AlexThomas

so innovative. I love the string oriented ensemble, very light-hearted, but really touches deep.

Exactly. I guess, but at its core, music is actually not really quantifiable. The possibilities are at least seemingly endless, and sure you could call a Ab a Z#, hell, you could even call it a banana. Same goes for the concept of serialism, if you asked Mozart in his time, if serialism would be considered music, he would probably say "hell no", however in our world today, to musicians at least, it is absolutely regarded as music. We just use these structures to organize our ideas. NOTHING is definite, and at least as far as I'm concerned, music is not finite or "quantifiable".

You missed the second half of that point though. I said we can call it whatever we'd like "as long as you have reasoning for it and can defend your position". I wouldn't classify anything just because "I feel like it" and going beyond that, you have to ask yourself what atonality is. In the realm of metaphysics anything is possible and justifiable. and to cschweitzer, I received an A on the assignment. The guidlines were only "build a 12-tone row, create a matrix for your row, and compose a short composition 15-45 measures in length based upon your matrix" and I did exactly that.

The score has now been posted, for those interested.

As composers, I think we can call it whatever we'd like, as long as you have reasoning for it and can defend your position. The piano chords are also based on the matrix, though. I think one thing that I learned from writing this particular piece is that using a matrix doesn't always have to result in sounding dissonant and modernistic, and it can actually generate some pretty interesting chord progressions.

Thanks so much for all of the kind compliments. I used Logic for midi sequencing, absynth for the synthesizer instrument, East West Symphonic Orchestra Gold, and East West StormDrum 2.

I guess a more appropriate title for this would be "A Short Serial Composition". Anyway, I wasn't really planning on revisiting this, since it was only for a class assignment, but I'll consider it. I'm working on a fairly large piece at the moment, so maybe when I'm done with that. Thanks for your comments.

Fantastic!!! Some of the sections reminded me of the music from Star Wars (the original trilogy). I liked the way you toyed with tonality in some of the quieter sections, it contrasted well with the larger, full, and louder sections. The dynamics really drive the emotion into this piece. Your themes are beautiful, and moving. It would be nice to hear a higher quality version of this. And don't worry about the length of it, as people have criticized above. It is just as long as it needs to be.

Interesting piece. As stated above, the orchestration is a bit unusual, but I think it works, because its a consistent characteristic and it does give the piece its own uniqueness. It would be nice to hear some fuller sections in this piece with a climax somewhere before the end. Some of your rhythms are notated a bit weird. I would recommend breaking beams to differentiate the triplets from the duple rhythms. This piece is off to a good start, but it could use some more work.

TMNT was my FAVORITE tv show when I was little. This is a really cool march of the theme. You should try to get this played somewhere. I'm sure it would be a crowd pleaser. Or better yet, you should get a high school to adopt it as its "fight song", haha, that would be classic.

Man, I really like your style. The section that starts at 1:18 is such a nice contrast to the beginning, and the accelerando is really nice too, it sounds like some sort of demented circus. I like how you switch between spicatto/stacatto and legato sections. Nice work. Looking forward to hearing more from you.

Cool! I love the gong, and the accompaniment in the strings. Although there is no score to base this off of, I think your use of dynamics and articulations are done very tastefully. Good use of the choir, too. I didn't know what Incantation meant before listening to this piece, and after looking it up I think you have artistically painted the idea of it well, in your own way. I sort of envision a sorcerer scheming something in his lair, and the music serves as his emotions and intentions. I really enjoyed listening. I'm going to go listen to part II. I'll let you know what I think. P.S. Would be nice if you could post the score to further comment =)

Very interesting work. I really liked the melody you opened with. Very innovative sounding with a fun rhythm, would have been cool if you threw some counterpoint in there, to keep it a bit more fresh. The second section seemed almost minimalist and had some really cool textures. You were smart to keep the intervals wide between the bass and viola here. Your atonal sections were pretty well written too. The Vivace section got on my nerves a bit though, seemed a bit too redundant without serving any real purpose. It just dragged out a bit too long for my taste. I felt the same way about the Maestoso section, and the transition (or should I say lack there of) at the end where you returned to the first section didn't really seem to fit. You should also be a bit more conscious of your dynamic markings. Remember all dynamics are relative. My rule with dynamics is to keep the Ps and Fs balanced, for instance I would never put in a fortississimo if I did not have AT LEAST a pianissimo. If you really want a section to come out with more volume, I would recommend using more descriptive texts to illustrate that to the performers (things like con brio, dolente, dolce, ect.). It comes out a bit more tastefully to the performers and the audience. Also, NEVER EVER EVER use double sharps or double flats, there is ALWAYS another way to write them. I can understand from a compositional standpoint why you would use them, but it will waste the precious time that a performer/ensemble will need in order to prepare a piece. I would check some of these tessituras, too i think that high D may be a bit too high even for a retuned viola. ALL of that being said, this is a cool piece. Its kind of like a sampler of all of the twentieth century techniques and movements, and a lot of the extra notes you put in there (like the retuning of the violin, ect.) for the performers are really interesting ideas. You really seem to know how to express what you want to hear in the music in written form, which is an incredibly powerful tool for a composer. Great work, keep it up!

check the "EDIT" notes above.

I really enjoyed this, as I am a fan of Satie. It is extremely reminiscent of his Gymnopedies. Even your score resembles his, but you still maintain a unique flavor of your own. There is a choral piece I am performing in at my University that was also inspired by Satie's Gymnopedies called Hitaat ja karseat hautajaisvalssit (Grim and Glacial Funeral Waltzes), I couldn't find a recording of the full piece online, but if you're interested in hearing a sample, you can hear it here: http://www.amazon.com/karseat-hautajaisvalssit-Glacial-Funeral-Waltzes/dp/B002KLNTO6