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Here is the last part of my sonata. I would be grateful to receive your comments Also, I wish everybody a happy new year !

Thanks to you both> I am aware that I am not much of a singer, but I figured that someone had to do it and I am just myself as the only member for Hand in the SKy. I may try to work on becoming a better singer, and when we have a band the album may be re-tracked or only some parts of the album may be re-tracked, including maybe the vocals. I will try to become a better singer, or get an actual singer. I am not sure yet. but I appreciate the input. CHeers - Nikko 1

We are working on hymns with 4 part harmony. The question has arisen about how to deal with bar lines where a measure is broken. Is there a rule? In a book called Behind Bars by Elaine Gould we find that bar lines should not be used where a measure is broken at the end of a stave. Also a measure should not be broken except at a full beat. We have a number of places where there are pick-up notes and even beats are broken. These are places dictated by the lyrics, even at the beginning of a refrain. It seems impossible to apply these rules to music with lyrics. Are there rules regarding this for choral music?

I’m surprised I haven’t seen this before. Looks invaluable.

This is a great channel about orchestration I've been watching lately (with custom terminology I don't hear used anywhere else describing different theories of how an orchestration is put together - such as the "device" which is the combination of instruments playing the melody, while the "texture" is the combination of instruments playing the accompaniment either underlaying, interlaying or overlaying the material in relation to the melody): https://www.youtube.com/@thesecretsoforchestration

This is probably the best composition I've heard on here. Bravo. The only problem for me is the soundfont, which makes me wonder how this would sound with the new Musescore 4 sounds?

Hi @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu - thank you again for the attentive listening to the whole suite! It's not an easy job sitting down and listening to 35 minutes of new music and I'm really glad you liked it! The Bourrees I actually wrote 8 years ago back in middle school when I had only the faintest idea of music theory. I've revised them in early 2022 and this was what inspired me to write a complete keyboard suite. I like the variety in the suite here, between formal pieces with a strict form (e.g. Sarabande) and simpler pieces with a free form (e.g. the Bourrees). This is absolutely intentional! We've all heard of Row Your Boat before, and the breaking apart of it into two separate themes almost creates a natural impulse for them to be reunited (at least it did to me when I wrote the work - "When am I going to hear the complete Row Your Boat theme in the home key?"). Subject 1 (first part of Row Your Boat) is reintroduced in mm. 115 as part of a stretto but it's in the subdominant, subject 2 comes in one bar too late, is in its relative minor, and cuts off to short. Mission unsuccessful. Then comes a hyperstretto in mm. 135, and here, the bass finally states the complete Row Your Boat theme. But halfway, the music diverges to the wrong key. Mission unsuccessful again. It's only until the last 8 bars that you hear the complete theme (without any contrapuntal tricks, but with counterthemes heard before). So if you like, it's the structural equivalent of an interrupted cadence.

Dear @Alex Weidmann, thank you so much for your listening! I am glad you enjoy it. It's quite long, isn't it? Thank you! Some of the passages in the first movement are quite good, but the problem is the structure is too sparse. They are not connected well even they come from the same opening motive, and I won't compose like that now. It did take me a lot of work!! Due to laziness I use almost 3 years to finish the first draft of the first movement. Take your time! I actually consider the first movement the weakest movement in the piece, and I hope the later movements will also be enjoyable! Thank you!! Henry