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Hi all! This is the second movement of my Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor. It is set in the relative major E major to act as an (apparent) counterpart of the furious first movement. Pentatonics and Locrian scale are added in the movement, but the motive of fourth from the first movement is important here as well. Here is the Youtube video link: Here is the pdf and audio of the score: Final Draft Piano Sonata no.3 in C sharp Minor 2nd Mov.pdf Piano Sonata no.3 2nd Mov.mp3 The movement is set in a rondo form ABACA. Here is the structre of the movement: 0:00 Introduction & 1st Refrain: The Locrian scale is used capriciously at the beginning by a confused Henry right at thr start of composing the movement when he didn't know why he used it but still retained it to see what would happen. The main theme (00:23) begins in a quite beautiful pentatonic E major. I love the German Sixth used in 00:53 and I absolutely love the C-sharp minor contrasting theme, as it's beautiful but at the same time coherent by using the falling fourth motive from the beginning of the 1st movement! (Btw it is quoted in parody in my joking fugue) It then unoriginally modulates to dominant B major. 01:32 repeats the whole process apart from some embellishments. 2:34 1st Episode: The beautiful (I think) 1st episode is actually composed the second last one, only before the last refrain. It's Chopinistic here, but I think it's quite beautiful! The theme is roughly the inversion of the 1st theme. I had the inspiration of this beautiful theme when waiting in a queue in my ex-company's canteen LoL! I love the counterpoint in 03:43 as well, again using the falling fourth motive. The C-sharp minor is never solved and merely forced back to E major with a quite beautiful G sharp major transition to the 2nd Refrain. 4:29 2nd Refrain: The first theme is turned to a bell texture which I must have taken inspiration from Brahms's op.117 and Prokofiev's Sonata no.6. The serenity proves short-lived as the mood starts to become agitated and the falling fourth motive starts to attack. 5:12 2nd Episode: The Locrian scale starts to disturb and the keys start to moving all around, again in 05:30 the agitation proves itself it is not going to be covered at all, and with octatonic modulation it ends on G minor which sounds like the beginning of Chopin's 1st Ballade in 05:41. The first theme enters in 05:53 but is only a false recap as the stirring continues once again in a semitone higher in a Schubertian fashion. The first theme re-enters in 07:07, this time in C-sharp major, the global tonic major but with undercurrent underneath. F minor disturbs once again as in earlier as well as the development of the 1st movement, and the Locrian mode is finally forcefully purified to a pentatonic. I think the retransition here is slightly abrupt and forceful. 8:16 Last Refrain: First theme appears with the purified locrian scale turn to pentatonic crystal in the upper register of the piano. The contrasting theme is set in F-sharp minor this time for the E major confirmation. The C-sharp minor is not answered at all again in 09:17, and only forcefully shut up, and the piece ends in E pentatonic. At least a momentary serenity can be achieved before facing the disasterous 3rd movement. This movement starts in 2023 June right after the completion of the 1st movement, but was abandoned since I had to focus on composing the 2nd movement of my Sring Sextet. Then after a personal crisis in 2024 I had no energy at all to compose, and I hoped to use this movement to pick up my creative energy. It succeeded and the movement is quite beautiful in my opinion. I expanded the movement from a ternary one to a rondo with the addition of the 1st episode and completion of the last refrain. The movement may sound too Chopinistic and less original, but I definitely pour my heart here. I just maintain the “write-what-I-want approach” in the whole Sonata without much thinking, planning, or trying to be original. I just don’t want my emotion disturbed by the chasing of originality when expressing my feeling is my ultimate concern in the whole Sonata. The recording is played by myself. I buy a new microphone I hope the recording quality will be better and not to be roasted by @chopin anymore! Feel free to comment or critize this piece below! I will be more than happy to hear any opinion whether it's positive or negative! Hope you enjoy it! P.S. Here is the link for the YC post of the 1st movement from the same Sonata: Henry

Hi there I'm going to be recording some demos of new songs, but in the meantime I'm self-recording just to have them to pitch. I'd love some feedback on this and the upcoming songs, especially all you talented vocalists and lyricists. I'm really interested in improving my vocals. This is a quick recording, I'm really hoping for ideas on how to improve the melody or guitar parts since this recording won't be final. It's pretty simple, pop-ish chord progressions, nothing crazy. Even if you don't comment, thanks for checking out my music 🙂 *** Lyrics: I've no fear of the sea cause with you I can tread higher water even if we drift off with the breeze I'll go the wrong way with you * When we drive down the road I get lost in the way you direct us no matter how far we are from home I want the wrong way with you * When I get back from working I come home to karaoke and your voice fills the room an out of key symphony but I can't help it, I'm in love * I tend the fire at night the warm light dancing free all around us I wish the sun would never come up again so I can stay right here with you down the wrong road with you and I love the wrong way with you any other one just wouldn't do when you're here, wherever we are feels right inside and I'll always throw away the guide and walk, the wrong way with you

As implied by its title, this arrangement was based off my Crab Canon (aka. Canon Cancrizans) a 3 in C minor ( • Three-voice Crab Canon in B minor.): Since its initial publication, it has been transported one half step upwards to accomodate for the ranges of the instruments involved in this double trio, with the full realization played by the Continuo harpsichord part (which may be omitted entirely on account of the extremely wide intervals between voices in certain invertible configuartions making it rather difficult to play). Enjoy! YouTube video link:

Hey everyone, While I've been quite busy with university during the past year, I've started uploading some of my compositions to a YouTube channel, which I think better presents my music as a score-audio combo. They're all still computer renditions, but I hope to begin uploading my own performances these next few months (including of other works, mainly Scriabin). Here's a waltz that I originally wrote for one of those community-organised composition challenges on MuseScore, in which it was required that a note be repeated at least once in every bar of a piece. I ended up bestowing upon it the nickname "Waltz of the B(ee)s" for that reason and gave the score to my music teacher as a gift. Among all of my pieces, I think this is the one I'm closest to recording myself, so I'll update this thread when I'm ready!

Here is a short piece, which I wrote recently. It is in a Chopin-like style. I have not made any pedal indications, because most musicians would probably want to decide on this themselves. But I could add them of course. I would be very interested to learn what you think of the piece.

Hello @UncleRed99, Thank you so much for your feedback! I envy you so much for playing trumpet! Two of my favorite Jazz musicians are Miles Davis and Chet Baker, so the trumpet is one of the instruments I listen to the most! I got stuck with the piece because it became hard creating solos with the drums, bass, and everything together. It is still a work in progress and I plan to finish it all, but I think it will take me longer than expected to learn enough to complete it (particularly because I need to understand several instruments for creating the solos, and, specially the drums and creating transitions is being harder than I expected. I need to improve my improvisation skills too for making solos sound natural :S). In the meantime I am also trying to compose the shout chorus and the ending of the piece. Jazz is so different to classical music that I feel like I need to learn everything from scratch once more 😅 I will make sure to let you know when it is completed! Thank you for you encouragement!

Thanks Peter, I'm glad you dug the form, even if it was a bit unconventional. Glad you enjoyed the playing too! 🙂 I love this. You're a poet my good man 🙂 Thanks for checking it out Henry

I am looking for feedback on one of my compositions https://musescore.com/user/53049012/scores/20469397 This is the muse score you could use it as an audio. YouTube also works as audio

Hi @Fruit hunter! I love this piece! I think the most obvious memorable section is the Alla Ninna Nanna where you set the well known Nursery Rhyme in multiple different interesting modes/harmonic contexts including Lydian, Phrygian and even Locrian! Have you heard Ernst von Dohnanyi's Variations on a Nursery Rhyme for Piano and Orchestra which uses the same theme as its basis? I loved that piece so much that it inspired my Variations on Deck the Halls for Piano and Orchestra (I basically used that piece as the model for my piece). Your score is full of interesting orchestration techniques including the very brief microtonal inflections in the middle of it. I have recently gotten into microtones more and I feel like you could have incorporated microtones more fully into your piece without ruining the intent of making a basically consonant soundscape that I think your piece is. Like @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu mentioned, some of those soundscapes sound Stravinskian, even cinematic sometimes, I'd say. Some of the score reminds me of the soundtrack to the Matrix. I perceive the piece to be divided into 4 movements. I think the 1st and 2nd movements are my favorite and most memorable. For a piece that mostly lacks recognizable themes (besides the Alla Ninna Nanna), it really commands the attention! Great job and thanks for sharing! P.S.: Besides reviewing others works, I'm sure the reviewers of your piece would really appreciate if you gave them a ❤️ or a 🏆 for their efforts in reviewing your music! (myself included ofc LoL)

Here are two dinky renaissance keyboard pieces I wrote for some informal/ goofy competitions on various discord servers....in both cases we were given a theme that we were supposed to use.......Feel free to comment anything at all.

These microtones do contribute to the music. But let me go through my thoughts, so you can get a better sense of why. I like how at 10 seconds in, you demonstrate the microtone by gradually increasing its pitch. 14 seconds in, you really are showing how microtones can affect harmony, at least to my ears. Also, I feel like most of the time I wasn't sure if we were in minor or major. Like I could tell, but there were times where the major portions sounded really ominous 😵‍💫. At 1:13 to to 1:20 you have a series of cadences. I think the first 2 cadences resolve to minor, and the final one resolves to major. But again, it's not that easy to tell. The entire piece reminds me of a dream sequence, and this could be in part due to the echo effect. I feel like I am perhaps in a haunted carnival, with evil clowns chasing me. There are some instances of reprieve, but the entire piece is incredibly haunting. This is more than the thought it just sounds out of tune. I think you are starting to learn how to make use of microtones to contribute to mood. When you suggest they don't seem necessary, I think perhaps this type of composition is starting to become second nature to you. But to the listener, I can assure you, the microtones are seriously warping the mood of this piece, in ways that may not be possible with normal music. I really like this piece as a whole, and maybe my ear training is starting to get used to microtonal music since you started posting these exercises 😅.

Maybe the introduction progression is the most interesting part of the piece. I found it the other day and I probably took inspiration from Gesualdo. About the rest of the piece I tried to convey the imagine of a knight who has been defeated in a Souls-like universe. I wanted to portray the feeling I got from the music when I first played these videogames that I love so much. I hope you enjoyed it and see you next time!

Thank you Henry. She was a beautiful person and loved music. She sang in choirs all her life, and encouraged my musical pursuits. She once told me quite recently that she had something she always wanted to express in music (she started piano lessons at age 88!). I almost broke down on the spot. I am her son, to be sure. There are occasional posts on "Why Do We Compose?" This is why! To EXPRESS--wordlessly-which to me seems to be where all the really important parts of life are hidden... Henry! I had a long think on the simple question: "How to start?". We have Mozart's unison example on his masterpiece in G minor. But this has been overused. Brahms starts with the quiet/mysterious in his 1st quartet. I settled on this rising, dramatic intro using a bit of motif and this --what I thought at the time--throw-away figuration as a filler- But the "filler" ended up being another motif through the movement! A "discovery"! The chorale gave me fits!!!! I had the melodic line very early, and the string part wrote itself, but the rules for progression here are quite strict--as you probably know. At last, after some piano/paper and pencil work I resolved my major errors and --POP!--I hope Felix would approve! I'm fond of the noodling violin in the repeat and violin /cello phrase. The fugato syncopation to start is one of the few rules I worked by! The contrast with the regular beats provides some "built in" tension. I think this is correct? I will look at your suggestions--but yes! here the transitions gave me some fits---I will absolutely look for improvements. Glad you liked the coda. This came early--the basic idea, and I knew I needed to expand on it to successfully conclude, so I again used a rising syquence from G minor to a C minor key in the two iterations---closing with a faint echo of the upward push from the opening. The VSL sound set really pops here. The piece works best when I stick to proper chamber music style--- a dialog among equals-- But the more "symphonic" sections (all voices together)have a place. I' m not done doing some patch-up (It never ends). Transitions between sections still vex me and I am looking to trim measures to keep things tight and forward moving. I'll post (probably several!) corrected version. A workshop with real musicians is coming. I'm committed! I may finish the rondo (and piece) first to get more bang for the considerable bucks. I really REALLY appreciate your comments, Henry. You, Peter, others in this community have been my true teachers and I hope you agree I am coming along-- because of your help. This is the longest, most involved, and first proper sonata form piece I've done. First fugato! And pointed criticism and encouragement have made growth possible. I've lost my great musical friend here in my "real " world. But my virtual musical community lives on, and my mother would most approve. Thank you. Thank you all.

For me originally it was just something I do always since I was young but only very little bit. Then eventually I continued to compose to help me improvise better. edit: wait you can't allow other people to add answers?

In the Microtonal Invention, I only modified the 3rds of major and minor triads, although you could also modify the 3rds of the counterpoint. But if you go by the counterpoint then, as the piece progresses through different passages the tendency would be for the piece to get more and more out of tune in relation to 12 tet. I wanted to keep the piece basically in 12 tet and only modify choice tones to keep the best features of 12 tet which is good sounding perfect 8ves, 5ths and 4ths. Also, since major and minor 2nds are also compromised in 12 tet so that they can fit equally into the perfect 8ve, if you modified each interval in counterpoint to be more like just tuning, you'd get more and more out of tune especially if the scalar motion traversed larger intervals than the 8ve. Check out this video that @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu shared with me: Thank you! Yeah I was stoked to hear microtones in @Mooravioli's recent orchestral piece so I of course I decided I had to try it out!

At long last I've gotten my Piano Quartet 1st movement into a near- final form. There are details that need attention, but I think it is time to hopefully get some feedback. It took a while--my father developed severe alzheimers, we had to move them, sell their home... And then my mother passed---who gave me my love of music. Composing has helped me commune with her..... *************************************************************************************** A Brief summary of the 1st mvmt: This is in classical sonata form: exposition, development, recap with a brief coda. Exposition: 1st theme in C minor, 2nd theme in F major, return to 1st theme and codetta Development: A: Development of 2nd theme into minor, some diminution of the theme, and looser feel B/C: Introduces a third theme, in 4/4 time a major key inversion of 1st theme turned into a Mendelssonian chorale w/ piano, leading as an intro to... A fugato passage based on the 1st theme regularized in half notes in A minor (4/4 time) Coda transforms back to 6/8 and C minor... Recap: Return of 2nd theme in Eb major (instead of F) 1s theme in strings and them a grand statement w/ piano, joined by string to finish. Coda: Introduce another complimentary motif/new material manipulating main theme to close on strong cadence. ************************************************************************************************** I generally like it, but working with recap textures/thinning and trying to abbreviate for the sake of momentum might be something I look at. The FUGATO passage is my first, and was hard won. I think it works. I learned a ton working on this piece. Third movement Rondo in C minor next... (I include an MP3 of the second movement (PQ Mvmt.II VSL WS MASTER), using the new very expressive Vienna Symphonic Library Synchron solo violin... )

Hi everyone, I’m new here! I’ve seen a few other pieces of music shared here, and it seems like the perfect place for me to join in. I’m a French student, and I’ve spent 12 years studying piano at a conservatory. Recently, I’ve started composing, and I feel confident enough about what I’ve created to share it with you. Right now, I don’t have anyone around for active listening, so I have no idea how to assess the quality of my compositions. I’d really appreciate honest feedback (whether it’s theoretical or just based on your feelings) to understand where I stand and how I can improve. I hope you will feel as much emotion listening to it as I did composing it 😀 Thank you in advance for your time and your insights!

This is an aria in the late Baroque style for flute, tenor, and continuo. The text is taken from Goethe's Unbegrenzt (unbounded).

This is not the current version - See the new post here for the most updated version, with new context.

Calling All Violinists! I’m seeking a talented violinist to collaborate on my original composition, Devil's Dance. This piece was written for piano and violin, and I’d love to hear it brought to life by a skilled performer. You can listen to the music in the video attached to this post. If you’re interested in collaborating, feel free to reach out - I’d be thrilled to connect! Let’s create something magical together!

idk why, I see the your 2nd episode as just a development of the refrain of part A', I see your movement more in a tenary ABA' form ok sure let me give you some feedback since it seems you gave the impression its all praises for you lol bar 18/34 (either or/and), would you consider changing the low e-sharp to c-sharp so the last quaver of this bar has a complete triad? I guess the second refrain does sound a bit random with all the running notes and stuff, but it could also be a playback and *** ahem I'm not qualified to say this*** skill issue, like I said the 2nd refrain the melody is hidden in between the voices it's hard to bring it out.

Definitely better than Musesounds.

Hey again @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu! After further listening and consideration I have decided to review your piece again since I seem to have missed so much in my 1st review! LoL First, I really appreciate now how you've modified the rondo form to your own purposes by varying the main theme each time it comes back, never repeating it twice in the same way to sustain musical interest. In a way it's like a variations and rondo form hybrid. Also, the ending is really brilliant by showing the unity between the pentatonic figures and the main theme, exemplifying that the pentatonic figures actually emerge from the main theme. Also, I was wrong in my first review to not notice that you do in fact bring back the Locrian figures in m. 113 - 115. And you immediately follow them up with the pentatonic figures mirroring the introduction. I do wonder if those Locrian figures are related to some other part of the sonata or if they have any other kind of special significance or reason for their occurrence. Once again, thanks for sharing this very coherent and unified piece!

Really nice work, Henry.

Originality will continue to seep through your music if you have this approach. Sure, we've all looked at works from the past as a framework, even the masters have done that. But writing what you want without outside interference from the world I think is the goal we all should have. It's WHAT will make your music individual and uniquely you, since no one can tell your story other than yourself. I think you've succeeded in that. You've embraced your heritage and culture with your knowledge and learning, and if you continue that my friend, you'll find that you'll think of what or who your music sounds like less and less. You'll continue to focus on you and your goals with music, and by happenstance if there are similarities with another's work (which I guess is inevitable), it's by mere coincidence and not even a big deal. I listened to this several times, not because I wanted to craft the right response and get every little detail right, but because I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it the same way I would enjoy a Beethoven sonata or Chopin nocturne. I just like them. Even though I've heard their music hundreds of times by now, I still always come back because of the enjoyment. And your 3rd sonata is no different. I even re-listened to the first movement to better grasp the story you were telling, and I forgot how much I enjoyed that piece too. The power and passion in it is dripping with fire, and the somber and sweetness, equally as passionate, of the second movement is a delicious balance. This movement was stuck in my head last night, the themes are just so simple and beautiful they found their way into my thoughts. There were so many moments that I loved. The Locrian intro into pentatonics, the syncopated falling next motif, the organization of craftsmanship in developing, the clever balance of technicality and simplicity, the gorgeous way you ended it, I could go on and on. To top it all off, you labored hours of preparation to present your music in the highest way: a wonderful performance by the composer. There were barely any moments I didn't like. Maybe it got convoluted and heavy in spots I wouldn't have done, but that's what makes this your music, not mine. This is a lovely piece, angelic and ethereal at times, that have inspired my future music as a new reference for me to check back on. I love that you poured your heart out in this, and oh how it shows. Your heart yearns, and I heard it in this piece. The world doesn't deserve how good of a man you are and to all of us, yet you still give us more music to enjoy. Well done Henry, this sonata as a whole is a favorite of mine from you, I can't wait to hear how you end this. 🙂

idk, bars 76-112 seems intimidating and you have to do it in one continuous motion though bars 69-75 is technically more musically difficult imo your slow movements are miles ahead of mine lol... and to actually play it

Henry, you've really changed the way I view the pentatonic scale. The structure of this piece is insanely organized, and right off the bat, we know this piece is playable! Let's break down some sections: Your intro, is fun, and stands out from your entire piece. This is equivalent to Chopin's intro to his 4th Ballade. I love it! The opening after the intro has a beautiful Chopin-like melody. This style reminds me a little of his waltzes, but in 4/4 time instead of 3/4. How did you manage to do that? 😅 Love 2:40, where you introduce some key changing, then we get into your secondary melody. This is perhaps one of my favorite parts of your composition. There's just so much feeling and excellent chord changing going on here. 3:40, I hear the counterpoint you are talking about. Well done! 6:10, is another favorite of mine, as this seems to be a recap of your secondary theme? And I love how you go through a series of subtle key changes here in a matter of seconds. 8:35, I anticipated you finishing the melody in the left hand on the next bar, but you didn't. This is an excellent anticipatory move, and very clever 😍. I listened to this about 3 or 4 times so that I could give you a proper review. There's just so much to learn from this composition and performance. One thing is for sure though...this sonata teaches the importance of structure, which I think a lot of new composers forget about. I would definitely recommend others to listen to this piece, not only for the fun melodies, but also for the key changing techniques and well organized nature of this sonata.

Hi @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu! I know you've been working on this movement for a while so I'm glad that you've finally finished it! I am a bit surprised by the isolated Locrian opening (that almost sounds like some kind of chess opening LoL). The dark Locrian opening is immediately followed by the E major pentatonic ascending figure which is a very bright sound. The juxtaposition of these two dark and bright figures really doesn't mesh well for me. And as far as I can tell, the Locrian scale never comes back in any other part of the movement. Also, the parts immediately before the "ritenuto" markings in the score for me sound overly thick and chaotic (m. 86, 98). But what I really really enjoyed about this movement is when the melody imitates itself canonically and you somehow managed to play both the melody and it's canonic imitation in the same hand! (m. 56 - 59) Also, why did you omit the melody for a few beats in bar 126? It seems empty with just the high pentatonic flourishes in the right hand! I also like how you end the piece by extending the pentatonic figures out through progressive rhythmic diminution. The combination of the pentatonic figures with the melody being played in the same hand in m. 69 - 72 is also a very cool idea and creative combination! Thanks for sharing this virtuosic movement!

Hello again. I have composed yet another microtonal piece - this time a prelude for lumatone (or a piano). My intent for the piece was to explore subminor and supermajor chords, as well as the subminor 7th which is a more pleasing sonority in a minor or dominant 7th chord which isn't as dissonant and yearning for resolution (the dominant 7th chord with a subminor 7th is a common sonority that gives Barbershop quartets their characteristic sound). I think a performance on a lumatone can probably best approximate my intentions with this piece in 31 edo or 53 edo or something. Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any comments, suggestions, critiques or observations you may have!

I love all the space in this, it really lets the notes breathe and my ears digest the otherworldly sound. It would be cool in a space video game. This might sound cool thrown through a synth versus the piano samples, do you have access? Very cool music bruh

I love this. Sure, you'll get advice from others to aid your growth, but breaking through your comfort zones and boundaries will be your ultimate teacher. You won't always succeed, and you may fail and trash numerous attempts at a first draft, but this "good" type of stress is the hallmark for your greatness. I actually turned off my critical ears while listening, and just enjoyed the music. There's always something special yet sorrowful when deeper convictions are what inspire and lead us to jot the notes down. Your voice is wonderful, and your music portrayed a logic and skill that made the length necessary. I'm very happy to have listened to this, and hopefully your future movements are written and crafted soon, as I'm eager to hear what you have for us next. While Henry pointed out some of the technical parts that could be improved, I think as a whole your were successful in capturing an emotion unique to you. Thank you for sharing, I enjoyed this.

I have concocted yet another microtonal piece! This time I realized that I could mix-up the varieties of stepwise motion that I use in my microtonal pieces. Besides the regular half-steps and whole-steps in a scale, I delved into steps that are slightly smaller and slightly bigger than a whole step (3/4 steps and 5/4 steps). I used the steps in this piece, to build a microtonal variety of a pentatonic scale. I hope you enjoy the weird result! Thank you for listening and I would really appreciate any suggestions, critiques, comments or observations you may have!

I really liked this piece! It's like a mixture between Blackwood and some pentatonic music from asia or even gamelan. I didn't hear anything odd and it's good nice colors and a catchy rhythm. I do feel like this could be the A or B section of a longer piece though, or even a little suite. Also maybe I'm missing small 1 measure bridges/transitions at some points, like where you go back to the initial theme. And experiment with what kind of cadences are possible and natural sounding in the tuning system you used. But great job. 😁

Hey Peter, For me this one sounds like an out of tuned Chinese melody with a Schubertian Moment Musical no.3 accompaniment. It’s really weird haha. It’s Chinese New Year coming and it will be a great New Year tune LoL. Henry

This sounds like an old honky-tonk piano lol. The concept of the piece is catchy and I love the beat. The most interesting part to me is at around measure 31, where you make use of the microtone in such a way that it sounds like you are slurring the chords to change key. Something I've been wondering about microtonal music is if completely different harmonies can be created. So far you've demonstrated subtle use of microtones to slightly alter the nuance. But what if they can be used to create harmonies that are completely foreign from traditional harmony?

Hello Peter, Thanks a lot for your engagement! I am sorry for the delay of my response (too many thing are ongoing for me at the moment). I am glad that you liked the piece. It has been quite a struggle for me to write this piece and I am still not satisfied. I would like to re-write the part which begins at bar 48 and ends at bar 69. There are also some minor “mistakes” in the last part of the piece. But I have to leave it for the moment.. You are of right that there is no real jazz element in the piece. I don´t know why I said this. Perhaps it was just an intention. Right now, I am working full speed on new things, in fact three very different pieces at the same time- I found that this is actually a good method to create a distance between the individual pieces. And great fun, actually. Thanks again Peter for your encouraging words, Best regards Johan

Hello everybody! I hope everyone's doing great. It's been a long time since I did anything on here. I wanted to share what I'm working on these days (or months). My current album "The Power Within". I'm just halfway through, so I was hoping to make it a 12-tracks album. Anyway, here's the music:

Without context, I'm unsure of what it is that you're aiming to express with this piece. If I had to be honest, I can't say that this is particularly enjoyable to the ear 😅 Just reading over the first page of your score, I notice that the voicings "clash". Skimming through, this seems to be a common theme. You have your key signature set as Atonal (or, open, no set mode), and while your rhythms are unique, and would work well with the ensemble as a whole, I find it hard to "hear" the direction the piece is going, and I'm unable to conjure any imagery in my mind for what this work's message is portraying. Not that all music has to have any real meaning to it. Music can just be fun for the sake of it being fun as well. However, again, I don't pick up on any sort of intent in this project, and I so desperately would like to!!! But to touch on your notation, we can review measure 1 as an example, as this same issue is present throughout the piece, and would give you an idea on what I'm referring to, for you to possibly utilize for edits as you progress in writing this. Beat 1, Piano, plays a C natural, doubled by the octave. Moving up, the Cello has an A natural. Which is ok, as it's a 3rd interval from C. However, the first thing heard is the C in the piano, which would typically establish the 1st tone of whatever mode the piece is in. (can be multiple, based on just the note C alone.) Moving up the next staff, to Viola, we have a G Natural. So far, that's (C/A/G...) Already, we face a dilemma. A and G Natural are 1 whole tone apart. and at the octave range that these are notated, imagine just those two notes played on a piano, simultaneously. That would be 2 white keys right next to one another, which is very dissonant, and can sound harsh, if used without context. Lets move up again to V. II: We have a B Natural. Then up to the top staff, V. I: We have another C Natural. So the first chord we hear is built upon; (C/C, A, G, B, C) Which would sound like this (see attached audio below)>> I hope that, given the example, you may see where I'm coming from, in terms of being unable to pinpoint an intent with the sound of the notation! I want to emphasize, in no way am I trying to say your work is bad. It's apparent to me that you're still new to this stuff, and mistakes are okay! I just hope to guide you toward doing great things. Its difficult to follow music without a tonal central point, as you can hear from the attached audio. If you have a question, I'd love to talk about it. edit: what I *think* you were trying to use was A minor? I plugged the notes into my Musescore 4 program as just whole notes on the same instrumentation. I can hear a vague sound of an A minor chord. Which would be written like: Recording 2025-01-22 041459.mp3

you've mentioned this, and my ADHD brain always forgets to revisit 😐 🤣 I promise I will review some of your work, soon!

There are bunch of my works here on YC with links on my About Me section haha: https://www.youngcomposers.com/p21047/henry-ng-tsz-kiu/ It does! Keep it up!

I wish you a very happy new year and mostly I wish you musical inspiration for 2025. Play your music and listen to it before writing it on paper or whatever electronic gizmo software. It may end up better. Cheers,

Night in the Jungle.pdf Night in the Jungle.mp3 Near a final draft. A few tweaks I have to do. First I have to actually find them which is why I'm posting. I'm struggling to find things to fix but I know its not done

Hey @PeterthePapercomPoser! This prelude is motivically tight. Almost all phrase starts with the same motive, either in its original or inverted form. Like @chopin I love the echo effect. The echo really strengthens the weirdness of the piece as provided by the microtone! Thx for sharing this little piece! Henry

Hey Kyle @UncleRed99, I absolutely love this! I feel your sadness. The opening C minor theme is fxxingly great and emotional. The E flat major cello theme is no less either. It's contemplative and consolating but no less sad. The whole piece I am like listening to a river stream with sadness lightly flowing. The harmony, instrumentation and texture are maybe simple, but it is because of its simplicity make this so touching. The modulation to F minor makes the music more reflective for me. The picardy 3rd is nice as well to give some hope. Interesting the main theme here (Eb-D-C-G) shares the same motive I once have in my C minor Clarinet Quintet! Thx for sharing this lovely piece! Henry

Hi @muchen_, It's really a nice Baroque Aria. I like the counterpoint and melisma in it, and I like the cadential hemiola you use. For me it's quite creative and a bit weird to set Goethe's text in a Baroque style, since his birth year merely touches the end of the period! Thx for sharing. Henry

Hi @NicholasG, The opening sounds like the beginning of the 3rd movement of Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique which is ominous for me. The theme in 1:00 sounds quite jungle like with the percussion, but and then you go for a march. A more contemplative wind passage follows. The saxophone solo passage is quite nice, but it's too short for me! After it it's bell and timpani passage another furious adventure comes. The ending first features the wind passage, and then the solo saxophone, and then ends on a high note. For me personally I think there are too many ups and downs within a small time span. I think you can really develop on the different passages before getting into a contrasting passage! The theme in 1:00, the march theme after it, the wind passage and then the saxophone passage all seem short for me! They are introduced nicely, but for me it's like a tour trip where you visit many great attraction but only stay for 15 minutes in each of them! Thx for sharing! Henry

I take it you also have some type of echo effect in this recording? Anyway I think we looked it up, and the lumatone is close to $4K, so not sure you will have any performers of this anytime soon 😁, but nevertheless, this is a really neat prelude! This is a perfect candidate for a main word in a 2d semi-horror side scroller game. For example, there is somewhat a sense of equilibrium, but enough tension still to be uneasy. If anything you lately have been piquing my interest in microtonal harmony. I definitely want to learn more about it, and maybe I can test the waters with a topic or two about this on my YouTube channel one of these days.

Thank you very much Henry! Yes, I also think this is a step up from the original, but I think my current best piece is the choral one I composed a few months ago. Oh, the original also ended with a hollow sonority. I wanted it to have a very hard and Straussian color haha. I'll be sharing more in the future! See you next time. 🙂

Hey Ivan @Ivan1791, This sounds so nice. I dare say it's even better than your original piano version of it. The orchestration absolutely enhance the espressive power of the original piece. The fragile flute+oboe combination and an einsam horn like Brahms or Mahler. Just hope the strings can join as well! I love this very much! One thing to note: in the original piano version it ends on a Picardy 3rd. This time is a sheer minor ending. I think it kind of reflects your present condition and I feel sad for both the piece and you. Nonetheless thx for sharing this wonderful orchestral miniature to us! Henry

Ever since listening to music I loved in childhood, I felt like I could easily come up with really great music in my imagination and thought that it would be awesome and fulfilling to be able to actually create that music in real life. Now I consider musical composition my 'originative intellectual work' and listening to my own music induces great fulfillment and 'peak experiences'. Check out this pertinent book quote I shared that's related to this topic: No, but you can add the option "other - please reply to the topic!" and when people suggest other answers you can edit the questions to include answers that they mentioned.