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This is a retroactive post: I had sketches for this particular piece dating to mid-2022, and I decided to finish the rest of it by the end of 2022/beginning of 2023. I had just jumped into the world of free avant-garde atonalism (after listening to people like Takemitsu, Nono, Penderecki, Messiaen, Vivier, etc.) from the 60s and 70s, and I was captivated by the soundscapes they managed to paint using the unrestrained sounds they utilised, and the feelings they were somehow able to evoke despite writing music that was inherently musically 'wrong' to begin with. Admittedly, compared to those giants, my little prelude for solo piano does pale in comparison somewhat. I haven't given up on my post-tonality compositional dreams yet: I've had sketches for an Indonesian folk tale set in the style of an avant-garde late 60s atonal opera sitting around for a while now, but I haven't thought about working on those yet because it's hard to notate on software and I've only just gotten acquainted to a lot of extended techniques that one could use on various instruments. I don't know if there'll be very many people who'll enjoy this kind of music on this forum, but I still felt like sharing it anyway because I'm reasonably proud of this work. I find that it is difficult to achieve a balance between randomness and perceived 'harmony', often more so than writing conventional music. Whether you are pleased or repulsed by my work, I hope it's at least somewhat worthwhile and eye-opening (even if you'd rather keep them closed throughout!) 😉

an interesting shower thought piece that i came up with while sick with covid last june. this is the only piece i've done in this style, and it's definitely very different than anything else i've done before.

I've just finished a new piece today! Here's a waltz that I had written for a competition (I didn't submit in the end, the entry fee was too costly), in Ab major. At first I had planned for it to have been for solo piano (inspired very much by Chopin's waltzes), but eventually I added a solo violin part for (at least some) more timbral variety. Would appreciate some good criticism: this the first waltz I've written, and also the first in my (obviously limited) oeuvre to 'explore' the circle of fifths. Hope you enjoy, and let me know what you think! 🙂

Here is a basic score that I still enjoy even though it's short. Has a catchy melody in the middle that I'm fond of. Enjoy!

Hi, Aaron I love your piece. It's relaxing to listen to and it has an impromptu feel to it. I'm a classical composer too so I am endeared to my fellow Haydn/Mozart fans. Your theme could become a rondo them but it would need a little more movement and clear harmony. I'll add a short example. My advice to composers beginning out on their journey is to look at melody writing. Forget textbooks, YouTube videos are way more helpful. Look at sentences and periods. And learn about schemas. Start composing 8 bar themes with a complementary B section. A = 8 bars *tonic to dominant B = 8 to 16 bars *dominant to tonic You can begin the B section with any inversion in the dominant I believe. You can start a piece with the third in the base if the treble is the 1st or fifth scale degree. I'll include an example although it's actually beginning with V7 of II.

I like the clarity of the melodic line as well as the rhythmic variety in the figures. Also the general structure. I find it a bit unusual that the second part starts with the I chord in first inversion. A piece in this style seems to call for the harmonic shift here to the dominant or some other nearby key.

This is a wonderful composition and I feel you've made the best of freedom that atonality allows. You seem to have hit what sounds right for the work and thus presumably for you too. I can't criticise the thematic material - obviously: there are motifs, bar 6 for example, that you use sequentially and I believe their evolution is one factor in why this work is easy to assimilate. You've also rather cleverly used silence a lot. You've allowed time for a listener to take in what's happening - the tempo. the pauses. Perhaps the slow tempo allows enough time for each event to be absorbed - with this style that seems important. I didn't question balance between 'randomness and perceived harmony' so perhaps my absence of comment tells you it worked for me. I did feel that balance in the use of your thematic material was dead on, though, the contrasts in register, tempo; the intrusion of sudden if brief outbursts worked well; above all between single notes and chordal moments, and dynamics. (I'll briefly mention that I too work without keys but it never worries me if I pass through tonal centres - or within the scheme (atonality) landing on a major or minor triad because that's how things want to be at that point. Also for me there's nothing random. Ideas may start randomly but they're usually edited to fit their context in the end.) So to sum up, a piece that's easy to assimilate and a pleasure to listen to. Refreshing. Congrats on the accomplishment. All the best with the next one!

I am not able to listen to it yet but the score looks impressive. Unfortunately I have an immediate basic critique, I played the cello and I believe some sections in the violin part is simply unplayable with the standard violin tuning. I will see if I have the chance to listen to it later today.

Hi @44W74l4, I do find the harmony more reasonable here! I think you are having a clear Tonic-Predominant-Dominant-Tonic harmonic structure here. Personally I have the following thoughts: -What if change the quaver G note in b.10 to G-E semiquavers for smoother transition? -In b.14 I feel like it's I instead of IV there. Maybe you can in b.13 the left hand changes to E-F#, dotted crotchet-quaver, then change b.14 LH to G major (G-A-G-F#-E) -I feel like the iii chord in b.25 less smooth, and I may just change it to a I6 chord with note B less emphasized. -Nice little imitation in b.29-30! -Will change the G to A in LH b.42 better? Thanks for your update! Henry

You've definitely got the "palette" of that sort of style down, but I would say that the bassline could be more active and move more contrapuntally to the melody, and your string accompaniment is stepping on the melody a fair bit

pardon mistakes, this is one of the harder pieces ive composed. not notated yet

Yet another improv, i worry im boring people with these! I'll stop doing it soon, I.promise! I've started writing down my compositions/improvs again. I have a couple of minuets I'll upload soon, I just get so distracted when I sit at the piano. I've composed, via improv, a piano sonata in C major, I was thinking of the third movement when I improvised this. It reminds me of Haydn, I want the third movement to be light hearted and playful because the second movement I composed is in c minor and I use every trick up my sleeve to pull on the heart strings. I wish I recorded myself playing it, I worry my memory of it could get corrupted because it has more complex counterpoint. The first movement is like a piano concerto and is full of flashy runs in both hands. It has a Mozartian air and I use some of his signature moves but it has enough of me in it so it's not a cringey pastiche. Well I hope not! The improv here is a 'first run' so it's full of hesitation and mistakes but it made me smile when I listened back to it so I thought I'd upload it, I've been quiet for a few days so why not. Cuckoo!

A short ditty inspired by Penderecki I wrote a few months ago. Recorded myself playing this on violin and bass, and edited the sound to emulate other instruments. I know it is not very well executed, but garageband is hard to work with sometimes. I don't have a score this time, sorry! Love it or hate it, please leave a comment on how I can improve. Thanks! thecreepycollective (online-audio-converter.com).mp3