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Hello, Wow, there was a lot to listen to. I listened to the first two movements, and I realized that the third movement you have already posted. I did not look at your introductions prior to listening the piece. I saw a previous poster mention that the 2nd movement was devastating. That was it. So I went in blind. I can see now the meaning/introduction behind your pieces, which is always interesting to do after listening to something blind. I liked the second movement the most. I would not use the verb devastating. I personally had this really heavy feeling in my chest as I listened to it. There was sort of crushing feeling that I got from the piece. I followed along the sheet music and wrote comments here and there. For measure 62 I wrote nice, it almost sounds a bit Chinese? Being Chinese myself, I can't help but notice parts of music that sound even remotely asian. I really liked measure 78 to 81. I also really liked measure 117 to 120. The first movement is a bit bananas to me. I also followed on the sheet music and wrote notes from beginning to end. The song starts of sort of in a heroic sense, very exciting to me. Measure 36 was a bit of relief in the sense that my ears got some easy to follow musical ideas. Throughout the song I could hear tidbits of what I can assume is the main theme. So, perhaps I am getting better at listening to your style, or it was simply more obvious for this piece. I wondered if measure 110 was actually playable? On measure 342, I wrote "nice". Overall, these three movements seems to have this natural cadence to it in terms of rhythm and overall direction (up/down etc). However, 70% of the time the harmonies are just really confusing. It has this sort of unsettling effect to listen to. It almost feels like someone breaking the rules of music harmony on purpose and just enough to troll around. But once in a while, there is this really nice moment where perhaps the preceding dissonance really sells that moment, and the pay off seems worth it. I personally prefer your slower compositions. I don't know that I would voluntarily listen to movement 1/3 ever again. However, I think I would want to listen to movement 2 more. I really like it. I don't think that I've really listened to a lot of music that has your particular style. Could you cut some stuff out and tighten movement 2? Sure, I am listening to it, the feeling of chest tightness comes back. And as I listen to movement 2 again, there is this sense of sweetness to the piece. How can something be crushing and sweet at the same time? I don't know, but I think you wrote something that captures that feeling.

My post was not to disparage synthesizers as instruments. They are actually very useful with an orchestra. They actually tend to blend very well and they can do things that the orchestra either outright can't, or is not very good at. For example, there are certain rhythmic pulses, infinite pads, and ambiences that would be impossible to create with acoustic instruments alone. The issue I speak of is the style of music that has given way to is...wanting. But as with anything, in the right hands, synths have been incredible: Look at Alan Silvestri or Jerry Goldsmith's work.

Hi all! I recently posted a Rondo, which was actually the third movement of this piano sonata. Here is the full sonata. I know that posting a whole sonata is asking a lot from listeners. Please feel free to listen to only one movement if you like, or the entire thing if you're in the mood to hear the entire arc of it. Whatever works best for you! I appreciate any and all feedback, even if you only listen to a portion. Here is a breakdown of the entire sonata: MOVEMENT 1: The 1st movement is in Sonata Form. Following along with the form may help you wrap your head around the various parts of the movement. The form your road map through the jungle. Section 1 - Exposition (measures 1-128): the piece starts with a main theme in the home key (C# minor), followed by a second main theme (measure 59) in the key of the relative major (E). Though you may hear many ideas that roll out one after another, the form of this first section is grounded by those two main themes. Section 2 - Development (measures 129-243): in this section the two main themes are deconstructed, developed, played around with, and intertwined with other ideas, all flowing together into a mixture, a river that carries the listener along. This section is doesn't stand on solid ground, but instead is ever-shifting. It's goal is motion, development, and play. Section 3 - Recapitulation (measures 244-end): the first main theme returns (244) but is changed now, followed by the second theme (370) which now appears in the home key (it is now minor). MOVEMENT 2: This music is a projection of my mind during the time when my first son was born, a reflection of my complicated emotions, my questions, my fear and love. The music fades in and out of coherency, at times directionless, until it finally lands on solid ground. It’s asking a question, and just as the answer comes within reach, it slips away again. This movement is tough to pin down, difficult to categorize. The music is searching, searching… It emerges slowly, pops in and out of view, like a distant ship in the mist. Sometimes it’s a love song, sometimes a lament, sometimes a hopeful look toward the future, and sometimes a lonely figure grasping for something in the dark. MOVEMENT 3: The 3rd movement is a Rondo, which resembles a club sandwich, where theme 1 is the bread: Theme 1 (measure 5) Theme 2 (41) Theme 1 again (69) Theme 3 (98) Theme 1 once more (195) Each time theme 1 returns, it comes with very slight variations. Since the first movement contains so much development and so any ideas, the third movement keeps the main theme mostly intact throughout. The third movement may be a bit too tightly wound, but I made it that way because the first movement feels a bit like an over-stuffed burrito. Thanks so much for listening! 1. Allegro con brio.mp3 2. Largo (Jack's Song).mp3 3. Rondo.mp3 01 Allegro con brio.pdf 02 Jack's Song.pdf 03 Rondo.pdf

Hello, This is the 2nd and 3rd installment of my Kids Songs series, which follow "Kids Perfect". These songs were written with more conventional harmonic ideas, though I tried to add some variation and spice here and there to make things interesting. Once again, these are recorded on a nice grand piano at home. Feel free to crank the volume and enjoy :) Kids Born (Arthur) was written prior to the birth of my first born child. I had no idea what he was going to be like. I wrote the piece in anticipation while my wife was still pregnant. I am particularly satisfied with that chord transition at 1:16 to Bb major. If someone knows more about music theory, perhaps they can show me why it works? Or perhaps other pieces of music that might have a similar idea? In all honestly, I probably might have made a mistake while playing/composing and it just sounded good, there was not necessarily much conscious thought that went into that particular chord. Maybe it's not even that special! Kids Born Encore (Marlon) was written some 3 years after my youngest was born...at this point I had a sense of my second child's personality. So the writing process was very different. Anyone who has ever raised 2 young kids will tell you that the kids want to have the same of everything - same toys, same food, same everything. So, naturally it was important to me to try to keep some sense of sameness but also retaining some individuality. So I chose F major, a key that feels same enough to G major and with a goal of overall similar compositional style to the first one. But alas, I was not the same person. 5 years have passed in between writing Kids Born and Kids Born Encore. One cool fact about this song is the irregular key signature, which I had no idea even existed until I transcribed it onto sheet music! Anyways, here it is. Hope you all enjoy it and let me know any feedback/critiques/suggestions.

@ARCMusicPublishings You’re absolutely right in that I did not wish to convey a “dismissive” attitude. When I post feedback on works here, i primarily look for two things: The intentions and approach to the work. If this isn’t provided, I ask to inform my feedback. The score: this helps inform whatever feedback i may have. All of this ties in with the way in which I seek to provide feedback: What is the story being told, here? How is that narrative constructed? What are the strengths and limitations? What recommendations might I have? In this case, I had neither to work with but a 13 minute long audio file, with individual movements at least timestamped. This is why I asked the creator to share this, but unfortunately was not forthcoming with that. Some general advice to those listening: I would really recommend anyone posting content on this forum for constructive feedback to make explicit this kind of important information at the outset, not only in courtesy to the reviewer but also to give your own music the attention it deserves. Otherwise they leave it up to the listener to work it all out, which risks not only to diminish engagement but also misinterpreting or under appreciating the music itself. And while it is true that I have my own musical preferences, I make a lot of effort to keep that out of the foreground. What matters most to me is how effective the narrative is. If there is no narrative, I would seek to justify that, such as your point regarding background music. I don’t feel however that this was purposed as such. There are too many prominent motifs, apparent contrapuntal textures and dissonances, in my estimation.