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It is true that there are 4 basic emotions. It is a modernist dream to connect those one-to-one and solely to brain function. It is wrong to locate that only in basal ganglia. It is beyond the worst stupidity to connect emotions (let alone specific brain function) one-to-one to certain musical aspects, like major and minor. there are no words

You know, this is WHY WE HAVE MORE THAN TWO JUDGES. With more scores, it would be highly unlikely for ties.

Stay in school, kids. And don't waste away your life with drugs.

I understand you are being playful here Austenite. But thinking more seriously about this, I don't think it's right to conceive of composition as truly a contest where one composer is expected to "beat" another. Each composer I think speaks and expresses their own individuality, their own mind and soul, which are expressed in their own style of composition. And so each composer's composition is valid in its own way, notwithstanding the technical superiority of some over others! So I think these competitions are useful as a way to exercise compositional skill and get feedback, to bend one's compositional talent according to certain competition rules and restrictions (such as the given theme, the time restriction, the instruments, etc). As such, the ratings and judgment would reflect (and should reflect) the composer's success in doing that and not necessarily one composer's "superiority" over the others. So, I think there is - and there should be - no question of being "beaten" by or "beating" anybody!!

TREE (91/100): 20/20 - Is it "meditative"? Are there minimal ideas that carry an almost minimalistic idea? Dude! Nice work with the simplicity. You kept a good balance between silence and music the whole time. 30/30 - Does your score reflect the serene environment that is meditation? Don't use a lot of clutter and have a lot of white space. Trust me, it makes a difference in the performer. You used a lot of white space, I saw. ;) Excellent. 15/20 - Are you using less than 5 instruments and a GOOD combination of instruments? Unusual instrumentation will be awarded providing it works well. Also, solo instruments may be used. The solo flute piece is a good example. Do you stay in the time limit of 5 minutes (unless you petition that your piece is minimalist and it requires time to develop, in which case a 10 minute time limit is allowed). AY! Flute and harp are a brilliant combo for something like this. I took off five points because you wrote near impossible harp parts with the mixed rhythms and the quick fingering. 7/10 - Creativity. Don't write something you've heard before. Explore new sounds. A whole piece on violin harmonics would be a good place to start. Maybe a string quartet with all pizz and harmonics. Pentatonic mostly, but good use of melody. 9/10 - audio presentation. Is your midi prepared to lull the listener. Can they feel the music? You may choose to render a live recording or a sampled recording, know that you will be judged HARDER if you do. If you do a live recording, make sure it accurately reflects the score. YAY! 10/10 - Simplicity. Finally, do not attempt to make a really complicated piece. Meditation is not like that. Meditation is flowing and "truth" seeking. Again, I thought you approached the philosophical aspect well. I have nothing more to say! AUSTENITE (91/100): 16/20 - Is it "meditative"? Are there minimal ideas that carry an almost minimalistic idea? Yes, it is meditative in a way, but not in a literal way. Like… I wouldn't want to listen to this with chai tea in the middle of a Japan sea view. ;) Of course, that was a joke. You did a wonderful job. Your command of melody is amazing. Who gives a **** about common practice music: the melodies you write are in your heart alone, not in your head. 30/30 - Does your score reflect the serene environment that is meditation? Don't use a lot of clutter and have a lot of white space. Trust me, it makes a difference in the performer. YEAHYEAH! 20/20 - Are you using less than 5 instruments and a GOOD combination of instruments? Unusual instrumentation will be awarded providing it works well. Also, solo instruments may be used. The solo flute piece is a good example. Do you stay in the time limit of 5 minutes (unless you petition that your piece is minimalist and it requires time to develop, in which case a 10 minute time limit is allowed). Brilliant combination, I thought. Good thinking using the lower range of the clarinet; I can really hear the warmth even in the garritan rendering. 9/10 - Creativity. Don't write something you've heard before. Explore new sounds. A whole piece on violin harmonics would be a good place to start. Maybe a string quartet with all pizz and harmonics. YEAYEA! This was a fabulously original way to present meditation. I mean, you could argue a lot of classical music (romantic period even) is meditative. Repetition, small changes, predictable line. Good work. 8/10 - audio presentation. Is your midi prepared to lull the listener. Can they feel the music? You may choose to render a live recording or a sampled recording, know that you will be judged HARDER if you do. If you do a live recording, make sure it accurately reflects the score. Good. 8/10 - Simplicity. Finally, do not attempt to make a really complicated piece. Meditation is not like that. Meditation is flowing and "truth" seeking. I could have used more "space". It seemed like although it was a river with unending movement, there was no rest for the mind. No change in energy. Meditation can still be flexible in its serenity. ORCH (85/100): 20/20 - Is it "meditative"? Are there minimal ideas that carry an almost minimalistic idea? Almost Pastoralesque. :) I enjoyed that aspect of it. 20/30 - Does your score reflect the serene environment that is meditation? Don't use a lot of clutter and have a lot of white space. Trust me, it makes a difference in the performer. Your really big hairpins were distracting. And, you never indicated if the strings were divisi or double stopping, even though I'm sure you meant divisi… cause there were a few impossible double stops. 20/20 - Are you using less than 5 instruments and a GOOD combination of instruments? Unusual instrumentation will be awarded providing it works well. Also, solo instruments may be used. The solo flute piece is a good example. Do you stay in the time limit of 5 minutes (unless you petition that your piece is minimalist and it requires time to develop, in which case a 10 minute time limit is allowed). Now I realize you must have meant double stops… and, I'm gonna be honest with you, I don't think you're gonna get the sound you want. A full, lush sound like this needs will require more than one string playing each part. The midi is misleading. 8/10 - Creativity. Don't write something you've heard before. Explore new sounds. A whole piece on violin harmonics would be a good place to start. Maybe a string quartet with all pizz and harmonics. Pretty original, but bland on the development. Your key region change got you some points. 7/10 - audio presentation. Is your midi prepared to lull the listener. Can they feel the music? You may choose to render a live recording or a sampled recording, know that you will be judged HARDER if you do. If you do a live recording, make sure it accurately reflects the score. Ack! The regular midi is so scarily inaccurate. I don't have a problem with midi in this category except you let the default choose "String Ensemble" for the string parts. I said write for 5 instruments, so that technically defies the rule. 10/10 - Simplicity. Finally, do not attempt to make a really complicated piece. Meditation is not like that. Meditation is flowing and "truth" seeking. Good. :) JSANDS (89/100): 15/20 - Is it "meditative"? Are there minimal ideas that carry an almost minimalistic idea? I really enjoyed the piece. Like you said, it wasn't "really" going for meditative. But, there were a lot of really great meditative moments that I could score you high on. ;) 30/30 - Does your score reflect the serene environment that is meditation? Don't use a lot of clutter and have a lot of white space. Trust me, it makes a difference in the performer. Very nice score! 20/20 - Are you using less than 5 instruments and a GOOD combination of instruments? Unusual instrumentation will be awarded providing it works well. Also, solo instruments may be used. The solo flute piece is a good example. Do you stay in the time limit of 5 minutes (unless you petition that your piece is minimalist and it requires time to develop, in which case a 10 minute time limit is allowed). The bells were the best! Although they aren't oriental, I felt a little Japanese effect from them. 10/10 - Creativity. Don't write something you've heard before. Explore new sounds. A whole piece on violin harmonics would be a good place to start. Maybe a string quartet with all pizz and harmonics. Your story was fantastic. :) VERY original. 9/10 - audio presentation. Is your midi prepared to lull the listener. Can they feel the music? You may choose to render a live recording or a sampled recording, know that you will be judged HARDER if you do. If you do a live recording, make sure it accurately reflects the score. Very nice midi rendering. 5/10 - Simplicity. Finally, do not attempt to make a really complicated piece. Meditation is not like that. Meditation is flowing and "truth" seeking. I had to dock because of the story line. Not consistently simple. INK (93/100): 20/20 - Is it "meditative"? Are there minimal ideas that carry an almost minimalistic idea? SIMPLE! Plain, I like it. 29/30 - Does your score reflect the serene environment that is meditation? Don't use a lot of clutter and have a lot of white space. Trust me, it makes a difference in the performer. Beautiful score. Watch your slurs that they connect over ties. 18/20 - Are you using less than 5 instruments and a GOOD combination of instruments? Unusual instrumentation will be awarded providing it works well. Also, solo instruments may be used. The solo flute piece is a good example. Do you stay in the time limit of 5 minutes (unless you petition that your piece is minimalist and it requires time to develop, in which case a 10 minute time limit is allowed). Good. 7/10 - Creativity. Don't write something you've heard before. Explore new sounds. A whole piece on violin harmonics would be a good place to start. Maybe a string quartet with all pizz and harmonics. I saw your conscious effort to keep to one idea and stick with it. Admirable! A good tip: just do different things to a melody rather than just repeat it. Make it longer, shorter, higher, lower, invert it, combine it, harmonize it differently. All these things are still minimal, and they do not distract, but they provide interest. 9/10 - audio presentation. Is your midi prepared to lull the listener. Can they feel the music? You may choose to render a live recording or a sampled recording, know that you will be judged HARDER if you do. If you do a live recording, make sure it accurately reflects the score. Good, but the midi always bothers me. 10/10 - Simplicity. Finally, do not attempt to make a really complicated piece. Meditation is not like that. Meditation is flowing and "truth" seeking. Excellent! LUDER (98/100): 20/20 - Is it "meditative"? Are there minimal ideas that carry an almost minimalistic idea? Clever way to use abstract ideas "celestial" to create a meditative aura, even for its short time. Excellent use of silence. I really liked this interpretation. 30/30 - Does your score reflect the serene environment that is meditation? Don't use a lot of clutter and have a lot of white space. Trust me, it makes a difference in the performer. Excellent, simple score. 20/20 - Are you using less than 5 instruments and a GOOD combination of instruments? Unusual instrumentation will be awarded providing it works well. Also, solo instruments may be used. The solo flute piece is a good example. Do you stay in the time limit of 5 minutes (unless you petition that your piece is minimalist and it requires time to develop, in which case a 10 minute time limit is allowed). According to your title, this is the near perfect instrument for it. 10/10 - Creativity. Don't write something you've heard before. Explore new sounds. A whole piece on violin harmonics would be a good place to start. Maybe a string quartet with all pizz and harmonics. Good use of abstract ideas, like I said. I like the way you implied harmonic movement, but really stuck with pedal tones to keep it from shifting too much and making it too jarring. I wish I could hear this live to feel the sound bleed over into the silences. 8/10 - audio presentation. Is your midi prepared to lull the listener. Can they feel the music? You may choose to render a live recording or a sampled recording, know that you will be judged HARDER if you do. If you do a live recording, make sure it accurately reflects the score. I docked off a couple because I wanted to at least pretend to hear a celeste. :P 10/10 - Simplicity. Finally, do not attempt to make a really complicated piece. Meditation is not like that. Meditation is flowing and "truth" seeking. Just about as simple as you can get. Wonderful work!

Since most of the answers are, sadly, silly jokes, let me try: First listen to all finest concertos for bassoon. Pay close attention to form, motivic gradations, harmonic background, orchestration, the usage of the instrument. But you should inform us, how much experience do you have as a composer and which composers you favour as your influences. I remember when I started to compose at the age of 18, I wrote an oboe concerto with strings. It is terrible, since I had no knowledge of form and motivic workout. I made some melodies in oboe and use strings as a background harmonies with occasional solo exhibitions, in moderato-slow-quasi fast movements. But it's a try-out piece after all...