Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Young Composers Music Forum

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Photons

Featured Replies

There have been quite a couple of threads lately with compositions of miniature writing. I have always been intrigued by this kind of composition and have myself composed a few very short pieces. Among them is a collection of short pieces for solo piano which keeps expanding. I haven't added any new compositions to it lately, but I am not rejecting the idea at all.

So, here's the collection which I have named Photons. I have also uploaded two short pieces which were initially part of the collection, but then I decided to exclude them. The first 8 photons along with the two excluded were written a couple of years ago, while the last three are more recent (written a year ago or so...).

Photons

Rejected Photon I

Rejected Photon II

Alexandros

Rejected photon I.pdf

Rejected photon II.pdf

Photons (revised).pdf

Having just listened to Photons now, I have to say I rather enjoyed it. There were moments that struck me as rather random and disjointed but I assume this what you were going for. Your writing is somewhat quirky; marrying elements of atonality with modality. At times, it strikes me as a bit TOO inconsistent but for the most part, you're one of the few composers on here I can say that actually shows hints at originality. I'll listen to ther others later and update this post but I feel compelled to comment on something whenever I enjoy it... even if my comments are not substantial in the least.

Photons is absolutely outstanding! Wait a minute, let me capitalize that.

OUTSTANDING!

Hey man, for my ears, I was highly impressed with this work!

Excellent job!

If this receives further lackadaisical support, that's because people don't know who you are. Attach this piece to some dead composer and it would be

viewed at a lot differently.

You have my respect!

Hey I really loved these pieces. There was so much originality, and even though there were a lot of stylistic contrasts, especially in the tonality, I always felt they stayed consistent. This brought a sense of unity to the pieces, and even number 4, which was very tonal, fit in with its odd simplicity. My favorites were 7 and 10.

  • Author

Thank you guys for listening and commenting! I just listened to the mp3 file I uploaded and I think that it sounds a bit weird with no interruptions between the different pieces. I don't really know why it does that...

Having just listened to Photons now, I have to say I rather enjoyed it. There were moments that struck me as rather random and disjointed but I assume this what you were going for. Your writing is somewhat quirky; marrying elements of atonality with modality

Hello Nirvana,

Did you find it was at times random and disjointed between the pieces or during them? I'd say that apart from the short length that all pieces share as a common element, they are self-contained.

*

Milillo, thank you! I am listening at "Rubik's cube" right now.

*

Hello reyeahman,

Thanks for listening! As I wrote to Nirvana, I didn't really try to achieve some kind of unity between the pieces. I like to view them as independent sound morsels, each one being part of a whole.

Alexandros

  • Author

I just completed a new Photon. Hope you'll enjoy it! :)

Photon XIV

Alexandros

Photon XIV.pdf

nice, witty, playfull and reminds me of something one does to his lover or wife at times - teasing, slapping the donkey, touching the cheeks in a joyfull manner with a promise of bigger things or just playing. well, yeah, playing. it is playing , isn't it? :D

juicy and lovely sexons, if you will pardon me for explicity :)

  • Author
juicy and lovely sexons

Lol, Pliorius. You gave an interesting dimension to the music! Thanks for listening! :)

Alexandros

  • 2 months later...
  • Author

And yet another photon. In this one I focus on the sound itself as I have been generally doing more and more with my latest compositions.

Photon 15

Photon 15.pdf

good one. spacing...well, there's no beauty (for me) without spacing and distancing oneself from the thing (and thus entering the relation with it, which is pretty paradoxical). in this case, sound. this is fine exhibit of how spacing can create an opening (even) for very simple things to be beautiful (and thus profound).

  • Author

I totally agree with you, pliorius. I am just starting realising how beautiful silence is. The photon is but a rudimentary effort of mine to understand sound, silence, what you described... Thank you for listening! :)

PS. I bought my first book in philosophy. A 700 or so book on the philosophy of mind. Really interesting stuff! I didn't find any of the books you recommended, though (that's because the philosophy section of the bookshop spanned only two bookshelves).

Alexandros

i've been listening to your photon for about a half hour repeat mode! i'm glad you shared it and didn't bogg me into 'pseudo opinion' category. that is - i'm happy it meant to you something.

good choice to start on ph.of mind, and yes, philosphy shleves tend to be very poor in smaller bookstores.

Alexander - fabulous set of little miniatures. Seriously, I loved them. Your concept of space and contrast is astounding with these pieces. I wish some were a bit longer just because I liked them so much.

The score was a bit confusing in parts - I felt like the 5/8 7/8 alternation in No. 8 was a bit arbitrary. But other than that, gosh, just spot on, it's a wonderfully interesting and detailed score even to just look at.

  • Author

Hello Jason!

Thanks for listening! Since the time I posted those pieces, I have made a lot of changes to some of them especially the 5/8-7/8 one. I am going to upload the latest version so that you can see the changes I've made. I think that the problem with the time signatures is fixed, but the counting is still difficult.

I've also changed the fourth photon. I thought that its simplicity sounded rather pretentious. I'll post a sound file of the new one.

I also finished another photon, but I think I'll wait to compose a couple more and then post them all together.

Alexandros

Photon 4 (revised)

Aahh...I'm hearing very beautiful chords right now! I love this! I don't have time to get into the form analysis, but I'm hearing plenty of "Unity within Variety". And you have a nice 20th-21st century style. Very inspiring sounds!

Oh a very good thing is the variety of fast/slow/fast...thick texture/thin texture. Plenty of silences. I'm so in love with "Cyclothymic". It is...heaven!

Thanks for sharing this with us!

Peace,

J

  • Author

Thank you Jannokas! Stay tuned, 'cause more are coming! :)

  • Author

A couple more fresh photons! :)

Photon 16

Photon 17

Alexandros

Photon 16.pdf

Photon 17.pdf

still amazing.

  • Author

Thank you pliorius!

  • 5 months later...

Have you written any more photons recently? I rediscovered this thread and am happily enjoying all of the music you posted in it.

  • Author

There are two more which I made back in April before leaving for Germany. Since then I haven't had much time and the means to compose.

Here they are:

Photon 18

Photon 19

Photon 18.pdf

Photon 19.pdf

Lovely.

Perhaps some others wouldn't describe them like this, but I will.

Lovely. I liked every single second.

Largely because of the name and of the form (I love miniatures) too, I guess. But the music was edgy and trippy. Just the way I like it.

  • Author

Thank you Yachar! I like miniatures, too. I think they succeed better in stimulating one's imagination and imagery.

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.