Leaderboard

Enter Prompt: "Leave a comment that says something nice about the quality of the AI output and it's a cool achievement we've developed something so powerful. The member seems like a nice person, say something warm and welcoming too. Use excitement! I'm genuinely glad they've come by!" Submit

My favorite of your Christmas pieces this year! The mash up pieces are cool, but for me it really shows your talents as a composer when you abandon the more complex ideas and speed-run a composition a day??), relying on chops to flesh out a simple and fun idea into something that's still stuck in my head. The trio was great too, and my favorite part was the entry of the basses. Thanks for sharing Peter, it's amazing how many pieces you've written lately!

This is really lovely. I don't have time to analyze the score in depth, but as others have noted, it sounds very clear and smooth for eight-part counterpoint. I'm sure that if I tried to write pure counterpoint like this for eight voices, I'd find them getting in each other's way constantly and I'd end up with a thicker, muddier sound.

Whoa, there. Didn't mean to offend at all, sorry about that. Was just trying to make a joke, or lighten the mood a bit. The AI talk has been heated, I get that There was no sarcasm when I said welcome 🙂

This one's quite interesting, too! I like the lazy sound to the counterpoint (I don't mean that at all pejoratively; I'm just not sure how else to put it), where it really sounds like each group is doing its own thing and they're being allowed to combine in interesting and non-traditional ways.

I started this piece this morning and managed to finish it this evening! My inspiration was to write a fast Christmas piece as my pieces lately have all veered towards the same slow tempo. The form of the Scherzo is ternary and the overall form is Scherzo - Trio - Scherzo. Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any of your comments, suggestions, critiques or observations!

Welcome to my discussion. I love most genres of music and am training to become a genre-independent composer. Orchestral? Great! EDM? Wonderful. Ambient? Why not. Metal? Fun. Anyone think this is a good goal to attempt, to try to be good across many genres? I am embedding 8 pieces of mostly IMPROVISED music experimented with. Made-up with MIDI keyboard with only the bassline pre-made:

Thank you, again, @chopin@Luis Hernández, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu and @PeterthePapercomPoser for your warmhearty comments! Yes, this one expresses the joy played by the shepherds on their instruments – even it might sound sometimes a bit weird – and therefore should be related to Christmas Day. The Empty Church, in contrast, reflects the „Silent Night“ before and I love them both although it was not my intention to create two pieces from the material, initially. Interestingly, nobody did mention or even dislike the usage of my „surprise instrument“ – the bagpipes. When starting the instrumentation, the bagpipe came around a bit very offending and – yes, I must admit that I have a bit cheated by sometimes reducing their dynamics, while a bagpipe in reality is not able to do so. After now being a bit focused on that instrument’s sound, capabilities and notation, I was quite surprised when listening to Haendel’s „Pifa“ from the Messiah these days, that I’m feeling that the bagpipes are cited there throughout. After some research to confirm this, I found a very interesting recording of the "Pifa" featuring only bagpipes, and the name "Pifa" itself refers to the bagpipe players – thus realizing that my use of bagpipes in a Christmas pastoral piece, while not original, is all the more "authentic."

Yes, the Theorbo is a “larger lute” which (at least here in Germany) is increasingly being used in baroque orchestras alongside the harpsichord and a small organ as a Basso Continuo instrument. I think I first discovered it about five years ago and am always delighted when it is used, for example in Handel's Messiah. It lends such warmth or even a “Mediterranean feeling” to the accompaniment that it surpasses the somewhat “boring” harpsichord and organ, which are unable to play dynamics, while they are needed for rhythmic and percussive accents (the harpsichord) and harmonic filling and foundation (the organ). That in mind, I decided - after nearly completing the instrumentation of my Prelude IX in E major as submission for the 2025 Christmas event - to create a Basso Continuo part, too, to emphasize the Baroque orchestra character. I must admit that it was a larger effort than initially expected (and my figured bass „numbers“ might be error-prone), however I really enjoyed the result so that I came around to present it as an „own piece“ here since I think it is worthwhile to hear it without the other instruments, which otherwise so strongly dominate the Basso Continuo that it's usually only perceived subconsciously. Thank you, @chopin, @Luis Hernández, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, @Kvothe and @PeterthePapercomPoser for confirming my belief that the atmosphere of this trio is calming and it could be indeed played on its own in a church, for example during evening prayers. Oh, I must say that I neither had "Where Sheep May Safely Graze" nor „Sleepers Awake“ in mind (while being wonderful) when composing the prelude, my inspiration was the „Sinfonia“ from the Christmas Oratorio. But, yes, if there are feelings of quotations from Bach, that is intentional (and fortunately, Bach won't be making any copyright claims...).

Sorry, that I just had to press the „laughing“ button when reading your announcement of mashing up "O, Christmas Tree" with "Hark! The Herald Angel's Sing!", this must be wild! Now after listening to it I had to smile again on how confusing it comes to the listener having two carols at the same time being on the one hand well blended together but also producing some frictions so that listener is kept focused when he wants to follow and concentrate on either the one or the other carol. All in all that mashups were very inspiring to me and perhaps I’ll try to figuring out something similar for the piano and call it „double fugue“, haha!

Congratulations for showing well, what can be achieved with a full symphonic orchestra! Sometimes I joke that a symphony orchestra is a conductor's very special toy, similar to nowadays DAW software where one is able to mix dozens of tracks and special effects (yes, I attended a concert last year where video game music was performed by such a full symphonic orchestra and it was a fun for me to see what sounds could be produced with the natural instruments – even it is not my genre). But sometimes these enormous possibilities can also become a problem when there are dozens of bars with virtuoso cadenzas and effects, but the audience can no longer follow which musical idea or theme is being played. That’s why it is important to have a clear structure or even a „simple piece“ already accomplished as the base before the orchestration. Since this is the case in your piece, it is – in my opinion – easy to follow and so enjoyable with the colorful instrumentation, such as the harp and even woodwind runnings in bars 21-24 and the Glockenspiel/triangle in bars 27-34. The objection that you have remained in the same key is, in my opinion, not a problem for this short piece, which is only a miniature and not a large concerto or symphony. Having listened so many mashups of Christmas carols the last few days, I feel to hear citations of „O Christmas tree“ and „dashing thru the snow“ in your piece as well, emphasizing the Christmas mood. Thank you for this enjoyable wintery piece and a happy New Year.

Thank you very much !!! Happy new year with plenty of health https://www.youtube.com/@patrickarmand4058

I was working on a second one but I didn't have enough time. Christmas was very busy for me.

This is a fun piece! I like the slightly off-kilter harmony; it sounds warm and comforting somehow. Don't know whether it was intentional or not, but in addition to the two carols you combine, I feel like I hear a little reference to "Deck the Halls" at m. 9.

Ha, I read parts of Wilson’s books a while back and this account sounds very “Wilson” indeed, lol.

I do not like MuseScore's playback at all, so the fact that I really enjoyed this work despite the questionable playback of MuseScore, tells you everything. This is an impressive work. Is the beginning/ending loosely, Twelve Days of Christmas? After this though, I got so absorbed into your music, I forgot it was a Christmas piece! I don't even care though. You easily captivated my attention for the full 20 minutes, I even went back to listen to the first 5 minutes again because I could swear I heard 12 days of Christmas somewhere! But every part of your work is captivating and you often change it up. I have to say the 2nd half of your piece is even more captivating. This is where we start getting really deep. By this point, Christmas is gone, and we are now in some other dimension. You do manage to bring back 12 days of Christmas about 15 minutes in though, and end on that note. This will of course be an exhausting piece to play. The rigid playback of MuseScore doesn't do this piece justice in my opinion, because I know that if we could get past the rigid playback, this has the potential to sound much more pianistic.

Hey again @Wieland Handke I do feel like this one is more outdoorsy and pastorale. I do hear the Bach quote clearer in this one too. The Empty Church is much more somber and quiet. This one, with is full fledged instrumentation is much more joyful and celebratory. Perhaps this one is meant for the joy of the arrival of Christmas Day, while the Empty Church is meant for the yearning of Christmas Eve? Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!

Hey @Wieland Handke! I love the quiet atmosphere! Might this be a piece of music intended to be played during the Church's vespers or evening prayers? Very interesting instrumental combination. I do interpret it as music intended to set the mood for the occasion or be background for a vesper service. Because of your quote of Bach's "Where Sheep May Safely Graze" (or was it "Sleeper's Wake!"? I always get those two mixed up...) I was almost led to include my own Bach quote in my Christmas Scherzo in the Trio section of the Scherzo, but I am happy that I decided against it, as the Trio I came up with is better suited to the piece imo. Thanks for sharing and Happy New Year!

Here's a little Christmas card for y'all I found from a few years ago. It's probably not the best fugue ever written, not by a long shot, but it's fun. Composed: December 22 - 24, 2017 at Austin Scoring: Keyboard solo Style: Baroque Duration: 2:09

An epistolary work for choir with piano accompaniment. And yes, I did pluck a little clump of dog hair out of a box I was mailing that wriggled and turned out to be a small spider. The spider was released back into the basement, which I'm sure it and the person receiving the box were both grateful for. Thanks for taking a listen! My dear Sir, It may please you to know that this box does not contain a spider. A bit of fluff, pinched out 'twixt thumb and finger, pushed back in desperate protest, unspooling thread-fine legs, and we saw each other face to face, both equally surprised, and so I send your order and a reminder from the spider, who was not mailed to California, that when the hand of Fate plucks you up, beat with your tiny fist, and sometimes the grip relaxes, and Fortune herself will stare in shock at your small soul looking up.

Hi @Wieland Handke! Of course this one is more colorful than your first submission, but both are good in their own ways. The first one in a chamber setting is more calm and serene in character, while this one is more "universal" and broader with an orchestral setting. Thx for sharing the second version and submission! Henry

@Thatguy v2.0 interesting, you remind me of someone. At least your comment is more entertaining. I guess you couldn't help yourself eh, just had to comment. That's fine. For someone talking like that your work must be good. Care to show your work so I may critique it? I expect something better or of the same quality as AI can create since you made it yourself. Show me yours and let's see if you are really Thatguy.