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Hello again! I just finished my comments and am eager to share. Please find this PDF for your convenience! Go to the end of the score to see the final comments. May anyone else on this thread also consider checking out the comments and share your thoughts! M. Neupauer - The Great Lighthouse (ANNOTATED).Pdf

I was listening to Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations again after quite some time, and I’ve become convinced that, personally, I believe it might be the greatest work ever written for the piano. It filled me with such excitement and inspiration that I sat down at the piano and wrote a variation of my own. Knowing the story behind this theme—that about fifty composers each wrote a variation on it—it felt like a great opportunity to test myself as well. Because of my enthusiasm, in a single sitting of about half an hour I improvised and came up with this charming figurational variation. I hope you enjoy it and appreciate it.

Hello Marek Please don't despair or feel Broken hearted, for trying hard to make a composition be appreciated, for being Special . It is appreciated and special , because its Totally Unique, your the one who created it. Medicine can taste Horrible, and make you feel ill, but in the Long-Term, it can actually help. and its the same with advice from those who are qualified to give it ,and without payment required, so thats a good thing. This is your First Post, and it was good, but MK's advice can also lead you to better things in future posts , so please don't be too despondent There's even greater scores for you to discover , in your future compositions. i wish you luck. MK.............. Im pleased your post was recognized by PeterthePapercomPoser!

Hello @Luis Hernández, I’m sorry, but today I’m writing only silly comments …. For the first moment I thought it were a piano exercise how to play a crescendo on a long, tied note and how to perform a tremolo just on a single note … 🤣 But no, its seriously! And your solution is a great example what can be done with orchestration if the underlying piece of music (or sketch) is well crafted! Thus it shows, that one should first compose the piece for piano (for example) or for a small ensemble before going to the full orchestration. (Unfortunately there was no score and reading from the video was a bit uncomfortable, since relatively small ...) Very enjoyed.

Hello @MK_Piano, I'm afraid my comments are nice, but perhaps not very helpful in terms of the desired feedback on the ensemble execution etc. Regarding the review of @interlect, I would not be as critical proposing to throw away the first half waiting for the „action“. Let me put it in my own words: there is no lack of „originality“ in the sense that something unexpected has to happen in order to capture the audience and the judges or that the piece is „boring“ in the first half. I think, you have done an excellent job to express the scenes about the ocean musically, and with your program notes in mind, I can imagine exactly which scene your music is actually „painting“. (And even without the knowledge about the meaning of the eight scenes, my imagination while listening would be very similar.) But the objection that the jurors could quickly lose their attention cannot be dismissed out of hand. I think that is an inherent „issue“ or „danger“ (whatever one likes to call it) of „programmatic music“, which is perfect in telling stories and depicting visual scenes or emotions. However - and that is my personal taste or preference as a composer which usually uses contrapuntual technique - there is no standalone musical theme which is exposed prominently at the beginning of the piece and than developed throughout the piece creating the required recognition effect (as opposed to, for example, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, to give an extreme example). In your first scene „The Shore, Waves Crashing“ you have musically painted that shore and the waves (for about 25 seconds) with timpani and base instruments. So perhaps it would be enough time to introduce a melody in these bars that is already present and developed further later in the piece? One could imagine a person sitting on the shore playing the melody on the guitar (or something like that)? A short sentence about the score, more for my curiosity: I noticed that there are in all of your scores HUGE meter signatures. Is there a specific reason for this (e.g. it is common for conductors to enter such time signatures for better readability?). While everything else is very small in a score for such a large orchestra, does this really help? Finally, my best wishes and luck in the competition! Wieland

[INFO DUMP] Hello! It's been a few days, but I feel I also want to put my two cents. I am a professional Pianist and have been for a few years going so far as getting my Masters Degree, and hopefully soon a doctorate in this field. I can understand Peter's approach with a few caveats in my opinion. I want to share my views as a pianist versus a composer: When I read the title "Sonatine," I immediately think of the Ravel's piece of the same title. I have yet to do an harmonic and structural analysis of your work, and on the first listen, it is very much classical in style versus the impressionistic tone of Ravel. Simply an observation on this point. In terms of playing, what will stop anybody from playing this is the raw notation. It is my opinion that some decisions with the music came purely for playback purposes versus how it should be notated. After playing... probably at least 300+ pieces in my life (i've lost count...), you find there are standard notations for tremolos, trills, runs, embellishing passages, etc. MVT 1: Measure (mm) 25: What is the left hand? I am confused if it is meant to be a triplet or quarter note on 1 with two eighth notes. However, that doesn't fit the beats in the bar... Same at mm. 34. mm.45, why are the trills suddenly tiny? Are they meant to be played exactly, or are they only a suggestion? mm.64 is a little weird in the right hand with such quick thumb hops. It would be better to alternate constantly than hitting the thumb twice. It's asking for tension. mm.125, the left hand is still confusing and a little more so than before. MVT 2: Pianist's do not always need pedal markings to know when to pedal. Since you notated the pedal for the same rate, you can write it for the first few bars and at.. bar 5 for example, write "Ped. Simile". This tells us that you want the pedal to be the same the entire time. It also de-clutters the score and makes it easy on our eyes. To the clutter point, there are too many systems on one page sometimes. It makes it overwhelming for our eyes. You can shorten the systems to 4 measures as a way to help or limit the mvt to 5 staves per page. It will make it really nice to see on the page. mm.11 is confusing in this movement as the left hand notation is broken and feels misplaced. MVT 3: mm.59... we... can't do piano-fortes on a single note... A piano cannot crescendo on a single note once it's been struck. So.. is it piano, or forte? mm.74, I think it is better to write it as a 6-tuplet versus two triplets. Same at mm.90 mm.98-129. Be careful here, you keep the rhythmic pattern the same, but the interval sizes change all the time. This means the hand is constantly changing size and expanding and contracting. It will make it hard to play well, fast and consistent. It would be more comfortable if you kept the same intervals for longer. mm.146 onward: please just use the regular arpeggio sign. The one with the arrow is redundant and just means the same thing. It is uncommon notation for standard piano repertoire. mm.234: most likely, it will be played a little slower for clarity when done live. mm.386, yeah.... unlikely to be played that fast. Even with normal arpeggio fingerings, It will be played slower. mm.396-397 will be played as a glissando. Better to write that in too for clarity. Overall, it is very difficult and more importantly very uncomfortable for the hands. Specifically, you start the movements in a fine capacity, yet, it gets really hard to play near the ends of MVT 1 & 3. Please do not let this comment discourage you and I only wish to shed light into how a pianist would tackle this. It has potential to be programmed into a recital, and if you were to sit down and work out the kinks, I think the product will be swell.

Hello everone 🙂 My first post here is part one of larger composition I am currently working on. The composition is called The Great Lighthouse and is inspired by Christopher Paolini's book Fractal Noise. Part one is written in largo - A minor and is called Discovery. Please enjoy and any feedback would be appreciated 🙂 Musescore: https://musescore.com/user/60829534/scores/32485457

First of all, I want to thank you for the review. - "diminuendo al niente" is exactly what I was looking for, thank you 🙂 Fixing this will be laborious, but relatively simple. - theme - I thought I had a theme, but apparently not, since several people, including you, have confirmed that they didn’t recognize it. This will be difficult to fix, as it disrupts the overall flow and feel of the piece. Actually, I’ll have to redo the whole thing. - accompaniment - This is my nightmare; I’m still struggling with it. Personally, I can’t stand whole notes anymore, but so far I haven’t been able to come up with anything interesting. In any case, thanks again, your review really helped me 🙂 Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

this piece was composed with me hearing absolotly nothing while in the making of it, I wanted to see how well can I make pieces like that. yipieeee.mp3 wadanada.pdf

I have just updated the track "Save Them!" to be more complete and correct - I had originally transcribed it slightly incorrectly and left some things out. I also corrected some dynamics so that the Violas can be heard. Thanks for listening!

Things added - drums- riser at start- bass near end part- added instruments for beat drop- anyway, here it is:

I have just updated the post - up to 13 themes now!!!

Thanks for the comment! I’m sure there could be plenty of changes to do, however, this work was one of my earlier attempts at writing for the orchestra. A time before I got any composition feedback from any mentors. I thankfully won a competition and spent a week working with composer Robert Bradshaw. During that time, he gave me tips on voicing, orchestration, and understanding tessitura. My rewrite was not to completely redo the work but polish it with the new information and techniques I learned. So, while I appreciate the feedback, I will not be rewriting certain spots in the work as I still want to keep it as is to show my growth overtime.

@Wieland Handke Apologies, I didn't think anyone would be interested in seeing the score. In any case, here it is.

Thanks for the comments! I wish to address the simple things first and go to more complex: 1. Big time signatures: Just a preference. My mentor told to use them on large scores to make it easier for a conductor to read. Especially if it is for a quick event like a recording session or few rehearsals. The score is 11"x17" and in-person, the measures are big. I am not worried about reading viability. 2. There is a melody. The entire works is based off the Augmented Chord (C-E-Ab). The arpeggio is the melody and throughout the entire piece, the note Ab is structural. 3. The jurors may have a lot of submissions and they may not listen to the entire work, however, I also have faith that they are smart enough to make proper decisions as they know their ensemble better than I do. I did research into their group and thankfully, they have published their previous programs. They have done programs to capture images, scenes, or landscapes. (See Attached) In my opinion, I wanted to submit this score based on the organizations history as it may fit their direction. 4. With the contrapuntal point, I feel that is just my style. I do reuse that theme and other themes a few times; especially at the end where it is prolonged forever. Thanks again and I hope this sheds some light!

Hello @muchen_, usually I try to point out first the positive things before giving slightly critical remarks. But the first impression of your chorus was „there is something wrong with it“. But now, after thinking a while about it, I hope my comment will be positive, too – while surely a bit silly. The first impression of the recording was: „much too fast!“ (what doesn’t matter as long as it’s a sketch only). On the other hand, I see your well done counterpuntual approach – even with figured bass. But reading the more „romantic“ lyrics from Goethe, I have the next mismatch in my imagination. With the lyrics I’m reminded on the famous painting „Goethe in the Roman Campagna“ which expresses the connection with nature (and perhaps with nymphs …). While thinking on baroque, I see men and women wearing wigs. And that either in the context of religious seriosity (Bach) or being part of a somewhat decadent party (sometimes Handel) 😃 What can we now do with the piece? As you intend to create a piece in rondo-form, I could imagine that you could express those „clashes“ I described above in an intentional manner, achieving a piece which does not take itself too seriously, but should be well crafted: So you could, for example • not only „transpose“ or develop the A’ section in the dominant key, but introduce more far scales, such as lydian (augmented) and (Spanish) phrygian, creating an interesting and more contemporary harmony. There are just famous examples here in the forum, such as from @PeterthePapercomPoser’s Persichetti exercises. • refrain from the counterpuntual approach in the B and C sections to make them it really „romantic“ (or even „jazzy“???) I don’t know if anything from that what I wrote today was helpful, but hope that you’ll enjoy working on you chorus further.

We already have "Counterpoint Wizard" badge for it! I myself receive it twice lol! We have the badge "Amorous Romanticist" for it, though no one ever receives the badge lol! What is featured in an outstanding Prokofiev writing lol? Only @Thatguy v2.0 himself can be better than himself until Thatguy vUlimited.0 lol Henry

Oh, I didn’t know the story behind all this. I suppose it’s because Beethoven’s variations overshadowed everything else over time. Your version is very good — I find it has personality and is easy to listen to.

The beauty about music is that even simple things can sound complex or can be just as effective. Before you completely scrap your work (as we all know that is annoying to do), with the theme consider writing a 2-bar version, 4-bar version, and 8-bar version. You already have a motif or material to base from. You can do this separately on a manuscript or other file before the main work too. With the accompaniment parts: To Me, sometimes long sustains in the orchestra translate to when I use the sustain pedal on the piano. Where I take the long harmony I am sustaining from my improv and translate it to paper. The French Horns are great for gestures like this, or even simpler, the strings. (Bassoon + clarinets are good too!) Take whatever harmony, divide between the accompaniment instruments and just hit the harmony every few beats or on the beats. It’s probably the most basic way to pulse harmony.

In this case it was about orchestrating the sketch in the image; I might even make a collection of mini orchestral studies with these kinds of things.

Thirty years ago, I was an accordionist. Now I’m just a hobbyist. Feel free to leave any comments, they might not be so obvious to me 🙂

I made these 13 mock-ups on 13 themes from Final Fantasy VI intending to use them to familiarize myself with the themes in preparation for writing a big variations piece based on them. At first, I only intended to write variations on the "Returner's Theme" but it soon ballooned out of control as I noticed how many of the themes in the game are inter-related thematically and so I had to include more. I am posting the themes here with PDF scores for your perusal in the order in which they appear in the game (but I group them according to theme groups that are most related to each other). Also, here are the links to the original tracks on YouTube: Omen 3 - This is the title screen version of Terra's Theme. Terra's Theme - Terra is the main protagonist in the game. A half magical being (esper) half human. The empire takes advantage of her magical powers. The Awakening - also based on Terra's Theme, this music plays when Terra awakens after getting her slave crown removed. Disaster/Metamorphosis - this is also based on Terra's Theme. It plays when there's a disaster and Terra transforms into her esper form. Save Them!/Protect the Espers! - this is also based on Terra's Theme. Plays during an escape sequence or when fighting the Empire's soldiers as they try to gain access to the espers. Fight Theme Troops March On - this is the first theme in the Empire's Theme group. Plays when Kefka and his soldiers are marching towards Figaro Castle. Martial Law - plays in town when the empire occupies it. The Gestahl Empire - final theme in the Empire's Theme group. Plays when the Imperial capitol of Vector is set on fire by the espers. Kefka's Theme - Kefka is the evil antagonist who overthrows the emperor to gain ultimate power and lead the world into ruin. Mt. Kolts Returner's March - The Returner's are an organization that is trying to resist the evil empire and Kefka and Emperor Gestahl. Magitec Factory - In the Imperial capitol of Vector, the empire has constructed a factory to create Magitec armor granting magic power to those wielding it. To go to the thread where I wrote my own original music based on these themes go here:

Yes you are right. I am in the process of writing more variations and have already released a Scherzo on 8 of these themes (I had to keep adding themes LoL). Thanks for your interest/comment!

Yes i understand , but your First line of post states: "I made these 13 mock-ups on 13 themes from Final Fantasy VI intending to use them to familiarize myself with the themes in preparation for writing a big variations piece based on them" So i therefore assumed, you were going to take this project even further , by releasing an Original Composition, some time in the Future.

thank you! I just wanted to make sure that you and everyone knows that these are not my original compositions but covers/renditions/mock-ups of Nobuo Uematsu's original music for the game Final Fantasy VI - he's a Japanese composer.

The Dynamics adjustment to Save them ! Has resulted in a Lovely SMOOTH sound. Troops March On & Save Them ! , Combined & Interwoven has all the elements to a 1st Class Original Composition,sounding Pretty , Mainstream- Contemporary-Scored.

Here's a very short piano composition I composed for my daughter many years ago. Nothing extravagant .... simple theme and tone. Mark

There's some great stuff here. I urge you to listen to the aforementioned. There is GREAT advice given!

I thought I'd share this short prelude I started last year and finished soon after (which I originally intended to use for Valentines' Day this year, but alas...). I haven't been writing much new stuff and am currently working on fixing up a few of my older compositions so this was one of the few things I did manage to conjure up in the past few months. I hope it's listenable? (as for playability, arpeggiating large chords is a must, haha)

Any tips or suggestions?

What I feel like would be a better version is if you made this a canon. Then to end it you end with that starting theme.

This original piano piece has very simple chords and melody, with the goal to create a soft, intimate and peaceful mood. Yet also with some underlying uplifting feeling and emotion. Simple, with 'stirring' quality if you know what I mean. Hope I achieved that. Let me know. 2019: This is an improvisation I made in 2019, recording live into my DAW without following the DAW metronome. So I had it in midi but measures do not follow a metronome beat. I couldn't record to a metronome anyway because there is much intentional rubato in this piece. 2026: Now I wanted to use a better piano sound and that was easy- just play the midi file with a good piano vst. The piano you hear is the UVI Model D Piano vst playing the original midi file I improvised in 2019 (with some minor note improvements) However what was not easy is creating the score! Which requires quantized notes. So I had a lot of work remaking every measure to have midi notes quantized, not for playing, but for the score. So the score does not play the piano but does show the accurate notes of the midi file that is playing the piano. Comments and suggestions welcome! score available for purchase at: https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/se/ID_No/1956655/Product.aspx Follow score pdf:

A beautiful piece. It doesn't seem very complex, but it's very well structured (which, for me, is one of the biggest challenges). And the dynamic control is exquisite.

So very Nice to see even Admin, contribute Content, with such a High Degree of Contemporary Quality.

since I post a lot of songs that aren't relevant to each other, I made a whole thread instead.

remix

Good for you! I'm too embarrassed to share my earlier works lol

A very short thought, or a bubble. A fleeting moment. Built around a Csus2/F# to Cmaj9(add13). That's it. Just a moment. Just this evening. Love me some lydian and b9 and #7 sounds. Acoustic guitar, DADGAD capo 7. 🔹 Quarter-to.mp3

@therealAJGS WOW! What an improvement! It is night and day. I have no comments on the music as again, I do not know much on what is meant to accompany, but it definitely conveys something dire or thrilling. As a point of enjoyment, I must say there feels like too much distortion in the file. Just about 30 seconds worth of a blurriness that is very overwhelming compared to the literal music. For me, it took my attention away... especially with headphones 😓

kinda ambient.

Sonatine 649 Bars, 10 Minutes and 23 Seconds By TristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristanTheTristan... (Continued Infinitely) https://musescore.com/user/96214813/scores/31853885 Yes! I self-taught myself to export stuff! (Not here, Tristan...) A cheerful Sonatine in D Major. Written, to guide composers' into the Sonata Form and how a classical era sonata looks like, although, nevertheless to say, as my works always are, it is also technically demanding. I would say, around Henle 7, maybe? 3 Movements, Fast-Slow-Fast (Ternary-type) Allegro, Sonata Form, D Dur, 173 Bars, 3 Minutes 23 Seconds Largo, Ternary Form (Ternary Form in a Ternary form?), G Dur, 71 Bars, 2 Minutes and 54 Seconds Allegro, Rondo, D Dur, E Dur, D Dur, with a Coda, 405 bars, 5 Minutes, 6 seconds Thanks for listening! (If you did...) Sonatine.mid (Just realized, no repeats are played in Midi...) Sonatine.mid

thought I was going for a dark song; guess I was wrong.

I tried

making a second version soon!

The first question, that came to my mind is: are the piccolo players you know skilled in circular breathing? If not, the beginning should be revised, no piccolo player can play these high a's without breathing and hence breaking the obvious attempt to maintain the pitch uninterrupted. I personally believe this is more appropriate to be the movement of a Suite, rather than a Symphony. The piece needs some modulations to other tonalities. The varied use of orchestration and dynamics help this music a lot, but there is no real climax or waypoint towards a certain progression of the musical material. You are relatively new in the field of composition. I remember my beginnings, and this is more ambitious than mine were though.

it sounds like the background music of old PS2 games and brings me back to early 2000s. It sounds playful and fresh. I'm looking forward to hear the full finished track

As a cellist, I personally like seeing the downwards arpeggio line, but I suspect Scriabin wrote it the way he did because he wanted to specify that the root(?) occurred on the beat. I see both having merit in different cases, but—generally—the arp. line is probably fine.

I've added another theme to the bunch for a total of 9 themes I'm working with.

Thanks Henry for pointing this out. @Churchcantor In your own words: So basically your posts so far could basically be summed up as "Haven't yet had the time nor mood to listen to it yet." I would rather hear what you might have to say about the music once you actually do listen to it, instead of posting 6 replies to my topic which don't discuss anything about the music. Before you replied, my topic had one reply by Chopin and was still on the "Works with Few Reviews" List. But now that you've cluttered the topic with meaningless posts, the topic is no longer on that list and is less likely to receive actual substantive reviews from the other members of the forum. There are places on the forum where you can post this kind of content though - such as in Off Topic - Journals. Or in the case of the Russian cartoon - either Random or Repertoire. Or you can tell your stories by posting status updates in your profile. But I think you are trashing the forum with the way you are currently using it.

Made this account just so I could upload this and remind y'all never to end in minor : ) Also accidental Shostakovich in bar 3.