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Hi! New here, just trying this out. This is a composition on piano I made like a year ago just as a sort of writing practice thing to see what I could do without using the tonic A Minor chord. Hope you enjoy! (Also prob not gonna share the sheet music here since i didn't have the playability in mind and the notation is god awful and this is one of the first times I used a DAW to produce the music lmfao) Azalea.mp3

This is the 3rd movement of my Clarinet Quintet in C minor, which is completed 4 years ago and I'm revising it. Thx to my friend Vince @Thatguy v2.0 for making the audio! Here is the pdf, audio, video of the movement. I have also made a structural graph since this movement is a fugal one and I want to show the structure more clearly. https://youtu.be/QMQyFbriSmM (For YT)Clarinet Quintet in C minor 3rd mov Final Version 20260906.pdfClarinet Quintet in C minor 3rd mov Final.mp3Clarinet Quintet 3rd Mov Structural Plan.pdf To me this is core movement in the piece and my favourite. After 2nd movement's anxious power I finally calm down to reflect subjectively and (more)objectively, which are represented by Lament and Fugue respectively with the following structure: 0:00 1st Lament, using the despair [0134] motive again, then incorporate the (future) fugue subject in the clarinet while strings keep lamenting, and ends with one more question of despair. Real lament after what is suffered in the first 30 minutes of the work. 1:10 1st Fugue. Appearance of prime form of the subject. I always go for F minor in any secondary themes or answer in my C minor works because G minor is always too weak for C minor. Only F minor is dark enough for it. First stretto in 3:05. Ends in F minor with angry despair. 4:03 2nd Lament. A complete new part for this movement added only in this final version, sounds more dissonant than anything else in the movement, further intensifies the pain. 5:00 2nd Fugue. Using the retrograde form of the subject as main subject, denoting the backward reflection of me on despair. The flow here is also more fluid. [BACH] in viola in 6:56. Prime subject joins again in 7:16 to have stretto with the retrograde subject. Ends in F minor again with augmented subject in 8:07. 8:25 3rd Lament. My favourite of the movement, the sheer pain especially in 8:41-9:00 always aches my heart. But human beings only change after pain and I am no exception, so after this painful passage some hope is finally invited to the party to modulate to E flat major for next part. 9:40 3rd Fugue. Using the inverted form of the subject as main subject, denoting the complete upside down of thought from despair to hope. Later the retrograde inversion form of the subject enters in 11:08 to represent even further distance from despair. The climax in 11:48 is the most hopeful passage in what's happened in the entire Quintet up to this point. But after it doubts continue to enter. Despair starts invading in 12:42, and in 13:18 the prime form in tonic c minor enters in a subconscious Viola entry plus an augmented 2nd violin entry. I think a lot on whether to extend the transition or not, but finally I just decided to keep it this way since an early defeat of hope can represent the cruelty of despair and the weakness of hope more. I love the sheer pain here, and the return of prime subject on cello in 13:40 means the struggle of hope is futile. An E flat major prime entry on Clarinet try to struggle once more but falls to despair again, a final prime subject on cello in 14:11 announces the defeat of hope. The section ends on a German Sixth chord to leave the music suspended. 14:36 Final Lament and coda. Solo by Clarinet, wants to escape by quoting the dream motive in G flat major like in 1st movement but has to accept despair. In 15:19 the opening returns to remind unsettled affair. In 15:36 all four forms of subject appear for a final conclusion and lament and acceptance of despair and tragedy. Only by acceptance you may recover from it. The biggest change I made in this revision is the addition of 2nd Lament and repetition of 1st Lament. This is my original plan but with the bad sound sample I deleted them in my final draft. But now with Vince's great rendition I think it's better to retain them and extend the Laments to match the overall narrative structure. I also change the entrance order of the instrument, some counterpoint and details here and there etc. In terms of fugal treatment I make use of all four forms (prime, retrograde, inversion and retrograde inversion) of the same subject to denote the ups and downs, thinking backward and forward of me, so they are not merely fugal devices but also have narrative function. Hopefully you enjoy the movement, feel free to criticize it and leave comments here. It's a long movement and a long description, and I gratefully thank you if you listen and read till the end! P.S Here are YC posts of previous movements: 1st Mov: 2nd Mov: Henry

I thought that was lovely! This captures a pop/rock vibe that gives the piano a lot of drive and motion. The mysterious chords at the start do an excellent job of setting up the dramatic section (starting at 37 secs). You nailed it with that powerful section, and the music really gave me nostalgia for the video game Donkey Kong Country 2, which contains some of the best music ever composed for a Nintendo game (composer: David Wise), so in my book you’re doing great! I think this music could shine even brighter with the layering in of other instruments, especially bass and percussion. A simple beat with bass layered over this could take the whole thing to another level, and it may even open you up to adding more layers. As an example, check out this song from Donkey Kong Country 2, and notice the difference between the beginning (which has no percussion) and the section where percussion comes in (1:09). Both sections are great, but the introduction of the percussion really juices up the vibe. And your music reminds me of this song, a song I’ve always cherished. Would love to hear more from you. Cheers!

I honestly had to take some time away from reading this post to fully absorb what it was that you were trying to say LoL. So the first thing is (and what I also told Fruit hunter) is that these kinds of awards cannot be created because every member of the website would want an award created for their name "The Fruit hunter Award of Excellence", "The TristantheTristan Award", "The PeterthePapercomPoser Award", "The Chopin Award", "The Henry Ng Tsz Kiu Award" etc. etc. etc. These kinds of awards would be meaningless and wouldn't bestow any kind of honor or significance to those they would be given to. The other problem is that awards are still bestowed by the staff so there would be a logistical challenge since you'd always have to ask a staff member to bestow the award to someone for you. Finally - you do have a good idea hidden in your post - the idea of having an award for a good Theme and Variations. Now you'd just need a good concept for such an award and what kind of graphic might fit such a concept. Thanks for the idea!

I won't want to have that lololol

Hello, If this is something you wrote a year ago, I'd be interested in hearing how your more recent compositions! The intro was pretty cool, the use of effects there was great. I tried to follow on my keyboard, since there was no sheet music. I think I got the main musical ideas. The cool thing about using the D major and occasional D minor chords is that it gives a bit of an epic feel to the piece. As you mentioned, not using the tonic always makes me feel like the music gets this short of push to it. Like, on the move. To me, it gives this sort of subjective quality like a journey. So that's pretty cool! From a structural point of view, I am hearing A/B/A/B/A. Kinda like verse/chorus/verse/chorus/verse. I mean your piece is pretty nice already. The type of structure that you have is great. Sometimes, experimenting with the structure can really make a piece of music sound special. Like any pop song, you could try adding an intro (which you kind of have, but you used effects so I have mentioned it). You could try adding a bridge. You could try adding an outro. Once again, these are all matters of subjective taste. Many great pieces written A/B/A/B/A structure, the length of your piece is also not too long, so it works. But yeah, I like how you are doing this little variations to make things interesting...alternating between the A - E - A -E, and then going E-A-E-A. I think while the overall musicality is fairly simple, you are doing some nice things with it. I find that music can be very dialectical, depending on how you look at it. Like, truly good music is slightly surprising and also comforting. You want to try to be innovative and find your own sound, but also not write something so innovative that nobody can understand. You'll want to take risk and be safe, but perhaps sometimes taking a risk is the safe thing to do, and perhaps keeping it safe is taking a risk? Anyways, just some ramblings from an old guy, welcome and hope to see you around more often.

Hi @Grant Weep—a bit late to comment on these works. My impression is that these are wonderful, lovely, and truly nice pieces. The backstory behind the works is just fantastic. When it comes to a piece that holds such significance, there’s really nothing for me to add. I'm a total stranger to your kids, but tell them to enjoy childhood, and good luck! ☺️ I said so before, but again, I truly hope you have an amazing family life! Best, Lithl.

The only exception is, you know, "that guy." 😏 By the way, what about the "Creative Composer" badge? This badge is awarded to composers whose work feels creative or who demonstrate uniqueness—such as through the fusion of different genres. Best, Lithl.

on pastel skies was “commissioned” (more in this case called for) by the young composers 2026 summer competition fit this team after a poem about the serene atmosphere of the Midsummer afternoon 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 gestation of this piece (initial thought, even before the entry of the first note) was an image of a dreamy Florida sunset over the Gulf of Mexico with this image the piece will transport you to another dimension of into the pastel pink, orange, and red opalescent skies instrumentation xylophone (doubling on glockenspiel and crotales, /w large zill bell attachment vibraphone I /w sus and Z.bell and dull metallic object (something like a Burma bell) vibraphone II /w sus and Z.bell and dull metallic object (something like a Burma bell) Marimba I /w sus and temple blocks Marimba II /w Chimes, sus and temple blocks and large, vibrating drum ( tom or surdo ect.) Very important note ^please use the official scoring system if you feel like it and if you’re able to with this piece, it helps a lot with my learning and also feedback and scoring of the music also is very important for my statistical research^ On Pastel Skies.mp3 On Pastel Skies.pdf

I finished my piece! Saxophone Quartet no. 2 - Un clair jour d'été It's written for 4 soprano saxophones. Each movement is based on a stanza from the poem.