MK_Piano

Thanks for the comment. If you read the "About" section on page 4 of the score, you will find the construction behind the piece and who/ what I sourced for its creation. I did use the orchestration and outline of the second theme from the Sea Hawk Overture as I fell in love with Korngold's music. After spending time studying the Sea Hawk, I knew I wanted to pay homage to his work in my own way. I have no reservations about doing so as it is a not a direct quote, instead using different harmony and melodic skeleton; and to me, only realizes the sounds and feelings I personally heard and felt in my own head. Outside of that one instance, everything else on the score has come from me and has not been quoted from anywhere else. Thanks again for the feedback and you are right, I do reallllyyy love the romantic era lol

@interlect I appreciate the comments! I must admit I am a little confused. The work acts a means to capture differents scenes about the ocean. In order, they read as follows: 1. The Shore | Waves Crashing 2. Sailing over the Waves 3. Swimming | Seeing the sea life 4. Getting lost 5. Seeing a whale 6. Travelling to the shore | Sailing 7. Returning to the shore 8. End The competition also has a minimum length requirement and there is not enough time for me to completely overhaul the piece for the chance of creating something so original it will wow older professional musicians. This has already taken 3 months of work over the last year in on and off periods and is meant to be a little programmatic so it can fit other concert cycles. I think it is both a piece fun to play as an ensemble and fun for the audience as there are a lot of things that one can imagine when listening and not have it feel stagnant. My reservations are with the execution as I feel the flutes, harp or certain instruments will get lost in the texture(s).

Hey everyone, I have just finished completing my newest orchestral work. I have done so for the purposes of a Call for Scores competition in Colorado and I am very excited. I find that the work is completed, however I do feel there is potential for extra material or amendments to the current score. I am a little worried about playability in performance and in the Harp and Horn parts specifically. From my understanding, everything is playable and there may be some challenges. However, I am looking for an extra set of opinions and ears to give me some feedback. I do not mind comments of varying facets, but would prefer specific feedback on ensemble execution and individual parts if able. I appreciate any who comments and am eager to hear your thoughts! ______________________ I am keeping information limited as to avoid the judging panel finding this work before they rate my score. It has yet to be submitted and if you would like to know more about the score, go to the "About" section on page 4! SCORE_Waves of Frisco Bay.pdf

Thank you for the suggestion! The score is also on IMSLP and I think it is great to see the orchestration and musical devices they use. One day, I too plan to add my addition to the repertoire on steam engine : D To add, I've updated the score in my OG post as I have now changed a few parts.

You have no idea the wonderful suggestion you have bestowed upon me. I have been searching for various ways to capture a steam locomotive with the western orchestra. That piece is SO COOL!! It's luckily on IMSLP too, so now I have a score I can study. Thank you!! Yeah... The repetition was more for simplicity to be blunt. I felt I did good with the saxophone writing, however, I admit I am not too knowledgeable on ways to utilize the brass in the Big Band style. In the film, it is cut in half with the key change happening after the first shout/ chorus section. So in context, it only repeats the form twice. I copied the first section in this version as a means to extend the work. Thanks for the comments!

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]

The video is not out yet as the short-film is still in production. It is the first installment of the soundtrack I am making. I was planning ahead in the about section for the day I post the entire Soundtrack and publish the scores. However, you can hear it partially in this 60-second teaser I made on YT last year. It was an earlier draft and is not what I published here:

no.10_A Fire Within.pdf no.10_A Fire Within.mp3 Hello everyone! It has been a few weeks since my last contribution on the site and I am back to showcase one of my recent works. Over the last calendar year, I have been creating my first short-film called A Fire Within. When the film is complete, you follow the tragedy between two friends and see a main theme of betrayal. This work is the title theme and will both open and end the film. Set into a large binary form, this work is in E-minor and is one of my most emotional pieces. It is very personal to me, as the whole story mirrors a small part of my short life. I would enjoy hearing some comments or feedback, however, please know that I feel this work complete and I wish to share it to those I feel would appreciate this. 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. Feel the impact of the strings and the memories cast by the French Horns. Can you hear their emotions? [DO NOT REPLICATE]

Thanks for the feedback! I had similar thoughts. Since I am aiming for this style, it makes sense to use an even measure count in my phrases. As I am currently at a football game, I will reply in more detail, however, I will move to the discord so I can share a certain photo of my themes.

Hey everyone. I have been going back and forth on my first piano concerto for a long time. Unfortunately, I reached a point where my original design has acted as a roadblock for me to finish the first movement. I decided to restart the work and compose from scratch. I will add more context below, however as an introduction, this excerpt is the entire exposition of my first draft. It is five minutes long and I wish to have it preserved here on YCF. So, sit back, and follow along to the work-in-progress of my first concerto! 🎹 ________________ CONTEXT AND FEEDBACK: I started this project back in June 2024 when I improvised the first theme in one of my practice sessions. I fell in love with it and immediately knew I found a theme worthy for a concerto. I am sticking to late classical (and possible romantic hints) for this work. Hummel, Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff are the main three sources of inspiration for my orchestration. It follows Sonata-form, however using three themes (1st, 2nd and closing theme) in the exposition. Recently, as I have been diving heavily into the works of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven, it has dawned on me the level of sophistication each composer had in their writing. How Beethoven would use elements of the first theme to make his second theme, and later use the first movement as basis for theme and variation writing or fugal writing in his third movements. So, after a break in the first half of the year, I have been looking at this exposition and tried to add sophistication. However, I noticed so many gaps in the structure. As it stands, it feels like a compilation of several themes versus one long work showcasing the transformation of the motif and form. As a result, I have stopped working on it and grabbed a blank manuscript and wrote down the key three themes I want to use. I have yet to start rewriting, as I want to give my brain a break and simply ask for feedback. I would appreciate comments on form, orchestration and anything you deem fit. Please do not hesitate to be blunt either! (I may try to write pure double exposition instead of this quasi-expo before the first piano cadenza.) Thanks in advance!! 🙂 _________ EDIT: There is no English Horn in this work so far. I used my Orchestral template and forgot to remove the English Horn from the instrumentation page. Also, The score is NOT TRANSPOSED; it is a concert score)

@PeterthePapercomPoser @Thatguy v2.0 Thank you for the replies! By no means did I mean to dissuade the structure you implemented. You cannot conform to everybody and no competition is going to be "fair" for every entry. You will have to find a system that is both fair, and not overly strict. I believe my logos was not as clear as I intended in my previous reply. Two things can be true at once and it is refreshing to see many different musicians advocate for a low-pressure means to simply write music; or share existing creations they feel have merit. At the same time, I do not want to take away from the people who are less experienced trying to throw in their works with professional composers. I do not see it fair if they do. As you hinted for the next possible event to be a Christmas one, with no limit on ensemble size, would it make sense to lump and judge a symphonic orchestra work to a solo sonata with piano accompaniment? Or a digital work to a sacred-vocal work detailing a hymn? This was the basis of my thinking in my OG reply. I simply wonder if there is a mesh between formal and informal. Here was an alternate take on my idea(s): Keep the judging by poll, and limit the votes to categories; as you did. With using a table for review, I wanted to suggest another addition to all the info you provided. You added a table showcasing the scoring system (7-7.9 = Average / Standard ). I meant to suggest adding a diagram that defines the words being used: Taste, Originality, Textures, Score Presentation, etc. Taste - Your personal score from 1-10 Score Presentation - How the score is organized / How easy it is to understand the score from 1-10 Originality - How unique does this score sound from 1-10 Creativity - How well the submitant made and used a theme from 1-10 etc. I thought it to be a good way to avoid confusion of the terms by defining the language you want to use. I do not believe that add-on to take away the fun aspect of this. Thanks again!

I just finished my little vote. I had a fun time, even if I didn't "win," I still feel I gained some experience. Heck, it gave me a passion to make new music and make more music of similar instrumentation. I was happy to see that I was not the only one who did a Piano Quartet with Strings to pair. It was refreshing to hear how different 3 people can make contrasting music with the same constraints. I will reference them in the future when it comes time to do more. 🙂 About the grading or reviewing aspect, I think a simple solution is to keep brackets or divisions for submissions. We saw a complete mix of tonal and post-tonal, amatuer and professionals. It can be hard to grade them all at an equal level when you have to conform yourself to a different standard for each person. I want to be the first to suggest this idea: I think before the next competition, you should categorize users by division based on an entry poll or application. Like most real festivals, forums or competitions, each user will have to file an application to enter with their work. Some places in the US are now asking for cover letters and resumes to pair. Since the point is to keep it fun and more informal, I suggest making a poll asking for people to help gauge their experience: "Have you seen your works performed?" "Have you taken music theory before?" "How many years have you been writing music? "Do you have the ability to write sheet music?" "Will you submit a post-tonal (Without key-center) or tonal (with key-center) work for this event?" Etc. Similar to existing competitions, we can categorize people before hand, create divisions and judge more accurately. Some divisions such as the following: Amatuer Professional Post-Tonal Tonal This was my only gripe with the formatting. It felt hard to review everyone to a level standard when the goal-post was never consistent. I do not want to feel like the bad guy for using language or concepts they are not aware of, or risk being redundant if it is clear they have experience. The table used for reviewing was a little vague as it felt more subjective. I do not mind that when rating music, however, it may be nice to specify what you mean by "Originality" or "Textures". Someone may have a different understanding of what those words mean and it will affect their reviews. Defining some of them beforehand will also standardize the ratings. Thoughts? 🤔

Thanks for the feedback! As a little lore to this, I originally wanted to write for Piano Quartet using the woodwind families. I started music on the Bb-Clarinet, and in college, became the Principal bassoonist for our symphonic band for two semesters. When beginning to write, I was really inspired by the Nightmare Before Christmas and Danny Elfman as a whole. However, I just never found any concrete ideas with this instrumentation. It all felt too stereotypical. Thus, I went even more traditional and back to the orchestral setting for this work. I never thought about another name. One user suggested increasing the tempo slightly, and there more I listen back, there more I am beginning to agree with it. I don't have any new ideas for a name, but after this contest concludes, I may revisit it, add those changes, and change the name. Maybe, while I am at it, add another movement or installation and make it a chamber set. Thanks again!

I appreciate the feedback!! I'd love to talk more about some of the theory behind elision(s) when applied to structure. I felt that if I did a pure 4-bar phrase, it would become too stagnant due to all the repetition. As I wanted to keep your attention, I Elided the violin to carry the listener into new directions. I will admit most of my choices in this piece came from a point of wanting rich sound and low registers. I thought that going high in each instruments tessitura would not benefit the character I was striving for. To add, I was pressed for time in my already busy schedule, and I did not feel it worth to aim for complex development of the motivic structure. I did try to keep it simple instead of going for a level of sophistication that would take me a few weeks -> months to really refine. Structurally speaking, I employed transition phrases to connect either a new texture change or section of the piece. Measures 21-24 and 33-37 are such places. It was for these moments where I did not want to exercise new motives, but as I type this, I see this now it could've been a chance to do a dependent transition and allow the motif or texture to start developing as or before the third statement of the theme comes in the Piano. The development is when I broke the classical mode and tried to create a section purely for the effect of Halloween. I wanted something not active in texture to contrast the opening and just go for simplicity at it's finest. Also, not too much I can do about similarities to other works. There are only so many keys and I really wanted to use C-minor for this lol Thanks for the comments, it has given a lot to think about.

@UncleRed99 I can understand some of the confusion. As this was created and submitted for this Halloween event, my original goal was to make a skeleton dance. I was explicit in conveying that in the title and the brief description of the work. For some context, yes, I did mean to use “Esultante” to convey a jubilee as you are hearing the music from this dance reach a close. We are hearing the music from this grand gala. However, what is “chaotic” to us is fun for them as the “DJ” or Host raises the energy to close the party. To your point about the articulation in the cello, there comes a point in performance practice where you find out that articulation markings also convey bowing information. There are multiple ways to play a staccato within the string family (on or off the string staccatos). The context of the works implies that they need to lift or bounce the bow off the string and attack for the slur with another, single-bow movement. In the context of the work, they will bounce between their C and G strings respectively. In terms of blurriness of the chromatic notes? Clarity and hearing each individual note is not the intention, as it is meant to convey a little “rush” or “wisp” motion into the downbeat(s). Thanks for the comments.