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probably in some weird perverted combination with makwingka (uhoh)

Well, I'm so seldomly performed that, even if I restricted myself to this standard, I could legitimately revise all but three of my works :unsure: ...

Percussionist of the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra

:wacko: then it's a chance to get creative :P

For the Best Looking / Most Attractive Member, are we supposed to upload a real photo as out avatar (this is kind of "Miss YC", or "Mister YC")? For example, we can't consider my avatar, as it depicts a piano. Sincerely, we're neither considering voting on a Panda avatar (no offense) :P

Matt, this is a really good question. It's not an actual problem to have a lot of pieces going at once. Are you writing so many at once to avoid finishing one? If so, then stop. :facepalm: There a couple questions that you can ask yourself musically that may prove helpful here with "how to continue a song." 1. What is the song about musically? Not a story or mood or anything else that isn't the music. What musical idea is about? For instance, with Beethoven's 5th it's about the opening motive. Pick what one of your songs is about musically and then keep working on it with that in mind. 2. What do you want to accomplish with the piece? I see your a Mackey fan so you may be in a band/wind ensemble. As an example you might have a song where you say, "I want to have a 4-minute piece that my band can play through and maybe perform." That would give you a clear direction for what's next: "okay 4 minutes long, for band, like other band pieces I like with a great beat and fun to play." Same thing if you say, "hey I want a 2 minute solo for trombone" or "I want a symphony that out-Mahlers Mahler." 3. What do I want to leave a listener or performer with? Is there a part of the what you're writing that you want people to remember? Maybe, you want a performer to be challenged so you'll explore something technically demanding. Maybe, you want to have the listeners be calm and struck by the beauty of the piece so you write something that is full of long phrases and dissonances that resolve into gorgeous chords. The key to remember is that everything you write is something you're making up. You get to say how it's going to sound and what instruments you write for. There isn't any universal answer to how to finish a song. All there is is to write and make choices and see if YOU like how it turned out. The more pieces you look at from that perspective, the more you will develop your ability to finish songs. Good luck!

I think some things in a composition can be attributed to a composer's personality. Haydn liked practical jokes and, sure enough, there are plenty of those in his output ranging from the obvious to the very subtle. Bach's religiousity is evident in several features of his compositions, as is Bruckner's and Messian's, manifested in different forms. Puccini's liking for fine living is reflected in the luscious orchestration and expressive vocal writing in his opera. Composers who are also expert performers will demonstrate a particular approach to writing based on their ideas as a soloist. We can't attribute everything to a certain personality trait, indeed there are many aspects of composers' techniques that often seem to contradict their personal characters, but neither can we ignore it. With regards to myself, I see several traits I am aware of in many of my compositions and in the process of writing them. A meticulous approach to some areas (orchestration, interpretative markings) is tempered by a tendancy to rush into an important moment too quickly and to have to go back and flesh out the approach to make it more effective. Another is my vital need for the parts to be interesting for everybody concerned. I can't stand anything cliched or predictable, and so I try never to write a boring, unimaginative, disposible or thoughtless passage for any of my performers. I think a certain intellectualism manifests itself in the amount of counterpoint I try and incorporate into a piece, and also that I like to end works quietly, so the listener is guided towards contemplation about what has been presented and not just made to acknowledge the end. This in turn is tempered by a need for drama and dramatic contrasts.