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I have been interested in composition for a while now, though in spurts of "inspiration" (using that term in the humblest possible way). I started off just noodling with musescore with absolutely no concept of what I wanted. I thought the solution would be to learn a lot of theory and use it. But while learning the grammar has been useful, I can't really compose with theory in mind (except for basic counterpoint guidelines). I mean, I can do it, but nothing really comes of it. The only way I can enjoy the process and produce something that gives me some personal sense of accomplishment is if I just sort of improvise with the notation software. I do have a vague idea in my head when I'm composing, but a lot of it is more sculpting than realising a fixed and solid idea already in my mind's ear. In fact, my mind's ear is quite limited in comparison to what I imagine musicians generally have. That is, I could generate very little without the crutch of notation software and playback. I do enjoy this process though and I'm not sure it's within my ability or even worth the colossal effort to develop a more traditional ear for composition. After all, I do it for enjoyment and have no pretentious about it whatsoever. HOWEVER, it has prevented me from seeking out composition lessons which I think I might enjoy as well. The thing is, while I'm personally at peace with my dilettante-ish ways, I'm afraid of how it would come off to a teacher. I almost feel like it would be in some way disrespectful. Honestly, this post is fizzling out. I'm not sure of the purpose, but I felt like writing this out. Did I just want a pat on the head? I don't know. Hopefully there's something here for discussion. Thank you for reading!

What a Jolly Good Ride! This is a very inviting work ... it has wit and charm. The rhythms and exchanges are playful and move you along. I enjoyed the contrasting mid-section too ... which prevented the work from becoming too predicable. Mark

@PeterthePapercomPoser You've given me by far the nicest compliment I have ever received, and having now perused a number of your excellent posts on this site I see that I have received it from a talented, accomplished, and apparently prolific composer no less! That is all much more than I deserve! Only by the Grace of God...

Hello @StripedGazelle! I am still amazed by this piece every time I listen to it. I feel like you write in a style akin to how Mozart would write if he were alive today and had experienced all the innovations in harmony that history has introduced. There's some counterpoint that is very cleverly woven into the harmonic fabric in a way that is both playable and readily audible to the average listener. Despite how advanced harmonically and melodically this piece is, it still qualifies as "easy listening" which I think is a huge compliment. The many random pauses in the music only add to its expectancy and are pregnant with musical meaning. Thanks for sharing this wonderful piece and I hope to hear more!

Really enjoyable performance!(: I didn’t expect your piece to have these many unexpected twists in this, yet it still has a strangely organized structure. You ought to share us your harmonization skills:D

This is an old piece I dug up from many years ago. It was 32 bars long and lasted about 40 seconds so the whole second half was composed recently on the model of the first 32 bars. Let me know what you think - I added some dynamics so it's not always nice and quiet and lullaby-ish. Warning - heavy use of whole-tone scales included, although it does occasionally cadence in more traditional triads.

This is not a dance suite, but is made out of old pieces in my dance suite folder that didn't make the cut (back when I was writing into the sequencer). The 1st movement - Serenade - is a fast ternary form in Ab major. Originally it was meant to be a prelude to a dance suite. It is in 4/4. The 2nd movement - Lament - was originally meant to be a Courante, but it doesn't satisfy the requirements of the kind of dance that a Courante is meant to be (and it's in 2/4). This piece is in Ab minor and binary form. The 3rd movement - Intermezzo - was also conceived as a prelude to a dance suite. It is in F# major. It is in 4/4 and binary form. The 4th movement - Postlude - was originally meant to be an Allemande but ended up being too slow to be any kind of dance, even though it has some characteristics of an Allemande. It is in 4/4 and E major. The overall form is fast, slower, slower, and even slower. Let me know what you think! I appreciate any of your constructive comments, suggestions or critiques!

This is a Gavotte I dug up from my old archived compositions from years ago when I wasn't yet writing on paper but into the sequencer. It wasn't quite finished and it also seemed to be stuck in a never ending loop wanting to return to the Musette yet again, dragging on and on so I just ended it like this and called it finished. This Gavotte is a little more drawn out formally (it is a three-part form - Gavotte - Musette (which is just another Gavotte) - and back to the original Gavotte) and also a bit virtuosic for the cellos and basses. Let me know what you think if you feel like dropping a comment and I hope you enjoy listening!

I composed this short guitar trio (for Flute, Bassoon and Guitar) within the past couple of days. It's a Siciliana in a sort of modern take on a quasi-Renaissance piece for quasi-Lute and winds. Thanks to @Thatguy v2.0 for checking over this piece for tablature mistakes/impracticalities. I'll definitely be consulting with him in all my future guitar pieces! I wrote this to be a kind of study/etude in hammer-ons and pull-offs (special guitar techniques). There are also some slides but I didn't notate those because of some wacky glissando effect that Musescore 4 performs with that marking. Also, I tried to get a better sounding Acoustic Guitar VST (since Muse Sounds doesn't have a guitar patch yet), but the one I downloaded didn't work with MS4 so this is MS Basic. Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any of your constructive comments, suggestions or critiques! Edit: Thanks to @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu for informing me about the Siciliana! I've updated the title, and also added some reverb to the guitar part (I realized that Muse Sounds had some FX I could download including Reverb and Chorusing).

Subtitled "Night Music for Large String Orchestra", this is an old piece that I salvaged from back when I was writing straight into the sequencer. I copied it to paper and finished it, then entered it into Musescore 4. This is my first experience with Musescore 4 and Muse Sounds and I'm pretty satisfied once I worked out some of the kinks! I think I probably won't need to use any DAW given its capability. The key signature for this piece is A major because the piece is bi-tonal. It's in both F# and C and A major is right in between those two so it was the most convenient key signature. This is version 3 - Musescore kept omitting certain notes for some reason. This piece is partly inspired by Bartok's Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta, although I hope you agree that it is quite different. Thanks for listening and I'd appreciate any constructive comments, observations or critiques you're willing to give! Merry Christmas! Edit: I've updated the score and mp3 to include some more dynamics, sul ponticello instead of mutes, and centered the panning of the contrabasses.