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This piece is my attempt at making a thrilling battle score! I tried to keep momentum going as the battle mounts, and took the feedback I've been given here to keep some recurring references to motifs throughout, but with some variations! Overall I'm very happy with the piece from my perspective. It's not perfect. But I'm really happy with how strong a mental image the piece paints for me! In this case, a large scale battle. Hence the name, "The War Against the Machines". As for the VSTs I used, there's a combination of BBCSO Discover, Amadeus Symphonic (mostly for percussion), LABS, Intimate Strings, and Epic Choirs. As always, put together in FL Studio. Hope you enjoy the listen and I am looking forward to hearing your feedback!

Hello! In my portion of the US we've been hit with some pretty hefty snow. As the snow fell last night, I decided to make a song to reflect it. As well as a little video accompaniment that I also filmed. I wanted to make something to reflect the cold and dreary snow as it fell in the darkness of night. This piece is for piano and string. The VSTs I used are LABS Glass Piano and Spitfire Audio's Intimate Strings. Hope you enjoy the video, song, and am looking forward to your feedback!

This is great! There are a lot of really great ideas here, and I like the overall mood of the piece. Maybe it's because it is in C minor, but I did feel a connection to the first movement of Mahler's Second Symphony. Some parts I liked: 3:19 - I really liked the string melody here, and the half diminished chord at 3:45 is wonderful! 6:15 - Personally I liked the bold chords here that took me by surprise, although I will say maybe you should bring the piccolo down an octave, it seems a little overpowering. 8:30 - The brass here is lovely! I think it would be even better if you tried to add a countermelody in the horn or trombone, the whole notes are a little stale. 9:33 - I really like the clarinet solo, but similar to above I think you could spice this up with some countermelody in the other woodwind voices, instead of having them play just whole notes. 10:55 - The string pizzicato entrance here is really cool, and a welcome contrast. Some thoughts I had for improvement: 4:40 - This flute note is held for a really long time. For one, it doesn't seem realistic for the player to hold the note that long, they will need to breathe. And two, it becomes a little stale after a while. Maybe have this note be exchanged between other instruments? For example - have a clarinet come in while the flute is holding, then the flute stops as the clarinet continues, but then an oboe comes in with the clarinet and exchanges similarly? I think the change in timbre of the instruments might keep this held not more interesting... 6:35 - I like the overall mood of this more bombastic section, but I think you could spice it up by adding some brass. They seem underutilized in this section. The timpani at this part I think could be enhanced by have the brass play chords on the same rhythm for example I would split the horns into two staves, having all four on one gets a little jumbled. I think the climax at the end kind of comes out of nowhere, I think it could use more buildup. 11:45 - Add slurs to the woodwind technique here, I don't suppose you expect them to articulate all of that fast technique? I'll echo what others have said about the organization and structure. There are a lot of good ideas, but I don't think they are always connected well. If it were me, I would distill this down to and handful of ideas and try to develop those more, while also working on smoothing out the transitions between sections. I mentioned this earlier, but also work on adding more counterpoint and countermelodies. There are several places where a melody is accompanied by whole notes, when a countermelody could add interest. The best way to experiment with this is find a place where the melody has a longer note and experiment with giving one of the other voices a countermelody behind it. Overall really great work, thanks for sharing! I look forward to hearing the rest of the completed symphony!

Obviously, our pursuit of meaning through music is based on our desires, but even desires take time to cultivate. Some desires, we may decide in hindsight, were adolescent and immature while others developed us. For me desires started with listening to music and finding things I liked. That didn't always lead me "on the right path" so to speak. I think I've definitely cultivated an aversion to numbering my compositions (Sonata No.1, Symphony No. that, Prelude No.3 ... seems so dull). I also seem to have an aversion (or maybe inability) to write movements that belong together although I hope that in the future that might change. Or even just writing a set of pieces in different keys for a single instrument (like Chopins Nocturnes etc.) is difficult for me. I am at the moment in the midst of abandoning just such a project that I couldn't manage to keep alive because it just seems so totally dull and boring to me that I can't keep interested enough to continue it. I guess I could say that in order to keep my own interest in music I must always be seeking novelty of some kind. How do you find meaning through music composition?

Its a personal thing . It also is kinda like the egg vs chicken argument - but even that analogy is limited. Even for me, I have not figured out which exactly - is the meaning that births the music or the music that births the meaning - because I kinda feel like its both at the same time. I get the feel, the vibes, the inspiration and the music and meanings just come. In my experience, the first sparks, or the core ( or prob first theme ), and the core meanings, are there as the foundational spirit of the piece; In the process of composing, anything else - music or meaning- can be changed or added on but this core still stays. We can add or discover new meaning after the compositions, after rounds of listening, and after showing it to others and later responding and agreeing with, or reacting against, their responses. There are some inherent meaning we ascribe to certain things and there are those which we add as we know more about others and music in general ( say a certain key or tempo marking ). So it's like I personally " find " meaning in my music through the whole ( never-ending ) process of the composing and sharing that piece - with many changeable meanings, but more or less with core meanings. As for these " meanings " there are conceptual ones, but anything conceptual for me arises in emotionality, so its all about the emotions, everything else are just the means ( music theories, traditions, forms, other opinions etc... ). There isn't really a " conservative vs innovative priority " inner argument for me - its all just an alignment of emotions to what is more " suited "; there is not form for forms sake or novelty or novelty's sake - it's ultimately still the emotions. For quite a number of my pieces, I can very much can relate to Thing is, it can feel isolating, but hey, those are real emotions to be at least self-validated. I'm like a mix. I lean slightly more to naming pieces in a very technical manner. Titling pieces has been an issues for me. For me, only when a stand-alone piece has a really distinct characteristic for me ( and hopefully others ) would I give it a specific name, a descriptor or noun. If not, I would prefer naming it quite technically ( though boringly ) so as to not limit their meanings. Another situation where I give more characteristic names are when the pieces are part of a collection which has a characteristic name ( I have not posted those pieces here ) . So, as with @PeterthePapercomPoser, I also feel that such titles are really dull, as on their own they have no character beyond those numbers and forms, so I try to give specific names wherever possible, but also only when hugely justified. However, I also feel this dullness can sometimes a necessary and worthwhile sacrifice as I share the sentiment with @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu that specific titles can limit potential meanings of the piece and thus, leaving an uncharacteristic title can leave the piece more open to more varieties of interpretations. Tbh, this discussion made me think about the naming of Chopin's Etudes : ) Anyways, Thanks for the discussion!

all I know about axis theory is that it has to do with transposing chords across minor thirds, which is something I do. tbh I mostly wrote the harmony on intuition. I can give some random thoughts the opening chords are built on two sets of minor sixths, the left hand moving up a minor third and the right hand moving down a semitone. I view m. 10 and m. 45-48 as extended V-I's (Db to Gb). the extensions leave us only a glimpse of the dominant-tonic relationship, which gives the sense of a lost innocence or something of that nature as for the the messiaen-like section at m. 22, it's grounded in pedal points cycling in major thirds (E, C, Ab). The section concludes with the Ab pedal tone, which acts as a iv chord to Eb minor. (and in modulating to Eb minor, the right hand plays B-D#-A#, and then plays D-F#-C#, so there's more of those minor-third shenanigans). The "bell" chords in the high registers of the piano have a few recurring elements. oftentimes there is a chord in the left hand which is played simultanenously an octave or two up, only moved down a semitone, creating a major-seventh dissonance in every single note. (example: m. 22, Eb minor over E minor). I often use Minor-major seven chords, augmented major seven chords, minor major sevens with a raised fifth, and minor major sevenths with a flat fifth. so in m.33-34, I constructed the chords as a G# minor-maj7 sharp 5 with an Eb melody on top; G minor-major7 sharp 5 with a Db melody on top; and B minor-maj7 sharp 5 with an F# beneath, respectively. you may also notice a couple occurrences of chords with a two major thirds separated by a major-seventh interval. (example: m. 54, C E B D#). another note on m. 53-54. I constructed this as another one of those "uncanny-valley" V-I's, being G to C. The G chord is: G, F, Bb, Eb, Ab, and the C is the aforementioned: C, E, B, D#. However these two chords are interrupted by another chord: Bb, Gb, D, F. so calling it a V-I is an even bigger stretch. however that intercepting chord was constructed as being a Gb augmented major-seventh chord, which is a tritone away from C, so I guess there's more of that axis-theory stuff. the ending sets up a V-I to Eb minor: Bb, D, Ab, C#. and then B, D, Ab, Bb, which I saw as a Bb dominant chord with a b natural in the base. Then the base jumps down F, and the D, Ab, and Bb are repurposed as the natural sixth, minor third, and fourth of an F minor chord, which "resolves" to the final extended C minor chord. there's also a few sus shapes in this piece. I'm particularly a fan of this, i guess it's a major-add4 chord in second inversion. for example, in m. 38 on the third beat, the right hand plays a sus 2 shape: Eb, F, Bb, while a D plays in the base, creating this particular chord. I also realized there's a type in m. 31 on the second beat, the left hand says E and G when it should be C and E.

Not surprising. The " why " is indeed the philosophical, existential, reason for all, especially for something as all-encompassing like music. I forgot, and to be honest, am too lazy to dig out, the sources of my sociological ideas but yea, it must be both for myself and others ( at the core there are only these two groups ). As for the "others" ( which I think is the main purpose of the question ), I would break them up to " general audiences " and " music audiences " ( those who do know music ). I have this despite to compose music which appeal to both, which brings me to the next point: For myself, I think it is something along the lines of " ( compose something ) that is not to say good but at least is not say bad... you know... something worth hearing, and maybe even listening, to ". I try not to as any expectation is kind of like pre-mediated resentments. Though, I still hope I'd be able to get some appreciation for my music/ is coming from, even as I change and improve, so that I can validate myself that I did add something to this world via my music. As for boundaries, it 's been something I have been working on, as with other relationships. I'm generally very receptive to feedback ( though I'm also a very sensitive person as well ), I try to find learning points from any responses, be it unfavorable or not. For aspects that are objective, hugely-problematic, and easily change ( such as title and notation ), I straight away change them as evident fr sm of my posts here, and change those other scores with same/similar issues. Others I consider, change and improve for future works and pieces. Ofc, some comments are not just blunt but also are not constructive either, a mere attack or troll. For these cases, it is pertinent to put up an internal psychological boundary to protect yourself. As for the very last part, it is that complex paradox and ( personally for me ) ideal mean between having a spine, being true, and standing up, to your own creations and ( knowing) your place in the world - which entails all other external factors. This cuts especially deep for any creative. Any of the two extremes are unhealthy; with one existing, living and creating for others, without a sense of, or completely losing one's own, self, and being disillusioned with life when the world doesn't acknowledge you; and the other being delusional and stuck in one's own world, without much or any regard for other real world. So for this, I really don't know... I put a lot of worth in the views and ratings of others because a degree of objectivity and grounding is needed at the end of the day, yet there always is that subjective, secret truth that must also not be compromised ASAP. Humility is great and needed, but humility also involves acknowledging your own self, your inherent value. Ke Shen

It sounds like you have a really squeaky piano bench! LoL 🤣 How did you conceive of this harmonically? Did you think of the harmony in terms of Bartok's axis system or set theory or something? It'd be great to hear/see you break down how you thought of this piece. I also don't exactly hear the last chords as a clear tonic, but it does sound very mysterious and teeming and charged. And I love it! I'm tempted to think you're conceiving of the harmony through the axis system because you end on a kind of C minor/Gb augmented major 7 which are both considered tonic category chords in the axis system. Thanks for sharing!

As a composer and Young Composers Forum member, what do you think motivates people to review your music? The poll is multiple choice and the results are public. And also - if you review frequently ::ahem:: @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu ... Let us know what motivates you to review others works!

On a very technical level, as with many other online forums, responding to people does add up to the numbers, whatever they may be, likes, reactions, views, upvotes, favorites, etc... the accumulation of these " points " can translate into more concrete forms of power like karma as in reddit, or soft power. These are incentives. On a more social level, it increases the level of engagement you have with both the community as a whole and the individuals within it themselves. From the perspective of self-promotion and self-improvement, we give both ourselves and our music greater exposure to the world, which - increases overall engagement with your content due to a larger pool of audience - makes us more vulnerable but also opens us up to people and perspectives for us to improve. Most of these are understandable desires and natural consequences. As long as one - does engage with others on contents beyond their own ( ideally at around the same level which others engage in theirs ) - does not overly-self-promote and spam I think It's fine. Quite the same as above so I shall not repeat. This is actually compulsory in some Reddit music forums; this part is auto-moderated. I think the reasoning behind it is fair, though I think ppl should do it themselves rather than it being a rule to be enforced. For me, any form of engagement with people's contents can also reveal more about that person / how they view their own music / their other musical perspectives. It is only through clarifying things the poster of the content reveals more ( than what was originally posted ). I generally find it interesting. And if possible ( not having expectations ), make friends ( and thus expand internet social network ), find supporters and collaborators ( ? )... Thanks for the post anyways!

If you are able to, you may wanna consider updating musescore - the latest version is 4.2.1.

More up to date version with some added violin.