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To be honest I don't think I exaggerated with the title of the video. Composing it has been a turning point for me, very few times I have felt a composer-piece connection like I had when finishing this. I left some kind of metaphorical tale in the description of the video. Let me know any doubts you might have. Also I used some kind of augmented 6th to reach a Neapolitan chord right before the last climax. I hope you enjoy it!

I had always wanted to write music but had no idea where to start. Then I met someone who composed music all the time, and I thought to myself that if he could do it then so could I. Eventually, on Christmas, I got a piano which made it possible for me to easily try my hand at composing things. My first piece was in E minor and consisted of arpeggios moving in contrary motion to each other (my friend had told me that contrary motion was to be striven for). I wrote it because I enjoy expressing myself and wanted to impress him. Unfortunately, he stopped talking to me because he apparently felt threatened by my creative efforts. In the end, I chose music composition, something I find fun and addicting, over sham friendship. I have no regrets.

I know this is a pretty odd question and just the fact of thinking what music to put in your own funeral is weird, but I wanted to ask this question. I would bring this five pieces in this order: - Chopin prelude in C minor Quite a dramatic way to start, but is a sad piece and full of beautiful contrasts - Rachmaninov etude tableaux in g minor The beautiful introspective melody of this etude with The barcarolle-like accompaniment makes it very emotional. This is specially beautiful when the high chords are introduced -Rachmaninov moment musicaux in b minor just by listening to the first 20 seconds of this piece you will understand why I put it here, it starts quite solemn, but then, the contrasting phrase makes you want to cry -Bach prelude no 4 from book one of the well tempered clavier Obviously, played in an unorthodox way with a piano instead of a harpsichord and with some pedal, this prelude can be beautiful and suitable for a funeral -Rachmaninov prelude in B minor Such a beautiful nostalgic piece, full of emotional harmonies and a powerful climax in the middle section, followed by a delicate cadenza and a “reprise” of the stillness of the beginning, and ending between major and minor PS: the fact that I am thinking about what music to put in my funeral doesn’t mean that I am dying, it is just a mere consequence of my boredom

Hi guys! All of us here are composers, whatever level we are in. However everything has its beginning (and hopefully not end). We all have our first experience of composing, and start to compose more by having that first experience as the basis and build ourself up, whether by skills, knowledge, experience or taste. I would like to ask, why and when do you first begin composing? What is your inspiration of it? How do you compose when you may not have adequate tool and theory to back you up? I wanna share my own experience. I started learning piano when I was 10 years old, a relatively late age. Then after months or a year or so, I suddenly had the impulse to imitate Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, since it was the first classical piece I had ever listened to, alongside his no.13 and noi.15 Piano Sonata. I remembered I knew nothing on composing and therefore just wrote some mess out, which might resonate with some of Beethoven's passage LoL, in a naive way. I didn't even have staff paper at that time, let alone PC and computer program to write the music out. I just wrote with the letter names on top and the note value under it like this: A G# Fx G# Crotchet Crotchet Semibreve Minim (in note, not words) I have already forgotten that piece, but that experience is unforgettable. There's no reason for me to begin composing, since no one has ever taught me so, but I still do that and luckily I am still composing. Really wish you guys can share your first moments of composing to us! Henry

Well, the nights are getting longer, the frosts are appearing on the ground, @PeterthePapercomPoser and @Thatguy v2.0 are locked in battle... It can only mean one thing - it's long overdue time for the annual Young Composers Christmas Music Event! The Brief Same as last year - write anything you like inspired by a winter celebration of your choice! Or, if you don't celebrate anything, maybe a piece to capture gazing over miles of snow (or grass if you live in the Southern Hemisphere) ... If you want to participate, pop a comment below! You could have a look at last year's competition for inspiration if you like: It would be great to see lots of you taking part! No prizes, no winners, just a way to get the creative juices flowing during the Season. Submissions will open on the 1st December. There will be a separate submissions thread, so look out for that! There's no time limit but you'll probably want to have your piece done by Christmas, or at least the end of December. Excited to see what you come up with!

Hi, after what I think was a whole year away, I'm back with a piece that I actually composed a year ago. I enjoyed composing it but I thought it was a very simple and short lenght piece, now is when I've decided to share it. This work is about a subject I like a lot, space (I talk more about it in the "Program notes"). I hope you enjoy listening to it and I look forward to your comments.

Hi @EnriqueMZ, This is such a delightful piece! I particularly enjoy the vivacity of the fiirst movement. The 7/8 time signature is so bouncy, combined with the oblique harmony makes it so funny to listen to. For the second movement it's great too. I may give more time for the bassoon as it's playing the rhythmic hook in the first movement most of the time and still doing the same role in this movement. But overall the piece is enjoyable, thx for sharing! Henry

Hi Pabio @Fugax Contrapunctus, As usual great counterpoint. Going to Bb major in b.30 is insane, but I feel like using just the German sixth chord in b.34 to modulate back to B minor a bit rush given how long the preparation to Bb major is. Watching the scrolling score makes me think of Gerubach who is deceased... Henry

Ivan there's no exaggeration in your expression. For me this one is definitely your best composition EVER. You still maintain your signature benighted style, but here is much more personal and emotionally deep and I think I feel it. This emotion doesn't undermine the technicality of your writing. Those smooth voice leading and prepared dissonance like b.8, the motivic coherence of using that sighing falling fifth motives only enhance your emotion. Plus your very emotional and rubato playing make this perfect. Plus my favourite C sharp minor. Cruelly speaking maybe that's what we need for our composition. It sounds masochistic, but I thikn we need all sorts of sadness and experience those tragic feeling or doubting ourselves to make our pieces improve. I think this piece definetly proves it. I think I will have put this piece in my next year's review. Thx very much for sharing Ivan, Henry

Way back in 1998. Music was mandatory in school and I hated it. I did kinda like playing guitar though and I always would imagine songs of my own in my head. We just learned basic G C D chords kinda thing, but that was the only thing I didn't hate about music class. Then when I was 11, I found my mom's surviving hair metal cassettes (I used to shred the tape as a baby) and those changed my life. Specifically Guns N' Roses Appetite For Destruction. Probably not appropriate music for an 11-year-old, but my parents were just glad I was now into their music. I decided I wanted to write my own music like that, and so I asked my mom if I could have an electric guitar some day (A colossal request given my parents really had no money) but she did, as mom always does, whatever she could so her kids wouldn't feel left out and she got me the cheap stratocaster and little solid state practice amp everyone starts with. I don't remember what my first attempt at a composition was, but it was probably the first thing I attempted to do when I go that guitar. I do remember a revelation though: One day, a guitar riff (and entire song) I came up with sounded so much better than everything else I was trying and I didn't know why. Somehow, I've forgotten how, but I learned it was the pentatonic scale. That sent me on the obsession of studying music theory, the methods behind the madness, and becoming an unrepentant tonal-music supremacist.

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