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@Maarten Bauer hmm, I think I have the same problem with Wind music! Despite the fact that I am not a pro in composing, I have learnt Violin for 10 years and I have some experience in orchestras. So I may leave a comment here and hopefully that could help you:D One amazing aspect of string music is the variety of bowing techniques, which gives different degrees of articulation of the notes. Usually, string players will adopt a specific set of bow techniques at a certain tempo. For example, in fast passages, say few lines of 16th notes, we may play the notes in Spiccato and Sautillé, i.e. to play notes by bouncing the bow off the string, in order to give more clear and articulated presentations of the passages. In contrary, one may use slurs to make a sentence more connected. Other than articulation, Pizzicato, Ponticello, col legno are unique techniques for string instruments. String harmonics are good too. Especially for solo string excerpts, using such (bowing) techniques can really provide some texture and characters. However, in my humble opinion and from my personal experience, it may take years to get familiar with the above techniques, which is not cost-effective if you aim to apply those techniques and write good string pieces in short term. But if you really want to get a glimpse of those techniques, instead of learning on your own, I would suggest watching Youtube demo videos. I would say YT channels such as BarnesandMullinsUK are a good example of that. Of course, it is always good to learn a new musical instrument to know the actual way of playing. For instance, it is technically impossible to slur cross string. Knowing such problems can help you to write the string music in a playable manner (in case you don't want to consult your string player friend too often). Fingering is also something you may want to know deeper about. It is possible to produce a note at the same pitch but with different fingerings/ on different strings, on a string instrument. Despite the same pitch, they have different tone colours. Playing notes on A and E strings are usually brighter than doing so on the D or G strings. Other than tone colours, alternative fingerings may sometimes help the player to overcome technical difficulties. For example, it is impossible to slur from B3 (on G-string, the lowest string) to B4 (on A-string, the second highest string) across the D-string, but it is feasible to do so by shifting the fingering upwards along the G-string. But as mentioned before, it may imply the change of tone colours when you change the fingering. And that's the time you may need some string background to experiment with the fingerings, when you write the melodies.

Thanks for everything, y'all. This was a growing experience for me and I look forward to doing it again in the future. Judges and entrants, thank you Gustav

Hello, I composed this little piece in response to a challenge on the forum to write for a combination of two instruments based on your birthday date. At the same time, I used this piece for an exercise, I gave myself: write a piece in less than 15 minutes. My combination was the Violin and the Horn (in F). I tried to keep the atmosphere very light, yet interesting. The music has to be funny, because it is a 'birthday song,' so therefore the Allegro scherzando and no very heavy harmonies. Sharing your thoughts is very appreciated! Maarten

I look forward to it! :) Thank you judges for the detailed feedback, it's much appreciated. I had a blast writing these pieces.

POLITICAL