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I wrote this as a lullaby for myself to help me with my insomnia. This is the first minimalistic piece I have ever written. Also I am a novice at playing the piano. Hence, I wrote this as an easy beginner piece so that I can learn at my own pace. Anyways it's really simplistic. Any constructive feedback is welcome

No, I've currently not good enough on any instrument to really perform publicly (I was a violin/viola player). I mostly use software (Finale) which has adequate sound fonts for most instruments (Garritan). For voices, I use EWQL Symphonic Choirs which is awesome, though unwieldy, and VI Labs Piano sound libraries which I also think is great, which is probably why I now write more for piano than any other instrument even though I am not a pianist myself. Unfortunately, I do think my approach to writing music does disconnect me from the actual nuances/practicalities of performance. Probably much of my piano music is non-idomatic and perhaps borderline unplayable and that may also apply to some of my choral music. Obviously, having my music performed is always the dream and I've been fortunately to have had some of my music performed (though not publicly). Even a mistake filled live performance is far better than a polished midi rendered one.

Thank you for the comment! I understand you see the same kind of architectural logic as in the palace. Both have something of an improvisation. But I feel mine is a bit more structured. In my piece I first have the theme and in the next section I take certain elements from the theme further, I come back to the theme again, taking elements further, etcetera. It's a bit messy and rough but it gives me a sense of freedom in this way. Maybe Ferdinand Cheval appreciated his freedom too... I like these outsider artists...

Thanks! This was the first time I composed a piece for a short film only using orchestral instruments. There are other things I dislike about this piece as well. I just found out about the contest. On top of this, I bought all of the Metropolis Ark series and the Abbey Road Orchestral Foundations, and had to learn some of the articulations as I went along. You are right, it wouldn't be possible for 1 section to play the pizzicato at that tempo. Maybe with divisi?. But it would lose the cinematic sound I suppose. I should've spaced them out appropriately (maybe interweave subtle mute brass, bassoon staccato notes between those pizzicato notes?). I can't change it (and upload it) since the entry for the contest ended yesterday. The judges mentioned they would have the winners announced around the beginning of March. I do not expect to win. I have heard far better arrangements from the seasonal contestants who participated. Maybe in a few years I may win one. I think you, Quinn, OutlawCityAngel, Left Unexpained, and a couple of other regulars on this site could easily win these contests. Thank you for taking the time to listen and respond. It helps a lot for new composers like myself.

You use a huge variety of different orchestral effects! On the whole the music sounds pretty hectic and random most of the time yet it totally fits with the scenes presented (I guess because the scenes were also kinda hectic). Darn those nasty sprites! I love the cute and innocent beginning which already contains the character of the menace that awaits all those 'fun guys'. I'd say you use all the orchestral colors at your disposal quite effectively and you build tension quite well and as danger increases, so does the dissonance. I do question whether the pizzicato you have at 2:16 is possible to be played that rapidly though. I love the way you swell the trumpets in many places to take the edge off of the attack. How did you fare in this contest? Did you win anything? I think you did a splendid job! You totally exhaust the potential of using the orchestra in a kind of comedic/cartoonish way, which is what I think you were going for? Thanks for sharing! It was really fun.

Yes, but only for demo video purposes. I feel shy about performing my own work. Unless that's the expectation for a class, or the organizing principle for a concert with multiple composer/performers, or you really are a fancy, fancy, big-name composer and an excellent performer, (I'm neither), it makes me feel a bit uncomfortable. (But would I love to have heard Bach perform some Bach. Yes)! Unless there is a particular reason for it, performing your own work feels like a big billboard that announces that no one else is waiting to perform your piece, so I'd rather not unless there is no other option. That said, if that's an option you've got, go for it! But it's not something I seek out. I sing, so I mainly write vocal music. When something is for solo, or women's duet, or trio, I sometimes multitrack record a demo to give people a better idea of what it sounds like than what my composing software can produce. I always try to sing all the parts to be sure the musical lines feel satisfying and reasonably sight-readable, where to write in a rest or breath, etc. I don't play piano at all, but for pieces with piano accompaniment I try to slowly play one hand and then the other to try to determine if it feels reasonably playable, even if I can't play it up to tempo or with both hands together. I use Musescore and haven't bought any extra sound libraries. I'm always very nervous about how my compositions will sound until I hear them performed, and sometimes I make changes based on what I hear in performance. I've been lucky enough to have quite a few pieces performed. Sometimes I get to hear the performance, other times I just find a reference to a concert somewhere online after the fact. Keep writing and making your scores available online and sooner or later one will happen to fit the theme of someone's concert program. We are very fortunate to live in the times we do. Composition software lets us make nice neat scores without the need to attract the attention of a publisher first for typesetting and the internet gives us a way to put them out into the world where other musicians may stumble across them by google searching "oboe flute duet" or "piano solo Christmas." We still have to be lucky enough to get someone's attention, but there aren't gatekeepers standing in the way. For anyone on this thread who is trying to figure out how to hear a piece performed live, think of any friends or family you know who play an instrument and write something at their level of ability. There's nothing wrong with writing a piece for beginning performance. Just make sure the piece you write really is the correct difficulty level so this is a fun project for you both and not something that makes your friend feel embarrassed at their abilities or frustrated. Consider trading performances with another composition student at your school: they write something for you to play, you write something for them to play, everyone wins! Enter composition contests that give the winners a performance. (These generally have an application fee attached, but there are some free ones out there). Use google to search for groups that specialize in performing new music. Many welcome submissions from composers and have information about how to send them a score on their websites and what kind of music they are looking for. You get to have a piece performed, they get to say they premiered a piece. Or write a piece for solo instrument or a chamber group and pay to have it recorded by a professional group that specializes in paid recordings for composers, or a professional soloist. (Very expensive, but a good way to get a nice recording for your music school application or to put at the top of your website to attract interest in your other scores. The more players you hire, the more expensive it gets, so think trio, not full orchestra).

This reminds me of some of Debussy's Preludes. It has that parallelism and you also seem to frequently use whole-tone scales. I can't help but hear the music as a representation of the palace though. Maybe it's just me but the music has that architectural logic and seems reminiscent of Debussy's "Cathedrale Engloutie". I like it though. It's very much like the palace itself - an exercise in sort of random rather than pragmatic design with lots of ornamentation. Thanks for sharing!

Could we also hear the music by itself w/o the audio?