EKen132

Well, that is specifically what I'm doing, and if I can get some backing, it may be used at my college. Of course, if everything goes over well, I'll try and spread it to High Schools as well. Now here's the deal-- a lot of us young composers are self-taught, and so we know, more than anyone else around, what is needed to compose. See, instead of taking a lot of time on obscure harmony or counterpoint, the self-taught group has a clear focus on the necessary tools to compose. An entire forum of young composers is an extremely powerful method of feedback here! So let's use this thread as sort of a sounding board. Feel free to answer any of the following questions: -if you were writing a curriculum for an introduction to composition, what are the most important lessons you would want to teach? -what have you learned in various music composition classes that is most useful to actually composing? -what have you learned in classes that is LEAST applicable to actually composing? What would you get rid of in classes? -of course, what are the most important lessons and traits in teaching oneself to compose? I'm thinking about doing a primarily tonal course that emphasizes Life Long Learning, that is, instead of teaching someone how to compose, to also teach them how to teach them self how to compose. That is, when it all comes down to it, even more valuable for an introduction course. Anyhow, please leave your feedback of any sort!

Consider yourself e-slapped. You are staggeringly unintelligible.

But how on earth can you even use an augmented fifth... oh wait... augmented chords. Mine would probably be the minor sixth, anyhow, if I haven't already said that.

John Galt, did you by any chance apply to MIT recently?

Oh wait... Ayn Rand character... haha nvvvvmmm

John Galt... the name is terribly familiar. Are you from Sibelius showcase? or perhaps the finale one? Maybe I've already talked with you some... darn is that a familiar name!

Wow, I'm pretty convinced you are a puritan, through and through. What do you think of electric guitars? Wouldn't Jesus have gone with an acoustic? Electric guitars are loud and noisy. Their distortion is meaningless sound, and they are a very crude thing to play as instruments go. Whereas an acoustic is peaceful, soothing, beautiful, and quieter. Is it bad to play electric guitars?

I did a research paper on this very phenomenon last year. It should be of interest to those of you willing to read it: Unfortunately, I can't attach word files, and my pdf printer thing is being annoying. So here's the text :glare: E-Mail me for the original if you really want to.

Unoriginality is not a weed in young composers, it's a flower. Until you can imitate and understand the works of the past, don't count on being decently original. So while you're young, do what sounds good, even if others have done it already. It still sounds good after all!

Thanks for the comments, I don't mind a bit! About it dragging on, I have a feeling there will be cuts when my HS orchestra plays it. I was trying to achieve an epic feel in the length, and I think to some degree I got it. Anyhow, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and if you have any specific orchestratation critiques or comments, don't hesistate to add!

Ah I know how some MIDI files do that. Just skip ahead a few seconds in the file and see if it continues. IDK how it could have happened since I've listened to the MIDI many times. It happens if you start a MIDI note but don't stop it, which... I didn't do. haha. So who knows. Does the .MUS work fine?

The reason for the length is that was the commission. The concert already had a zillion pieces, so this could only be around three. Hopefully they're a good three though :)

Sweet good thread idea! Oftentimes when I'm most relaxed, I realize music accompanies me right into sleep. Sometimes I'll come to right before falling asleep and realize I've been "hearing" (in my mind's ear at least) beautiful orchestral melodies in the same manner that if you aren't listening to what someone is saying, you can still recall the last few words they said in your memory. There was a psychological term for this. Echoic memory perhaps. Strangely, the song is never any other smaller instrumentation or different type of music, it's always classical-romantic orchestral music. And a few times the music has accompanied me into dreams, or I've been composing in my dreams. Usually that happens when I'm really relaxed that night, or if I've composed late into the night (which is usually early into the morning haha). It seems to be beautiful stuff and I've been really POed before to wake up and only remember hearing it but not remember what I heard. Ah what a shame. Now didn't Wagner or someone compose straight from a "dream-theme" and it ended up being a chamber piece for his wife's birthday or their anniversary or something? Now who was that?..

Well supposedly the amount entered dropped to two again this year... I talked to someone who was supposed to enter something big (he's gonna do comp. in college), just said auditions were too much work and he didn't care enough. Bummer. So now comes me printing parts and the big sight-read :) Thanks for all your comments guys. I'm glad everyone likes it.

And so as of today I have officially won the contest. Our HS orchestra will be doing a sight-reading soon :P

Perhaps. I plan to be an engineer primarily, but a music degree may be in order if it works out. We'll see. I doubt I could do music as a profession. It's about the only time these days that I can sit down to do something and have a completely blank slate in front of me. I need that somehow.

Wow I'm glad to get such great responses! I've officially submitted my entry, and my orchestra teacher says it's very nice and he liked many parts, but it is very long and hard. It is long, but we have a huge program for spring (our next concert) including two pieces by an old professor of his who composes in a modern style. Unfortunately, it's hard to appreciate that sort of music in a high school orchestra (just talk to the players), whereas I think the kids would be ecstatic to put on this. As for it being hard... well we just pulled off Dvorak 4 Finale, which is by no means easy. Certainly much harder than this in my opinion. Anyhow, the contest can be a bit of a joke. I don't think it happened my freshman year, my sophomore year a junior won it, but junior year I beat the then senior for it, and now I think there are a grand total of 5 or so entries for this year. It's picking up, especially since we have a new teacher who wants to get the harmony/arranging class involved. Arrangements are allowed as well, though. Anyhow, it's great to have a nice reception for a piece like this.

Hey guys. This is a new piece of mine, just finished last night. Took a few months to compose, and it's my entry for my high school's composition contest. I'm pretty proud of it, even if it was totally rushed along. I should go back and do some serious quality orchestrating later, but I still think it's a pretty good piece. Enjoy Overture and Gloria, for orchestra and choir. 13:20 Op_12_Overture_and_Gloria.MUS Op_12_Overture_and_Gloria.MID

Well, no, the latin would be "Day of Sorrow". In which case it's fine. Just like Dies Irae does not mean "day judgment" but "Day of Judgment".

It first started when I was about 11, maybe younger. I remember playing the Vivaldi concerti movements on the violin through the Suzuki books. Although I never paid attention to the composers at the time, I liked every song by him seperately. One day it clicked that they were all in the same style so I checked and sure enough, same composer too- Vivaldi! I decided then and there that he had an incredible talent at writing music, and I was gonna do the same darn thing. Started writing down violin sketches, soon realized that violin wasn't good for figuring out chords or whatever. Sat down at the bro's piano, and soon started playing it more than he did. Stumbled upon Finale, which was god-sent at the time (still is), and started really chugging along. Finally finished my Vivaldi style concerto, then moved on to bigger and better things. Wrote my first symphony last year, took four and a half months, but the work I put into it and the fact I finished it (it's 40 minutes long too) assured me that I could do big things. Been slowly wading through the romantic era in the last year or so.

Unfortunately I do not. Maybe a CD will come out though.

Thanks guys :) I'm glad everyone's liking it!

Bass drums are a lot of fun! Nice work, if I haven't said so already. I listened a while back and enjoyed it.

A few categories: Most Grand: Der Ring Des Nibelungen (sp?) Most Inspired: 9th Symphony, Beethoven Most Hummable: Serenade in G (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik) Mozart Most Famous: 5th Symphony, Beethoven Most Haunting: Requiem, Mozart; Sonata 27 "Moonlight", Beethoven shoot gotta go.

A manifesto for this generation of composers! :closedeyes: