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Hello Folks, I'm glad to be showing a little bit more music for you all. Today I'm showing a piece I wrote a while ago, but never planned on showing because Musescore can't perform it. But I recently upgraded significantly to SWAM instruments. Much less lush but more controllable, this piece was the first I wanted to do because of it's intimate feeling, and use of overtones and unusual techniques.. This piece is meant to reflect my experience of grief, specifically, the kind that surfaces while I’m trying to fall asleep. On some nights, like the one that inspired this piece, sleep feels impossible. Stress, homework, expectations—they all build up, one on top of the other, and under their weight, grief begins to surface. Suddenly, my thoughts are filled with loss. It’s not painful exactly, nor is it something I want to erase. But it carries a quiet melancholy, releasing the sadness, anger, and tension I’ve accumulated over time. In a strange way, this grief becomes a kind of relief. A way to let go of everything I’ve been holding in. Still, it lingers. It loops in my mind. Eventually, I have to let it go so I can rest. I have to keep living. I can’t stay immersed in sorrow forever. So I walk along the river, letting the sounds of the water drown out my thoughts. I walk until my legs are sore, until exhaustion replaces emotion. Then I go home, lie down, and finally sleep—my grief forgotten, at least for the night. Also this piece was one of the few I actually (somewhat) planned ahead. This is what I had planned "Walk to forget Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, 1 Percussion, Violin, Viola, Violoncello. This piece is intended to in some way, describe my experience of grief, specifically while trying to fall asleep. Some nights, like the night this piece is based off of, I struggle to fall asleep. Stress, homework, expectations, all pile on top of each other, and this pressure releases grief. Suddenly my mind is occupied by grief and loss. It’s not painful, or something I want to forget. But it’s melancholic, it releases the sadness, anger, and stress I’ve felt over time. This grief is actually a chance to release all my struggles. But it goes on and on. At some point, I must forget my grief again, so I may sleep. I must go on with my life, and cannot wallow in my grief. So I walk along the river, till the sounds swallow my mind. I walk until my legs are tired and that’s all I can think about. So I go home, go to bed, and have forgotten my grief, and everything that caused it, and sleep. So how do I convey this in a piece of music? I need a theme/motif for grief: I imagine something in the alto saxophone. I think introducing it with a poking/prodding motive, like a repeated note, taken from instrument to instrument. An idea that represents the stress of life, poking my brain to the edge. This I’m not sure will work with the time constraint, and I may just begin at the next part. Then a swell and complete change to the grief motive. In this context, I imagine something legato and sostenuto, non-triatic and lacking “home”. I think the alto saxophone should appear in the high register for the first time, everyone should be in a higher register than before, which might make the prodding motive earlier less effective, but this grief motive more effective. The grief motive must have a rhythmic element to it, so that it is recognizable as key centers change, and the pitches can be moved around functionally, to allow moments of tonal beauty amongst the quartel nature of the motive. There also needs to be a nature element, an ostinato to represent walking, and getting distracted by the wind, the stars, the river. The grief motive slowly becomes less and less present until it is taken over by the nature motives. Then we sleep. A meditative ending." Walk.mp3 Izaak Thoms Walk Final.pdf

Hi @Churchcantor , I split your post from @Fruit hunter 's original post: I do this because we want to follow the rules in our forum etiquette: In rule 2b it says: We have this rule because by posting your own music under other members' post, it will 1) divert the original intention when the member wants some feedback on their own music rather than your music 2) causing your music to lose chances to be reviewed since it is posted under other members' posts 3) It is impolite to do so. I know that you only want to respond to other members' posts without malice. But you also need to know that this may cause some disturbance and dismay to them since you repeatedly post your own works to other members' posts without much discussion, thus they won't have much gain from your posting of your own work as a response. It would be better for you to just create your own post for your own work and then quote it under other members' posts. You are also to be reminded that if you keep posting your own piece of music to other members' posts in the way you do this time, you may receive warning points for that. Hope you understand that we clearly don't want to issue warning points to any members. Henry

Here's my analysis of the three aspects you requested (harmony, orchestration, and interpretation). I've organized this post accordingly. Harmony Strengths: You use layered tones very well, especially in the strings, bassoon/contrabassoon, and brass. For example, the opening sul pont immediately creates a tense atmosphere that really suits your subject. Key Improvement Areas: There is too much harmonic stasis. We spend too much time hovering in dominant or tonic pedal harmonies without much meaningful movement beneath. Yes, these pedal harmonies go a long way to create atmosphere, but they also delay any sense of harmonic identity or direction. Even when the Allegro arrives, the harmonic palette doesn't change substantially, the texture just gets busier and louder. We are moved rhythmically but not harmonically. Suggestions: Consider using long pedal sections more strategically, with chromatic shifts in the held bass tones. These can create a lot of drama without adding rhythmic complexity. You might also consider employing modal harmonies, like Dorian or Phrygian, to evoke Central Asian/Siberian folk music traditions in a way your current diatonic approach cannot. Orchestration Strengths: Percussion! You use this section very creatively and imaginatively, and the intricate instructions and directions signal real knowledge of percussion techniques. The bowed vibraphone and screaming gong are great examples of thinking outside the box to achieve your desired effect. Key Improvement Areas: The greatest issue facing this piece is balance and crowding of registers. For example, in full orchestra passages, nearly every instrument is playing forte (or louder), and most are in similar registers simultaneously. In an actual performance, this will create a wall of undifferentiated sound rather than the textured climax you're looking for. Moreover, most of the instrument families tend to do the same thing together throughout the piece. The brass, for example, play similar rhythmic figures at the same time in your climactic sections. Same with the strings; there's a lot of doubling with the other string members. Suggestions: Stagger instruments' entries, especially with the brass, to improve timbral clarity. For the woodwinds, try not to write at the high end of their registers during climactic passages (except maybe the flute and piccolo - oboe and clarinet will become fatigued much more quickly), as they'll have to play extremely loudly to be heard. The violas are particularly underused in this piece, although all the strings sort of play the same thing most of the time. See what you can do to give each member its own line. Interpretation/Coherence Strengths: You employ strong structural ideas to frame this myth. Section I (Adagio minaccioso) is environmental and mythic. Section II (Allegro) is growling and rhythmic. Section III (Andante sonoro e vellutato) is the emotional heart of the piece. Sections IV-V (Moderato minaccioso) return us to a more aggressive character. Ending with an abrupt silence is good instinct! Key Improvement Areas: The Allegro goes on for too long, with the same rhythmic textures enduring for about 50 measures. On the other hand, the Andante should be longer. The lyrical woodwind-writing here is especially intimate, which suits the first-person encounter. If this is indeed the point of human contact, it deserves more development! Finally, the piece's emotional trajectory is loud --> quieter/lyrical --> loud again --> louder. This means the piece ends on its most intense moment... climactically dynamic, but it may obscure the mythological/encounter narrative you're going for. Suggestions: Consider giving the Allegro section an internal arc to give it more character (maybe the creature stops and listens, or there's an external threat that suddenly appears). Also, if the first-person encounter is meant to be the core of the story, consider whether that last section is a return to the environmental myth-telling perspective or if it's a different kind of confrontation. All in all, this is an ambitious work with a strong programmatic concept and some real moments of orchestral imagination (especially the percussion)! Thanks for sharing with us. Best, Jordan

Hello, friends. About three years ago, I penned this song cycle for a friend from El Salvador, based on poems by the beloved Salvadoran poet, Alfredo Espino. These hold a special place in my heart because they're the last music I've ever written, though they were sadly never performed. The songs and directions are completely in Spanish. Here they've been rendered by Cantamus (unfortunately sung in a Castilian accent and not the Latin American accent spoken in El Salvador) and the piano accompaniment has been [poorly] played by me. They're not the best recordings and some of the lyrics didn't render properly, but hopefully they deliver the music effectively. The cycle is chiasmic in structure (i.e., the first and last movements and the second and fourth movements mirror each other) and it tells the story of a day in El Salvador. I. Madrugada: This means early morning. The lyrics and music represent the waking of the Salvadoran countryside: farmers starting their day, roosters crowing, birds chirping. It begins mysteriously but soon "warms up," preparing us for the rest of the song cycle. II. Plombagina: The title is about a tiny flower found along the riverbanks in El Salvador; here it represents the playfulness of the river and the hopefulness of midmorning. This one is unmistakably waltzlike and lyrical. III. Tardecitas: "Little afternoons" is a piece about watching the rainfall in the heat of the day. It's lazy and less ambitious than the others in the cycle, representing the languor of a dreary, rainy day. IV. Estrella in el río: We return once more to a song about the river, this time in a more contemplative frame of mind. "Star in the river" is shimmering and reflective, capturing the tranquility of twilight as the stars begin to pinprick the sky and cast their reflections into the river below. V. Nocturno: While "Madrugada" expresses the joys of a new morning, "Nocturno" explores the angst found at the close of the day. It's by far the most restless of the cycle, employing a sort of perverted tango rhythm in mockery of the soothing sway of a nocturne. In it, you'll find themes of grief and fear and anxiety, embedded in harmonies very reminiscent of Spain/Latin America. Even if you don't understand Spanish, I hope these songs move you and perhaps inspire you. As ever, I'm happy to receive any feedback you may have. Best, Jordan Canciones de El Salvador.pdf I. Madrugada.mp3 II. Plombagina.mp3 III. Tardecitas.mp3 IV. Estrella en el río.mp3 V. Nocturno.mp3

This is a project I have slowly worked on for about a year. Thoughts/comments/criticisms welcome. Edit: I have cleaned the scores up a lot. Prelude No 1.mp3Prelude No 2.mp3Prelude No 3.mp3Prelude No 4.mp3Prelude No 5.mp3Prelude No 6.mp3Prelude No 7.mp3Prelude No 8.mp3Prelude No 9.mp3Prelude No 10.mp3 Prelude No. 1.pdf Prelude No. 2.pdf Prelude No. 3.pdf Prelude No. 4.pdf Prelude No. 5.pdf Prelude No. 6.pdf Prelude No. 7.pdf Prelude No. 8.pdf Prelude No. 9.pdf Prelude No. 10.pdf

Hello everyone, It's been a few months since I wrote anything. My last cycle on Laforgues poems had left me a little dry! But this poet has not said his last word and continues to haunt me. So here is a new piece, black, full of soot... Note, you can activate the subtitle in English. Good listening. https://youtu.be/jXMz3lu6Jfk?si=tYOpdEBtnVSJVlfe

Thank you! I am glad you found the notation and layout satisfying as well. I had some troubles to notate the atonal accidentals in the atonal section and in the went for what looked more beautiful and easier to read when playing. I only composed one piece in Amaj a couple of years ago. From then on, somehow I have only been able to compose mostly pieces in minor 😅 Thanks again, @Churchcantor !

Good Lord, Peter, the rules were because of me? I'M FAMOUS!🤩

By the way, we formulated these rules in response to your posts and activity on this forum. And that is because nobody else really has ever used (or rather abused LoL) the forum the way you are before and we felt the need to protect the forum from this kind of posting and "content".

nice a*alogy lol

Certainly nothing against you, Henry Ng, but it seems unnecessarily a*al sometimes, and I don't mean to offend your protocol.

A few days ago, I wrote a very short piano work for my brother's birthday, which is not something I normally do. I realised early on in the week that I had not yet got him anything and decided to write and put together a music video in one day, as one does. Of course, I paired it with some colourful lyrics to express my utmost brotherly love and affection for him (translation: extol his persistently annoying behaviour and call out embarrassing moments in his life). To my surprise, he did enjoy it more than I thought he would, so that was a success! I've removed the lyrics for seriousness' sake in the PDF, but I hope you'll find something of interest in here. As usual, I am also always looking for feedback and ways to keep chipping away at my pieces even after I've written them. Are the two main themes different enough in character? Does the form feel awkward or bloated? Anything else of concern or note? One thing I will admit is that I probably should not have notated swing entirely with triplets, so that's something I've started to fix up at the moment... Promenade (2026).mp3 Promenade (2026).pdf

Hi, 林家興. First, I don't know how this piece hasn't received any comments in two months. It is absolutely delightful, from start to finish! Smooth and spunky, all at the same time. I'm not sure if this is a live recording or not, but the playback was terrific. I love jazzy melodies and chord progressions... and the way you pull off the key change so smoothly to the complement (from Ab to D) is very impressive. Hats off to you! Amazing piece. So glad you shared it with us (and I'm glad your brother liked it)! Best, Jordan

Hi, Izaak. I must say, I was transfixed listening to this piece! The sustained harmonies, the silky textures, the pulsating rhythms: it was masterfully crafted. Few things bring me more joy than experiencing a composer who's expressing himself in his own voice - and that's exactly what I felt here. In my opinion, you accomplished what you set out to do with this piece. It was at once anxious and grief-filled and restless, and yet somehow still very moving. Thank you so much for sharing with us! Best, Jordan

Jesus, but you have a lot of time on your hands! Like me when I was actually in school as a Music Composition major. Carry on! I once got an A for a paper on Beethoven's Heiliger Dankegesang, in college. 🤣

I have commented on the piece already, but one can just tell from the layout of the first page of the piece that it is well-constructed! Even a glance, without even needing to read the score and hear it in my head... Ever write in A Major, my favorite key?

Thanks to all 12 participants who submitted music to the competition - the recipients of the "Landscapes - Soundscapes - Participant" Award! Padovana et Gagliarda “Detta la Lombarda” by @L.S Barros Amidst the Clouds & Flowers by @InstrumentalistElle Sacrificed to the Wilderness by @Fruit hunter Morning On Whidbey Island by @BipolarComposer Spring Submission “Rainy Weather” by @therealAJGS Chinese Fugue by @TristanTheTristan Sunset Suite in C minor by @Musicman_3254 City Rail and Nightingale by @Wieland Handke Alishan (for Flute Quintet) by @HoYin Cheung "Warmth" by @UncleRed99 The Voyage of a Lone Ship by @ferrum.wav Lamentare Ciobanului - “The Shepherd’s Lament” by @ComposaBoi The members have voted! --==<< Decisive Fanfare! >>==-- And the winners are: For winning the "Rustic Mood" Award with 9 votes - Padovana et Gagliarda "Detta la Lombarda" by @L.S Barros will receive the following badge: For winning the "Nature's Garden" Award with 10 votes - Amidst the Clouds & Flowers by @InstrumentalistElle will receive the following badge: For winning the "Peace of Nature" Award with 6 votes - Morning On Whidbey Island by @BipolarComposer will receive the following badge: For winning the "Nature and Civilization" Award with 9 votes - City Rail and Nightingale by @Wieland Handke will receive the following badge: For winning the "Forest Echoes" Award with 5 votes - Alishan (for Flute Quintet) by @HoYin Cheung will receive the following badge: For winning the "Home and Hearth" Award with 9 votes - “Warmth” by @UncleRed99 will receive the following badge: For winning the "Pastorale" Award with 8 votes - Lamentare Ciobanului - “The Shepherd’s Lament” by @ComposaBoi will receive the following badge: For winning 3rd Place overall with 8 points - City Rail and Nightingale by @Wieland Handke will receive the following trophy: For winning 2nd Place overall with 9 points - we have a tie! Padovana et Gagliarda "Detta la Lombarda" by @L.S Barros and Amidst the Clouds & Flowers by @InstrumentalistElle will receive the following trophy: For winning 1st Place overall with 16 points - The Voyage of a Lone Ship by @ferrum.wav will receive the following trophy: Congratulations to all the winners! We will now move your pieces to the "Competition Hall of Fame" sub-forum! And thanks to all the following participants who also reviewed all the entries! The contest would not have been as much fun and as instructional as it was without you! The following members will receive the "Heavyweight Reviewer" badge for reviewing 100% of the entries (12) submitted to the competition! @Luis Hernández, @Kvothe, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, @chopin, @Wieland Handke, @ComposaBoi, @ferrum.wav, @PeterthePapercomPoser, and @Tónskáld And the following members will receive the "Welterweight Reviewer" badge for reviewing 66% of the entries (8) submitted to the competition! And the following members will receive the "Featherweight Reviewer" badge for reviewing 33% of the entries (4) submitted to the competition! @TristanTheTristan, @HoYin Cheung, @Fruit hunter, and @UncleRed99 Thank you to all 13 Ardent Reviewers who reviewed the contest entries! This is perhaps the first time that the number of reviewers exceeded the number of contestants! Great turnout people! And thanks for me @PeterthePapercomPoser for organizing and managing all the competition polls, announcements, submission thread, badges, results, satisfaction survey and advertising outreach! I will receive the "Community Organizer" badge! To take the Landscapes - Soundscapes Satisfaction Survey go here: To listen to all the entries go to the submission thread: To check out all the popular voting polls go here: And for the competition announcement go here:

Cool piece! I love how your atonal technique makes these "glassy" sounding chords, thin and angular, and the juxtaposition with a more traditional tonal sound is neat. I really think you could absolutely take this idea farther. For example, you have the sections completely separated -- I wonder what would happen if the atonal sections had moments of consonance, and/or vice versa? This atonality is quite gentle and agreeable, and consequently, I think it would be relatively easy to mix the two. Thank you for sharing!

Entry: Padovana et Gagliarda “Detta la Lombarda” by @L.S Barros Melodies Themes Motives Harmony Chords Textures Form Development Structure Time Originality Creativity Score Presentation Instrumentation Orchestration Playability Execution of Given Challenge Taste 7 7 8.5 7 9.5 10 10 8.5 Average Score: 8.44 Review: Beautiful writing that certainly does paint a scene/landscape! And it does this despite, or maybe because of the fact that it’s a pair of dances! I can totally imagine this playing in a medieval court or at a rustic Italian tavern of some sort. It would also go really well in an RPG game in that kind of medieval location. For me the soundfonts sound quite good as I am not a connoisseur of medieval instruments so I can’t tell the difference. I think this rendition of the piece is quite sufficient for the competition and for letting us appreciate the intent of the composer. I don’t know how different it would sound if it were played by a historically accurate ensemble. I think that having two parts to the composition - one relatively slow and the other fast - is quite a good choice to provide the listener some variety. The music with its varying tempi could be used to accompany quite a few different rustic scenes. Besides a tavern I can also imagine a rustic town of Lombardy (or whatever - I don’t know if that town actually exists). Or some kind of castle in the Italian mountains and all the bustling activity at said town/castle. It is quite exciting! Perhaps because of the style of this music, I found the melodies and harmonies quite pedestrian and unsurprising. But some of the other categories more than made up for that. Thanks for your participation and I hope you win the award I created specifically for this piece - the “Rustic Mood” award!

You are welcome to be confused if you like, Henry, and this little joke piece really does not deserve its own thread! I wrote it as a relief from working on my piano sonata. You or Peter are welcome to delete the thread if you like; it is posted in the piano sonata thread anyway.

THIS is still at the top of the page? I think it is a decent setting. Maybe I should write more English Poetry settings. I could certainly set German, do some Lieder...not fluent in the Sprache, just working on basic conversational German, so I would have to analyze a German poem first before I could set it.

Actually decided that I have a soft spot for this little joke piece; very funny!🤣It's like (well, I meant it) the rocket went up then crashed hard, and the low piano bass is saying "Sorry, no dice" or something! So-called AI says: The phrase "sorry, no dice" is an informal American idiom used to express a flat refusal, a negative outcome, or an unsuccessful attempt. It indicates that a request has been denied or that a desired outcome is simply not possible. Kind of like North Korean missile launches! 🤣

Yes, the house mice I can never get rid of like to chew up my manuscripts for bedding; at least they have good "taste" in music! That's from my Bb Major Requiem; it is already in the computer. 😉That is from probably the weakest movement in that piece, anyway. My two pet rats are too polite to munch on my scores. One of them likes to hunt, slaughter, and devour any mouse he can catch though, Baby, my friend Jackie's rat, really.

My friend Jackie, piano sonata dedicee, had some wheezing and shortness of breath, she mentioned needing a new Albuterol inhaler, and I think she was worried enough about it to call EMS, but she does not live with me now, just down the street. I am more worried about her right now than music, though I am looking at some music just to take my mind off the situation until I know she is ok. No intimate relationship between us; I am eighteen years older, and very ugly in my old age!

Piece isn't great, at the time I thought it was for the fellow's dead grandmother, not sure the dying grandmother story was true now, though...☹️However, Kyrylo WAS a very intelligent, nice young man of 22. He could even make out Middle English and thought it was really cool, General Prologue of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, helped me with the few, three dozen or so Russian words I know! He didn't even ask for that much money, but I can't, and wouldn't have, given it to him. I can't come up with $900 ready cash! I just have my retirement account, and I sure as hell don't want to cash that out early and pay all those taxes! Loved my guitar Symphony-Concerto, and was shocked when I told him how long it takes to write something like that, 4-6 months...🫢Malenkey Malchik was quite impressed...

I'll get to the other prelude eventually. It is a cool polychord! (Thank you, Peter.)