Search the Community

Hi all, Any comments would be greatly appreciated, particularly on the piano part as I'm not a pianist. I wanted to write something that would give the pianist a chance to shine, but also am aware that pay for professional accompanists is low for all that they do, and that it just isn't possible to ask them to spend hours practicing a single three-minute piece for a single concert if they are going to make a living. If thinning down some of the fast chords would be a good idea for the sake of practicality, pianists, let me know. I don't want to go any slower than this tempo; the choir would risk running out of air. There is a lot of beautiful, slow music for choirs, so fun, fast pieces are always in demand to balance out a concert program. The text describes the mating dance of a cloud of solitary wasps, observed by American husband and wife entomology team Phil and Nellie Rau near St. Louis in the early 1900s. "The whole was not a helter-skelter commotion, but a merry whirl to the music of a faint, eerie hum of many wings, with every few moments a rather musical crescendo, which sounded like “zip!”, when a whirling pair would suddenly dash off at triple speed on the wing, in the final fling of joyful abandon..." - from"Wasp Studies Afield," published 1918. Furtak-Sun Dancing.pdf

So, I have made some significant progress in composing my Romantic Dance Suite that I mentioned here: A little of this progress is in the Polonaise, but most of the progress I have made is in the second dance, the Mazurka, of which I wrote down 40 bars in 1 hour. That's like the fastest I've ever composed a piece. Even my Minuet, another short dance, wasn't that fast in composition rate. So far I have this structure: A |: B A : | of a piece that I think will end up in this structure: A |: B A : | |: C A : | a simple Rondo Form typical of short Rondos and Rondo form pieces. Even my A section can be broken down into 2 periods and 4 phrases, like this: If I do a Double, as I am considering doing(I would consider doing it for the Waltz too, but I'm not there yet), that would mean most likely Mazurka II being in the parallel minor, which means that the C section of Mazurka I probably shouldn't be in the parallel minor. I just feel that it needs the minor key contrast though. I guess the relative minor or the mediant minor will do. Or maybe the chromatic mediant of F# minor? I'm unsure which minor key to go with, just that I want a minor key contrast other than the parallel minor for the C section, as the Double would be in the parallel minor. I know what a Double is, it's a second dance, usually Baroque, that develops the same melodic material in a different way, the 2 most common Doubles I have seen are that of Diminution(Polonaise of Orchestral Suite no. 2 in B minor) and Parallel Minor(Bouree of Cello Suite no. 3 in G major). Anyway, what do you think of my Mazurka thus far? And what about the key for the C section? As I said before, I'm unsure which minor key to have the C section in. How well do I do that V7/V -> V7 -> I move in Bar 24? Anything I can improve about that V7/V -> V7 -> I motion in Bar 24 or other parts of the Mazurka thus far(I'm thinking of adding some staccato in the dotted rhythms)? Does it feel as though the accent is on the weak beats, because that's important in distinguishing a Mazurka from a Waltz is the accent on weak beats? I will add dynamics later on, they always come after the notes and articulations in my compositional process.

Winner of the 2018 Puertorrican Danza contest Composed for Woodwind quintet it's inspired by my beautiful baby niece! Hope you guys like it and any comments are welcomed!

Prelude.mp3 Prelude.pdf A short prelude for marimba and flute.

Hi Ive just started trying to learn how to improve my mixing and so decided to write in a style I don't usually do. How did I do on the mix and is the song itself good?

Hi, my name is Ramón E. and I'm a beginner composer, also new to this forum. This is a short piece I wrote for a friend back in November, I want to know what you guys think.

One of several sketches composed during the last few months. Exploring rhythm and melodic development. Thanks for listening!

Here is a piece I wrote in response to ChristianPerrotta's call for solo recorder music. I apologize in advance for any oddities in the score. I attempted to make it look as good as possible while trying to use a particular notation program that I don't think I'll ever go through the trouble of using again. Thanks for listening, and although it's not relevant to the music, happy New Year!

Just when you thought I was getting soft. Here's something with some GRIT... I named it Mouseworks, cause I was feverously working the Mouse, on my computer, and there was a mouse in the kitchen, bent on doing something bad.. I had to finish the song before he chewed through the power cord.. (MarkStyles©2016Pliant Tunes BMI)

This is a short Passepied with a Trio for solo violin. I was inspired to write it after studying Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Violin. The Passepied is in the A mixolydian mode and is broken up into two sections (the first time it appears). The first section is quite soft and light, with the second section being more free and expressive. Two short pentatonic phrases in D major are combined to form the Trio. The piece ends with a recapitulation of the first section of the Passepied. Thanks for listening!

what should I need to know about waltzes before I start writing one? Is there a specific form to it? anything about the key or something that specific?