Leaderboard

This is my second piece from the Spring Trilogy, April. It is the most easy-going of the cycle. It begins as a gentle waltz but it gets more energetic and drammatic. After a short recapitulation the piece ends surprisingly in dark contrast between bright pizzicatos and low, murky tremolos of the cello.

I have already uploaded March and April from my Spring Trilogy, here is the finale, May. Since this month is traditionally rainy in Slovenia, the beginning has some features of rain with various aleatoric timbre playing on orchestra, while cello brings the initial melodic motif with its various transformations. Music becomes more "down to earth", more energetic and passionate. It continues to bounce between these two contrasting characters and ends with cellist playing improvised harmonics of a basic tone of c with unisono violins and violas while lower strings play some low ranged aleatoric pizzicatos.

Hell yeah brother

How about we just ban AI and trust that people are honest, and if people find out that it's AI, they get temporarily banned. This way, people will be afraid to post AI content and not post any.

I don't think we should be Draconian about policing this. I think the policy should be no posting music composed by AI, but I really think it would be a mistake to start policing and interrogating every post and assuming it's AI until proven otherwise. If there are indications that a piece might be AI (e.g. no score provided, telltale signs of Sonus, posted by someone with no prior history on the forum, etc.), then it makes sense to inquire further into it. But demanding proof of authorship from every composition would be a drastic overreaction to an issue that has, as far as I'm aware, only actually cropped up once here so far. I'm against AI compositions on the forum, but I'd rather waste my time once or twice giving useless feedback on an AI composition than chase real people who are posting real compositions off the site.

As far as the 3rd part of this poll, If we decide to regulate, I think requiring / encouraging the composer to give some insight about how they composed the piece, and their motivations of the composition should be enough.

Since I have been long fascinated with crazy, unusual ensembles I present to you the piece "Always something unique" for flute, clarinet quartet, accordion, marimba and double bass. Composed in 2023 for the Alpe Adria festival of Music, it was premiered in November in my hometown Mengeš. It is not a perfect performance, there were some mistakes so do follow the score with the performance. It is a pretty demanding piece, particularly in rhythm and overall coordination (there was no conductor). I follow my standard fast-slow-fast form, with finale being pretty high pitched and ear penetrating. The style could be described as a mix of some Stravinsky, modern French music and my own personal idiom.

Sylva Train Runnin' | Official Motion Picture Score from A Fire Within Hello! Over the last calendar year, I have been creating my first short-film called A Fire Within. When completed, the film will follow the tragedy between two friends: Sam and Andy. The story focus on the theme of betrayal as being cordial does not stop greed or jealousy from bubbling within someone. This score is paired with a travel sequence in the film and is my 4th attempt at writing for Big Band Swing. I am very happy with the result and simply wanted to share it! The style was meant to replicate late 40s/ early 50s swing to match the era in which the story takes place. I sampled a little of Miller's "Chattanooga Choo Choo" to help tie into the railroad theme with the main structure being based in verse-chorus with multiple repeats and a key change. If you would like to know more about the score, go to the "About" section on page 4! ________________ Program Note: A Fire Within is an original story written by Mason Kistler detailing betrayal between two friends. Featuring an original soundtrack, soundscape, voice cast and more, this story established itself as the first short-film made solely in the video game Railroader, which was released in December, 2023. Join the orchestra as they bring you in towards this cinematic universe and involve yourself in their soundscape. All aboard as the saxophones open the throttle and the ensemble leaves the station! [DO NOT REPLICATE]

Hi @Bjarke! The piece starts in a soft and dark place giving it lots of room to grow. The trumpet melody at 0:43 is the first instance of a theme in the piece that could be developed. At 1:03 you reiterate the theme in the choir with variation. At 1:33 the thematic exposition is finished and you continue the piece with a sequence of ostinati over low brass accompaniment. At 1:52 you introduce a trumpet fanfare that is then continued in the strings with brass ostinati underneath. At 2:13 you introduce a rising choir and brass melody. At 2:38 you've modulated into a nice string melody. At 2:53 you start an intense passage for strings and brass. There is some relief from this intensity at 3:17 with the staccato brass and string hits. At 3:49 you have an intriguing string ostinato that in my opinion could have started softer to give it more room to crescendo towards the end of the piece. Now to give my more overall impression of the whole piece: I think the piece is exciting and full of energy but it suffers in terms of musical coherence and unity. The trumpet theme at 0:43 is not particularly notable - in terms of melodic construction, it starts off strong and heroic but soon suffers from lack of inner melodic coherence. What I mean is that melodies usually have some kind of self-similarity to give them a hook or a catchiness to the listener. You do actually reiterate the hook of your trumpet melody in your string melody at 2:38 with variation which is a nice way to add some unity to the piece, but none of the other material in the piece seems to be related to the theme which is a shame and why I would say that overall, your piece lacks unity. I would also say that it suffers from too much variety - it's a jumble of mostly unrelated ideas thrown together. And the overall sense of the piece (besides the introduction) is to be hard, fast and loud without very many places where you let up the intensity which isn't very musical. Like at 3:49 where I felt like you really could have drawn the listener in by bringing the dynamics of the whole orchestra way down so as to lead the piece with a big crescendo to the conclusion which would have been more effective imo. Perhaps the reason why the piece resulted to be the way it is is because of what you chose to focus on when you were writing it? It seems like "Composition in four hours without any breaks" was your goal rather than any kind of particular musical goal or inspiration. Music is boring when it's approached in such a way as to look at it only as a way to force oneself to work on something without any breaks. And why wouldn't you take any breaks? Is there any particular reason? That doesn't seem like a significant nor important goal in music. For me, composition usually goes in cycles: if I haven't composed something in a long time, I'll start out with something small to warm up, then I'll move on to progressively more substantial and involved musical projects. Whether I take a break or not is not even something I pay attention to nor aspire to avoid. Just saying: you might want to rethink what's important to you in music or what your musical values are because it seems to me like you're not focusing on the right thing. But everyone is different and you might not agree - if not, by all means continue writing the way you do and know how! Thanks for sharing.

A lot of voice leading things that are weird. Very postmodern sounding to. I somewhat appreciate the dissonance. OK, I like the change to pace. I appreciate the different folk aspects of this piece. And I definitely like that electric guitar cadenza. A mixing issue with the winds burying the main theme. We are back at measure 59 with the folk melody There may be some difficulty at 83 and before that with the double tongue in the brass. I also like how some of the other instruments double the guitar with the runs. Why is the viola in the bass clef. I like the rhythmic interpretation and variation around 111. I enjoy the guitar solo and also the irregular variation with the rhythm although that the playback may not support this make sure you write some slurring around. At 179 a previous theme returns. Along with the folk melody running after that. Some of the guitar material had returned. And I like the end. Good job and I appreciate the amazing structure and the cool material that you have given throughout the first Movement

Just make some things. The making will lead to questions, and the combination of the questions, and the practice making will make you better over time. Don't be afraid to get started. Don't expect to be any good. You WILL be bad at this, because you have never done it before, so go ahead and start and just have fun! We call it "playing" music, so play! 🙂

Did you ever have any music theory lessons? How old are you? I started by improvising on the piano and then writing down these improvisations. During my intermediate school studies I was intensely studying harmony and counterpoint from 16th to 19th century theory. I learned the use of instruments by arranging numerous popular pieces - I had a band with a flute, clarinet, violin, trumpet and trombone players. They were not advanced players but sufficient enough to learn how to late compose for these instruments. If I were young today, I would recommend anybody to start with arrangements and harmonizations of folk pieces or children pieces. Initially to use basic functions of tonality (tonic, subdominant, dominant, followed by supportive functions of IInd, IIIrd and VIth chord of the key, and then beginning to venture outside the single key).

Just begin composing. Don't wait to "feel ready" 🙂 You can start for free using Musescore and read scores (highly recomended) on imslp a long with youtube for audio. Start learning how to read scores with some basic music theory. find a teacher or teach your self. Then post the scores here on the forum for feedback. That a lone can take you far with some patience. Just focus on small improvements constantly every day! Good luck! 🙂

I have moved on to Chapter 7 of Persichetti's "20th Century Harmony" which covers polychords. The prompt for the piece was "4. Extend the polychordal passage for piano:" Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any of your comments!

I've moved on to Chapter 6 of Persichetti's "20th Century Harmony" which is about secundal chords and clusters. The prompt was "1. Harmonize the following melody for string trio using chords by seconds." Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any of your comments!

This would be a very Haydnesque effect! I can never forget how he delibrately asked the strings to mistune their strings while sustaining a chord: (Begins at 23:17) Also the ending of the Farewell leaves me like WTF lol

@Henry Ng Tsz Kiu Thank you so much for your thoughtful reviews of each movement! I'm glad you mentioned the timpani solo - I thought it would be amusing if, when the orchestra sets up the cadenza with its 64 chord, the timpanist suddenly decides that they're the soloist and starts playing a timpani "cadenza" before the trumpet gently nudges them aside and proceeds with the real cadenza. I could even imagine a bit of stagecraft where the trumpeter gives the timpanist a "what the hell?" look and maybe the conductor pretends to try to get their attention and make them stop. Anyway, I'm glad you liked the concerto. It's certainly one of the better pieces I've finished, in my opinion.

HI @PeterthePapercomPoser I can tell you are enjoying these exercises! I love how you use the harmonic and melodic motives that he presented thorough out the entire piece. I think we need to have something like this for YC challenge. 🙂

Thanks! It's a bit of a lighter finale, like that of the Hummel trumpet concerto or of some Beethoven concerti, which I thought was needed after the long and serious adagio.

Kirby's Epic Yarn - Weird Woods

Very enjoyable finale! I like how you let up tension, but tension is still there; you don't let up. Does that make sense? Probably not, but this would have rocked Vienna in the 1790s.

This is the first movement of my Spring Trilogy (March, April and May) from a full album by here presented cellist Bernardo Brizani, who selected four composers to create a full twelve-month cycle of seasons. The score already has all three movements but the recordings are presented on separate videos. This movement begins with slow, murkly chords in strings while cello shows a contrasting, arabesque-like energy. The middle part of the movement is a bit more agile and brighter in sound, while the ending returns to the initial mood. The music has neoromantic features but I do believe it is mostly in my own idiom.

Wow, a lot to digest... About bar 16. I guess I was sloppy not to add crescendo to basses. About mixing sharps with flats: I prefer diatonic intervals to diminished even if the vertical structure looks strange, I guess for practical reasons (for example, this always happens when harp is used). Beam over rests: from my experience, it depends what type of metre is used. I try to properly control the beaming but sometimes it looks a bit rough. Still, we are used to such notation at the ear and rhythm training sessions. 🙂 I usually don't add extra bowings, unless I am 100% in necessity for the specific articulation. Maybe I am a bit more aware of the bowing since I have a daughter who plays double bass. 🙂 Anyway, thanks for the comment. You really pointed out specific situations which made me take some extra peeks in the score. 🙂

Anything I say isn't gonna be very useful, since you've clearly gotten a performance of it, so it's obviously “good enough,” but I'll throw some stuff out. What an interesting piece, here. It has some very Barber cello concerto-esque vibes, mixed with almost a little bit of Meyer's violin concerto? I love the harmonic language you used throughout and it's very refreshing to see some good string writing. I really liked the transition back to the opening material: I love cascade effects because I'm a normie, but it's used really well here to bring us back to the original register too, which is clever. I think the only real musical note I have is just wanting to hear a little more textural variation. Like, I think the upper strings are homophonic with each other essentially the whole time, which is admittedly a nice split from the full homophony of the intro/ending material, but it feels like—especially at big moments—there could have been some more counterpoint. I have a few score nitpicks, like sometimes your markings that feel like they should apply to the whole group aren't done so (e.g., cresc. in bass in m. 16, mp for cello in m. 17). Bass note spacing issue in m. 73, etc. I was very surprised to see you mix flats and sharps in m. 77, especially when the cello acquiesces to the B major in the orchestra by the end of the measure, but I understand wanting to make the contour clearer in the solo instrument. Have you considered using beam over rests? I'm sure you have; it's just some of the rhythms starting in m. 58 are (despite being totally fine with practice) kinda rough to look at on first glance, and you're at the disadvantage of doing it with 16ths and not 8ths as is normal for that kind of texture. m. 62, in my mind, clef changes are applied only to the note and not any rests; I'm sure it makes spacing look better having the clef change in the solo be just at the beginning but it made me do a double take. And I'm just selfish, but I'd have loved to see some bowings (🙂), just for that little extra professionalism pop, haha. Great work and very enjoyable to listen to!!

Hello! I was working on a movement and I wanted to go for a lake-theme so I was wondering whether C or G Major sounded better for this. I also provided scores for each major key.

Maybe you could start from C major then try and switch from C major to G major to add some more texture to the music from time to time

This is my "Three Sententiae for Glissotar, Op. 386", a piece I composed last year. The glissotar is a newly invented instrument that is a version of the Hungarian woodwind instrument "tarogato" but with the distinction that the notes are not determined by holes as in most woodwind instruments but, as in string instruments, by pressing the fingers anywhere in the range; and glissandos are possible. I had to create a new soundfont for it in order to be able to make this mp3 version. I have provided a description of 'sententia' as well as of 'glissotar' on the title page of the score.

As composers, we never really know why we compose. If we knew it , we might never have become composers. I DO know why I became composer. It is the passion and the will to speak positively to your audiences and, if necessary, criticize the negativity or simply enjoy the widest range of possibilities of art. It is also about exploring and sharing your talents with everybody. The Bible also says the talents should never be burried. And you should always try to improve your skills and explore the little explored and be open-minded.

And what makes your music so good compared to masters such as Mozart, Beethoven, Mahler, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, or so many great living composers? You must imagine that you are the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be...

This is the final draft of my best work up to date in my life, String Sextet in G flat major. Posts of seperate movements have been posted before and I'm not gonna repeat it here. If you're interested in the music details, pls check the following YCs: 1st Mov: 2nd mov: Here is the score and YT link of the work: String Sextet in G flat major.pdf Here is the structure of the work: (*denotes parts I love). The two movement structure is inspired by Mahler's 8th Symphony, so the second movement is proportionally much longer than 1st movement: 0:00 Opening credit and structure 0:11 1st Mov, 1st Part: Tao Primo (*3:35-3:47 nice bridge, **4:40-5:26 nice chromatics) 5:34 1st Mov, 2nd Part: Minore, a fugato, some little challenges (**9:40-10:10 nice retransition) 10:10 1st Mov, 3rd Part: Tao Return, a triple fugue and ending (falsely) (*11:45, **12:46 till the end) 14:48 2nd Mov, Lamentoso: Denial of Tao and realization of the realistic World full of tragedies. (*16:54, *19:11, ***19:44 sounds like my version of Bee's op.131 finale!, ***23:38-25:15 most emotional passage for me) 26:33 2nd Mov, Fugue a6: Objectification of emotions and reason. The most difficult passage for me to write technically but easiest emotionally. (**28:10-28:42 includes a 6 part stretto of 1st subject and a nice C minor modultation quoting my own Clarinet Quintet, ****30:07-31:27 a 6 part stretto of 2nd subject and one of my fav. section in the entire work with the very beautiful C minor passage, ***32:58-34:31 nice turn to pentatonics and nice disappointment) 35:03 2nd Mov, The Return. Start picking up the real self and soul and connect oneself with Tao, finding self equals to finding Tao. “I Six Books explain me and I explain Six Books (Lu Jiuyuan)”(*35:03-35:36 try to regain energy, **37:05,37:37,38:11,38:43 Nice color, **39:12 nice folk melody, ***39:15-40:15 Nice pizz.! And a very nice snap pizz! **** 40:46-41:46This passage leaves me in wonder. I don't know how do I compose this, **42:17-43:23 Nice appetizer fugato, ****43:24-44:53 Grand Climax!, ***44:54-45:41 Nice heterophonic passage which ignites my creative power for this movement, *****45:42 till end Pefect ending) This work was first inspired by Chinese Philosopher Tang Chun I's Realm of Heavenly Morality in his monumental book, The Existence of Life and the World of Spirituality, in April 2022. I wanna felt and descibed it hence I finished the whole 1st mov. I thought it's enough, until I met with my dedicatee Johnson, my respected philosophy professor Dr. Tao and my friend Merina in April 2023, and I knew it's not enough since without pain Tao isn't possible at all. After some painful incidents in 2024, I am finally able to finish the whole piece in March 2025. For me this work is about Tao, Tao lost and Tao regained. Since this would be the final post on the Sextet, please let me acknowledge people I would like to thank along my way of composing. This work is dedicated to and in memoriam Mr. Johnson Ho https://youtube.com/@beingintheworld?si=9Ch3hnk1UtluHTRF who sadly passed away in July 2024, and it's a regret the work couldn't be finished when he's alive. I would like to thank him for his great inspiration especially his postive way to deal with his illness. I would like to thank Dr. Tao, without his teaching esp. the one on the book Buddha-nature and Prajñā (?) did I realise the importance of pain and human suffering to morality and humanity, and probably won't have enough philosophical basis for this work. I would like to thank Mr. Vince Meyer @Thatguy v2.0, who acts as my musical Virgil, providing so many inspiration particularly in this piece's fugue and different motivic usage, and also make this great recording. Also, thank him for his encouragement when I kept saying I could never finish this piece. I would like to thank Dr. David Goza http://www.youtube.com/@David_Goza⁨⁩ ,without his videos on YT I would never able to improve my own writing. I would like to thank Merina, Yvonne, Arjuna @expert21 and Peter @PeterthePapercomPoser for staying with me in my difficult times. I would like to thank Mike @chopin for his idea to go back to medieval texture in the Return. I would like to thank Luis @Luis Hernández which helps me solve the harmonic progression btw tritiones. I would also like to thank my ex-boss's mistreatment, as she teaches me a great lesson and the pain helps me reflect a lot which shows here. Also, thanks to everyone who has listen to this piece before and comments, as they help me a lot. Thank you Young Composers Forum and @chopin for giving me a chance to grow musically. Thank you for everyone who has commented on the work's parts before, I especially love the comments by @Fugax Contrapunctus @Giacomo925. Last but most importantly, I would like to thank my mum and family. Without their love I would probably fall much deeper and won't be able to finish this piece at all. Thank you!! P.S. One interesting fact on the piece is that it stays longer in F sharp minor then G flat Major….. Henry

Plenty of mixed feelings about this one. Sure, you can write for strings (although G flat major is a terrible key for strings) but the work does not progress anywhere for a pretty long time. No modulations (barely any chromatic), similar character. This is more like a minimalism style, akin to early Glass or some less expansive John Adams. The transition at 5:35 is refreshing. I am pretty impressed with final movement, it is a piece within a piece. There are some nice and memorable moments but the overall form is probably too large for what it offers. Still, I admire your bravery to compose such a long string sextet.

Me and the computer "wrote" this using quaternions where a = duration , b = pitch , c = dynamic, d = articulation.

If this piece is intentionally hilarious, then job well done. I had an amusing time with this.😁 And the music itself fits perfectly.

It is always strange to listen to microtonal music as it sounds out of tune rather than a coherent musical language. And it is used within the traditional d minor with more or less classical melodic and polyphonic technique which is certainly unique. To some extent it reminds me of the third string quartet by Aulis Sallinen.

After many years, I have finally composed a new tango, my fifth so far. It is for double bass and piano, since my daughter Eva is a decent performer and always wanted me to compose for her. The tango has a typical A-B-A form and uses a modern musical language with added dissonances, based on a tonal centre of e but without clear major minor progress. The middle section is in much more clear yet still modal f sharp minor, very melodic and utilizes the high range of the double bass. The composition end with powerful energy and one final snap pizzicato on a low e.

Hello Everyone, Thank you for your support in my recent compositions, I really appreciate the great feedback I always get from y'all. Today I have a piece that I really needed to write for myself. I've recently been under a lot of stress, with demands and expectations of other people really weighing me down. The struggle to meet those expectations has hurt my self-esteem. This piece is simply an expression of that feeling, and ends with the hope that I will conquer it all.

This was a very interesting listen. My brain goes to Bartok because of the folk aspect and rhythms. Also, I keep thinking: just wait until this guy gets into the changing time signatures every so often and then we'll have a feast!

That's why we would need the AI detection tool for help to make sure it's not a lie.

Very eerily expressive, and I feel like the ending has not resolved. This could be a good candidate for a psychological horror perhaps. Look up the game "The Dark Eye". I don't remember the music of that game, but I feel like this music would work in that type of game.

Continuing with Persichetti's chapter on added-note chords, I wrote this piano piece. The prompt was "9. Extend the following piano idea, preserving the general character." Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any of your comments!

Hi Martin, This sounds experimental, which is always good! Some of your brass writing is very nice, and the cat vocalisations are hilarious! Overall the work feels a bit random at times, and maybe lacks coherence; but still an enjoyable listen. Alex

As someone involved in education, AI has been a hot topic. I have a pragmatic view that AI, for good or bad, is ubiquitous in our society so it is better to control how it is expressed in the forums where you can set explicit guidelines and consequences for abuse rather than ban it entirely and have it go underground. I would advocate creating a dedicated subforum for AI music and be clear that AI music must be declared as such can only be submitted/discussed there and a clear policy that violating these guidelines can lead to suspension or banning from the site. Also in the end, if someone wants to pass of AI music (or any other creative endeavor as their own), it's really hurting them more so than others. They are not improving their creative process so any praise/feedback is hollow and meaningless. At least it's not stealing someone else's work and passing it off as your own (which has happened to me). I am of the mind that AI generated art in all forms will always be inferior to human efforts so in the end who really cares?. If AI every got to the point there were really think it is on par or superior to human effort, well, then great since a masterpiece is a masterpiece (I am just doubtful that AI will ever be able to achieve this).

Glitter and sprinkles, you want me for the feast, Tempting in your face, but you’re just a beast. Strawberry cakes, she ate ten tons of them, But I prefer my toast, just full of jam. Glitter and sprinkles, you want me to get plump, But I’m not your Barbie, I’ll sweep you to dump.

Seasons Greetings all! Here's a little something I'm cooking up for a concert next year. It's based on the Epitaph of Seikilos, which is the earliest surviving complete song. I tried to give it a flavour of Antiquity, and to create unexpected harmonies. Haven't come up with lyrics yet; though it will start with the original Ancient Greek text translated into English. Maybe my piano part is a bit too thin? Or perhaps I should keep it sparse? The notation is intended for midi, and I'll be adjusting the dynamics upwards by at least one degree for the musicians. When I make the final score, I'm intending to write out the spread stacked chords in full as arpeggios. N.B. Score updates will be posted further down the thread.

Hey PaperComposer I really liked this. There was a lot of creative time signature switching up, and I think you orchestrated this really well. I'm not a string player, so I won't comment on the triple stops (Looks daring haha). I love how you broke up the 7/8 theme in different ways, and really enjoyed the clever use of each instrument. It's always nice to pick out different parts when listening and follow along without getting bored. I will say that I didn't care too much for the B theme. I felt like the A material was strong, and I appreciate the nice contrast it gave, but as a whole it felt a bit out of place to me. Kind of like I went back in time to a noble's manor in all its splendor every time I heard it. 😜 Moving forward, I would work on your transitions and pacing. You have great ideas that are uniquely you, but it felt rushed in between sections, like it was all just crammed together. Spread it out! You have four instruments, let them all have their time to be heard. You have contrast in your thematic material, but an easy contrast to employ is simply letting the viola and piano play for a little, or solo violin, or whatever combinations you would want to create. For some reason I've listened to this piece several times within the last days without commenting, so I figured I would share a few thoughts since I've enjoyed it so much. Thanks for posting 😄

Hi, beautiful and interesting. I love the exposition, every instrumente has its own work, the counterpoint seems to be born naturally. The FIRST change to the "dance" part m. 38 sound a bit odd to me, coming from a thicker and dramatic section. Very smart those previous glissandi with a "comic" effect that lead to the happier "dance" part. The second time I hear this is not so unnatural, once learned. The development of this part is briliant, only some spots are a less clear, in my opinion: m. 55 - 56, ... probably because there are too issues to have in the ear: 3 agains 2 rhythm, trill, staccatto... Nice work anyway. These are only minor impressions of mine. Overall, there is lot of work here. Interesting tonality, not often seen, particularly in orchestral sets (where some sections are better written in other tonalities, enharmonic following transpositions). But some works comes to my mind in this tonality: Scriabin piano sonata, nº 2, Liszt La Campanella, Shostakovich string quartett nº 8 (movement II).

Interesting, I hadn't considered there being three themes, I guess I'm biased toward assuming there would be only two for some reason. As I listen again this structure is more clear. I'd say give it the melody somewhere, and maybe trade back and forth between the other instruments. As an example, maybe give the right hand in the piano the melody in m.20-27 while the violin has a secondary role (maybe an echo to the piano an octave lower when the piano plays sustained notes), then have the violin take over to finish off the section. This also might make it more clear that a new theme is starting. Yes I do hear it as a ii V. As I sit and play the progression (G#m, D# Major, G#m, G# Major) on my piano a few times I hear what you're saying and I'm somewhere in the middle now lol. Maybe since the G# major on the downbeat of m.97 isn't immediately preceded by the D# Major on beat 3 of m.96 it doesn't sound as resolved to me? And since the D# major leads to the G#m, the G# major comes as a surprise? I dunno, if you're happy with it don't let me change your mind lol. I remember, you've come a long way in such a short time. At this rate you'll be composer in residence at a major orchestra by December 😂.

Really good work! I really liked your melodies and each instrument has unique, independent, and interesting lines pretty much throughout the piece. I also liked the contrast between the light major theme at m.38 and the darker section preceding it. I will say I think it might be a little "violin-heavy". For pretty much the entire piece the violin took the spotlight; if some of the melodies were passed around a little more it might add more variety. I also think the piano was particularly underutilized. I'm certainly no authority on sonata form, but I thought you did a good job. Here's how I interpreted it: m.1-19 - Introduction m.20-37- Theme A m. 38-42 - Theme B m. 43-74 - Development m.75-84 - Recap Theme A m.85-89 - Recap Theme B m.90-98 - Coda Am I close? I liked your development section and thought you did a good job twisting and turning the themes into new ideas. I will say the restatement of m.75-84 seems a little short since there was an additional phrase the first time I heard it in m.20-37. Maybe add an additional phrase like the first time to make if feel more balanced? Lastly, the end of the piece doesn't feel resolved to me, was this your intention? I think since I hear D# in the bass in m.96, followed by a big G# major chord in m.97, I'm expecting to hear a C#, rather than ending on G#. I have a feeling this was your intention since you hint at this being the first movement of a larger work, but just wanted to be sure. Again, really good work, and thanks for sharing! If I were in your shoes I would make it my goal to get my hands on some decent sound libraries and put together a good audio representation of the piece, (or better yet, get it performed). The sounds you used aren't too bad, but I don't think it does the piece justice.

There is no creaking on sonatina's violin. you can use them directly in musescore, no other player is required. The squeaky violin sound , good works on chords, making them more realistic. in this video I used two different violin sounds ( sonatina and vanilla sfz ) here to make it look realistic: https://youtu.be/uZC1NCCtCUk(still not as good as a vst, but not bad.)

The melodic ideas on the violin are nice but I think they can be developed. I got used to the sounds of musescore, but violin is really bad. Sonatina orchestra is free and works on musescore. For a squeaky violin effect sound, you can also try: https://vis.versilstudios.com/vsco-community.html