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In January of last year, four wildlife rescue organizations coordinated to catch a sick half-grown coyote who had been finding refuge under my porch. Coyotes are a protected species in Massachusetts, so before attempting a rescue, they had to get permission from the state. The day that they finally received permission, he disappeared. The temperature dropped to the teens, and we watched the forecast with growing alarm, worried we had missed our chance and he had frozen to death in a hole in the woods somewhere. Finally he reappeared. I saw his feet go by under the porch, and texted the team. Within thirty minutes, six people arrived and made a whispered plan to surround the porch from all sides. Armed with old comforters and sheets of siding we ran in from three directions and blocked off his exits, while other volunteers grappled for him with a catch pole through a basement window. After several tense minutes, with only the sounds of his panicked breathing, the indoor team hauled him through the window and into my cellar, head first. Everyone agreed that if we hadn't gotten him that day, he wouldn't have made it. He was suffering from secondary rodenticide poisoning. At some point in his short life, he had already eaten enough poisoned field mice or rats to be dying of poisoning himself. He was hypothermic, dehydrated, his blood wouldn't clot, and with his immune system nearly non-existent he was almost hairless from an overgrowth in the mites, bacteria, and fungi that are normally a natural and balanced part of the skin biome. He was probably under my porch because there was a little warmth coming through the foundation, ignoring his instinct to avoid humans because he was so desperately cold. After three months of specialist care, he was healthy enough to be released to the wild again. Because coyotes are social animals, and frequently use common trails, it's very probable that members of his family passed by my house in the days after his capture and read the story in the scents on scuffed leaves and churned snow. Thanks to Newhouse Wildlife, Friends of Horn Pond, Cape Ann Wildlife, and Berkshire Wildlife for all their work to advocate for him, to catch him, and to heal him for a return to the woods of New England. Rage forest daughter; Stand and sing. He is everywhere, a scent on snow. He is the unforgiven air. He is the curled leaves. He is everything. He will come back changed. He will come back again. The lost child returns in spring, Traveling over dark water; Stand and mourn forest daughter.

After a series of somewhat unexpected and tumultuous events taken place last weekend, my sleep schedule suddenly got inverted again, and the subsequent rush of inspiration has resulted in this fugue being conceived and finished in under three days (or perhaps, rather, sleepless nights, should I say). Now that something productive has come of it once again, I can finally take some time to rest in whatever meager capacity I may. Enjoy! YouTube video link:

I think computerized renderings are the key thought here. Your music would absolutely flourish emotionally in the hands of an accomplished player. I understand that fugues in general can sound mechanical and scripted, perhaps even emotionless. But everyone who's been around here for a while knows how exquisite your craftsmanship is, and it's no knock against your creativity or talent to say that this particular style is soulless (not that anyone said that). There is emotional depth, but I think it's buried underneath a rigorous toolkit designed to "puzzle" the notes into existence. Luis said what I couldn't say any better. This is devastating, I'm so sorry for your loss and grief. But life goes on, not to sound insensitive, and your pursuit forward is a trademark of your perseverance. I love seeing new posts from you, even if I don't comment and offer insight. Mostly it's because the heavy contrapuntal styles are foreign to me, but I always appreciate their beauty. Thank you for sharing.

No one can play Sweet Georgia Brown like me, except the guy that taught it to me ofc

My repertorie now (with links of my favourite recording): My original exam pieces would like to play but get bored by them: Bach Partita no.6 Debussy Feux d'Artifice Beethoven Piano Sonata no.32, op.111 Now I'm practicing these: Beethoven Piano Sonata no.31, op.110 Beethoven 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80 Beethoven Diabelli Variation, op.120 My Own Piano Sonata no.3 @Chemathmusician0510 wow your repertoire is amazing! Henry

Some background: Chopin had escaped Poland just prior to very turbulent times when the Russian czar crowned himself king of Poland and imposed tyranny and oppression against them, and intended to use the Polish army (the last insult) against France. The Poles were revolting and times got violent. Here's the whole free movie on Youtube, but I have it marked to begin at this one scene which is memorable. Chopin's music teacher (from his youth) had sent a letter to a music publisher in Paris when Chopin was a kid, and the publisher had responded positively to the letter. But they now show up 11 years later and the publisher is not interested at this time, as the kid is no longer a possible prodigy. When they had entered the publisher's business they had left their music folders on a piano in the front. This is a setup for a bit of humor, too. The publisher is adamant and wants them to leave as he is busy as his secretary had told them. But Chopin's teacher is stubborn, and does not want to leave. Then an employee of the publisher comes in to the office where all this talk is going on and announces that Franz Liszt is there! At this time we hear some music coming from piano playing out front. The cool part of what comes next is how Liszt does not want to stop playing and Chopin suggests that he play the melody while Liszt plays the bass, allowing them to shake hands without stopping the music (as only Hollywood can do. lol). As we know now, Liszt loved Chopin and it was with Liszt's help that enabled Chopin to have a successful career, as the movie demonstrates. From the 1945 movie, A Song To Remember. From the 24-minute mark to 30:30:

I thought I'd start a topic about everyone's repertoire that they're currently playing on any instrument you know how to play. Or you can share what pieces of music you're composing/working on right now. This topic is inspired by a series of messages I recently exchanged in which I realized that basically nobody on this forum knows about all the really corny pop songs I sing and play on the guitar! LoL So this first post will be dedicated to guitar music that I've been playing (although I also have other repertoire that I'm playing on other instruments). In roughly chronological order from oldest to newest: Bach's BWV996 Bourree in E minor - One of the first classical pieces I learned on guitar from my "Bach for Guitar" book. Originally for Lute. Bach's BWV Anh. 132 Menuett in E minor - Another classical piece I've been learning, more difficult than the Bourree. In the same book. "Downtown" by Petula Clark - I found this song in the movie "Panic Room" and have since fallen in love with it completely independently of the horrific movie. Some alternate chord shapes in this song let me play it easier rather than having to barre almost every chord. "Wedding Bell Blues" by Laura Nyro - a really old song that I fell in love with and posed a challenge because of it's chords. I modify the words to "Girl, I love you so..." when I sing it. The only problem I see with this song is finding an occasion where a guy would actually want to sing it to a girl! LoL "Maneater" by Hall & Oates "Wishing" by Electric Light Orchestra - ELO is my mom's favorite childhood band. This particular song has chords that were easy enough for me to learn and a cool whistle solo that starts and ends it. "Magic" by Pilot - the Scottish one-hit-wonder band Pilot's "Magic" is irresistible to me from the lyrics and emotional tone standpoint. And maybe I also relate to this song just from personal experience LoL. I sang this at a talent show two years ago. "Easy Lover" by Philip Bailey, Phil Collins "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" by The Smiths - in my opinion The Smith's best song. It was a challenge to learn because of all the constant barre chords. But I've learned some alternate chord shapes to make it easier on myself. I love the lyrics. "Lovely Day" by Bill Withers - a song I got the hang of with some fussing around with different chord shapes on the guitar. "Faith of the Heart" by Rod Stewart - I found this song because it was the title song for StarTrek: Enterprise. LoL But it's also been used in a famous Robin Williams movie I forgot the name of. "Friends Theme" by the Rembrandts - the theme song from the famous TV show "Friends". This recording includes the 2nd verse which you never get to hear when the show is starting. "Like Humans Do" by David Byrne - I found this song a while back when it was included with Windows 95, 98 or XP (don't remember which). It has really funny words and tells a cool story. Some challenging chord shapes. "I Know You Know" by The Friendly Indians - the theme song to the popular TV show "Psych". The chords are easy and I've heard it so many times I decided I should learn it. "Used to be Young" by Miley Cyrus - I recently sang and played this at a talent show and won 3rd place! "The Heart Wants What It Wants" by Selena Gomez - great meaningful lyrics. "Chained to the Rhythm" by Katy Perry "Streets of New York" by Alicia Keys - I really fell in love with this song for the chorus and how it emphasizes the Subdominant. The lyrics are also full of heart. "Sex, Drugs, etc." by Beach Weather - I fell in love with this song because of its hypnotic chords and cool lyrics (and it's easy to play!) "Hometown" by Twenty-One Pilots - I love the whole album that this song is from but is probably the only Twenty-One Pilots song that I can easily play on guitar. "Hold on Forever" by Rob Thomas - a song I learned for an ex-girlfriend. "All the Stars" by Kendrick Lamar feat. Sza - a very seductive song written for the movie "Black Panther". I wrote a little commentary on the meaning of the lyrics in a creative writing workshop. "Never Enough" by Loren Allred - this song from the movie "The Greatest Showman" is full of emotional intensity and heartfelt lyrics. I still haven't seen the movie though. "Get Lucky" by Daft Punk feat. Pherrel Williams - a really simple but cool song with a dope mood. "Love on the Brain" by Noah Guthrie/Rihanna - this song is a challenge to accurately fingerpick each arpeggio. "Never Wanted Your Love" by She & Him - She & Him is Zooey Deschanel's band. Really heartfelt lyrics. "Ennui" by PeterthePapercomPoser - a song I wrote when I first started learning guitar in 2020 (also around the time I joined YCF! I entered this song in the 2020 summer competition) Some of these songs were picked by me because they had easy chords on guitar. Others because I have a soft spot in my heart for the lyrics. Some are just plain awesome. Some of the songs by female artists I picked because they set a certain emotional tone that I got attached to when listening. In some of the songs by female artists I changed the lyrics to make it more appropriate for a guy to sing the song (LoL). Feel free to share your own songs or pieces that you're currently working on! Or any composition that you're composing as well!

Hello everyone, I am new to this forum... This is a piece called Noah's Song, referring to the Biblical character of the man who was lost in the great flood. Thanks for listening.

Hey man This final (?) version is really cool. I wanted to share some takeaways that I hope you consider for FUTURE music, not this piece in particular. Your music has a lot of emotional depth and tone color, and your studies and/or admiration of film scoring shows in this work. You do a great job at providing the background to something happening on screen, or as part of the story. Is this correct? Sorry if I'm wrong. If that's the case, what does this go with, or what were you writing this for? I'm always curious of the story that film music chooses to be supplementary to. I only say this because your music completely ignores (imo) melody, which is what the listener of an abstract environment has to grasp onto. There are no lyrics, so I can't grasp the story. There's no melody, so I can't hear what you intend for me to follow. I only have lush orchestration with harmony and tonal colors to hold onto, and although great, it leaves me asking what you are trying to say. Like I said, if there's something specific this is about, or if you wrote in general to be applied to a multitude of different scenic variations, then that's cool. But it was just hard to grasp only harmony and color to what you're portraying. If you're anything like me, I too first was orchestrally inspired by film, but then I soon found the masters and was blown away by the level of musicality within their work. Want to know how to create divine melodies? Start with Mozart and Chopin. Want to better yourself with contrapuntal writing? We all revere Bach. Want to know the secrets of drama and storytelling within an orchestra? Beethoven, Sibelius, Shostakovich, etc. etc. If I were you, I'd take my passion and obvious talent with music further by really grasping what made the greats so great. Incorporate their technique into your writing. Hell, steal if you want. It'll all make you better, and you have a fine start where you are right now. You have a nice grasp of emotional harmonies... now let's take that a step further. If you add a keen sense of melody writing to your music, it'll only make it that much more wonderful. What about rhythm? Even if you're going for a lush cinematic sound, having parts of the orchestra hold a static but flavorful rhythm would do wonders. I'm excited to hear how you continue to improve, as I know your passion for music is unavoidable in getting better. P.S. If you ever come to Nashville, I know nothing about cars and probably get scammed when I need a fix. Help me please lol

when Henry uses the F word, it's always brings joy to my heart

First of all, I'm the dog whisperer. It breaks my heart to read the backstory of your piece, but thankfully he at least has a chance because of all your and the teams' work. All variations of canines have my heart, and the words you gave us resonate loudly within me. You could of just "not cared", but there's too much of that in the world, and it makes me happy that you chose to pursue the path of effort in helping this poor creature return to safety in the wild. Now that my eyes are dry (lol), onto the music. I don't know much about choral writing, but I have some thoughts. For one, I'm a little sad to hear midi... haven't you made videos where you're singing all the parts? Perhaps for a future time 😄 I love all the dissonance created by 2nds. Some where treated as suspensions, but others seemed to be used for color. It seemed very impressionable with the content you wrote about. I also really love the lyrics, especially this: "He is everywhere, a scent on snow. He is the unforgiven air. He is the curled leaves. He is everything". I've lived all over the country, and my dad was the man that taught me about the outdoors. I lived in Alaska, and have had many encounters with wolves. It's always surreal, and there's a great deal of respect I have for them, for how they are one with nature and their environment. As dumb as this sounds, I've learned from them too, and your words reflect a great deal of wisdom and admiration for the wild world around you. Your music is always lovely, thank you for sharing

Hi! I created a realization of handel’s partimento fugue in g dorian, no 1! I would love some feedback on it! thanks

Piano: Hammerklavier sonata, Symphony No. 9 Liszt transcription, (this is too long to print out, so I've been doing this one less) all 24 + 3 Chopin etudes, Erkonig Liszt transcription, Chopin sonata op. 35, Cello: Moses on G by Paganini, for cello on A string Hungarian Rhapsody by David Popper Caprice 24 by Paganini, transcribed by Luigi Silva Shostakovich Cello concerto no 1 Symphony-concerto for cello by Prokofiev (this one I've put aside for the time being)