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Hi @Lithl ! By listening to your music I actually think of a Gothic scene: just like @Luis Hernández noted the synthesiser sounds like ominous birds flipping. I actually don’t hear the cello much, maybe you can add more of it? I think an extremely high pitch harmonics or sul ponticello cello or col legno lowest register cello can make the atmosphere sound more scary. Thx for sharing! Henry

hey @Markus Boyd ! Really thank you for your detailed explanation! I appreciate that. I think the “disparity” is only due to our different aesthetics and style. Bach’s Et Resurrexit is perfectly written as it narrates the pain of crucifixion, Dido’s Lament for the abandoned Dido. My movement here is none like theirs, as I want to talk about the confused state under depression or despair. Under a state of despair, in my case, falls into confusion and you almost see nothing bright; no drama there, no contrast of bright/dark or major/minor there, just confusion. Maybe there is some light, some reasonable power from human Logos, which is portrayed a bit in both 2nd subject which is in major key in both exposition and recapitulation here, but it’s only a small portion and will easily be crushed by blind confusion of despair. I don’t think I have ever fallen into depression myself but I have lots of friends fallen into it, and they see no light and reason to pick them up; what seems to a depression patient hopeful may be the one last false hope and the last straw which takes their lives away. I don’t try to set myself unprecedented but I just try to write that particular state of mind. Hope this explanation helps Markus! Henry

Hi @Markus Boyd ! I really love this prelude! The counterpoint is really rich and fluent and the pain real. Maybe an imitative entrance of each voice would make the piece more solemn but to me this one is already really good. Probably because the Dorian is the 1st mode? Just like Bach’s Die Kunst der Fuge maybe because of that too. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hey Peter, This bitonal piece sounds really funny, it sounds like a parody of a march! It's like someone saying "look at how serious I am!" by making himself 200% serious which makes him 500% ridiculous lol Henry

I'm usually into Gustav Holst's music because of The Mystic Trumpeter. It's such a mature and emotional piece that's sadly very neglected. I also quite like Tan Dun, Antonin Dvorak, Ludovico Einauldi, Gustav Mahler, Fela Sowande, and many more

It's been a while since I've composed anything, so I felt like getting back into doing some Persichetti composition prompts. I am now on Chapter 8 of Persichetti's "20th Century Harmony" which is titled "Compound and Mirror Harmony". The particular prompt for this piano piece was "8. Write an opening section of a two-part piece for the piano employing two symmetrically invertible scales. The mirror writing should be kept strict throughout." So I tried to do just that with this ~1 minute long piano piece. I tried my best to make an actual piece of music rather than an exercise, but let me know how I did! I'd appreciate any of your comments, critiques, suggestions or observations! Thanks for listening! Here's the form of the piece: A - Right Hand - C Mixolydian, Left Hand - C Aeolian B - Right Hand - C Ionian, Left Hand - C Phrygian A Persichetti Exercise 8 - 8.mp3 Persichetti Exercise 8 - 8 Score.pdf

Hello dear fellow composers! The two months of the YCF 2026 Summer competition are over and we have now the results. For me, participating in that competition was (again) a great fun – but also a huge challenge! And I think, I’m not alone with that impression, since – on the one hand – only roughly the half of that members which initially intended to participate have finally posted a submission and – on the other hand – the most submissions arrived during the last two weeks, signifying that almost all participants had to do a hard work to meet the requirements of the contest, to produce „Something“, that was related to Paul Verlaine’s poem, from „Nothing“ (in this regard, the specific task made it difficult to use an existing piece; therefore, I believe that most submissions were composed “from scratch”). I’m very pleased, that I could win the third prize, however the most takeaway from the contest are – in my opinion – the reviews which had an outstanding quality this time. It was the fourth consecutive competition (or event) I participated during the past year, and I think the overall quality of the compositions and of the reviews has been improved significantly in that period. The reviews tend to be longer and consist not only of the impression and taste of the listener/reviewer, but have become full of profound feedback and suggestions, concerning for example questions of engraving or of the playability and/or specific characteristics of certain instruments that a composer must take into account, even if he or she may not be very familiar with the one or the other instrument. With this respect, I would especially thank @MK_Piano, @Omicronrg9 and @Thatguy v2.0 for their reviews. I'm already looking forward to the next competition, though to be honest, I need a few weeks' rest until then. Finally, there is just another little concern I would share: I noticed that some of the participants voted for themselves in the final poll. That behavior ultimately had no impact on the awarding of badges and prices in that sense, that a participant has not earned the respective badge due to he did hesitate and not voted for itself. However, in my opinion, it is not a good practice to vote for oneself, since - if everyone would do so - voting would become merely useless, especially since we have relatively few voters at all, and this time more participants than other members. Therefore, I would suggest to introduce an explicit statement in the rules of upcoming competitions, that participants shall not vote for themselves in the final poll.

= Short Piece for Cello / Piano / Granular Synthesis = = Background One day, I thought of a cellist and a pianist performing over a backdrop of electronic noise, and this piece was created based on that idea. As the title suggests, the composition features cello, piano, and granular synthesis. The composition process began with creating the granular synthesis textures, followed by adding staccato cello notes and piano. I imagine a space that looks like a compact design. = Note I don't have a specific message I'm trying to convey with this music, but I would be happy if someone found it enjoyable. To be honest, I was reluctant for a while to upload this piece; I felt a bit hesitant about creating something annoying when everyone else is composing beautiful orchestral / chamber or keyboard-based works, haha. Still, I decided to take the plunge and upload it. As for the score, since I don't know how to notate it, I can't upload it now. I’d love to hear your impressions, criticism, and feedback. Again, I hope you find it interesting and enjoy it. = Music / Artwork: Lithl = Finally If you know any pieces that are similar to this piece of mine, please let me know. I'd appreciate it. Thank you for listening, and have a nice day :) Short Piece for Cello : Piano : Granular Synthesis.mp3

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while. The lamento bass is a famous motif based on the simple idea of the descending tetrachord (commonly in d minor). In my realization I build momentum with complexity with which I aim to demonstrate the range of possibilities within this short space. One can keep going with more variations. It is both a beautiful and inexhaustible concept. Prelude for the Soul.mp3 Prelude for the Soul.pdf

Hi @Martynas123 , Is this one section of your D major Sonata? I ask because it’s more a G major piece to me. If it’s hard to continue you can for sure modulate to new keys. Easiest would be to modulate to D major by ending the first section in half cadence and then you can begin with new ideas. I actually really like the idea after 0:59, but like @Grant Weep said it gets really weird, to me because it doesn’t match with the style before it. Henry

= Sharing Musicians and Works = I want to know a lot of types of music. And I imagine many of you feel the same way. But it's impossible to know every genre of music just by searching on my own. So, sharing music with people from different backgrounds and interests may help expand our knowledge. Any genre is welcome (the more diverse, the better!). Ex: Avant-Garde, Classical, Electronic, Ethnic, Local or Country music, Film Music, Jazz, Pop, Rock... I mean everything! Please feel free to share musicians and works :) I hope this topic becomes a hub for new music! Snarky Puppy (Empire Central) Richard D James (Drukqs) Stevie Wonder (Journey Through The Secret Life Of Plants) Baaba Maal (Gidelam) György Ligeti (Atmosphères)

Hi Matthew @mahler2009 Personally, I do both at the same time: I study and compose with traditional harmony while also writing more experimental music, rather than treating one as something I need to master before moving on to the other. Some of my earliest pieces were actually quite weird and almost atonal, before I later explored more conventional tonal writing too. I’ve found that both approaches help me develop in different ways. I don't think there's a particular point when you're suddenly "ready" for non-functional harmony. Traditional harmony gives you useful tools, but experimenting with the sounds that interest you is also part of learning composition. I'd keep developing both in parallel and let them influence each other Also, welcome to the forum!

I don't know if I'm allowed to talk about it yet! LoL .. but don't worry .. we'll publish it here when it's done!

Hello, I tried playing with the sheet music and I'm not sure if your recording is the same as the sheets. It definitely deviates after the repeat. Personally, I find measure 13-16 too repetitive. I think I get what you are going for, with the building of the tension, but it just doesn't good (to me). My ears want to have some variation. Also I think the notation does not match what the mp3 is playing here. I like the mp3 better than the notation. It gets really weird at 0:59 in the recording. I guess it all depends on the direction you want to take the piece in. Whenever I get stuck, I try things like: 1) Doing the same thing in a minor key 2) throwing in a key change 3) reversing the theme, so it sounds completely different 4) depending on the piece, I sometimes like to take tidbits from the theme and make a new theme. For one of my pieces which had a passage that was 8 bars long, I just took the first note of each passage, which created a new musical idea consisting of 8 notes. So that was fun and worked well. 5) Give the left hand something interesting to do, perhaps move the theme there, or change the accompaniment. I always try to understand my music. Maybe this sounds kinda weird, since I'm also writing it... but I don't assume that I understand the music that I am writing. I figure that if I truly understand my music then I can understand where the music will naturally go. I realize that this advice is not very tangible but this is the most honest answer for what I do when I feel stuck. I'm sure some of the more classically inclined musicians in this forums can give you some other ideas...the possibilities are literally endless. Hope you find some inspiration.