Some feedback on two songs- and advice!

These are two songs I wrote last year when fooling around on finale notepad with my friends. None of us think very much of our music, does anyone have any comments about either of them, or ways to improve them, apart from maybe making it longer.

We also have a chamber music competition coming up this year, me and my friends want to enter it, what kind of music do you play in these competitions? We have no idea! If you have any pieces or suggestions, we play;

1. Flute, quite good, and with practise could be excellent.

2. Clarinet, and a little saxophone (alto), not such a confident player, but can do it really.

3. Piano, clarinet, flute, saxophone (alto). Confident with piano and sax, quite good at clarinet, reasonable on flute, but doesn't know that notes that well past d above the stave, as is self-taught. Bear in mind there is only one sax to go around, but every other instrument we have more than one. Except piano, what's the point having two? There's only one player!

Moonlight_Flare.MUS

Moonlight_Flare.MID

Memory waltz.MUS

Memory waltz.MID

I love the first 30 seconds of Moonlight Flare! But after that, it kind of loses its harmonic and melodic "flare". Memory Waltz kind of carries on with that same lack of "flare".

I think my biggest suggestion to you would be to play around with more interesting rhythms and more vibrant melodies/harmonies. The quarter notes and dotted half notes (when in 3/4) get wayyy too redundant, especially when the bass line keeps repeating itself.

But the first half-minute of Moonlight Flare was, albeit simple, very promising. Work in that vein, but add more rhythmic/melodic/harmonic intricacies to spice things up. But it seems like you guys are very new to composing, so these are a great start. =]

Thank you! We are sort of new to this, and it doesn't really help that our music teacher doesn't tell us much about composing. Maybe this year. Though last year was supposed to be his last year. He's the best music teacher in the school, so fingers crossed he comes back! Know anything about chamber music competitions? We need some good pieces, because I know my friends can play well, even if they don't believe it.