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My first competition piece and first score. I stayed on a specific point and re used motives for the first time. Would love to hear what you think (also, I really appreciate the member voting, thank you so much!)

This was my submission for the 2020 Summer competition. I've never written a fantasia or any type of free form piece (at least with this genre of music), and felt like this piece in our world context would fit that with how I wanted to present the music. I had a main theme that would be viciously stuck in my head after waking up each morning, the days were a blur with my personal life and job and sanity. I wanted to do variations on that theme, intertwined with other fleeting themes that I thought of as this: A | A B C D | A A A | B C A | E (ABC) | AB C D A is the main theme, B is a harmony figure under a static note, C is a short major tonality theme, D is the closing section, and E is the new piano harmony.

I'd like to echo @Monarcheon in her public appreciation of @Noah Brode; the amount of work he did behind the scenes was stunning. Thanks to all of the entrants for the opportunity to listen to your creative outflow and be involved in this process! It was truly inspiring—and humbling. I'd also like to recognize my fellow judges in their dedication during this competition. The entries couldn't have been in better hands. I look forward to more of these in the near future!

Thanks everybody, i love all of you ❤️

@Tónskáld @Monarcheon @Noah Brode Thank you all for making this possible. 🙂

Thanks for everyone who voted for my piece in the competition, if people want to see it again or say something about it you can do that here. Have a nice day 🙂

Here's the 2nd Mvnt of my Piano Sonata in Bb. Composed when I was younger and still obsessed with Beethoven, so heavily influenced by Ludwig! Hope it soothes your spirit Thankyou!

Well you have good instincts, if this is the only reason I say give it a shot and see what happens. You can always post whatever you come with on this board to ask for advice. From your other posts here it also sounds like your father is a member of a major orchestra, meaning you are only a couple of degrees of separation away from some of the best musicians in the world. If I were in your shoes I would take FULL advantage of that. I'm sure if you showed some of them some of your compositions and asked nicely they would be more than happy to give you a few tips and advice.

IN A DIFFERENT WORLD YC Composer Competition - Summer, 2020 Thank you to all of the entrants for submitting their works. Everyone should be proud for finishing their pieces at such a high general standard of quality. And thank you also to my fellow judges for their work in this process as well. The competitions are one of the most engaging features on this forum, and help 'keep the blood flowing', so to speak, so I'm very pleased that this competition turned out to be so popular. And now, without further ado, I present the final scores from our competition. MEMBER VOTING: FIRST PLACE - Bassoon Concerto No. 2 by @Leonardo C. Núñez (22 points total) SECOND PLACE - Flight of the Fledgling by @Left Unexplained (13 points total) THIRD PLACE (TIED)* - A Dream's End by @Thatguy v2.0 (11 points total) THIRD PLACE (TIED)* - Kitichi by @Rodrigo Ruiz (11 points total) *I am listing A Dream's End higher because it had a higher number of second-place votes, rather than third-place votes. Each had the same number of first-place votes. TRADITIONAL JUDGING: FIRST PLACE - Bassoon Concerto No. 2 by @Leonardo C. Núñez (140.5 points out of 150 possible) SECOND PLACE - Hope by @Maggie L (128 points out of 150 possible) THIRD PLACE (TIED) - Symphonie No. 1, III. Adagio by @Gernt (122 points out of 150 possible) THIRD PLACE (TIED) - String Quartet in D Minor, Mvt. 4 by @Joshua Ng (122 points out of 150 possible) Congratulations to @Leonardo C. Núñez for winning both aspects of the competition!

Wow, thank you so much to all, I'm so glad to have so many feedbacks on that tiny stuff! Lemme answer in sequence. Sorry if the message is long, you can jump straight to your part: @Quinn : Thanks a lot for this very encouraging answer!really nice to read your kind words, and I'm grateful for the specific technical recommandations you give, they're super helpful. Thank you for taking the time to have a detailed look at the score. As you said, it could -and should probably- be longer, but it's really the second piece of music I ever wirte that is not a pure textbook exercise, so I wanted to keep it short, keep it manageable for me. Thank you veeery much for the recommandation of the legato on the semiquavers. I really lack knowledge on this kind of stuff that relates to the technicity of the player (never touched a violin in my life), and I need to build up that intuition. About the doubling of the 3d, I thought it is actually common practice to use the II-7th chord with the 3rd as a bass, and a doubling of the bass in a cadence context to "mimic" the role of the IV chord in a IV-V-I movement. Did I use that wrong? Thanks also for pointing out the octaves in bar 26, I actually just missed that one, although it was obvious.... Damn! I'll re-work that part a bit. As to the consecutive 5th, I thought this was accepted when moving from 5th to diminished 5th. Is that wrong? Anyway, thanks a lot for those very useful comments!! @DarrenEngland Thanks for commenting! I understand your recommandation to start slow. I think I did to some extent actually. I've been learning 4 part harmony and writing quite a few chorale exercises (also harmonizations of a given bass). Actually I'm not totally sure why you consider a string quartet as particularly challenging. In my mind, it actually seems like a somewhat straight-forward way to apply four-part harmony. Seems tailor-made for that! I know almost nothing about counterpoint yet though, and I need to work on that asap, but I just tried to write that in the meantime as a purely harmonic, counterpoint-free attempt. I totally understand your stick figure analogy! Though actually, I didn't especially feel that way on this particular music: I will post another stuff I wrote (my very first composition) which was clearly overly ambitious and which gave me much more that feeling of stick figure music. Could you give me hints on some particular points that gave you this impression? Or is it just a global indistinct feeling? My sources so far are all in french I'm afaraid :(( I've been using textbooks and videos from a fairly respected french music teacher. I would really love to get textbook recommandations from you guys, although I'll have to learn all the linguo in english haha. I especially have weaknesses (or straight-up ignorance) on counterpoint, rythmic techniques, and overall "architecture of the piece" (i mean how to organize together individual parts that sound well on their own, how to make smooth transitions from one phrase to another, etc..). If you have material adressing those issues, that would be awesome! 🙂 @Luis Hernández Thank you! It is indeed just a short idea, a tiny project to get used to writing something that is not purely an exercise. Glad to know it sounds ok to you! It is the first time I hear the term pointillism for music haha, thanks for teaching me this! @JorgeDavid Thanks for your appreciation and support! As said to Darren, I would love to hear some textbook recommandation from you although I have to apologize that I can't give some back to you, since all I have learned so far is in my mothertongue 😞 They were focused on 4 part harmony. You are totally right, I should definitely learn about counterpoint. It is my next step. Thanks again for so many comments! It's really encouraging and heart-warming to feel supported by people with more experience 🙂

This piece got my attention instantly. This alternative form (Mosaic) I love very much. Textural and harmonic elements in some parts are impressionistic, but also great lirycism is present in the second part. also, I think you use cleverly the balance between instruments. Congrats.

Surely one of my favourites. Fresh.

Wow do I love this piece. Your writing is very idiomatic, it absolutely portrays your story well. Ya I know the score is dodgy, but I'm assuming you used a sequencer. I think from now on I'm going to take that approach, I started in Sibelius and imported to DAW, but I had a hell of a time trying to get it right. I'd say my favorite parts were the solo piano sections, spicy rhythms. It was tough to follow the score in spots, make sure all of that is playable! I really loved the harp theme afterwards too. In general I like the collage approach you took with how it progressed, it's always refreshing to hear novelty in form. I felt like it could of used a bit more development, with how abundant the ideas were, but you blended your themes well enough it's only nit picky to me. I've noticed a stronger influence with video game music and classical/concert styles among the music I've heard from here lately. I honestly love that trend, do you draw inspiration game music? I lot of the timbre had a final fantasy vibe to it. Your mixing is great too, I'm sure you'll hear me bugging you for advice with it in the future. Thanks for sharing, you were my vote to win 😄

Wow. You really use the whole range of the bassoon as my orchestration book says that the D# you have in measure 134 is the absolute highest note for it. Actually - it advises not to go above the Bb above the staff in tenor clef so I am wondering how practical that upper range of the bassoon really is - how hard is to hit those notes and that highest D#? I assume you wrote this concerto for yourself to play and it certainly seems challenging enough with all the chromaticism and frequent jumps in register (as well as jumping often between high register notes and the very low register). Did you use set theory to compose this? It definitely still seems tonal though, despite all the chromaticism and I am curious what key you were thinking of this in when you composed it (if any). The long lyrical theme you wrote at measure 131 is definitely my favorite part of this piece although the chromatic 16th note motifs have their own weird character as well. Nice job and congratulations on 1st place!

Great work! One thing I would change with the score would be to, during the piano solo, leave out the other parts to make it easier for people to keep up. I had to scroll like crazy lol. Which software did you use to make this?

This is awesome! You have a very unique harmonic vocabulary for someone of any age, much more considering your only 17 (18?) years old. I found it exciting and engaging from beginning to end, which, considering this is not a style I usually enjoy, shows it is exceptionally good. I wondered if you might discuss a few harmonic devices you used throughout the piece? It's obviously very chromatic in nature, and I noticed you frequently shift different chords and melodies around chromatically, but the idea is not overused and you always find subtle ways to keep it fresh. Are there any other interesting techniques you used? The only constructive criticism I might offer is to consider utilizing some of the other typically orchestral instruments (brass, additional woodwinds). There are a couple of spots where I thought some well-placed brass chords could add to the intensity. This is of course subjective, and if you prefer to go with the more "chamber" feel you already have here I completely understand. And one more piece of constructive criticism: I need to hear more! What you have here definitely feels like only the beginning, and could easily be viewed as the exposition of a much larger movement (or however you chose to use it). Congratulations on your first place award, I eagerly await the remaining movements of this concerto.

I haven't really listened to enough of your music but from what I've heard lately you like to build these kinds of rhythmically complex overlapping textures. I forgot who but I think one of the judges mentioned how the piece strikes a cool balance between classical scoring and syncopated rhythms that really jive. I like how you alternate the role of soloist throughout the ensemble. I think you're also an enthusiast of video game music and using VG influences in classical writing and I can definitely hear that in this piece (I personally hear Chrono Trigger vibes in this). It does also sound very dream-like because of the textures and the adventurous spirit of the piece. I voted for this as my 2nd place pick and congratulations on your tie for 3rd place! Great piece!

Nonsense. I advise you to study the works you enjoy the most and look at the harmony. Usually if all you care about is understanding the harmony downloading a midi file of any given work should be easiest as there are lots of midis available on the internet and not as easy to get a score and most scores are not in concert pitch (Prokofiev being an exception - and Prokofiev scores I hear are especially difficult to find). What is your favorite kind of music/favorite composers?

This is very heavy sounding waltz /-: You rely heavily upon the tonic and dominant harmonies to harmonize your main flute (and later doubled by trumpet) melody. Measure 25 (and every time that measure is repeated) is to me an especially poorly chosen chord. It's fine once I get used to it but if it were my piece I would have chosen the dominant with an F# in the bass for those melody notes (especially since the measure before you had a C# in the bass - it would have made a nice 2nd to 5th degree bass motion). But that's just my personal taste.

I second this! Please, everyone, feel free to post your pieces now. Also, remember that you can feel free to message me if you would like to know the specific member voting numbers for your own work.

Good job Leonardo! I am very happy with these results, my first competition and first score, now I know more about what to practice. Thanks to all the judges and entrants!

Awesome job everyone! My hope in these things are that the added weight of competition could bring out the best in all of us, especially with the isolation. I encourage all who participated to post your pieces as normal, I'd love to talk shop with some of you regarding your compositions. Well done Leonardo!

My thanks to @Noah Brode for taking the brunt of the workload off of my shoulders and successfully bringing another competition to its close. All entrants should be proud of their work and similarly pleased that your contribution is a part of all of our histories alike. An extra congratulations to those who consistently scored highly; having a panel of judges is certainly more consistent and enticing than one, and I hope we as judges along with @Tónskáld have done our part to ensure that your music was thoughtfully considered. Until next time, all.

@Monarcheon Judging Scores:

@Noah Brode Judging Scores:

@Tónskáld Judging Scores:

The two concepts are not mutually exclusive: You can write music that you're really passionate about, but still demonstrates mastery craftsmanship from a technical standpoint. Like, I'm not a "materialist" generally but it's the whole "it comes from the heart" thing that actually gets one into trouble, because it allows one to rationalize any lack of progress in their work, quality, etc. with romanticism. Romantic idealism should be an inspiration to create but not the source of creation itself. That's how you get abstract conceptualist nonsense. Craft has to be the means by which to actually make something into being, and this can be objectively defined. You just don't see this mentality in so many other things. If you bake a cake for your wife's birthday, will she care that it comes from the heart if the cake tastes like @$$? Like, maybe she'll appreciate the effort, but surely, if you really love your wife and this cake is coming from the heart, then you'll want her to love that cake. You'll want it to be the best damn cake she's ever stuffed in her face hole. In order to do that, you're going to need a recipe. If you're going to come up with your own, that recipe needs to be informed by previously successful recipes and the general knowledge that has developed in baking for thousands of years now. One might say there are "theories" involved in baking that one should understand if they want to make a cake that both is aesthetic and really tasty. The cookbooks and Gordon Ramsay screaming in your ear aren't there to help you merely "understand the cake", they are there to actually teach you how to make the cake and become one with the ^%#$in' kitchen. It's the same when you want to compose a piece of music or paint a picture. If what you're making "comes from the heart" but you don't have the "head" ability to actually realize what the heart wants and will actually sound good, then does it even matter? No. Not beyond deciding exactly what style of piece I want to write, no.