdf

I apologize, I meant to respond to this part of your reply as well. You hit the nail on the head. "Warmth" isn't meant to portray the temperature of the surrounding landscape, rather, the warm feeling of entering the "home" space, or, as others would call it, your "sanctuary", a place of rest, safety, closeness to family... a place where you can be "you" unapologetically, without the judgement of the outside world. That kind of "warmth" :) -Unc

Hello @L.S Barros ! To me, your piece is the one with the most solid musical form and structure, which makes sense, of course, since you chose a piece in the Renaissance or Baroque style; in that era, the musical forms—e.g., melodies, harmonies, voice leading, etc.—came first, before they evoked a specific mood or image—whereas in the Romantic period, it was the other way around. This strength is—on the other hand—also a weakness, since I cannot easily recognize an association between the music and the image it is meant to represent. This might be because I initially associate such a brass ensemble (which reminds me of a German “Posaunenchor”) with Christmas rather than with a serene spring scene. And—since I’ve never been there—I don’t know whether sackbutts are used in traditional Lombardian music. Melodies Themes Motives and Harmony Chords Textures: The piece features simple melodic motifs that harmonize perfectly, giving the dances the character of a chorale. The voice leading sounds harmonious, so I chose not to look for parallel fifths. Form Development Structure Time: You have well done to combine the „Padovana“, a slow, stately processional court dance with its „afterdance“, the „Gagliarda“, which is a fast-paced energetic dance in 3/2 meter with repeated sections (AABBCC). Originality Creativity: You did not invent something new, such as a weird instrumentation or rhythm, but the solidity of the piece makes it unique between all submissions to the contest. Score Presentation: The score is clear and with no issues. It is in concert pitch, e.g. the part of the Soprano cornett has not been transposed, which makes it easier to follow for a reader which is not familiar with transposing. I would have liked to have some articulation and dynamics marks, even if it was not usual in Renaissance or Baroque times. Instrumentation Orchestration Playability: The usage of sackbutts instead of trombones demonstrates the thoroughness with which you have studied the period you wanted to evoke. I think, there are no playability issues. Execution of Given Challenge: The piece really reminds on a scenery from the Renaissance era, corresponding with your image taken from inside an ancient building—or perhaps of other buildings from the same era. Taste: I really like the piece as a solid contrast to the other submissions, which without exception represent “program music.” Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 9 9.5 10 7.5 9 10 7 8 Average Score: 8.75

You'd be close, except, forget "tall" and forget "Muscular" I ain't that purdie 🤣 I'm 5'11", Hairy, and slightly pudgy, with some visible working man's biceps. That's about it, for my appearance. However, I've always thought about the contrast between my Burliness as a hairy mechanic & the sorrowful / meloncholic / emotionally charged theme of my original music scores to be quite humorous, myself 😅 I suppose my music can be percieved as a representation of all the things that I'm unable to say outloud, what with the social stigmas in the USA for Men that place an emphasis on refraining from expressing emotions, verbally, or through crying etc.. Music provides the outlet for some of those emotions that our society deems unacceptable for me to display. Anyhow. Thank you, Wieland, for your kind words and detailed feedback of my piece. As I stated before, I know that it isn't my most complex work... Life kept me from feeling the same desire & inspiration as I have before, while also preventing me from having much free time to actually work on the thing... I feel it could be so much better, but that's the best work I'm able to offer, at this current period of time, on short notice 😮‍💨 Thanks, again! -Unc

Thank you, sir I'm glad that you were able to enjoy that, despite it being a piece that, frankly, I had difficulty finding inspiration writing for... This was definitely difficult, to me, and I certainly feel like there could've been more done within it's current duration to elaborate on the overall consensus of the story the notation is trying to portray. Personally, I feel that it's a bit repetitive, with a couple of nuanced expressions of the original idea spread throughout... which is fine, technically, but makes for a less impactful story in the end. I just hope maybe others might think differently but I suppose that has yet to be seen and we'll know for sure as more members comment their thoughts here. Thanks for the feedback, and the kindness you've shown my work :) -Unc

Hello This is a piece I really like and find fascinating. The composition is superb, and the way you break up the sections with what sound like interjections is really appealing. It’s also fantastic to see the techniques you use in the strings. The quotation from the hymn is brilliant. Just like Ives used to do.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 6.5 8 10 7 10 10 7 7 Avg: 8.2 This certainly reminds me of royalty and elegance. Overall a very enjoyable piece, pleasant traditional harmony and quite easy to follow the score. This reminds me more of being alongside a castle, but I suppose I can picture myself outside taking in the cool mountain breeze, looking over at a castle from a great distance too!

Yes, you are correct. This is written for five percussionists and each set up is encompass in a bracket. Some instruments are mounted to racks and or mounted to the mallet percussion instrument. (assuming that there are mounting rails.) and that there are various tables for handheld instruments and other things.

Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 8 7 9 8 8.5 9 8 8 Average Score: 8.2 Review: Melodies/Themes/Motives - The piece makes effective use of motifs. On the one hand, there is a recognizable melody; on the other, the motifs intertwine among the voices, as this style requires. The melodies are sufficiently expansive and musical. The inclusion of the galliard adds variety. Harmony/Chords/Textures - The texture oscillates between heterophony and uncluttered polyphony. It is well suited to the sound. This texture serves as a unifying thread throughout the entire piece. One might expect something more contrapuntal from this period. The harmony is straightforward, with no changes or surprises. Form/Development/Structure/Time - The structure is very well defined, with appropriate repetitions, a contrasting middle section, and a recapitulation at the end. Originality/Creativity - The piece is highly original, as it draws on a Renaissance style and evokes a rural, bucolic atmosphere that seems to call out to that beautiful landscape. When we think of the concept of a soundscape, we often expect works with a contemporary or minimalist style. Here, I found that to be a positive aspect. Score Presentation - The score is beautifully presented. There are no indications of articulation or dynamics, which is quite consistent with the style. However, since instruments from that period are not used, it might have been enhanced with such elements. Instrumentation/Orchestration/Playability I had to look up what a sackbut is. I see it’s a predecessor of the trombone. Although the instruments blend together quite well, perhaps the score should specify which actual instruments are being played. The piece sounds sufficiently “human.” Execution of Given Challenge - I think the challenge has been successfully met. Perhaps a slightly more detailed description of what was intended would be helpful. Taste - I really like this piece, since I'm very curious about Renaissance music—and earlier periods as well—and I've delved into it a bit as a foundation for understanding what came later.

Hi @BipolarComposer ! I really really enjoy the serene atmosphere portrayed by traditionally pastoral double reed instruments. The combination of them with harp definitely enhances the pastoral mood. The sparse spacing, rests and register really gives peace and thoughtfulness to the piece. One strange throught: I imagine the piece would be even more serene by having the bassoon played a Chinese Dong Xiao and oboe by an alto flute, as there are many lower register for the oboe which would sound unnecessarily strong with a low register oboe. Another thought is that, even I enjoy the serene mood very well, maybe you can invite some contrast in between, For example like @Kvothe suggests, you may write some passages with harp playing wider and stronger chords. Also to my observation, the bassoon never really plays its strong lower register which would make some more powerful passages. With more contrast the serene mood will sound more treasured to me. Thx for sharing! Henry

A FIRE WITHIN A RAILROADER MOVIE A Fire Within is a short film made solely in the video game, and railroad simulator, "Railroader," which released in December, 2023. Written by Mason Kistler in 2025, this story follows two friends, Sam and Andy, who work for the Southern Railway in the mid-20th century. Over the course of a few months, we see their relationship change and see their activities on the railroad. This project is an indie film, being produced for free and by the dedication of volunteers. It has an original story, sound design, voice cast, and soundtrack. It is something I have hinted at here on YCF, having shared two scores from the film; and it is a project I am very proud of. Now, I have come to share the results! Watch the Shortfilm here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dk5nnrS1gw&t=843s Find the soundtrack here: https://open.spotify.com/album/5tJchNkg6fGUNrQs8oMHq2?si=7d9go3uQSbSMW7L6sDhZXg __________________________________ Unfortunately, due to my schedule and some travel arrangements, I am not able to share more of the scores for the Soundtrack at this time. You may find the two scores I have published for the film on my page. Thanks for viewing and I hope to see you all soon!

Very Good Well Done You've Set a Standard that's Hard to compete with.... By using only 3 Instruments, you've been able to create an inspiring, "MOOD".