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Good evening again, dear friends. Although I have posted all the movements of the sonata separately, here I am sharing the entire sonata, where you can listen to all the movements one after the other for a better experience and appreciation of the work. It may not be something innovative, but it is the musical language that expresses me, and that musical language is classical pre-romantic. I hope you enjoy it. Thank you once again.

not sure if I can meet the deadline, I guess I might be able to share a part of a multisection comp

After undergoing plenty of struggle to find a proper textual setting capable of matching the rhythmic patterns of this vocal fugue, I decided to settle for an altered version of the "Libera me" movement commonly found on Requiem masses. Despite the minor changes required for the text to fit the subject of the fugue, its treatment throughout has been a conscious attempt to make it as audibly intelligible as possible, as opposed to the vast majority of my previous vocal works, where any regard for the text was completely secondary to the music. YouTube video link:

Greetings all! Hot off the presses, here is my latest piece, my Oboe Quartet in D, for Oboe, Violin, Viola, and 'Cello. It's in four movements and lasts about 17 minutes. I don't have any accounting for why I decided to write this piece. I was just sitting there one day after I finished a Divertimento for woodwinds and had let some space come between - several weeks without writing - and the idea for the opening movement came to me out of the blue. I started writing, and it came pretty easily. The whole thing took about a month intermittently. I'm a violist, not an oboist. A couple of weeks ago I made a post asking for some guidance as to the limitations of the oboe, and got some good answers. After doing some research on my own additionally, and checking with a friend of mine who plays Classical Oboe, I've made some calculated demands in the upper register of the instrument that I'm hoping won't be too taxing on a Classical instrument. It certainly should present no problems to a player on a modern instrument. I did my best to provide reasonable opportunities for breath - the last movement being the most demanding in this way, but circular breathing may be a good option - as well as quite a number of rests to allow the player to rest his/her embouchure. I've done my best without selling myself short, and I hope it shows. I hope you enjoy this. I look forward to your comments. Thanks! - Composed: November 13 - December 6, 2025 at Austin. - Instrumentation: Oboe, Violin, Viola, Violoncello. - Style: Classical, ca. 1790-1800 - Duration: 17:15 - Electronic Rendering by Finale 27 music notation software’s "Human Playback" with NotePerformer 4 artificial intelligence assisted interpretation.

I'm withdrawing my participation. Competition or not, if you're putting on essentially a display of music created by members and also giving out site badges for them, then I feel that music should actually be created and produced by the members of the forum. I want my music alongside other human-created works.

Happy Winterval to all! This is a work I posted previously in the incomplete section, and it takes the form of a mini-concerto for violin (with the movements indicated by the rehearsal marks). It's more or less finished now; though I may still have to tweak some of the voice leading, and haven't started writing in the slurs yet. Since I last posted it, have added a coda at the end, and a whole bunch of counterpoint throughout the piece. (N.B. Rehearsal mark C indicates the start of the coda.) The work was inspired by Vivaldi, along with a modern work called "The Gold Standard" by Richard Harvey. (The latter was the main inspiration for the coda.) Think the most successful melody-line is in the second movement, as this carries emotional weight for me. The other two movements are more like baroque dance music. (I could imagine the cast of "Bridgerton" dancing to them at a ball!) I may have to cut the work down, as we're not really supposed to go over 5 minutes, and I'm now at 6. So any suggestions about where I could cut would be very helpful. Not quite sure the structure is properly balanced at the moment, or whether the movements gel together as a coherent whole? Any suggestions on what to name the piece also welcome. N.B. The dynamics and articulation are intended for midi rendition, and will have to be adjusted before I send it to the orchestra who are performing it next year.

Hi! I'm looking for any feedback on a string quartet that I composed so that I can make some refinements before entering it in a few competitions. Thanks!

I am in 🙂

ill join.

Then you can take some of your time to review my works! They all have scores haha. Henry

i’m hoping to participate, itll be a long shot finishing everything up and recording it in time but yeah

I would enjoy to participate in this event, too. I hope that I can accomplish my contribution within the next two weeks. Looking forward for listening and reviewing the contributions of other participants

hello peter, I am interested in joining as well

yeah :D

I'll give it a shot

Greetings Henry. Indeed I had expected the similarities between the primary subject of BWV 1080 and the ones used here would end up seeming far too glaring. Perhaps it may serve as a testament to the versatile simplicity of this kind of subjects, whence far greater complexity may be properly built upon. In any case, another fair reminder of Bach's genius and the omnipresent influence of his fugal developments. With that out of the way, I must apologize for not replying sooner with regards to the recent calamity. I wholeheartedly hope none of your acquaintances were directly affected by the fire. I initially hesitated to properly dedicate it to the victims due to its magnitude and devastation, and especially because of the gruesome suffering, mourning, affliction and grief so many families and friends of the deceased must be going through, for which this humble composition of mine could never properly stand up to provide nearly enough consolation. However, I should have realized sooner that not acknowledging it at all would be far more insensitive and disrespectful towards the victims and their loved ones. As such, albeit rather late, the dedication has been included in the score document. My utmost condolences. 節哀順變。

What I said is that there is no way AI generated "just a recording" of his piece. When I googled, even when I asked ChatGPT, there is no AI presently that can generate an accurate — "1:1" as OP says — mockup recording. If there was, Spitfire would be closing their doors right now. He also says he prompted it. Okay well, do you actually believe he sat there and typed out an entire note-for-note description and it rendered it? If you believe that, then prompt the AI (he doesn't say which he used) and if you don't get the exact same result, then you know he's lying. I can't get Suno to generate a solo drone, never mind a precise multi-voice harmony for choir that is 1:1 what I'd write. What has most likely happened here, is he is passing off an AI generated track as "his" work because it fit the "vision" he had or something and is providing you with a transcription. Until someone provides evidence and can replicate this piece with the same prompts or software, there is no reason to believe otherwise.

Thank you.

@Kvothe Greetings! Thank you so much for reviewing my piece! I see what you mean about using treble clef more for the higher stuff instead of ledger lines. i do the same thing with high bassoon parts, and I should probably pay more attention to that. As for shifting positions as I've called for, I've written this piece more for a highly proficient player - not a virtuoso necessarily, but the equivalent of someone with a master's degree in performance - and what I've written shouldn't present too much of a problem for a player of that calibre. I'm a violist myself, and I can play this. I've also showed it to another violist, and he found nothing prohibitive about it. Thanks again very much!

Bump 😅

I What AI? I am unaware of any AI currently on the market that is capable of rendering sheet music as high-quality, "1:1" audio. If there was already such a thing, the sample library market would have imploded. But you said you "Prompted" it. Well, I'm similarly unaware of any of the major music AIs being able to deliver anything 1:1 based on a description. If such a thing existed, Suno and whatever the other big one is would already have been trounced. I tried to get these things to generate just a drone all by itself and it couldn't even do that, so I don't believe that, based on a prompt, you got an AI to deliver these complex harmonies and such "1:1" Absolutely no way.

this is actually extreamly impressive I have to say I do wounder how is that chopinish feel achived? because right from the start this feels like something he would write, and I honestly have no idea how you did that

I don't say blah blah blah.pdf nocturne in c sharp minor. op.13.mp3 composed this in around an hour, I'm actually quite proud of this for the time I put in it. thought I do feel like it's a bit too similer for comfert to chopin's nocturn in c# minor

oh that sounds wounderful honestly! now I'm a bit jealous as I am sixteen as well and I don't get close to your level but oh well everyone starts somewhere :3 I'll take into account your correction about the sharps and flats, and maybe I'll extend the piece when I have time, thanks 😄

Thank you my dear Kvothe As i said to Henry, “Yes, this sonata was modeled after Schubert, and yes, it is classical-romantic both in terms of structure and harmony. I’m incredibly happy that the final result is what it is. As for the next step, I don’t know. For now, I’m writing what expresses me — something classical to early romantic in style.” Thanks again for your apreciation and your attention

A piano piece I wrote called Lazy Day. I think I could've elaborated more in some sections but overall fits the theme of the song 😄 Looking for feedback on the piano score as I know notation is not my strong suite. Thanks in advance & hope you enjoyed listening! Lazy Day Score.pdf

So the big news today is that Netflix will acquire Warner Bros. and will now own all sorts of IP including Lord of The Rings, Harry Potter, Mortal Kombat, Batman and so much more. Immediately, they wasted no time at all announcing "shortened theatrical release windows". In essence, they are aiming to kill movie theaters entirely. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/us-netflix-warner-bros-acquisition-9.7004170 This is going to put a tremendous amount of people out of work and lower wages across the industry just so that Netflix can increase subscriptions (and no doubt jack up the price further). Why is this bad for you, as a composer? Well, the TV and Film industries remain the most lucrative path for composers between not only composer fees, but longtail royalty payments. Even mid-tier indie films have the potential to pull in millions of dollars in revenue against tiny budgets at theaters. For example, at a film festival I recently attended, some of the films that had been short films in prior years went on to become multi-million dollar projects. Simply put: Streaming means smaller budgets and as an individual film is no longer a product unto itself, especially not if you can only stream it on one service and not "rent" it like on Amazon Prime, the "profitability" of that film is essentially zero dollars now. Because everything is consolidated under one subscriber base. Even with hundreds of millions of subscribers, there is no way that this fixed income can be redistributed to fund anything resembling quality content in any sufficient amount. That means lower pay, lower budgets, and even less room for risks and originality than what Hollywood is already starved of. Regardless of what you think of him, now would be the time for the orange man to do something about these growing monopolies, but what he'll probably just do is more tariffs. Personally, I think this move is going to be a big, possibly final nail in the coffin of the American movie industry. The earning potential for everyone down to production assistants is going to plummet in the American movie industry, and I think you'll see all these people turning towards European and Asian markets. There will be even more creative brain-drain on North America than there already is. Curious to know what you think about this?

On the 4th movement: Ronodo-Sonata? As henry mentioned, and I agree with him, the character and mood fits within the classical period sonata. It is light and humorous. What makes more interesting is the modulations. We are not moving to direct close keys by 5ths. No. We are moving chromatically; and possibly enharmonically to keys that are futher away! This was the trademark of romantic period. The romantics wanted to push the bounds of tonality. Even Wanger obscure it, which opens to the door to 20th century. The next step: maybe look into romantic style. Rolen wrote about this. 🙂

Thanks Henry! That upwards leap in b.58 is definitely a cry of anguish for me. Glad you liked it! I was actually considering dropping the whole first movement: so great minds think alike! I agree it's the weakest of the three, perhaps because it's too pastiche, and also feels like it's treading water in the middle section. Since Vivaldi was a major inspiration, I was trying to evoke his violin concertI in my style of composition. For example the repeated notes in the third movement coda are typical of his music, and help to inject extra impetus and energy.

Hi @Alex Weidmann! About this I have a crazy suggestion. Maybe you can just cut out the whole first movement and leave the last 2 movements as a pair, because for me those 2 are better movements, while in baroque style they have modern touches. 1st movement also has its modern touches but is more traditional. Or just keep some passages of 1st movement as introduction, then enters the 2nd and 3rd movement in full. I do feel the emotional weight in 2nd movement and I like moments in b.58 when the soloist really sings. I also like the driving rhythm in both 1st and 3rd movements. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @Wieland Handke! It’s nice to see all those D major passages run into my favourite C sharp minor haha. Nice counterpoint, just beware that some C natural should be B sharp instead. Henry

I am back with yet another Muzoracle casting! This time Celery asked me when she will find true love. The whole casting ended up pertaining to her past so perhaps she may have already found it! (Muzoracle is a storytelling/fortune telling/divination tool similar to the Tarot card deck, but with cards with musical concepts and 12-sided Musician's dice and Solfege dice. Perhaps it may be thought of as a special musical Oracle card deck.) My interpretation of the cards and dice are displayed below. Since castings in the key of F are associated with the Heart Chakra, they accord with the emotional suit of Strings, so I decided to include a Violin and Cello, since Celery also used to play Violin as a kid. Then, in the 2nd position we drew a Perfect 5th of Voices card, so I included prominent open 5th's in the piece and a Soprano singing Celery's question "When will I find true love?" as lyrics. If you'd like to find out more about Muzoracle and how castings are interpreted go here: https://muzoracle.net/ This short musical interpretation of Celery's Casting is about ~1:15 long. Since the black 12-sided Musician's Die landed on F, the piece is in the key of F major. I created the following melodic/harmonic underdrawing guided by the cards and dice. The first solfege die landed on Le, and the second on Ti with a Perfect 5th card in that position allowing me to use the tones Db, E and B natural. In order to smoothly connect to the tonic chord of F major I included the first two positions transposed down a half-step allowing me access to C, Bb, and Eb. The Tuning card gave me the idea of changing the tuning of the piece microtonally. So I decided to bring the tonic chord down a quarter-step momentarily. But all the tones were brought down by a quarter-step, so the intervals used were still your basic 12TET intervals. In order to extend the piece I also transposed the whole pattern up a half step to F# before concluding on a regular F major chord. Also, since I extended the number of positions in the casting to a total of 5 I decided to use 5/8 for the meter of the piece. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading! And I hope you enjoy listening to this short vocal chamber work I wrote to represent Celery's Casting. Comments, critiques, suggestions, or observations are of course, always welcome. Thanks for listening!

Hi Peter! With the strong slurs and the microtone it makes me imagine Celery chasing a ghostly love lol! It’s effective but sounds more like the love in the film Ghost even tho there’s “Oh My Love My Darling” there lol. Thx for sharing! Henry

Hi @Vasilis Michael! Just on the fourth movement it’s funny and full of great modulations, and the mood is light just like many Classical sonatas. On the whole sonata, I think it’s more like an early Romantic sonata with all those more advanced modulations. But whatever style, I like this one. Maybe the next step would be to start finding newer voices! Thx for sharing! Henry

Why hello @Vasilis Michael I rather speechless here! This sonata is truly showcases the classical style. MVT 1: Sonta I did not expect the PT to return after the transition and musical pause (MC). That is a lovely twist on traditional form. I also enjoyed how you connected the repeat of PT to ST then to closing section. Everything flows so nicely. The 16th notes run reminds me of Mozart! Even your themes, do. They are so simple and effective. MVT2: Ronodo This reminds, in a way, either one of Beethoven rondos or Mozart's. I just do not know which one. I enjoy simple chorale, homophonic texture and how they slowly evolve thorough out the movement. MVT3: Minuet and trio This well written minuet with a trio. Great work.

For Good Friday. SAB and cello, or one hand of piano or organ if you don't have a cellist. Choirs always have a harder time finding tenors and basses than female singers, and the problem is worse right now, when so many older singers left due to the pandemic and haven't returned yet. So I thought I would write something with a baritone part that sits right in the middle of the male range. An actual baritone will have a few lovely notes on either side of the range that this is written, but this particular piece can be sung by a tenor without going too low, and also isn't too high for a bass. So whoever you happen to have in your choir, this should be performable, and in normal times, when the tenors and basses together are generally still pretty few in numbers, you'll get a nice balanced sound against the sops and altos. Any thoughts on my cello slurring, cellists? I played violin off and on, but I would love the take of current string players. John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Hey Jonathon @ComposaBoi, I would have commented earlier if not 1) for my consistent illness 2) The tragic HK fire. Very passionate playing and forget all those wrong notes, as the power really reaches me. I will just take note from start to end. The whole first D Major section sounds like a Barcarolle to me with the dominant pedal, and b.3 and b.5 flourishing sounds like Hisashi to me with the dreamy mood. For the b.21 section with that agitato mood I won’t write Lento on it with 32nd notes. I may just augment on the notes by 2 and put an allegro agitato there. Like the solemn and furious F minor theme. I actually find the 2nd subject too short and the triumph arriving too early, and then the breakdown to D minor too early. I love the key changing in your development (for example to C minor), but I do think that left hand triplets motive can be used less frequently, since it sounds a bit predictable at the end for me. I like the Ab major section but again I think you can augment the note value and put an Allegro there. Like that you bring the triumph of the 2nd subject before the fugato. I feel like the fugato here not developed enough just like the fugato in my Nocturne lol. And basically that triplets motive dominates the whole development and maybe you can use a different subject? I really like the Grave Mystico (or Misterioso?) passage with the higher register melody, contrasting the middle to low register used mostly in the piece. I only feel the D Major ending unsatisfied since it’s really unrelated to what happen between. But maybe it’s right here with later movements. Thx for sharing. Henry

Hello @J. Lee Graham: First, let address the technical issues. In the first movement, you have the viola jump from the jump positions a lot. This is technically hard for the player. You have E# in 3rd pos to 1st pos. It could easier, if this was you kept on the same pos. On a similar note, you can use the treble cleft when notes go to IV. It is easier to read without the legar lines. On the overall form, it does fit, with in the era you want to write for. Great job.

Dear friend, thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my sonata, and thank you as well for your appreciation and for liking it so much. It was my greatest challenge so far to write a large classical sonata, and I’m incredibly happy that I managed to do it — and most importantly, that people who have heard it enjoyed it. The truth is, when I compose I don’t really think much about which modulations I’ll use; the nature of the piece and the themes themselves somehow guide you, helping everything flow naturally. It’s something truly inexplicable and magical. I worked quite a lot on all the movements, and I’m extremely fond of the minuet and trio — especially the trio, which I believe is, both technically and musically, the best thing I’ve ever written. It’s as if an invisible musical force helped me create it the way I did. At the moment I’m taking a long break from composing because I had become a bit exhausted, and I need some time to recharge before starting up again. Of course, it’s also a matter of limited time. The programm I use for the score is dorico 5 elements. I'm still learning it . Is very user friendly I recommend it. As for a piano concerto, I would love to write one — it would be a dream. It’s my favorite genre. I haven’t planned to start one yet, but maybe I’ll attempt it in the future. Once again, thank you for your kind words.

And I thought those low D-sharps on the basses were far too excessive! I couldn't even bring myself to sing below a very awkward-sounding E despite technically being a baritone. I wonder how potent of a voice a deep bass singer must have for such a B-flat to be remotely audible as pitch instead of pure vibration. To me, such extended ranges seem far more extreme than the usual alto-contralto range, which I believed is usually cited to reach down to an F below the staff. In any case, the concern is understandable. This fugue was originally set for D minor, as much of a nod to Mozart's heavy association of death with this particular key as a matter of convenience in order to adhere to the standard ranges for vocal music, which as we know often tend to require more conservative estimates in choral settings. Unfortunately the digital choir soundbanks I'm using struggled far more just a semitone above in certain passages, with certain octave leaps in the tenor part sounding especially screechy, so in the end I was forced to choose the lesser flaw and thus had to resort to lowering the whole piece to its current key. I hesitate to even call it a double fugue, as what might appear as the 2nd subject is in fact merely derived from the first, and I certainly would not dare label it a triple fugue, despite the relatively minor changes undergone by the subject that would normally not be explained by a conventional tonal answer. The stretto treatment is undergone first by what could be considered the 2nd subject following its own development section, and only then does the stretto for the original subject come about, thus helping cement an overarching ABA' superstructure that unifies the piece as a whole beyond mere exposition, development, stretti and codae in cycling motion. As for the Christmas Music Event, perhaps I might be able to submit a proper piece before the deadline. As of lately I've been considering a 5-part motet rendering of "O Magnum Mysterium", though I may consider other related texts to the same effect. In any case, I'll let you know in the dedicated thread if I manage to finish anything suitable in time. Thank you for your review!

Hello @TheGreatEscaper and welcome to the forum! I love this Mazurka-like prelude you've written! It has so much individuality and character! It reminds me at different points of both Chopin and Prokofiev. The chromaticism is very dark and ominous. The fact that you play your own works is great as well (and apparently you've already played @ComposaBoi's sonata as well! Great job and it's great to see this kind of interaction! You're an asset to the forum!) Formally the piece is a perfect little miniature. The melody sounds like something out of another world when it comes in on the 7th and 11th of the tonality - it's very subversive and surprising harmonically and anything but ordinary. And the accompaniment is like its own melody too that sets the stage for a very ghastly piece that would've been appropriate as a Halloween-themed piece. Thank you for joining us and for sharing this prelude and I look forward to listening to the others! P.S.: Thank you for posting just one piece into the forum to let the reviewers get just a taste of perhaps one of your better pieces instead of suddenly bombarding the forum with a bunch of music indiscriminately! You don't know how many composers do this and it really annoys the people who commonly review others' works here because we don't know which piece to listen to and it turns the forum into a dumping ground for works.

Great use of percussion in this work, including a load of techniques and instruments I'd never heard of. I hope the propane tank is empty; otherwise you could have an explosive ending!

Hello again @Vasilis Michael! What can I say? This is a masterful sonata that I can enjoy from beginning to end as if it's a masterwork from the classical era! Honestly, the only part I ended up skipping through is the double exposition in the 1st movement! You are steeped in classical pianism and it shows! There isn't a single awkward moment nor bad transition in the whole piece! The tonality is so free flowing and adventurous! It's amazing that you managed to start and end each of the movements in the same key - the freedom of the chromaticism is something I'd expect of free-tonal pieces that modulate when they want to without any obligation to stay in any particular key. The abundance of themes is also very Mozartean. And they are very delightful and musically interesting - I wouldn't exclude nor add to any of the movements in any way. I think they are perfect just the way they are. I don't usually like slow movements but the peace and calmness and the space in your 2nd movement was captivating and adept - it kept my attention throughout and has a warm place in my heart. The minuet and trio was also very expert - I loved the E7 b9's! All your phrase extensions are also perfectly calculated and none are too long nor too short. But my favorite movement is for sure the 4th and final - I loved the cross relations! And I think your chromaticism really reached new heights in the final movement. It also has a somewhat Mazurka-like character to it that I really like. Overall - I cannot say enough good things about this piece! And the fact that you provided a very polished final score engraving for when you compiled the whole sonata in the final YT video is great! What program did you use? Thanks for sharing and by all means keep going! Do you ever plan on writing a piano concerto?

This is a really good piece!!! Interesting name lol 😂, i did see some impossibly high clarinet 1 stuff, but i think if you replaced it with an Eb clarinet you’d be fine! Awesome piece

It reminds me of 20th century neoclassical. Very nice.

I like how creepy it sounds and the dissonance you use! Kinda reminds me of shostakovich!

I couldn't help but fall in love with this track from Silksong - Cogwork Dancers after 8-bit music theory covered it:

Yes!! Anyway, the sounds you've got are nice.

Thanks Luis: that's exactly what I was aiming for! Can't wait to hear what it sounds like when played by real musicians.

Dear friends, hello everyone! I'm Zhang Wenhao, a singer-songwriter from China. Today, I'm here to share with you an inspiring rock song called "Unextinguished Spark". The style of this song is inspired by many classic Japanese anime theme songs, encouraging everyone to hold on to their dreams and never give up easily. 亲爱的朋友们，大家好！我是来自中国的创作歌手张文灏。这次来跟大家分享的是一首励志的摇滚燃曲，名字叫《不熄的火花》。 这首歌曲风格的灵感来源于很多经典的日本动漫主题曲，鼓励大家坚持自己的梦想不要轻易放弃。 歌词如下/The lyrics are as follows： 《不熄的火花》/《The Spark That Won't Go Out》 作曲/Composed by：张文灏 Zhang Wenhao 作词/Lyrics by：张文灏 Zhang Wenhao 一次命运 偶然眷顾的微笑 让他从此 将毕生热爱找到 踏上了一条 漫长的跑道 微弱的火苗 在冷夜里不熄灭地燃烧 失意常常在他身边围绕 也偶有微不足道的骄傲 前路多糟糕 身心多疲劳 他都没想要 放弃奔跑 理想和热爱就像不熄的火花 哦 他想 总有一天能燃起滔天的热浪 哦 他想 每一个人都会有 为理想战斗 奋不顾身的时候 每个人也都会有 看不到尽头 想要放弃的时候 请继续坚定地走 别太过担忧 再耐心等一等 你想要的一切都 在不远处 在向你招手 失意常常在他身边围绕 也偶有微不足道的骄傲 前路多糟糕 身心多疲劳 他都没想要 放弃奔跑 理想和热爱就像不熄的火花 哦 我唱 就在今天燃起了滔天的热浪 哦 我唱 每一个人都会有 为理想战斗 奋不顾身的时候 每个人也都会有 看不到尽头 想要放弃的时候 请继续坚定地走 别太过担忧 再耐心等一等 你想要的一切都 在不远处在向你招手 每一个人都会有 为理想战斗 奋不顾身的时候 每个人也都会有 看不到尽头 想要放弃的时候 请继续坚定地走 别太过担忧 再耐心等一等 你想要的一切都 在不远处在向你招手 你想要的一切都 在不远处 在向你招手