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Anna's Lullaby was the culimation of an instrumentation challenge posed to me by @MK_Piano , and a Piano Chord Progression & Motif that I came up with during my down time. It elicited, to me, what felt like a lullaby, or, a loving embrace. Which reminded me of one of the Family dogs that we had, growing up. Her name was Anna. She passed, in recent years, due to her old age, and she was one of the most memorable parts of my childhood. So I've dedicated this score to her memory. I feel it lays her to rest, in a careful and loving way. Feedback is welcomed! -Unc Updated - Added Oboe part, adjusted Harmonies, fixed Piano Ped. Mark Engraving. AnnasLullaby.pdfAnnasLullaby.mp3 P.S. She was 17 when she passed. Updated with some more flattering photos I was able to locate of dear ole Anna Belle. :)

Hello! Over the last few days, I’ve listened and looked at the score quite a lot. I felt it within my interest to analyze the score. The attached PDF is culmination of my annotations and comments. If you have any questions, I’ll do my best to answer! Good work! A. Ko - Poem for Orchestra [ANNOTATED].pdf

The members have voted in the poll and decided upon a theme for the next competition - "From Nothing, to Something"! This competition has no monetary awards - only kudos and badges. We are inviting the members/competitors to review and to participate in the creation of the badge awards that will be dispersed at the end of the competition! So if you have any ideas for particular badges that would accord with the kind of music that will be submitted for this competition and the theme of this competition, let us know in the List of Manually-Awardable Badges thread and we will take your ideas into consideration! Please reply to this thread to declare your intent to participate in this competition! The winners will be determined by popular voting polls! The duration of each piece should once again be between 3 - 7 minutes. Reviewing the entries will once again be spearheaded by the members/competitors at large. You are free to use the Official Competition Reviewing Template or you can review the entries in any way you see fit or create a template of your own making! Thank you for whatever time and effort you are able or willing to give towards reviewing the competition entries! There will be tiered "Ardent Reviewer" badges given out for this event: Featherweight Reviewer - for reviewing 33% of the entries Welterweight Reviewer - for reviewing 66% of the entries Heavyweight Reviewer - for reviewing 100% of the entries We are instituting a policy of not allowing any AI generated works in the competition. Because of this you will be required to detail how you created your piece and submit a PDF score or midi file for the perusal of the staff and members at large. The musical entries to the competition are final once submitted. This is for the sake of consistency of reviewing (so that each reviewer reviews the same piece of music without any changes). Instrumentation: As per the poll, the competitors will be tasked with writing a piece for a mixed trio/quartet/quintet of individual instruments/players/singers. Deadline: As per the poll, this competition will take 2 months, so the deadline to participate will be Thursday, September 24th, 2026. @MK_Piano's theme for the competition can be found below: What greater challenge of a composer than to take nothing and turn it into something! Your goal is to take the text from Paul Verlaine’s summer poem “Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été,” (So, on a bright summer day it shall be) and turn it into a piece! This poem is short, but filled with evoking images of what summer can feel like. Attached is the poem in English: So, on a bright summer day it shall be: The great sun, my partner in joy, Shall make, amid the satin and the silk, Your dear beauty lovelier still; The sky, all blue, like a tall canopy, Shall quiver sumptuously in the long folds Above our two happy brows, grown pale With pleasure and expectancy; And when evening comes, the breeze shall be soft And play caressingly about your veils, And the peaceful stars looking down Shall smile benevolently on man and wife. The poem in French and English Entrants to the competition thus far: @MrBelegro @Fruit hunter @Ninja Nolan @Kvothe @TristanTheTristan @MK_Piano @Matthew M @GMoneywroteasong Here is the submissions thread for the competition where participants are encouraged to post links to their composition (rather than posting their piece directly into the pre-existing topic - make your own dedicated topic so the members at large can review your music there):

Hello Everyone! I am here to share my newest work titled "Dear October...". Commissioned by my sister for the use in her wedding, this short work is has become a personal favorite. It had to be short for timing use during the ceremony, however, I find myself bleeding to write more. This said, if you want to find out more about the work, go to page 3 and read the "About" section. Thanks for taking the time to read this post, view my score and take a listen! (If you have any comments, both good and constructive, drop them in the comments!) [July, 2026 - Updated Score PDF] Chmbr- DearOctober.mp3 Chmbr- DearOctober.pdf

Hello again! I spent the last few days annotating the first movement. I did about 20 pages worth and you will find my written and explicit comments at the end. I will address any questions or concerns here or in a DM, good work! D. Chenfeng - Piano Concerto no.2 [ANNOTATED].Pdf

Hello everyone! I come to you with my first piece produced on my new Acer laptop that runs Musescore smoothly! I have taken the opportunity (before I always had a school chromebook so I couldn't do this) to download Cakewalk Sonar DAW which allows me to open all my old .wrk project files from back when I was using Cakewalk Home Studio over a decade ago. So, if you can't tell by the title, this is one of my juvenilia that I dug up from way back when I used to compose into the sequencer. Back from around 2008. I intended it to be a mix of styles between classical and jazz, hence the corny title 🤣. I use blues scales, extended harmony, altered chords and polychords - all in a way that is intended to be "classically jazzy". I hope you enjoy this piano trio and let me know what you think! Thanks for listening! Jazzical Piano Trio.mp3 Jazzical Piano Trio.pdf

A very pleasant sonata with clean lines. I’d classify it as early classical in style, perhaps with hints of musique galante. I think it would sound good on a harpsichord. But given that the piano has been chosen, I do think it’s advisable – as @MK_Piano rightly points out – to be thorough and precise with the articulations.

Hello, @jejrekmek! It seems no one has commented yet, I wonder why. I find this track really interesting; the unique atmosphere is fantastic. Your exploration of rhythm is excellent, and I love the chaotic vibe, reminiscent of Igorrr, as well as your sense for harmony (I noticed you used some intriguing chords in your other piano pieces, too). The way the song unfolds is unpredictable as well. I see from your profile that you're around 18 years old? It’s really amazing that you’re creating such an original atmosphere at that age. Age might not matter. However, there is one point that stood out to me: the mix feels a bit rough around the edges. I’m not exactly good at mixing myself, but let me share my impressions as a listener. Upon first listen, the volume felt too high, and the vocals were getting buried by the instruments, making it difficult to clearly hear the melody and individual instrumental parts. Personally, I think adding a bit more reverb to the vocals or positioning them more three-dimensionally within the mix would help. You might already be aware of this, but how about using plugins like "DearVR pro2" to position the sound more precisely? Instead of relying on extreme panning (left/right placement), using such tools to position instruments spatially would likely improve sound clarity and the overall mix. You might also want to lower the master volume slightly. I think your work is really original!

Wow! What a cute piece of music to have listened to. Very reminiscent of classical style and a treat to come across. This said, I do have some comments regarding the work; partially with engraving and partially with the music/form. Engraving: From what I can see, everything is playable for a pianist, and with this style, or earlier, I would put more articulation marks like slurs or staccatos. It will help us understand the dance-styles better throughout the work/ see the phrase ideas more clearly. If I were to go and play this at my piano, I would approach it as a Mozart keyboard work and focus a lot on phrasing and articulation. For my preference, since this emulating classical style, I would also use classical dynamics (p, mf, f and ff) versus mezzo piano. Form: The thing that stuck out the most was not the musical content or the form per se, but how you notated each B-section in the first two movements. While Mozart did add key signatures for some developments within his sonatas, I do not think it is necessary to change the key signatures in each movement as they are so short. (Of course, change the key sig on each movement however) This is not a challenging piece in the catalogue of piano repertoire and if I were to give my students this to sight-read, even they could get thrown off by the signature change. I think it would be better to remove the G-major signature in mvt. 1 and keep the sharps explicit. Same in mvt. 2 with the C-major section. Lastly, I do think in terms of musical content, you can mess with a more active recap (or final A in the rondo form) in each movement. Simply hearing the themes again without a change in the harmonic scheme or texture in a big way leaves each movement as a little lackluster; at least in the way they end. Here is some food for thought and I’d be curious to see what you can come up with in the future. Good Job!

Hello my friends . Here my latest binary Sonata no 25 . I hope you like it

Hi @Vasilis Michael ! This one is wonderful! Recently I finally get more in touch with Scarlatti and your piece shows heavy influence of his Sonatas: echoing of passages, abrupt and wonderful modulations, all the m.d. and m.g., dexterity and touch required to play, abrupt changes of style or mood. Yours is no less wonderful than Scarlatti's Sonatas I can definitely say. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hey Kyle @UncleRed99 ! What a lovely piece which is clearly in your style: sentimental, refreshing and lovely. I like the tone color of the whole piece, and all the solo passages of the winds. Just some suggestion of mine: first the pianist isn't given a chance to play the melody at all except b.41-44. Since I've just reviewed @MK_Piano 's October piece it immediately reminds me of his piece where there is piano solo passages. I think here you can extend your piano solo passage as well and also have the winds accompanying the piano melody. Also whenever two winds are in pair, the upper instrument (in terms of score position, not range of the instrument) always have the melody. What if clarinet and oboe playing together and clarinet gets the melody? Or bassoon getting the melody over a flute countermelody? You can think of more varieties in the instrumentation as well! Also for the recurring figure in b.13: Seeing this figure immediately reminds myself of my own Clarinet Quintet 1st mov to advertise myself lol: Thx for your sharing, and my deepest condolences to you and your family for losing a family member, as Anna accompanies you for such long years as a lovely pet and family member. Henry

Hello! I come to you with yet another refurbished piece from over a decade ago. I welcome any of your comments, critiques, feedback or observations. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy! Edit: I've included a 2nd mp3 rendition of the piece normalized to get rid of clipping. A Scherzo in Bb.mp3 A Scherzo in Bb Print.pdf A Scherzo in Bb3.mp3

https://musescore.com/user/96214813/scores/28405348 This is my second concerto, written in e minor for piano and orchestra. It consists of three movements. Mov. 1 E Moll Mov. 2 B Dur-E Dur Mov. 3 E Moll. My Internet is low so I won't bother with the details. Thx! Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. -TristanTheTristan

Hello, TristanTheTristan. This is a wonderful piece! The atmosphere of the track shifts smoothly, drawing the listener in. The composition keeps things engaging from start to finish, and the use of fast passages (rapid note sequences) is truly impressive. Personally, I like the section starting at 2:44; it has a unique yet lovely vibe. The piano part is also fantastic. Given the high quality of the work, I think it would be even better if you cleaned up the rough spots, like the audio distortion (clipping) occurring at 4:01 and 7:44. Then again, if this is just a sketch intended for a live performance, perhaps strict correction isn't necessary. You have amazing talent for composition. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful piece! P.S. I agree with @gooberro. @MK_Piano, thank you for always providing such great reviews! That said, this piece is really great!!

Thanks! I want to be able to give feedback like you one day!

For all my music needs, I use forScore. (I compose using MuseScore however.) I use forScore to read and perform my repertoire and to annotate PDFs. It cost around $25 USD as a one time purchase. You can annotate combine PDFs, rearrange documents, etc. The first one I used starting in college was called PiaScore and is free to use. It’s similar in features to forScore, however, in my opinion, has a lackluster user interface. I would recommend both in a heartbeat regardless!

What software do you use? Or just photo editor

God, I can only dream of giving advice like this and such good handwriting too! 😭 You need to teach us all, I just yapped about how you can change clefs.. 🫪

Hi everyone! I took a break from composing for a while. Recently, I started composing again, and I would like to present my latest composition, an Impromptu, written between May and July 2026. Writing this piece proved challenging – choosing the right material was an endeavor, and most of the effort was spent on completing the coda section. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and I would love to hear your thoughts! Carl Koh Wei Hao

Multiple users have inquired about the next competition, so that warrants a new Summer 2026 Competition Poll! The poll will close on Wednesday, July 22nd at 11:59 pm PST. Here are the givens that each competition will maintain: The duration of each piece should once again be between 3 - 7 minutes. Reviewing the entries will once again be spearheaded by the members/competitors at large. You are free to use the Official Competition Reviewing Template or you can review the entries in any way you see fit or create a template of your own making! There will be tiered "Ardent Reviewer" badges given out for this event: Featherweight Reviewer - for reviewing 33% of the entries Welterweight Reviewer - for reviewing 66% of the entries Heavyweight Reviewer - for reviewing 100% of the entries We are instituting a policy of not allowing any AI generated works in the competition. Because of this you will be required to detail how you created your piece and submit a PDF score or midi file for the perusal of the staff and members at large. The musical entries to the competition are final once submitted. This is for the sake of consistency of reviewing (so that each reviewer reviews the same piece of music without any changes). However, there are a few things we'd like the members to help us determine (in the poll): 1) What should the competition be about? To write background music for one of @chopin 's Retry Bro's YouTube videos. Explanation: @chopin has a new YouTube channel! It's called Retry Bros. and consists of him playing Super Mario Maker levels and coming up with entertaining narration from Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, and other assorted characters. There's also a musical element. So far, Mike has come up with some clever lyrics and used AI to make realistic sounding songs that go along with the video. Now, where you would come in is that you'd be writing background music for one of @chopin 's new videos! To write some kind of autobiographical piece with a paragraph describing how the music portrays the autobiographical material. This one is @UncleRed99 's suggestion. The idea is to "write a piece that simply tells a story about your life, and something meaningful within it. Utilize complex elements to express emotion, tension, or any other desired emotional or mentally relatable expression. Provide a brief summary describing the root of the story being told." @Thatguy v2.0 has bestowed his theme proposal to me. I had another idea for an "Excerpt Exchange". Basically composers entering the competition would send the staff an unfinished excerpt of their music for the ensemble that we'll be writing for in this competition (we'll find out what ensemble from the member voting to question no.2 below). By sending your unfinished excerpt you bestow upon others the right to work on and finish your composition. The composers will be given a random excerpt from a random composer without being told who composed it. Each composer will be tasked with making the best piece they can and finishing it to the best of their ability. The minimum length of the excerpt should be 8 measures. @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu has also bestowed his theme proposal to me so I decided to include another theme in the options: "Sound Mimesis - Acoustic Anatomy". The idea is to use the instruments at your disposal to mimic sounds in your natural environment (although the sounds don't technically have to be created by nature - they could definitely be artificial sounds, but should be mimicked by acoustic instruments). As an example watch this Talking Piano YT Video. Or watch this flute mimicking bird calls. @Omicronrg9 has also bestowed his theme proposal to me. This theme would be called "A Plenty of Persichetti Prompts". The composers would be given a choice to compose music based on prompt(s) inspired by exercises from Vincent Persichetti's "20th Century Harmony". There would be 5 prompts inspired by Persichetti's exercises (but not directly taken from the book) that the composers could use to inspire their music. These prompts would be based around various music theory ideas. I've amassed a document listing various such ideas that could be used in this competition: Musical Composition Prompts. @MK_Piano has proposed the theme - "From Nothing, to Something." What greater challenge of a composer than to take nothing and turn it into something! Your goal is to take the text from Paul Verlaine’s summer poem “Donc, ce sera par un clair jour d'été,” (So, on a bright summer day it shall be) and turn it into a piece! This poem is short, but filled with evoking images of what summer can feel like. Attached is the poem in English: So, on a bright summer day it shall be: The great sun, my partner in joy, Shall make, amid the satin and the silk, Your dear beauty lovelier still; The sky, all blue, like a tall canopy, Shall quiver sumptuously in the long folds Above our two happy brows, grown pale With pleasure and expectancy; And when evening comes, the breeze shall be soft And play caressingly about your veils, And the peaceful stars looking down Shall smile benevolently on man and wife. The poem in French and English @Tónskáld has also bestowed his theme proposal to me. Another idea I had would be called "An Invitation to Dance". The composers would be tasked with writing music in the style of a dance in a modern style, that could actually be danced to and exhibited all the proper characteristics of said dance. The composers could choose from a list of dances including but not limited to the following: Pavane, Galliarde, Tarantella, Saltarello, Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue, Minuet, Bourree, Polonaise, Chaconne, Gavotte, Waltz, Mazurka, Tango, Samba, Mambo, Merengue, Rumba, Paso Doble, Cha-Cha-Cha. Note that the composer would be tasked with composing only one of these dances rather than a whole set (such as a Baroque Dance Suite). It would also be expected that the music be "dance-like" meaning that it's not just an instrumental derivation of one of these dances that aren't meant to be danced to. My own idea is for the members to write M&M&M's - Mock-ups, Mash-ups and Medleys. The idea is for the members to take 2 or more preexisting themes from different genres of music and to make mash-ups and medleys with them. The staff and/or members would vote about what pieces/songs to include in the following list of genres and the composers would then choose 2 or more pieces from the list to combine in a medley or mash-up (or both!): A single piece of Film Music A single piece of Video-Game Music A single piece of Early or Ancient Music A single piece of Classical Music (Baroque, Classical or Romantic) A single piece of Pop, Rock or Jazz Music A single piece of Rap or Hip-Hop Music A single piece of Anime Music A single piece of Modern/Avant-Garde Music A single piece of World Music 2) What kind of ensemble should the competitors be free to choose to write for? Solo piano/keyboard or solo polyphonic instrument (such as guitar, harp or accordeon) One monophonic instrument accompanied by one polyphonic instrument Choice of mixed trio/quartet/quintet of individual instruments Other mixed ensemble of more than 5 individual instruments not exceeding 10 Chamber orchestra (string orchestra) Full orchestra 3) How many months should the competition span? (1 month, 2 months or 3 months) Happy voting and let us know what you're happy about or what could be changed about the upcoming competition!

Hello dear UncleRed99, This is a wonderful piece. Since she lived to be 17, she certainly had a long life. Of course, I hadn't heard the piece before, but it has a lovely, nostalgic quality to it. It’s not nostalgia for a specific place or time, but rather the kind that comes from looking back on cherished memories. It has become a beautiful memory paired with a beautiful song. Your work is always so gentle and warm; it brings a sense of comfort. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful piece and your memories. Rest in peace, Anna. Best, Lithl.

Hi all! It's been since the first of the year that I posted here...so sorry for going dark for a while. Life got busy! But I wanted to share this piece I worked on in May and have since finalized. It's called..."The Duel". I leaned heavily into drums and keeping momentum going, trying to use some more articulations and varying techniques that are inspired by some of the music I was listening to at the time. I created this in FL Studio using a variety of VSTs...mostly from Native Instruments' Symphony Series. But including a cimbalom from Spitfire Audio in there also, as well as their Epic Choirs. Hope you enjoy the listen and can't wait to hear everyone's thoughts.

@Alex Weidmann @BlackkBeethoven Thank you for listening and commenting. Yes, virtual instruments do what they can, and well, I prefer to focus on the composition rather than on post-production with a DAW and so on. That’s why I use an editor (Dorico) with NotePerformer. There are indeed orchestral versions of Debussy’s preludes. Some are very famous, such as the arrangements by Colin Matthews or Stokowski. I must say I didn’t listen to them when I was working on my modest version. In fact, I didn’t even know they existed until I started exploring this piece. It’s been an interesting challenge because of the nature of the piece – so colourful, yet harmonically free and daring at the same time. It’s been a slow process, taking about two months, as I was working under the supervision (on a weekly basis) of a composer and teacher. I’m in a small group (four people) learning orchestration with him, and it’s fantastic… We usually work on shorter excerpts from pieces, but this one was the full work. In fact, there have been some subsequent modifications and improvements, but never mind. Soon we’ll be moving on to orchestrating pieces we’ve composed ourselves; we’ll see how it goes…

Hello everyone! Today, I am sharing my newest and extensive work for the string orchestra. Set in three movements within the key of G-minor, this work was completed after two years since it's initial creation and has a runtime of 14 minutes. The original first movement was made back in April of 2024, while the rest of the sonata was both created and completed in the summer of 2026. The two years in between these milestones saw an exponential growth in my skill and after a summer of listening to a large sum of chamber music, I felt inspired to finish the set and diversify my collection of works. If you would like to know more about the score, please go to page 2 (or page 4 of the PDF) to view specific information at each movement. Thanks for listening and viewing the score! __________________________ If you have any comments, whether constructive, critical or positive, drop your thoughts on this thread! I will reply when able. G-minString_Sonata_AUDIO.mp3 G-minString_Sonata_SCORE.pdf

Okay!! Nicely done I will do my best to address your points for feedback as best as I can, but I am not the most experienced composer on the site, so I would keep your eyes out for better feedback later. 1. You have a few spots (really a whole section), starting at m.89 until m.96 where your beat 3 is completely unseen. It's a general rule of thumb to keep your 3rd beat clear, for reading purposes. 2. I enjoy the way your build up the piece, but I'm wondering if it would've been more effective had you established the melody a little sooner. Like even right after you state the iconic canon baseline - the melody starting in m.5 rather than the dotted qtr figure would help establish some familiarity (but disregard if this doesn't align with your vision for the piece). In my opinion, I just think it goes on for a little too long without the melody, especially since you mentioned this will be used in a game, I think having the iconic melody present from an earlier point would be nice. 3.This is just another one of those "in my opinion" things. But I would like if the rhythmic escalations were smoother. Like in m.6, if those 32nds were 8th notes or 8th and 16th notes (which would be 3 notes, but you get the gist). Up until that point you've just had qtr notes and 8th notes. Same thing in m.32, I would just prefer a rhythm that is different from what we've seen so far, but not jumping from qtr notes and 8ths and 16ths to 32nd notes. It's just a little jarring. This is part of what makes your inversion section successful to me. The rhythms are lining up and diverging in a way that seems smooth if that makes sense. By that point we've heard all of the rhythms you will use til the end of the piece and the 16th against the 8th makes sense and doesn't feel jarring. (This may speak to your 6th point above) I would say yes, however some of the times where I get a little lost are probably midi playback things and not issues with what's written. This is getting long-winded lol, so I'll end there. But thank you for sharing your work!! Hope my feedback was helpful.

I see, and thank you for explaining the meaning of each part. Once you finish those parts, feel free to share them! I hope it turns out to be a great piece for you. Best, Lithl.

Hi, Lithl Thanks for the feedback. I am still getting used to both the forum and Musescore so that’s why the storyline wasn’t explicitly there. So far, I have the: Children playing - first part Evil stepmother - second part Banished to the forest - third part Finding the house - fourth part After the huge B chord, at “p subito”, the right hand being eventually joined by the left hand is them seeing the witch. Parts I need to finish: The witch actually trapping them Children fight back The witch gets cooked (literally) and the children escape Finale I’m working on them! Plus, only one school week to go until summer break!!

Hello gooberro! This piece feels like it's portraying mysterious characters. It's a nice work, and each section feels like a different character or a different scene being depicted. Personally, I like how it ends. You mentioned it's unfinished, but which part specifically? As a small piece of advice, I feel like when you post a piece, if you include a bit of the background story or specify what kind of feedback you're looking for, people tend to react to it more. Not everyone is like that, but I think that's generally how it goes. Though I'm not really one to talk. Best, Lithl.

Hello gooberro and welcome to YC! I am honestly surprised that no one has given you feedback yet and this is your second piece, as it has a surprisingly high level of quality with interesting progressions and good themes. I appreciate your work very much.

I pray for the fingers of the pianist who attempts performing this piece lol. It is so fast. But the arpeggios are nice, but I feel as though the piece could benefit overall from a slower tempo. Your progression is very nice.

So....wow....I like this...a lot. A lot to dissect. Okay, here's the thing. As much as it pains me to say this: This instrumentation isn't realistic. With that being said, this can be something special. I would say: go ahead and have the full string section. That would further give this a chance to get played. It would also give your bottom more depth. With that also being said..this is. astart: you have the making of either a tone poem or a flute concerto of some sort. I know you said you wanted to write short simple pieces. Problem is, what you wrote wants us to hear more. The reality is, no one is going to program this while paying a full orchestra, especially the strings. Sorry, you wrote such a great piece thinking this was it? Nope, you got to write more...you have at least seven more minutes with this....maybe 10. FLute: M13: get rid of the slur. breath should be before Eb5. M14: Phrase marking on Ab4 should go to M15 and end on the Bb5. The next phrase marking starts on Db6 and end on the F5 of M16. Meas 20, the phrase should end after the Eb5. Also, get rid of Flute 1. It would be just Flute. HARP: Unfortunately, your beaming is off some. When you write octaves, the harpist would automatically switch hands. The lowest note would be played with ring finger and the octave would be played with thumb (we don't use pinky in harp). Therefore, the right hand would automatically have to play the next note. I know you were for the automatic three in each hand, but ergonomically, what you wrote wouldn't lay like that in some spots. M10: Perfect example. You could do 2 in the left hand and do 4 in the right. The other beats however do work. HARP PART 2: You stay in the throat register the whole time. You could expand the "breath of the music by having harp continue the run by repeating in the higher octave and maybe at times another octave. The harp's rang is VAST. Harp part 3: Give the harp a final not on the down beat in the end. MAYBE have the harp repeat the previous measure but play it up an octave? Put in your notation program just to see. Special note: Maybe add a clarinet also so you could keep the strings as your lush padding and you could play with harmonies with it...or countermelodies. Ravel LOVED doing that. Extra Special Note: Speaking of Ravel. I wonder how this would be for Alto flute? Maybe have it optional for Alto Flute. My $0.02

I decided to not waste my life and compose something*. Sibelius crashed so I used musescore. This song is meant to sound not evil or phonk. I spent around idk like maybe 30-40 hours on this piece in total? I tried to use some "counterpoint" but since I am not good at music theory I have no idea whether I did it correctly. I used caesura's 3 times in total. Again I don't know if that's correct or not. Also, some voice crossings are in there, but I couldn't find it. I honestly have no clue how polished the piece is, it's one of my first 10 pieces. I started it in like 8th grade and finished it this summer (going into 9th grade) in case anyone decides to comment on how dogwater my skills are. Also, first time using tremolo in any piece. I play violin well, CM'd like 2 years so I'm PRETTY sure the violin portion is playable and well, but I have 0 clue about the other parts because I don't play any of the other string instruments. Most of the song is in the last part.... another issue probobly That said, well, I would like some feedback. ESPECIALLY in these spots: 1. Middle section, I don't know why I wrote it but, is it fitting? It's slow and not very "elaborate" and also it's placed weirdly IMO cause it's like supposed to be in the middle, but it's also not really centered. the part after it is MUCH more than the first portion. It's like centered but not centered but also centered but technically not centered but also IG kind of centered, but like it's not really centered. 2. Whole notes. I know like barber do it often especially in adagio but a bunch of people I saw in like online threads saying like that whole notes are generally not good? IDK I personally don't mind it too much but yeah. 3. counterpoint, I feel like I messed it up bad, but then I don't know how to improve it 4. dynamics. I know there is MASSIVE room for improvement because, yeah, it's really bad Structure. I never studied structure before, so I have no idea what is what. I TRIED to use like ABA but the second A portion is very off balanced. So the structure is trash and could use much improvement Thank you for your critique in advance, and thank you for your time. *I'm composing because I broke my nvidia rtx 5090 and now I can't play games at 1000 fps so I quit entirely dawn-and-nightfall.mp3 Dawn-and-nightfall.pdf

Oh this is fantastic!! I don't have any critiques really, your dynamic contrast and harmony throughout the piece is very nice. And it moves very smoothly and logically. I would love a copy of the score if you do decide to share it - this is the kind of piece you start air-playing when you listen to it (you'll get it since you're a pianist).

Nicely done...I would do some research into the form of sonatinas and their form/structure. Other than that, I think this is a great first attempt - I sat down and sight-read through it and it's very easy to read, which makes it more approachable if you were wanting to distribute the piece for educational purposes (sorry, piano teacher brain taking over lol!). If you add a second movement, please post it so we can hear both together.

Hi everyone, I recently completed a draft of a short symphonic poem, after a long period of writer's block and not writing anything. I haven't put all the finishing touches on my scores (divisi, part divisions, crescendos are all lowk messed up etc.), but I would really appreciate feedback/suggestions relating to development and harmony. I'd also appreciate knowing what images, if any, it conjures up for you as you listen to it (I'd like to figure out a more evocative title). Thank you for your time :D! Poem for Orchestra.mp3 Poem for Orchestra.pdf

Hello again, I decided to spend some time today to give more specific feedback. In this PDF are some annotations for you: H. Zheng - Dawn and Nightfall [ANNOTATED].pdf

Welcome to the forum! Let be one of the first to say hello and congratulate you on this endeavour. All of us know how hard creating a convincing and satisfying piece of music can be, let alone an original one! You are off to a great start, one of which not all adults can do. I enjoyed listening to your piece. This said, I do have initial comments and a deeper set of specific annotations I would like to share later. Here are my initial comments: The ensemble balance is too similar for too long. Violin 1 & 2 dominate the piece, and the other strings just act as support versus having a convincing conversation/ role in the piece. Use of whole notes is more than okay. If you like it, then keep them! This said, having a lack of pulse in the texture can make the music feel stagnant. Some of the other comments you have received may have been coming from this angle. To add, since the violins dominate the music over the course of 4 minutes, it makes the listener "zone out" as nothing major changed to their ear. Do not forget about slurs! As a string player, remind yourself that the use of a slur conveys bowing information. Even if you are not as aware as the other bowing styles, using slurs is a great way to showcase bowing information. The context of the music will inform them whether to up-bow or down-bow. Creating motion. To help the "stagnant" nature of the piece, one way to create motion is this: When the melody is slow, move the accompaniment. When the melody is moving, slow the accompaniment. Doing this will help drive the piece forward in a simple manner. Using rests for effect! While Barber's Adagio for strings is wonderful, remind yourself that even in such a thick and lush piece of music, he used silence for effect. Not all instruments need to play at the same time, nor do they always need to play in the same octave. You have the whole string section to move and pass ideas around. Strings can do double stops and divisi playing. It's another way to create an effect as using silence will elevate the moments you use all the sounds or all the instruments. Keep up the good work!

https://musescore.com/user/96214813/scores/35416328 This is my set of 34 variations on the famous theme Caprice 24. It is written in a minor, and has: Allegro Theme (A minor) Var 1 (A minor) Var 2 (A minor) Var 3 (A minor) Var 4 (A minor) Andante Var 5 (A major) Var 6 (A Major) Var 7 (F# Minor) Var 8 (D Major) Var 9 (E Minor) Vivace Var 10 (E Minor) Var 11 (C minor) Tempo Primo Var 12 (Bb Major) Var 13 (B Major) Var 14 (C# Minor) Var 15 (C#Minor) Var 16 (E Minor) Var 17 (A Minor) Prestissimo Var 18 (A Minor) Var 19 (A Minor) Adagio Var 20 (A Minor) Var 21 (A Minor) Var 22 (F# Minor) Var 23 (Ab Minor) Andante Var 24 (Ab Major) Var 25 (Eb Minor) Allegro Var 26 (Autism) Prestissimo Var 27 (B Major) Presto Var 28 (G Major) Molto Vivace Var 29 (G Minor) Var 30 (G Minor) Var 31 (G Major, Alla Polacca) Prestissimo Var 32 (A Minor) Allegro Var 33, Fugue (A Minor) Presto Var 34, Finale (A Minor) Variations on a Theme by Paganini.mp3 Variations on a Theme by Paganini.pdf

Good luck! That's a very good one. I’ve been thinking about the comment on the role of the contrabassoon here, following on from what’s already been said. I understand that you’d like to use the woodwinds as a bass line in those sections; that’s simply a matter of timbre and so on. Although I’m a firm believer in absolute freedom when it comes to composing, it’s true that I also bear in mind certain general principles. One is the ‘economy’ of instruments. Although I’ll never have a symphony orchestra or anything of the sort at my disposal, I do like to write as realistically as I can. That’s why, if the parts for one instrument can be played by another, I don’t use it. The other principle is to double the bass (an octave up or down), and I notice you do this. This is something I was taught very early on. And there’s a reason for it: the low register is the least audible to our ears. There are exceptions, of course: when the orchestral texture is very light, it isn’t necessary. In this piece, most of the notes for the contrabassoon can be played by the bassoon. Let’s say up to the low C (B flat, actually). To put it another way, I might have used the bassoon for that contrabassoon line and supported it on the lowest notes with the tuba or the double bass. There are sections of the contrabassoon part that can be taken over by bassoon 2, for example in bars 22 and 24. It’s true that the bassoons are in part 2, but it isn’t necessary (with those dynamics – diinuendo and ppp). Well, anyway, that’s just my opinion, based partly on how I learnt it. I was taught that instruments such as the contrabassoon, the bass clarinet, and even higher-pitched ones like the piccolo, were there for when the standard instruments couldn’t play the parts. Sometimes I’ve been guilty of wanting to be too literal when transposing a piano piece for the orchestra. But I’ve also realised that there are times when you have to take certain liberties or make changes to adapt the sound to the orchestra. Best regards.

Alex, A lovely orchestration, though, I have some questions in the selection of the English Horn; especially in the lower register ... the actual projection may be more covered in the ensemble. Mark

I'm so glad that I was given access to this score as it progressed, via DMs. Oh how much it has changed since you presented it to me, and in so little time! There was One point of contention that I had about this that I wasn't able to flesh out to you, when I heard it. And it's not that it's anything incorrect or bad per-say, just something that no matter how many times I listened back to it, it just never sounded right to me.. lol if you'll refer to b.26-27, where you chromatically move the harmony and chord progression down, and in b.27, the last 2 beats are on 1 (A maj.)... Something about the transition between Fdim/G# to (I think this is G#m7/F#?) just feels jarring, to me, and comparing those two chords to the rest of the piece, I feel, personally, that it stands out in a not-so-smooth kind of way.. So, below, I have written out a version that I think would help it, in my opinion, to sound less jarring and more smooth, without changing anything too drastically, and have also attached an MP3 for sound reference. (for the ease of comparison, this moment happens at about 1:28 in the original audio above). Untitled score.mp3 In my example, I've, instead of going to the chord you'd written, I just pivoted Fdim/G# > G#dim > A Maj > E Maj G#dim being the only change applied, here, along with a change in the viola's harmony. Overall though, I LOVE this score, and what story that you were telling with this one. It really hit me in the chesticle, in a great and relatable way. Had me over here reminiscing over things in my past, and longing for what I no longer possess.. Which, while that's saddening to me, it's what the essence of this whole music thing is about... creating art that is able to illicit that in someone is just an amazing thing, don't you think? -Unc

This is such a wonderful piece...I agree with the above comment about the length of the piece. It's the perfect length for the occasion - the piece itself feels like it's telling us a story, but it's just a beautiful beginning (again, perfect for the occasion). Your treatment of the strings and the way they interact with the piano taught me a lot. When you pass the melody, it's not jarring, but we'll thought out and smooth. I'm sure your sister and her fiance will love the piece. Bravo!! 👏🏾

Congratulations to your sister on her upcoming wedding!! She is sure to be so happy to have a sibling who can write such a wonderful piece of music for her. Above all, the fact that she asked you herself truly shows the deep trust between you two. This piece is lovely, and I can really feel how much thought and care went into creating it. Also, regarding the A-flat around 1:28, hearing that note appear within the overall diatonic harmony, and then watching it resolve, felt like it was telling a story. It was memorable. I think it’s wonderful how it emerges without being too jarring, maintaining the calm and gentle atmosphere of the piece. As for the length, I personally feel that this shortness has its own story, fitting beautifully for a wedding. Sometimes, a length where you feel inspired to add more, and the listeners wish they could hear just a little bit more, is right. Of course, that is just my personal opinion. It really is a beautiful piece of music. Best, Lithl.

Wow, this sounds truly symphonic. I really liked it. To be honest, the whole business of bands is a bit of a mystery. Where I live, there are loads of them – they’re street bands… marching bands? What stands out here is that there are loads of clarinets. They’re bands designed to accompany parades and play ‘pasodoble’-style music and the like. I suppose there are lots of different set-ups.

Interesting stuff. I appreciate what you are trying to do with the key idea although to only have one single motif risks monotony, particularly when in a largely homophonic style. That said, monotony can be delivered ingeniously such as that first movement in 3rd symphony by Goreki, in which he embed essentially a dark and soulless motif that he sustains for well over 13 minutes, starting within the bass before consistent layering with the other instruments of the orchestra it above while rising steadily in pitch and dynamic intensity… before descending with largely the reverse. All of this is said to depict the machinations of nazi germany. Perhaps even the banality of evil. the key thing is that his motif seldom stops… it keeps going and going. Modulations are sparse, again perhaps to make it devoid of color. All of this is beautifully contrasted with a human voice emerges from those depths afterwards. This piece just came to mind because of the political connotations you’re striving for. Here it is

Hi again! I listened to this piece, and it is a challenging and great piece. I like it. It’s hard to explain, but to me, it sounded like an organ piece that doesn't actually sound like an organ piece. By that, I mean it feels so fluid and the notes feel so scattered that, in a very good way, it felt like listening to a piano piece. Is there a specific work you used as a reference? I don't know of any other music quite like this. I like your composing style. I will check out any other variations if you release them in the future. Thank you. P.S. Just a small suggestion, but if you could embed the YouTube link so people can listen to it right here without being redirected to YouTube, I think even more people would check it out!

Hi, thank you so much for listening to my composition, I really appreciate it! And I also appreciate that you took the time to check out my other works. As for plugins (VSTs), I usually tweak the very basic digital instruments available on MuseHub and try to get the most out of them 🙂

Hello, I listened to this piece, and to be honest, I really liked it. It’s a fun and captivating work to listen to. The structure has great dynamics, keeping it engaging throughout, you truly have wonderful composition skills. I also checked out your other works, and Five-minute pieces for violin and piano in particular is another fantastic piece, with music that flows like a river. Please continue to share your work in the future. I did notice a little bit of audio clipping at around 1:15 in this piece (Suite for clarinet, soprano saxophone and piano), but that doesn't really matter when compared to your composition. By the way, I would be really happy if you could tell me what plugins you are using. Thank you.

Thanks very much for your suggestions! I'm revising the score to make some of these fixes. The cello line is not really meant to be the main feature; I think of it more like a cantus firmus, and I prefer the familiar melody to be there more subtly. But I didn't write slurs into the cello part just to try to give it a little bit of detachment from the other parts. Not sure how well that works, but that was the idea. The two quarter rests in those measures you mention are because the a tempo comes only on the fourth beat of the measure. Thanks again!