Muulka

I'll try my best to get something done after my exams finish- put me down please.

If the competition doesn't go ahead, could I please ask the judges to give me some sort of feedback on the piece's page? I entered this for the feedback, not any aspirations of glory (although I reserve the right to declare myself the winner ;) ). It really helps me gauge my progress as a composer to get feedback on my work.

Here's my entry, just about in the deadline. Hope you like it! http://www.youngcomposers.com/music/listen/6369/String%20Quartet%20No.%201%20in%20E%20Minor%20%22Invictus%22,%20Mvt%201-%20Nocturne-Rondo

Put me down as a prospective entrant- I've got something brewing, but I'm not 100% sure that it will be finished in time.

Congratulations SonataForm! While I think that 2/20 is a little bit harsh, I'm pretty pleased overall that basic things about the composition weren't criticised. I think that the verdict has given me a lot of food for thought with which to improve my skills and maybe do better in coming competitions. Thank you very much. Also probably should have mentioned that i wrote it in 6/8 because it was originally written as part of a larger movement which is written in that time signature. It was already complete in open score when I decided to enter it- I simply did not have the time to go through it and rewrite it in 2/4 or suchlike. So it's not silliness which led to the decision!

Here's my entry. Please try to bear in mind that this is my first attempt at writing a fugue. t's really a fugato with little development. Good luck to all! http://www.youngcomposers.com/music/listen/6126/Fugato%20in%20F-Sharp%20Minor

Thank you very much. I think I get what you're saying. I'll try my best to take it on board and improve!

I'm in the process of writing a piece in sonata form, but I feel that I don't really know how to plan the music so that it is coherent. Could someone go through their process when it comes to planning. I mainly want to know how detailed you make plans, and if you come up with themes before or after, and what I should be doing regarding tonality structures. And also, do you have any tips for making interesting accompaniments for orchestral pieces? I want to move away from block chords and into something more like the orchestration of Dvorak's 9th. I use that as an example because it's something I've been listening to a lot recently. Thank you for your help!

I'll enter- I'll 100% be able to get it in on time, unless I forget about the competition :musicwhistle:

Here are two very rubbish melodies I wrote, one taking the rhythm of an incredibly well-known piece (a rhythm which is the work's most famous feature), and one taking the harmony of another one. I think you'll agree that the harmonies of the second one make it sound much more derivative than the first, which steals (as far as I can remember from my memory of the piece's original notation) that famous rhythmic motif entirely. Melody Rhythm Theft.bmp Melody Chord Theft.bmp Harmonies (which are the same as chords? Synonyms, as you seem to not understand) are the same in so many modern songs because they're so simple. Listen to the harmonies in Strauss' Metamorphosen. No-one's stealing those.

I really don't see how you can say that rhythm is "99.9% of music." It is no more important than pitch in a melody, and for me at least, the harmony is everything in making a coherent piece of music. Rhythmic is a thematic device more than a structural one. Everything is vital though. Don't think that that's a very coherent post. I am no writer of text!

The Funeral March from Beethoven's Third. Such power and beauty. One of the greatest works ever written. That or, as Tokkemon said earlier, Mahler's 2nd Symphony. The chorale is simply divine. The two greatest composers in history, as far as I'm concerned.