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Getting back into composition from a long hiatus, I decided to orchestrate a piano piece by Claude Debussy. The piece is a movement from his piano suite Estampes titled La Soireé dans Granade (Evening in Granada). I'm still not too familiar with Debussy's piano music as a whole, but this suite definitely piqued my interest in that genre. I wasn't aware at the time, but several high profiled figures have orchestrated this movement (and other movements of the suite), and I did avoid listening to them so I don't copy them. Link to the original piano composition: The audio quality is a little meh...this is the last piece I wrote before I switched out of Finale/Garritan to Dorico/NotePerformer. Any feedback is appreciated!

Thought I'd join in as well!

Hello Here is another piece of the cycle "a la lune" according to Jules Laforgue. I didn't count. I must be at 4 or 5 on the same theme. Here is a kind of little song that looks like a waltz. Sweet bitter, of course, since it is lost love... Translation in the video in subtitles. Thank you for your criticism!

@Henry Ng Tsz Kiu and I brainstormed a little bit about what I could write next to give me a small diversion from my giant variations project. We decided that I could write another microtonal piece. I have written microtonal inventions before, so now I tried my hand at a microtonal fugue. It's a 4-voice fugue for string quartet and I tried to very scarcely use the microtones, only opting for occasional microtonal passing tones and sub-minor 3rds here and there. Nonethless, I think the piece retains a different microtonal flavor to it, but let me know what you think! I'd appreciate any observations, suggestions, critiques or comments! Thanks for listening!

Interesting. Your version sounds great. Although for me, that Gb “desperately calls” for an F#, which is part of the dominant chord. Best regards.

This is the second movement of my Violin Sonata in B flat major, commissioned by and dedicated to Arjuna Clark @expert21. It's a slow movement marked "A scene by a stream", as suggested by my dedicatee Arjuna. I chase for simplcity here and I really wanna let the violin sing here, and I think I succeed. I freaking love the opening melody! The use of ARJUNA motive is more sparing as I have to give it away to the beautiful main melody! The melody was inspired when I was having a walk through the beautiful scene of Golden Trumpet Tree! The audio is again made by @Thatguy v2.0! Here is the pdf and YT video of the movement: Violin Sonata in B-flat major 2nd mov.pdf This movement is simple, only in ternary form. Here is the structure of the movement: 0:00 1st Part. The melody is quite beautiful for me, even though it sounds like the main melody in Chopin's Grande Polonaise Brillante, and in the same key, which I realized only after finishing this much later. The piano accompaniment represents the stream. In 1:02 Piano takes turn to play the main melody and violin the countermelody. 1:57 2nd part. I reached my usual contemplative mood in the middle section. Then I was awoken by the hummings of Asian Koel in 2:19. That bird is very common in HK which many people find their hummings disturbing but I actually love. 3:43 3rd Part. First begins a false recapitulation in wrong key G-flat major, then a real recap in tonic key in 4:21, with the main melody gets along with the Asian Koel motive. I personally really love the climax in 5:00! 5:13 Coda. A little coda reminds me the coda of Chopin's Nocturne in E flat major, op.9 no.2. Here is the 1st movement's post on YC: P.S. Here is the sound of Asian Koel: And here are some pictures I have taken that day: Hope you enjoy and feel free to comment! Henry

I guess the point is not that there shouldn't be repeats, but that they should still serve to move the narrative forward. Da capo aria? The first time the performer introduces the material, the second time they are encouraged to make it their own with ornaments or other small changes. But for this exercise, the structure of what you were doing with tritones and scales is firm enough that there isn't much room for experimentation or nuance when it's played through again. Welcome to the forums! And I disagree! If you're alive, you are getting exposed to new musical ideas and influences which are sure to keep you growing. Cheers.

Hi! This Violin Sonata is commissioned by and dedicated to my friend Arjuna Clark @expert21. He had asked me long ago to write a Violin Sonata for him, but I only managed to start the work after finishing my own String Sextet and 3rd Piano Sonata. Luckily this one is completed before his birthday this year for a timely birthday present. As always, thank to @Thatguy v2.0 for making the audio. The whole work's tonic key B flat major, key scheme and styles of the movements are chosen by Arjuna himself. The work also featured the "ARJUNA" motive in all the movements, suggested by Arjuna himself: A=A, R=Re=C, J=G, U=Une=Bb, N=rest, A=A. The style here in this movement is a waltz style which I have never tried before but I know Arjuna loves it. I have toned down the playing difficulty for both the violinists and pianists, as I wish I can play with Arjuna with a live recording later. What I want to achieve in this Violin Sonata is simplicity and beautiful violin singing, since I didn't give much chance for the strings to sing in the String Sextet I just completed then, and my music is usually too complex. I hope I can write something simpler and lovely. The thumbnail is an ugly self-made birthday card I made to Arjuna LoL! Forgive my bad artwork haha. Here is the score and YT link for the music: Violin Sonata in B-flat major 1st mov.pdf Here is the timestamp for the video: 0:00 Dedication 0:06 Exposition, First Subject. Introduces the ARJUNA motive. 0:24 starts the transition with inversion of ARJUNA motive in piano, sounds a lot like Beethoven's op.110 Sonata. Modulate unexpectedly to D major in 2nd subject. 0:56 Exposition, Second Subject. Uses mainly the inversion of ARJUNA motive in D major. Ends with some pentatonicism as inspired by my own Sextet, just finish days ago before writing this one. 1:58 Exposition Repeat. A rare thing for me to repeat expositions but I find it adequate doing so here. 3:47 Development. Prime and Retrograde of ARJUNA motive in G minor first, then develop on the 2nd subject through G minor, B flat minor and to E major. Force a beautiful C sharp minor climax in 4:32, since it's my favourite key. Return to tonic key through major 3rd relationship. 4:58 Recapitulation, First Subject. Have the recap sneaks in in a Brahmsian fashion (again!). 5:16 starts the transition, this time includes a quotation from my own String Sextet in 5:33 in G flat major to fit the key scheme. 5:43 Recapitulation, Second Subject. Normal recap in tonic key, nothing changed. 6:37 Coda. Restatement of ARJUNA motive in its prime form, nothing complex here. Here's the 2nd movement of the same Sonata: Hope you enjoy! Henry

Hey Nicholas, I like your piece a lot! It sounds epic, and you take your time with each theme, which makes it sound coherent and easy to listen to. I don't have any experience writing for large ensembles, so I thought I'd only give feedback on your brass writing (I play the trumpet myself). First of all, in bar 21 consider raising the second trumpet an octave. That will make it easier for the first trumpet to hit his note: it is easier to play when being 'carried' by the rest of the section - and that two-octave gap is to large to give that effect. (As written it will sound like a solo instead of team work.) My teacher used to say: 'Trumpet players are surfers. We surf on sound.' At certain points in the score you write divisi for the trumpets, horns and first trombone - but you assigned three players to each part (in the preface)!! Which of the two voices should get two players? Either split up in three parts or make a note in their score, telling them what to do. But also consider that your brass section is humongous (A dozen players on trumpet and horn): You can change the parts to avoid all divisi. E.g. after bar 102 you could give the trumpets the root and fifth and the horns the root and third. In Musescore this will sound just the same, but when played by a real orchestra all voicings sound distinctly different. Not having divisi also is less confusing - especially if your players don't get (many) rehearsals. Btw that 1.5 octave jump in bar 106, first trumpet, looks really scary... Lastly, from that same bar 106 your trumpets and horns are playing fortissimo - which basically means 'as loud as possible'. Therefore the four (!) crescendo's you write later in the part won't have any effect... Either tell them to take back before each crescendo, or don't write them at all. That'll conclude my oddly-specific-feedback : ) . I should tell you again - I'm no pro at all, and your writing already is really good. Don't take this as harsh criticism: I'm just better at pointing out imperfections than giving elaborate compliments :)). I really enjoyed listening to your piece! Kind regards, Marius

Hi @Chemathmusician0510, I agree with @danishali903, the piano shouldn’t just repeat what the strings are playing, but instead have its own part. I wouldn’t go as far as calling the music basic since I think it does display some good chamber music part writing and counterpoint, but I may add more interaction between the instruments and allow other instruments to play the melodic role as well. The piece sounds quite Baroque for me even with those dissonance, because of the drive of the outer sections and the Trio sonata slow movement like middle section. Thx for sharing! Henry

Firstly, I think the audio rendering doesn't do this piece justice. Everything sounds too muddy, and I can barely hear the 2nd violin and viola parts coming through. As to the String Quartet vs Piano Quintet, I don't see the value of having a piano added since it seems to be doubling what's going on in the strings. Leaving this as a string quartet piece would be more logical. Your string writing isn't bad...but it's very "basic". Each instrument/part seems to have a pre-defined range, and the music rarely goes in and out of that range. Maybe throw the melody to the cellist in its higher ranges, or have the viola play something other than this accompaniment role: I also think the transition to the trio section (somewhere around bars 80-82) can be a little more developed, as the trio (bar 83) is VERY different from what came before....just a bit jarring. It might work better, and be a little more interesting, to have that section in a major key. Otherwise, a bit more counterpoint material can help as well. It just sounds very homophonic at the moment. Last comment: The outer sections could use dynamic and phrasing marks.

I am also working on a set of variations and mash-ups on themes not written by me (from a famous videogame). I am using so many themes at once that I am also feeling unmotivated lately to work on it. It seems like one of those never-ending snowballing out of control projects. I hope that I'll finish at least one part of it. I think because of my ginormous orchestral project, the next thing I'll want to write is a piece for 1 monophonic solo instrument accompanied by 1 polyphonic instrument (like the Dreamscapes contest rules). It would be a nice change of pace. And if I manage to write something "dreamy" then it will be all the more interesting. Besides that I was thinking of writing my own variations of more of the themes from the "Bits to Bangers" competition, since I already did the "Harvest Moon" Piano Quintet. I think I majorly prefer working on previously written video game themes, and if not that, then I prefer for my own music to retain a VGM style or media purpose to it somehow.

Am working on an Orchestral Variation on @PeterthePapercomPoser's themes. That's going to be my first orchestral piece and also first variation piece. One third of it has been finished but recently just sort oflosing the motivation a bit. I wanna write 2 serial piano pieces, and my life time goal would be to write a Choral Symphony using Chinese Poet's Du Fu's poems. Maybe I feel too tired working on many music these few months. Finishing a Piano Sonata, my dream the String Sextet which I feel so grateful to have finished, a Violin Sonata and a few piano pieces, maybe it's time for me to slow my pace down and absorb more music again. Henry

Not sure if this is the right place for this post, but I came across something, quite simple but still fun. Was browsing youtube and stumbled upon a video. At the very beginning, the creator presented a 4 bar line of a Violin melody. (I've altered it a slight bit to make it a tiny bit more interesting. the original challenge melody reused the 1st measure, except with the same 4 32nd notes you see at the end of bar 3. I elected to simply change it to Gb, rather than staying on the G. I also included an ending 1 and a fine measure to sort of round it out a bit more. Here is the Challenge Melody): The instrumentation to be used for this challenge includes Vln. 1 & 2, Viola, and Cello. 4 Staves, with Vln. 1 already written for ya. Just curious to see what everyone else comes up with 🙂 Here is mine! I'm not a virtuoso or a master so mine will probably pale in comparison to some of yours. Lets see it! Harmony Challenge.mp3

Hi to everyone. This week I've been working on an exercise to orchestrate Debussy's Prelude No.6 from Book 1. I came up with two versions, one with a very restricted instrumentation, and the other with a larger ensemble. Interested to know which you think works best? The final bass dyad was very problematic, due to its extreme low pitch. It sounded too intrusive and twangy in the harp, and seemed off-pitch in the double-bass, with a horrible grating timbre. Eventually I decided to remove the lowest note altogether in the version with restricted instrumentation, and have the upper note pizz. instead of arco.

Hi everyone! This is my first piece for full symphony orchestra, first post, (and my first "completed" composition: a lot of firsts), and I'm definitely still learning how to orchestrate better, create nicer textures, and pace my compositions/develop melodies (all for fun, I just like listening to music and playing a little bit haha, so I don't have any formal composition background). This piece was inspired by various Romantic composers (with quotes from my 3 favorite symphonies--one is really obvious but I'm interested to see if others will recognize the snippets I tried to include) and includes two central themes. I'm open to all the advice I can get! Thanks for your time! PS. my score is really chaotic and I still need to clean up all the accidentals and stuff.

Nice piece! It makes me think of the C418 minecraft soundtrack. Yes, it does feel static, but personally I don't mind that at all. Although the best moments are when you break that staticness, like in bar 30-something with the sixtuplet. I like how you - when using the same chord for two successive bars - thin out / change the texture. Well done! Kind regards, Marius

Hello @A Ko and welcome to the forum! It's so fun that you snuck in some themes from other composers' works! At around 4:10 it sounds like you're quoting Mahler - Symphony 4 or 5 perhaps? It's amazing that your first finished composition is this long and for orchestra - congrats! Incorporating other composers' melodies in your own works smoothly and seamlessly is quite a difficult endeavor and it gives the listeners a fun little Easter egg hunt to go on - very clever idea to involve the listener in the listening process in yet another additional way! Thanks for sharing!

Made this account just so I could upload this and remind y'all never to end in minor : ) Also accidental Shostakovich in bar 3.

Hi! I'm new as well. I really like your piece - it has wonderful harmonic turns, it feels very well thought out. I especially like the really smooth key changes, and the part after b.24. The melodies are less recognisable, but I think it kinda suits the style. I think the playability is something you could work on (if you ever want a real orchestra to play it). First of all I'd try to change the key: probably to Eb and D instead of Db and C. You'll run into range issues doing that, but no-one likes playing with 5 flats. Whereas 3 flats is really nice for the winds and two sharps are nice for strings. Furthermore you might want to keep in mind that ppl need to breathe.. I'm mostly talking about the last note in the horns - I think it's possible, but it is a veeeery long note and also playing that pianissimo will only make it worse - you risk the sound getting quite shakey bc they'll be out of breath, and that will be very audible because no-one else is playing. Also the accel. from b.30 onward will be difficult to keep consistent. When performed it won't be as gradual as when done by a computer. Idem for other long gradual tempo changes. But for a professional orchestra these things would be entirely possible. And musically it's really good. I should say I don't have much experience reading scores or conducting so I don't know if this would be balanced at all - although I think so. My favourite moment is b.55 - really nice melody there! Kind regards Marius P.S.: Gershwin was really obvious. I think I heard some Sibelius 2 (mvt. 4) with that syncopated background and rising melody, but I'm not really sure. I didn't catch the third quote.

Henry, I apologize for taking so long to reply to another great piece of yours. After many repeated listenings, this is clearly a programmatic piece in my opinion. There is anguish, anxiety and a false sense of repose. The juxtaposition between light and heavy themes, minor and major works effectively to convey the message of your piece. I have a few reservations about the random pauses that come after the blues. I feel they interrupt the flow at times, and as for the blues itself I think the f double sharp in the theme would sound better if it were changed to a g sharp. Those are just my thoughts tho; the climax and the aftermath of it is quite well done. I am glad you were able to find peace and transcendence in your sextet.

Oh hey I like the contrabassoon idea, it's so rich in the lower register. Perhaps the easiest and right solution. Would it be so weird to have the piano with the orchestration? You mentioned harp, percussion, bells, etc., maybe the piano (or synth?) could be used as an accent/effect instrument in the ensemble. It could play the low notes of the final bass dyad in question, but just a random thought. Orchestration is really cool, and it helps I love Debussy haha. Nice work!

A minimalistic version I made Enjoy! Counterpoint Harmony Challange.mp3

Alex - overall both are very good orchestrations of the piano work. After listening to the piano work, I found, I missed the resonance of the lower notes vibrating (pedal). I'm not sure how to reproduce this quality in the lower winds and/or lower strings etc. Mark

Hi @kaiyunmusic! Really like this vibraphone like electric piano piece. I agree with Peter, the piece is more in 6/8 than in 3/4 since the dotted crotchet is the basic unit here, rather than the crotchet. Nonetheless, I enjoy very much the serene mood here. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hello @Vladisove! Welcome to the forum! I didn’t read your post at first, but I recognise the opening of the 1st piece as really Sibelius like with that particular Scandinavian colour, like use of harp and pizzicato and winds in high register. The thick brass in 1:50 has reminiscence of Wagner before returning to Sibelius Woodwind. Really love your woodwind usage here, particularly the English Horn. The D minor 2nd piece is really ice-cold just like Sibelius’s work. That English Horn/Oboe entry is amazing for portraying the bitter and cold mood. I love the vocal too, even tho I don’t know the lyrics. The ponticello tremolo opening is captivating. I love these mood here, though I think for a 10 minute piece it can introduce more memorable Melodies to sustain the interest throughout the piece. However I love the ending very much especially it ends in my favourite C sharp minor and F sharp minor. I love these pieces and they are amazing especially when you don’t receive formal music education. Maybe for me I would love to have more contrasting mood in this suite, since they are more or less in slower tempo and minor key, portraying the cold atmosphere as in Sibelius’s work. Thanks for joining and sharing your work! Remember to hit the like button under my comment so that we know you like my comment haha! Henry

Thank you for your instant response! As I am new on YC - it is like attending a house music concert for the first time where all other guests are still unknown - it is very pleasant to be welcomed warmly by the host (according to my reading of a number of the latest posts I have noticed that you are very active in replying to new submissions and as you are one of the „Moderators“, I consider that you are one of the „hosts“ among the YT community). I will take a more thorough look at your profound comments concerning the composition of my fugue as soon as possible. The applause at the end - I know it's a bit embarrassing, but I added it for technical reasons, because I often had the problem that videos on iOS devices were cut off when there was only silence at the end, and one wants to hear of cause the final chord after all. You have recommended to follow @Fugax Contrapunctus. Interestingly, I’m already a (still silent) follower of him on YouTube and I found the YC website only due to he has linked it in its YouTube profile. I’ll watch his fugues (an your own, linked one) in the next time a bit more thoroughly to be able to give a reply, too. Greetings from Wieland

A new poetry from the same Laforgue I can post the poem here, which is a beautiful black diamond (an automatic translation but quite close to the meaning) As always at Laforgue, irony, tenderness, idleness of an impossible platonic love We know that he loved a young Englishwoman with no return, and I think it was she who inspired him his most beautiful pages, here in the evening of his short life. Thank you for your reviews and comments! Ah! tonight, my heart feels sick, my heart is with the Moon! O veils of silence, spread out your still lagoons; O rooftops, terraces, basins, loosened necklaces Of pearls, tombs, lilies, grieving cats — give praise To the Moon, our Mistress to all, in her glory: She is the Host! and silence is her ciborium! Ah! how good it feels, oh! so good and sweet, in the halo Of mourning around this finest diamond’s glow! O Moon, you may find me a bit romantic, But tell me — now and then, wouldn’t it be frantic To think — just between us, and only if you please — That I could be your Columbus, on my knees? Well, let’s not speak of that; let’s chant the midnight rite, Preserved in alcohol, steeped in your delights. Slowing down towards us, O weary City, Fibrous cell with broken organs, withered pity! Remember the centaurs, the cities now erased, Palmyra, and the snub-nosed sphinxes of Thebes the chaste; And what Gomorrah, beneath your Lethe lake, Hides catacombs in honor of barren Astarte’s sake! And how mankind, with his “I love you” clichés, Is much too anthropomorphic in his ways, And knows only how to muddle through his days With hellos and goodbyes while twisting love his way. — Ah! As I was saying, and more than once or twice, That my heart is sick — my heart is with the Moon, precise.

Hi @BipolarComposer! I really wanted to try and give you a constructive critique for this one. I think there are many pros to this piece: It has a mysterious and dance-like feel (especially with the percussion). The orchestration is differentiated and you achieve some nice contrasts! The melody is harmonized in very interesting ways including doublings at intervals that are different from the expected 3rds and 6ths, sometimes including whole chords as a doubling, other times 4ths and 5ths. Some of the cons (imo): The orchestration is sometimes very thin and at other times very thick and bombastic with seemingly no middle ground. Some of the instruments aren't being used very idiomatically (such as the pizzicato strings). The piece sounds kind of same-y dynamically and intensity wise. The dynamics and intensity only change by adding or removing instruments rather than creating crescendi or decrescendi. (Not sure this really applies after my 3rd listening.) The tempo could also stand from accelerandi or ritardandi in choice spots to help the music arrive at a point of higher intensity or recede from an intense section in a kind of denouement. The piece lacks to me the lucidity of say, a Beethoven Symphony movement. The melody seems to meander here and there without unity and relatedness. I think the go-to example for how intense a melody can be if it's masterfully unified is Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 1st movement. He builds the whole movement out of that single motif. Even the longer leading melodic lines are constructed in fragments out of that motif, blurring the line between motivic and thematic composition. This piece in comparison, sounds at times very leisurely at best and meandering at worst because it lacks that drive and unity. The ending as well is kind of a throw-away because it doesn't feel like the music has taken the listener on a journey and so the piece ends very underwhelmingly. The formal sections of the piece seem to all be in the same key and so kind of blend together into one long section despite the many contrasts you introduce. That's my critique, although of course I really enjoyed the piece! Thanks for sharing.

Heh thought you'd notice! I really want to listen to you guys' pieces since you and @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu has been commenting constantly on my pieces and others, and I've only listened to a handful of you guys'. I've honestly been avoiding listening to this piece cus I had thought that there's a lot that I could change and all that. For example, I'd probably tone down the flute's high notes since it's so frequent and a reply here has pointed out that too. But honestly, it ain't that bad lmao. And hey, I wouldn't mind a concerto arrangement, but I think this chamber instrumentation suits it more. You're exactly right. And that's exactly why some of my older scores are just atrocious with pitch spelling, cus I was a dummy and had not figured how they worked yet, even here too in some places! It is one of the reason why I want to revise some of my older pieces. me when sleigh bells It's "Carol of the Bells." The first theme is loosely based on it, the sequence starting from b.122 has the rhythm, and the actual quote appears in b.193 Thank you for all the kind words!

I’m working on a project to compose 24 preludes and fugues, inspired by Bach’s Welltempered Clavier and Shostakovich’s Op. 87. The fugue in F major is my first post to the YC community, which I would describe as WOODPECKER AND BARCAROLE - FUGA SCHERZANDO The theme, knocking, with a sixfold repetition of the root note, counterpoint and interludes, on the other hand, in a swaying, rocking quaver motion. This contrast of “woodpecker” and “barcarole” makes up the jocular character of this fugue, underlined by the interjections of “wrong notes” - inspired by Shostakovich's D flat major prelude - in the coda.

Hey everyone! My name is Vlad, and in my free time, I dabble in composing what I like to call "pseudo-academic" music. I have absolutely no formal music education—just countless hours spent listening to classical works. I’d love to share my Symphonic Suite from Freyja - Vanadis, a piece heavily inspired by Sibelius and Wagner.

Hi all .... Here's composition that I began a few years back; however, I really never finished to my satisfaction. So he's my latest version .... all comments/criticisms/suggestions as well pleasantries are welcome. Mark

Hi, I finished a new composition called Star Away. I chose an electric piano sound this time because I found it more fitting. Hope you enjoy listening! Updated to 3/4

Thank you, Henry, for your careful listening. Yes, you’ve pinpointed exactly what I’ve tried to do — and what lies at the heart of my exploration through these Laforgue settings: to stay on the edge. On the edge of tonal harmony, of expected progressions, of almost conventional paths — but always trying to veer off, to wander. The same applies to expression: sometimes as simple as possible, sometimes ambiguous, sometimes hidden. I’m trying to find that forest’s edge where Laforgue leads us with his poetry, into his moonlit twilights and his lost loves — which I know all too well. You mention Schubert — of course, and your ear is sharp. I couldn’t deny it. Once you enter these borderlands, how could you not have Schubert in mind? Again, thank you, Henry — your sensitive listening is a true gift that brings light to my moonlit paths.

Hello everybody, I would like to post some piano music of mine here. I have lots of uploads and I don't intend to clog anyone's feed, so I will try to present them over time rather than at once. This is a short album I released one and a half years ago (28 minutes). I like to play around sudden tempo changes and unexpected modulations, and this marked what has been a gradual push for me into that direction. There is lots of humour (though it's not to me to judge whether it gets to the goal or not). I am curious to hear your thoughts on it, what you may or may not prefer, and similar. Any thought is welcome, even just a simple "I liked it/I didn't". Thank you in advance. I am embedding the video here.

Hi Henry, thank you for listening and replying. It is indeed "Bad Sallad", a pun on "Sad Ballad" because, as you pointed out, there's a bit of mixing things that shouldn't belong together (the English & American anthems, reharmonized and thrown in between movements of a sad waltz). So, from a sad ballad it ends up being an unusual salad of themes 🙂"Bad Sallad". The album is generally quite humurous, on the nonsensical side

Hi Alex! Haha yeah who knows why I put the bluesy section into the otherwise Beethovanian and Chopinistic movement! I like the bluesy section myself too, it really does sound nihilistic. Hahaha! Thx for commenting! Henry

Lately, I've been thinking and imagining how Ancient Greece was reinterpreted in Impressionism. And well, all of that inspired me to write something. The dawn is that moment before sunrise when there is already light. For a brief explanation of what resources I use: Aurora

Hi @Luis Hernández! Sorry for my late reply. Very interesting to use the constructed Greek scale to compose. It sounds somewhat microtonal for me in some places. And it does sound impressionistic! Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @Marc Deflin! I generally enjoy the mood of the piece. Are the chords in the first A section intentionally bare? Sometimes the chords only have their roots and fifths and it sounds bare to me if it's not fitted to other purposes. I like the D major sections more since they sound more flowing and melodious to me. Personally in b.16 the viola should be in C# instead of C for a melodic minor ascending, and b.26 cello C# instead of C to prevent the false relation with violin I if you do not do it intentionally. Also ending it in D major sounds a bit unfinished to me, since it sounds like the whole A section in E minor without clear purpose. Maybe add a smoother transtion before b.55 so that the turn to D major sounds more definite and reasonable? Thx for sharing! Henry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Td9pPZojLKg Hey, I'm 17 and I made this choral piece in 2 class periods and just had its world premiere and I would love some feedback! This piece enters an aleatoric section at the end that unfolds without a conductor. It is designed to gradually evolve from independent, overlapping textures into a shared, harmonious cadence. This section represents a journey from freedom to unity, from motion to stillness, from individuality to communion. The endless cry for answers about what happens after death, until it ultimately comes to an end, so it starts chaotic and ends in unity with no conductor thoughts?

hi everyone! This is my first post here—I'm excited to join this community! I'm not a trained composer (just a flutist), but I recently wrote a wind quintet as a gift for a friend, and I’d really appreciate any feedback or suggestions you might have. The piece want to create an intimate atmosfere, something pastoral and calm. It is based entirely on the melody of the Italian scout song "Strade di coraggio". The theme appears clearly between bars 174 and 218 where its passing from a voice to the other, though it’s hinted at in individual instruments earlier. I was working under a tight deadline, so I had to rush through some parts. Dynamics and articulations are still quite rough and mostly sketched in. Thanks in advance for listening and for any thoughts you’d like to share! i hope you will enjoy it although its a but rough, ripetitive and without form. https://musescore.com/user/36133708/scores/25786078 Wind quintet 1.xml Wind quintet 1.xml Wind quintet 1.xml

Hello @Valerio DallaRagione, I don't listen to the whole album but only the first two pieces. The beginning sounds as in a Bartok piece but then in the middle section it becomes impressionistic, and the same thing repeats again. I quite like the ending when the key of the first section and mood of second section combined. For the second piece is it Bad Sallad or Sad Ballad? It's indeed quite sad, a F minor waltz. I find the modulation in 5:27 a bit abrupt for me with a sudden A major chord superimposed after a firmly established F minor, and then to D minor. I would also hope the D minor section in contrast with the F minor section more, instead of just the reappearence of the first section in different key and accompaniment! The ending reminds me of @ferrum.wav piece. I like the G major passage even though it's a quotation (or rather a playing) of the French Anthem. But why do you quote it in the Ballad? Is there a reason for it? I would like to know it, because I think it a bit out of place here haha. Nice playing anyways, thanks for joining and sharing your music! Henry

Hi Jean @Krisp! I again misread Baryton as that poorly eliminated string instrument Baryton which Haydn wrote 123 Trios on lol. I really love that D minor setting with dissonance. I especially love in 0:48 when you paint "Ciborium" with a beautiful but wierd E major chord, then moves immediately to a weird augmented chord E-G#-C, and then with "mourning" move to F minor! And when you ask "could I be your columbus" it's mixed with both hope and despair so the music fluctates between F major and minor, just like Schubert's Lied though yours is more sudden. Now in 1:56 when you are recollecting your thoughts it starts with a barer A minor but again fall into dissonance through dreaming the false Idea. I absolutely love the 2:50 chord and that whole passage. The ending E minor passage is so well sung especially for "muddy" when your voice becomes muddy. I love how you end unprecisely with the word "precise" to give an irony there. Thx for sharing your great work here! Henry

Welcome to the forum @Wieland Handke! Sorry for my late response as I have been focusing on my own composition and other matters this few weeks. The subject is indeed woodpecker like with all those repeated notes and staccato. I personally would want the tempo to be much faster for the scherzando feeling though, just like some gigue like fugue Bach made, or the gigues in his suites. I like your subject, it can easily form stretti and inversion as your later developments do. I definitely like your sudden modulation to A minor in b.52, though at the first beat of it I would want a G# for a full chord. In b.64 even though I know you are trying to have a faxbourden texture there, I still feel it a bit off given it's a 3 part fugue, and they are in diminished fifths, not in fourths. The surprising dissonance at the end are really interesting which really likes a hopping bird. I would end with a full rather than a hollow fifth at the end. And the clapse at the end, I don't like it at all lol!!😝 Nice fugue anyways. Given how you like fugal writing, you may check out Pabio's @Fugax Contrapunctus writings. Or my six voice fugue for a String Sextet LoL! (Self advertisement!!) Thx for joining and sharing your music with us, I'm sure you have tons more music to offer and probably even reviews to other members! Henry

Here is my entry for this year's Christmas Music Event! It's not really a Christmas piece, but it is about snow and winter, and it does have quotes from a Christmas carol. It's the first thing that popped out of my mind in the 1st of December when I started writing the piece. The story/idea behind this piece was supposed to be a person's imagination of what it's like to have snow on their town in December since they live in another part of the world that isn't snowing. It was originally titled "It's snowing somewhere else" (still a good title in my opinion). But the piece felt like it showed a little bit more on the rhythmical side, so I changed the title to that. Score is now available! New title by Thatguy v2.0 (old title: Snow Dance) Hope y'all enjoy the piece and Happy Holidays!

After riveted discussion with my wife, a lawyer, I have come upon what I believe should be the "final word" on the Copyright issues some members tend to bring up when we're talking about arrangements of music. Feel free to refer back to this thread or link to it if someone poses the question of, "Are you sure it's legal?" when you are presented with an opportunity to arrange music as a composer. Any original work under copyright is simply known as the original work. If you arrange a work that has copyright protection, you are creating a derivative work. Without permission from the creator of the original work, creating a derivative work of the original work under U.S. copyright laws is illegal - with some exceptions. An important exception for composers to understand is the "Fair Use" exception. Here is the general gist of the exception. The essential question of the Fair Use exception is whether or not the derivative work you've written occupies a substitute market, affecting the "market share" of the original creator. If a substitute market exists for the work you have written and you are profiting from that market, you are in violation of copyright if you do not have the permission of the holder of copyright. This is a great explanation of Fair Use of copyright works. So, if you're a student composer, a teacher, or generally a composer who is approached to write an arrangement of music under copyright, consider the purpose of the work (is this for commercial or non-profit purposes?), the nature of the copyrighted work (is this a popular song heard on the radio being arranged for your high school band?), how much of the music you plan to use (are you writing a medley or suite?), and will your arrangement impact the market for which the original work was written? Here are some examples where copyright has been infringed, where "Fair Use" has been rejected. If I find others, I'll post them as an addendum to this. A Junior Community College ensemble and its director re-arranged a choral work written for educational purposes, performed it once, and 47 copies of the performance were made for each member of the college choir. This was held as infringement because the choral work was written for the educational market and the composer relied on the royalties from the performance of the work as a source of his income. A music publishing company filed a suit against the A&E network over its use of 12 seconds of the song, "Rocky Top." The Middle District of Tennessee ruled that the use by the network was not fair use, but details are sketchy since the case was settled and none of the details were released. The point of this is to shed some light on an issue that otherwise leaves us cowering in the shadow of ignorance, fear, and paranoia. I'll try to keep updating this as I come across other cases, if only to help the rest of the community here. As the quoted portion from the U.S. Copyright Office website above, I also advise that in the event of any doubt, you should consult an attorney.

Even though my application is still under development, the idea is that Music Jotter can translate the AI text notation from ChatGPT or Gemini to actual notes. This saves the end user the pain of having to notate the AI's response output manually. As far as I know, there are no other tools that can do this at the moment. So you literally are at the only place that can give you somewhat of what you are asking for. The problem, is that ChatGPT and Gemini are not trained on classical music, they are all purpose llms. I would love nothing more than to develop my own llm down the line, and train it on Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, and other music, but hey, maybe if I can convince some AI investors down the line that we need this technology, this can be doable! But as of this moment, you can describe music and get textual output (even fun chord progressions!), where Music Jotter will convert that textual output into playback sheet music. My latest 2 videos on my channel are dedicated to this.