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This forum update was a big one, which is why I put it off for a year. But I have about 90% of things back. As of now, I just made another update. MP3s and PDFs are back and with improvements. We have proper view counts now (finally!). I will be working on getting our old colors back, and don't worry, the logo will be back too. Hopefully I can also bring back the chatbox, I just need a few more days. Another major update which has been quite hidden, is the integration of a new music notation software that I've been working on for some time. That's why I had to update the forum, I'm getting ready for a release of Version 1 soon. The early adopters of Music Jotter will be migrating here and I'll be using the forums for issues and customer management. I'll also be opening up a subscriber tier (The forum will always remain free but the subscriber tier helps me develop Music Jotter, for those interested in the new technology). Overall, this forum software also should be a lot faster, so hopefully we see some improvements with speed!

I was listening to Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations again after quite some time, and I’ve become convinced that, personally, I believe it might be the greatest work ever written for the piano. It filled me with such excitement and inspiration that I sat down at the piano and wrote a variation of my own. Knowing the story behind this theme—that about fifty composers each wrote a variation on it—it felt like a great opportunity to test myself as well. Because of my enthusiasm, in a single sitting of about half an hour I improvised and came up with this charming figurational variation. I hope you enjoy it and appreciate it.

Hello again! I just finished my comments and am eager to share. Please find this PDF for your convenience! Go to the end of the score to see the final comments. May anyone else on this thread also consider checking out the comments and share your thoughts! M. Neupauer - The Great Lighthouse (ANNOTATED).Pdf

We already have "Counterpoint Wizard" badge for it! I myself receive it twice lol! We have the badge "Amorous Romanticist" for it, though no one ever receives the badge lol! What is featured in an outstanding Prokofiev writing lol? Only @Thatguy v2.0 himself can be better than himself until Thatguy vUlimited.0 lol Henry

Hello Marek Please don't despair or feel Broken hearted, for trying hard to make a composition be appreciated, for being Special . It is appreciated and special , because its Totally Unique, your the one who created it. Medicine can taste Horrible, and make you feel ill, but in the Long-Term, it can actually help. and its the same with advice from those who are qualified to give it ,and without payment required, so thats a good thing. This is your First Post, and it was good, but MK's advice can also lead you to better things in future posts , so please don't be too despondent There's even greater scores for you to discover , in your future compositions. i wish you luck. MK.............. Im pleased your post was recognized by PeterthePapercomPoser!

Hello everone 🙂 My first post here is part one of larger composition I am currently working on. The composition is called The Great Lighthouse and is inspired by Christopher Paolini's book Fractal Noise. Part one is written in largo - A minor and is called Discovery. Please enjoy and any feedback would be appreciated 🙂 Musescore: https://musescore.com/user/60829534/scores/32485457

I thought I'd share this short prelude I started last year and finished soon after (which I originally intended to use for Valentines' Day this year, but alas...). I haven't been writing much new stuff and am currently working on fixing up a few of my older compositions so this was one of the few things I did manage to conjure up in the past few months. I hope it's listenable? (as for playability, arpeggiating large chords is a must, haha)

Hello everyone, I don’t know whether this is the correct section to post concerning „technical problems“ and suggestions, but I’ll try it. Congratulations to the software refresh of the Young Composers Forum! However, since I’m working in the software branch, I know that customers can sometimes be a nuisance because they’re the first to notice what isn’t working or seems not to be working, or when something has changed from what they’re used to. So I'll have to get used to the new layout first. What I really miss – and I am sure I’m not the first one and that the staff will be already on working around that problem – is, that the attachments, i.e. the PDF files with the scores and the MP3 files with the recordings seem to be lost, which is a big problem for reviewers. Apart from that „bug report“, I noticed that there are a number of placeholders which await to be replaced by real pictures to make the forum „colored again“. Since I’m working for a while on my own website – which I would to present to the members of the forum, too, once published – I have done a lot of „artwork“ during the last few month, so that I could contribute a few pictures as well, if appreciated.

First of all, I want to thank you for the review. - "diminuendo al niente" is exactly what I was looking for, thank you 🙂 Fixing this will be laborious, but relatively simple. - theme - I thought I had a theme, but apparently not, since several people, including you, have confirmed that they didn’t recognize it. This will be difficult to fix, as it disrupts the overall flow and feel of the piece. Actually, I’ll have to redo the whole thing. - accompaniment - This is my nightmare; I’m still struggling with it. Personally, I can’t stand whole notes anymore, but so far I haven’t been able to come up with anything interesting. In any case, thanks again, your review really helped me 🙂 Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

this piece was composed with me hearing absolotly nothing while in the making of it, I wanted to see how well can I make pieces like that. yipieeee.mp3 wadanada.pdf

I have just updated the track "Save Them!" to be more complete and correct - I had originally transcribed it slightly incorrectly and left some things out. I also corrected some dynamics so that the Violas can be heard. Thanks for listening!

Things added - drums- riser at start- bass near end part- added instruments for beat drop- anyway, here it is:

I have just updated the post - up to 13 themes now!!!

Thanks for the comment! I’m sure there could be plenty of changes to do, however, this work was one of my earlier attempts at writing for the orchestra. A time before I got any composition feedback from any mentors. I thankfully won a competition and spent a week working with composer Robert Bradshaw. During that time, he gave me tips on voicing, orchestration, and understanding tessitura. My rewrite was not to completely redo the work but polish it with the new information and techniques I learned. So, while I appreciate the feedback, I will not be rewriting certain spots in the work as I still want to keep it as is to show my growth overtime.

@Wieland Handke Apologies, I didn't think anyone would be interested in seeing the score. In any case, here it is.

Hello @Luis Hernández, I’m sorry, but today I’m writing only silly comments …. For the first moment I thought it were a piano exercise how to play a crescendo on a long, tied note and how to perform a tremolo just on a single note … 🤣 But no, its seriously! And your solution is a great example what can be done with orchestration if the underlying piece of music (or sketch) is well crafted! Thus it shows, that one should first compose the piece for piano (for example) or for a small ensemble before going to the full orchestration. (Unfortunately there was no score and reading from the video was a bit uncomfortable, since relatively small ...) Very enjoyed.

Hey all, Just wanted to let you know my new album "Seize The Night", full of gothic orchestral film music goodness is out on all major music platforms today and the solo cello is played by Grammy-nominated cellist Chloe Mendola (Trans-siberian orchestra, Michael Buble) You can check out a video performance of Chloe playing my piece "The Change" below, along with recordings of "Once Upon A Nightmare", which opens the album and Bloodborne fans will probably enjoy and "Sweet Home Salem", which is the most cello-driven piece on the album. Listen to the rest on Spotify! Hope you all enjoy it and thank you for listening!

Listenable? Very much so - I'd say a beautiful work indeed.

I had this doubt long time ago for tying around 16 times or so and all lost lol.... Later just figure out the seniority rule myself haha Henry

Hey everyone! I am decided to go ahead and publish my finished works on the forum. I may re-upload some existing works to match this shift, however, let this score mark the second part of this series! No.3 - Petite Sonata for Strings A Petite Sonata for Strings is a small work for string quartet I composed for my own experiment. I composed the second movement first as I was bored and wanted to try writing something using my theory skills. By fortune, I found some passion and within 4-days, I composed this work. Unfortunately, I fear there may be some challenges with the execution, whether it is for double stops or fast-pizzicato playing. I admit I am not as knowledgeable of string techniques and would love to hear some feedback or suggestions to amend any trouble spots! Feel free to leave any comments about the work and I hope to see you all in the next one! _______________ PROGRAM NOTE: N/A no.10_PetiteSonata_4Strings.mp3 no.10_PetiteSonata_4Strings.pdf

Thanks! It was definitely fun to do. I actually been meaning to update this post. After some chat with @UncleRed99 about Cello playability, I simplified the cello part in the third movement for ease. Overall, a good result for at the time was a silly little project. 🙂

I like this „petite“ piece for just four instruments (which is not for a large orchestra). It doesn’t require sophisticated orchestration skills to achieve the desired effect; instead, it works well with its “simple” four parts. Starting already in the first three bars, all four instruments have the equal right and equal importance in playing the melody. None is the soloist, while the others are „degraded“ to accompany only. Although I would not call it „counterpoint“ in the academic sense, it works. Sharing the melody or the various motifs among the voices creates an atmosphere of „dialogue“ between the instruments that captivates the listener.

Ties between members for the day won are broken by seniority. So that means that Luis won the day because he's been a member the longest - Henry has been a member 2nd longest and you have been a member here for the shortest amount of time which is why you didn't win the day that day.

Just saying, I want a new competition soon. Thx!

Nice stuff. F Sharp?! Why? So many sharps! Anyways, taking a guess, the next thing you compose is in F Flat Major.

It seems to me a very beautiful work. What stands out to me is that it’s conceived more as melody with accompaniment—sometimes quite elaborate—rather than in a contrapuntal style. The second movement is gorgeous.

A very short thought, or a bubble. A fleeting moment. Built around a Csus2/F# to Cmaj9(add13). That's it. Just a moment. Just this evening. Love me some lydian and b9 and #7 sounds. Acoustic guitar, DADGAD capo 7. 🔹 Quarter-to.mp3

It’s very beautiful and reminiscent of Brazilian harmonies.

If you mean this note... Yes! Better a D.

I really love the new feature of showing the views of a pdf file. Also the vintage brown color is back! Really love it. Henry

Hi @Luis Hernández ! Nice job on this orchestration! I did notice an apparent mistake in the horn parts in measure 6 - the top note should be (I think) a concert D (written A) since the harmony there is a G major chord. Overall though I think you really include a lot of fun interplay between the parts! I think it was very clever of you to fragment some of the phrases into question and answer contrapuntal roles. Like for example the interplay between the 1st and 2nd Violins in measures 28 - 29 is really a very creative orchestration decision! Thanks for sharing and I hope to hear more orchestrations!

Yes, congrats on the software refresh. But i also want to echo that it used to have the look/feel of a creative, low-key, grassroots composer’s group. Though the cartoon images were a little corny, i appreciated the vibe. Now it looks/feels like a cold office. If that’s because its taking time to reupload style, then you guys are probably already on it.

Oh, I didn’t know the story behind all this. I suppose it’s because Beethoven’s variations overshadowed everything else over time. Your version is very good — I find it has personality and is easy to listen to.

The beauty about music is that even simple things can sound complex or can be just as effective. Before you completely scrap your work (as we all know that is annoying to do), with the theme consider writing a 2-bar version, 4-bar version, and 8-bar version. You already have a motif or material to base from. You can do this separately on a manuscript or other file before the main work too. With the accompaniment parts: To Me, sometimes long sustains in the orchestra translate to when I use the sustain pedal on the piano. Where I take the long harmony I am sustaining from my improv and translate it to paper. The French Horns are great for gestures like this, or even simpler, the strings. (Bassoon + clarinets are good too!) Take whatever harmony, divide between the accompaniment instruments and just hit the harmony every few beats or on the beats. It’s probably the most basic way to pulse harmony.

In this case it was about orchestrating the sketch in the image; I might even make a collection of mini orchestral studies with these kinds of things.

Thirty years ago, I was an accordionist. Now I’m just a hobbyist. Feel free to leave any comments, they might not be so obvious to me 🙂

I made these 13 mock-ups on 13 themes from Final Fantasy VI intending to use them to familiarize myself with the themes in preparation for writing a big variations piece based on them. At first, I only intended to write variations on the "Returner's Theme" but it soon ballooned out of control as I noticed how many of the themes in the game are inter-related thematically and so I had to include more. I am posting the themes here with PDF scores for your perusal in the order in which they appear in the game (but I group them according to theme groups that are most related to each other). Also, here are the links to the original tracks on YouTube: Omen 3 - This is the title screen version of Terra's Theme. Terra's Theme - Terra is the main protagonist in the game. A half magical being (esper) half human. The empire takes advantage of her magical powers. The Awakening - also based on Terra's Theme, this music plays when Terra awakens after getting her slave crown removed. Disaster/Metamorphosis - this is also based on Terra's Theme. It plays when there's a disaster and Terra transforms into her esper form. Save Them!/Protect the Espers! - this is also based on Terra's Theme. Plays during an escape sequence or when fighting the Empire's soldiers as they try to gain access to the espers. Fight Theme Troops March On - this is the first theme in the Empire's Theme group. Plays when Kefka and his soldiers are marching towards Figaro Castle. Martial Law - plays in town when the empire occupies it. The Gestahl Empire - final theme in the Empire's Theme group. Plays when the Imperial capitol of Vector is set on fire by the espers. Kefka's Theme - Kefka is the evil antagonist who overthrows the emperor to gain ultimate power and lead the world into ruin. Mt. Kolts Returner's March - The Returner's are an organization that is trying to resist the evil empire and Kefka and Emperor Gestahl. Magitec Factory - In the Imperial capitol of Vector, the empire has constructed a factory to create Magitec armor granting magic power to those wielding it. To go to the thread where I wrote my own original music based on these themes go here:

Yes you are right. I am in the process of writing more variations and have already released a Scherzo on 8 of these themes (I had to keep adding themes LoL). Thanks for your interest/comment!

Yes i understand , but your First line of post states: "I made these 13 mock-ups on 13 themes from Final Fantasy VI intending to use them to familiarize myself with the themes in preparation for writing a big variations piece based on them" So i therefore assumed, you were going to take this project even further , by releasing an Original Composition, some time in the Future.

thank you! I just wanted to make sure that you and everyone knows that these are not my original compositions but covers/renditions/mock-ups of Nobuo Uematsu's original music for the game Final Fantasy VI - he's a Japanese composer.

Here's a very short piano composition I composed for my daughter many years ago. Nothing extravagant .... simple theme and tone. Mark

There's some great stuff here. I urge you to listen to the aforementioned. There is GREAT advice given!

Good for you! I'm too embarrassed to share my earlier works lol

This is an orchestration exercise, and my solution.

This is a very well constructed piece! I think it's a little too on the "safe" side. When I envision a piece about storms (be it Vivaldi's Summer, Beethoven's 6th, Alpine Symphony), I want to hear rapid scales (especially in the strings and woodwinds), wild tremolo in the strings & percussion, and more dissonant chords in the brass. Maybe I'm biased after listening to those pieces. I think the D major section (starting around 94) is too similar in terms of orchestration as the beginning. I think this should be more brighter sounding, maybe with some instruments playing an octave higher than written (for example violins/violas in 126). In general, a little variety would help differentiate this section.

@therealAJGS WOW! What an improvement! It is night and day. I have no comments on the music as again, I do not know much on what is meant to accompany, but it definitely conveys something dire or thrilling. As a point of enjoyment, I must say there feels like too much distortion in the file. Just about 30 seconds worth of a blurriness that is very overwhelming compared to the literal music. For me, it took my attention away... especially with headphones 😓

ok, I worked on it and gave it a MUCH needed improvement. this is what is it looks like right now. I honestly don't know what to do next, and I'm curious what you guys think, or if I should add any new instruments for either The next part or the part I have right now. to note, I also want it to be ~3 - 4 minutes long. This song actually came to me about 3 years ago, before I even knew what a "sharp" was, and before I started composing music. I Don't know how I still remember it. back then I thought of a lot of melodies in my head when I was bored and learned them on my Piano; now, I mostly play piano and if I play something I like, I continue it with my software, FL studio. I got really confused when I realized in the old one, after the intro it changed to C# and I thought the intro was D# so I changed the chorus to that, but apparently it was A# anyway. small mistake, big difference. anyway, here's how the progress is going. take a listen.

This kind of breakdown is pretty cool, and I’ve found that battle music works best when it really drives the action instead of just sitting in the background. Fast rhythms, strong percussion, and some kind of hook or motif help keep it interesting since players can be in the same fight loop for a while. Also thinking about how your loops transition into each other without feeling repetitive makes a huge difference in keeping it from getting annoying mid-game. I usually try a mix of orchestral hits and rhythm ostinatos to build tension, then layer in more melodic stuff for big moments - that seems to work well for fantasy battle themes in most games.

I've added another theme to the bunch for a total of 9 themes I'm working with.

Thanks Henry for pointing this out. @Churchcantor In your own words: So basically your posts so far could basically be summed up as "Haven't yet had the time nor mood to listen to it yet." I would rather hear what you might have to say about the music once you actually do listen to it, instead of posting 6 replies to my topic which don't discuss anything about the music. Before you replied, my topic had one reply by Chopin and was still on the "Works with Few Reviews" List. But now that you've cluttered the topic with meaningless posts, the topic is no longer on that list and is less likely to receive actual substantive reviews from the other members of the forum. There are places on the forum where you can post this kind of content though - such as in Off Topic - Journals. Or in the case of the Russian cartoon - either Random or Repertoire. Or you can tell your stories by posting status updates in your profile. But I think you are trashing the forum with the way you are currently using it.