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Hello! I am a 17 year old music student from Belgium. I recently wrote a concerto for double bass, and it turned out really well in my opinion. Now that it's finished I actually really want to write a new piece, but I can't find any themes. I was wondering, for those who don't really those "Aha! I've got a theme!"-moments at random, how do you find/look for a new theme? Where do you get your inspiration from? And how do you know if you didn't steal it from an other work? Thanks!

Hi there, for a long time I wanted to write something like this: a flamboyant "final fight" track with broad, heroic themes swirling above driving ostinati. https://soundcloud.com/dustin-naegel/battle-of-the-champions http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_songInfo.cfm?bandID=674265&songID=13676086 Originally this piece belongs to the score I wrote for a student film project realised many many years ago. The music was produced via a MIDI-based digital sequencer and of course orchestral sample libraries. Unfortunately, the London Symphony Orchestra was just too busy at the moment for a recording session. :P While the last bars in asymmetrical 7/8 meter surely feel a bit overloaded (with syncopated choir fills and such), I am quite happy with the overall arrangement and the final mix. But maybe I am a little bit biased since I listened to it too often and it's just chaos to your ears... ;) If you have some hints on how to improve the mix, sound, orchestration etc. please feel free to let me know. Best regards, Dustin

Hey, here's a little track I composed after watching Sherlock. This is the first cue I composed after reading about sections, so I tried a simple A-B-A structure. Also, it's the first cue I composed after learning about sentences, the A section is a simple sentence, tell me what you're thinking about it. I hope it's ok if I'll just link to the Instagram post, I upload it on there anyway and I've had some trouble with the mp3-player on this website. Click here to listen to the cue on Instagram

Hi all, this is my first time here. Just wanted to share this and see what kinds of things you're hearing. It's very minimal and simple (but it builds!) I have little-to-no formal music theory/training, just love making sounds :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIlrHgd85Cg

This is a little melody I've been sitting on for a while, it's incredibly short but I think it'd be fitting for a title theme. I used a xylophone to lighten the foreboding mood, but still tried to keep it sounding adventurous. Let me know what you guys think!

I'm a bit lost with this one. It needs work i know, i'm just not sure where to take it once I've brought the main theme back in around 3:45, carry on building it up bigger? Strip it right back? Any ideas on instrumentation etc very welcome...

Hello! You may perhaps have seen the collaboration topic for Theme and Variations on a Dutch folk song ''Sinterklaas is jarig''. Since I don't get any variations, I have decided that the piece is finished now. I want to thank all participants for their submissions, which are all great! It was fun to have so many people submit a variation, so maybe we can do more collaboration projects on the basis of simple songs. Theme: ''Sinterklaas is jarig.'' For more info, see below. I made a mistake by confusing the song ''Sinterklaas is jarig'' with ''Oh! Kom maar eens kijken.'' The latter is incorrect. Variation I. @MusicianXX12 Varation II. @Luis Hernández Variation III. @ilv Variation IV. @MusicianXX12 Variation V. @Maarten Bauer Variation VI. @Maarten Bauer Variation VII. @DirkH Variation VIII. @Aure_liano BACKGROUND INFORMATION The theme is a Dutch / Flemish Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) song. ''The feast of Sinterklaas celebrates the name day of Saint Nicholas on 6 December. The feast is celebrated annually with the giving of gifts on St. Nicholas' Eve (5 December) in the northern parts of the Netherlands and on the morning of 6 December, Saint Nicholas Day, in the southern provinces of the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, Luxembourg and northern France (French Flanders, Lorraine and Artois). The tradition is also celebrated in territories of the former Dutch Empire, including Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao and Suriname.'' (Wikipedia, n.d.). To practise your Dutch, here is a special episode from 2016 when Sinterklaas arrives in Maassluis. The text in this theme (there are many variations) is the following including the translation: Sinterklaas is jarig! 'k Zet mijn schoen vast klaar. Wellicht dat hij hem vol doet met, ja wist ik het maar. Hier zet ik wat water en wat hooi voor 't paard, want dat trouwe beestje is het heus wel waard. It's Sinterklaas' birthday. I'm putting my shoe down already. I hope that he will fit it with, if I only knew... Here I put some water there some hay for the horse, because that faithful animal is really worth it. Sinterklaas is jarig 5.0.mp3 Sinterklaas is jarig 5.0.pdf Best wishes, Maarten

Disclaimer: This is NOT my entry for the fall competition. I wrote this piece during my student days as an exercise. I was inspired by the Downton Abbey soundtrack and instrumentation, which consisted of piano and strings. I came up with an original theme and wrote 3 variations on it. I would appreciate any feedback and comments. Happy listening! PS: The audio is a little meh....but you'll get the general idea.

Hi guys! I'm interested in studying Theme and Variation pieces from the past 100 years or so. I'm not sure where to start, so could you suggest some for me? Thanks!

I've been working on this album for 2 days now. It was a mixed album (ambient, metal and Gothic horror) This album was inspired by Akira Yamaoka, a composer for the Silent Hills series. https://hanszimmerman.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-town Can you point out it's flaws and provide helpful criticism?

Hello everyone, This is the 2nd challenge in this series. The first was on the theme of my Soliloquy for Clarinet No. 5. You can still participate in it here: http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/t33378/composing-short-pieces-using-a-theme-by-luderart/ The chosen theme this time is from the 5th piano miniature by DanJTitchener: http://www.youngcomposers.com/music/listen/4849/ You might take the first 4 or 8 bars. I hope everyone can make good use of this theme and both the author of the theme and the participants can benefit from the challenge.

I'm working on making a video game from scratch, about a lost puppy. I actually wrote this piece on the guitar years ago with that idea in mind, because of a comment from a friend, and I wanted to capture the fear and excitement of a dog exploring a big scary world. Not sure if I achieved that, but this would only be one track from the game, with others to explore that idea further. I've been told I should just record it on the guitar, since it sounds great that way, and a lot of things may not translate well, but I wanted to experiment first with a sort of 16-bit sound (like Super Mario World or any other SNES game). I've found a decent library of Soundfonts, and I thought I'd give it a try. A lot of the strumming sections turned into Street-Fighter-esque machine gun sprays of notes, whcih I find pretty comical, but I feel like my ear isn't objective since I've been playing this on the guitar for so long. LINK: http://www.youngcomposers.com/music/listen/6443/Lost%20Puppy%20Theme (or see attachment) I need to fiddle with the volumes, I apologize if some sections sound piercing at the moment. Anyway, I would LOVE some feedback and advice! The song is designed to repeat (the transition back to the beginning needs to be a little less abrupt), and I've broken it down into 5 short sections: INTRO > ARPEGGIO > FEAR > RISE > MAIN THEME >> I'm proudest of how the main theme turned out. I can picture a puppy frolicking through a field. :) I would also love to change up the instrumentation, right now it's a chippy guitar for everything, but I can totally hear some viola & cello swells, especially in the main theme. Any advice would be wonderfully appreciated! Thanks so much for your time. lost_puppy1.mp3

Theme and Variations Piano Composition Contest Due Date: Nov. 15th, 2013 Winner will have their work recorded by me (I have a Steinway Grand at my disposal :thumbsup:). I'm might have a chance to premier it as well next summer, but I'll need to confirm this at a later date. Guidelines: 1. The piece needs to be in theme and variations form. 2. The theme is yours to choose but it must have NO repeated sections (Beethoven's c minor variations WoO 80 is a good example of what I'm looking for). I'd prefer a theme that is short and sweet (under 24 bars). It could be an original theme or a theme by another composer (as long as there is no copyright infringement of course). 3. The piece should be under 15 minutes. 4. The hardest pieces I've performed include Chopin's 4th Ballade and the Heroic Polonaise op 53, Scriabin's Etude op 8 #12, Beethoven Sonatas and Bach preludes and fugues. If you could keep the difficulty level at or under those pieces that would be appreciated ;) Other things to keep in mind : 5. I would prefer if the piece showcases a variety of styles. Breaks between variations are expected but I encourage you to try and bridge a few together (it's not mandatory). 6. You are welcome to compose in any style(s) you choose (Baroque, Romantic, Impressionist, the modes of limited transposition, 12 tone, ect...), it's up to you. 7. Submit the piece at any time before the due date and I'd be happy to give some advice on the piano writing. 8. And most importantly, Have Fun! I really hope this catches people's interest, I look forward to your submissions. Good Luck! :cool: