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Hello, friends. About three years ago, I penned this song cycle for a friend from El Salvador, based on poems by the beloved Salvadoran poet, Alfredo Espino. These hold a special place in my heart because they're the last music I've ever written, though they were sadly never performed. The songs and directions are completely in Spanish. Here they've been rendered by Cantamus (unfortunately sung in a Castilian accent and not the Latin American accent spoken in El Salvador) and the piano accompaniment has been [poorly] played by me. They're not the best recordings and some of the lyrics didn't render properly, but hopefully they deliver the music effectively. The cycle is chiasmic in structure (i.e., the first and last movements and the second and fourth movements mirror each other) and it tells the story of a day in El Salvador. I. Madrugada: This means early morning. The lyrics and music represent the waking of the Salvadoran countryside: farmers starting their day, roosters crowing, birds chirping. It begins mysteriously but soon "warms up," preparing us for the rest of the song cycle. II. Plombagina: The title is about a tiny flower found along the riverbanks in El Salvador; here it represents the playfulness of the river and the hopefulness of midmorning. This one is unmistakably waltzlike and lyrical. III. Tardecitas: "Little afternoons" is a piece about watching the rainfall in the heat of the day. It's lazy and less ambitious than the others in the cycle, representing the languor of a dreary, rainy day. IV. Estrella in el río: We return once more to a song about the river, this time in a more contemplative frame of mind. "Star in the river" is shimmering and reflective, capturing the tranquility of twilight as the stars begin to pinprick the sky and cast their reflections into the river below. V. Nocturno: While "Madrugada" expresses the joys of a new morning, "Nocturno" explores the angst found at the close of the day. It's by far the most restless of the cycle, employing a sort of perverted tango rhythm in mockery of the soothing sway of a nocturne. In it, you'll find themes of grief and fear and anxiety, embedded in harmonies very reminiscent of Spain/Latin America. Even if you don't understand Spanish, I hope these songs move you and perhaps inspire you. As ever, I'm happy to receive any feedback you may have. Best, Jordan Canciones de El Salvador.pdf I. Madrugada.mp3 II. Plombagina.mp3 III. Tardecitas.mp3 IV. Estrella en el río.mp3 V. Nocturno.mp3

This is a project I have slowly worked on for about a year. Thoughts/comments/criticisms welcome. Edit: I have cleaned the scores up a lot. Prelude No 1.mp3Prelude No 2.mp3Prelude No 3.mp3Prelude No 4.mp3Prelude No 5.mp3Prelude No 6.mp3Prelude No 7.mp3Prelude No 8.mp3Prelude No 9.mp3Prelude No 10.mp3 Prelude No. 1.pdf Prelude No. 2.pdf Prelude No. 3.pdf Prelude No. 4.pdf Prelude No. 5.pdf Prelude No. 6.pdf Prelude No. 7.pdf Prelude No. 8.pdf Prelude No. 9.pdf Prelude No. 10.pdf

A few days ago, I wrote a very short piano work for my brother's birthday, which is not something I normally do. I realised early on in the week that I had not yet got him anything and decided to write and put together a music video in one day, as one does. Of course, I paired it with some colourful lyrics to express my utmost brotherly love and affection for him (translation: extol his persistently annoying behaviour and call out embarrassing moments in his life). To my surprise, he did enjoy it more than I thought he would, so that was a success! I've removed the lyrics for seriousness' sake in the PDF, but I hope you'll find something of interest in here. As usual, I am also always looking for feedback and ways to keep chipping away at my pieces even after I've written them. Are the two main themes different enough in character? Does the form feel awkward or bloated? Anything else of concern or note? One thing I will admit is that I probably should not have notated swing entirely with triplets, so that's something I've started to fix up at the moment... Promenade (2026).mp3 Promenade (2026).pdf

Wow!! These are great! I only wished that you posted these separately, as I hope these pieces get the attention they deserve being all together. I love this one, the drama in it is set up nicely with the climax, and the chord colors are wonderful. Great too, I maybe would have made bar 46 twice as long to really set up the cadence. Beautiful in it's simplicity, I like that you spread out the difficulty in the set, letting some be much easier to play than others. It gives a better flow to the pieces as a whole as well. Part of the arpeggios are in the right hand, correct? I would have notated that in the score. I really like the drama in this, and even though it wasn't my favorite theme, you developed this really well. I like the texture change in the middle. Lol mock serious swagger :D This was super fun! The jazziness was a welcome change after the first 4 pieces. What about marking "freely" at bar 27? Do you want the RH rhythms right on the dot? Or is there an improvisatory aspect you're going for? It might be cool to let the player syncopate the rhythms to go with the steady walking bass. I like that this one broke away from the ABA style, I like the evolving part of the form. like an ABAB, textures markings the sections. I really like those ethereal RH figures with the low bass. Awesome fun! Kind of reminded me a bit of Baba Yaga, Mussorgsky piece. The ffffff is kind of excessive, but I'm guessing it's for playback purposes. Loved this one! Much needed after number 8, as overall these preludes are on the heavier side. It sounds sweeter to my ears after the last one. Ended with a bang, the drama is great here! I must say, that overall I really loved the order of this set. Not sure how intentional it is, but it really made listening to this as a set more fun and enjoyable. Your talent is massive, I wish we heard more from you! Life is busy, but I'm glad you find the time to stop by and share what you've been working on. There's some small editing errors, nothing major that jumped out at me (copyright 2025, stuff like that). Your style is right up my alley, and I immensely enjoyed these. Thanks for sharing, friend.

Hello I’d like to share part of my Humanist (non-religious) Requiem project, in which I’ve set myself the following objectives: To use a blend of contemporary and traditional languages To use texts by poets who fascinate me To write calm, short pieces To mix Latin with English I’m using Cantai for the vocals – it’s not the best it could be, but I’m happy with it. For the instruments, I’m using Noteperformer. Everything is managed within Dorico. It’s an idea I’ve had for a long time, one that expresses – or at least attempts to express – my concerns in this life....... Best regards. Introito.mp3 Introito- The Origin.pdf

What fascinating music. The compositions are fantastic. The piano part is very well crafted but complements the vocals perfectly. I think you’ve captured many Latin rhythms perfectly; in this style, it’s difficult to separate the Spanish from the Latin American elements, as the influences are mutual. I really appreciate the effort you’ve put into playing the piano yourself, as I understand it. The overall sound is very distinctive because this cycle of songs sounds entirely like a style of popular Spanish ‘tonada’ (from which the ‘tonadilleras’ are derived). Originally, the ‘tonadilla’ was a traditional Spanish song of a cheerful and popular nature, performed as an interlude or at the end of satirical plays between the 18th and 19th centuries. Over time, the concept evolved from classical theatre towards the café-theatres and variety shows of the 20th century. Nowadays, the term is directly associated with the great divas of Andalusian copla and Spanish folklore, characterised by their high level of expressiveness, the wearing of long-tailed gowns and a highly dramatic stage presence. Initially, this type of music was accompanied by the guitar and perhaps a small orchestra featuring folk instruments (castanets, tambourines, dulzainas, etc.). But at the start of the 20th century, it evolved to be accompanied by a solo piano – which is how your music sounds – and it also has a very strong ‘cabaret’ feel to it, as it is recorded live, as I gather. As for the language. Well, I’m a native Spanish speaker. It’s quite – very well done. I’m also struggling with these programmes that sing along to lyrics… and I know what a pain it is… The accent is very neutral. It certainly doesn’t sound like any Latin American accent I recognise, let alone an Andalusian one. It’s close to a central Spanish accent (Castilian, as you rightly say) but there are moments when it sounds a bit ‘forced’ – something that many real singers in Spain do. Bravo, and it’s a pleasure to listen to it. And I love it when someone delves deeply into cultures that aren’t their own, perhaps, to bring all this out.

Hello, Emilia, and welcome to the forum! I must confess; I both love and hate your piece. Post-impressionism is the style of music I personally enjoy consuming and writing, and you have done great justice to that genre with this work. However, as a violist, I feel very overlooked. That you would include the massive and unwieldy contrabass to the exclusion of the strings' darling alto voice is unforgivable. That's mostly hyperbole, of course. I am offended but I'll get over it. Now for my remarks on your hard work. First, the heartbeat pizzicato work very well, with the offbeat providing an organic rhythm that reminds me of something living and searching. Excellent voice-leading choice to put it under the violin's melodic line! I also really like that you showed genuine restraint throughout this work. There are large-scale dynamics and fantastic textural arcs here, sure, but you chose to hold back on the "crazy," and the result is a deceptively challenging piece that really showpieces what a... ahem, modified string quartet can do. Furthermore, the form and structure is very sound, with the return to the heartbeat texture being such a lovely touch. It's impressive that you captured the text's emotional essence rather than gave a programmatic rendering... but that's the mark of a true (post-) impressionist. My critiques are few and quite minor. What struck me almost immediately after listening to the work was how underused the contrabass part is. For the bulk of the piece it holds pedal tones (which is fine in moderation), but there aren't really any passages where it has an independent voice. If you're going to overlook the viola, please consider giving its replacement a more active role in its stead. ;) Also, some of the chromatic melody, like mm. 10-13 and 18-20 in the violin, is expressive, but some of the leaps feel arbitrary rather than intentional. This could be a matter of taste. If it is intended to represent something (searching, perhaps), consider using stronger support in the lower voices to provide context. Overall, I'd say this is a piece to be proud of. Your concepts are mature, the sound you've created is very much your own, and the connection to the text is genuine. Thanks for sharing (and good luck on the assessment)! Best, Jordan

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Hi to all. I've now completed my orchestration of all three movements of "The Hour Glass" (originally for piano solo). This second movement was the hardest of all to orchestrate: so any tips on how to make it better would be very welcome! I found it especially difficult to create suitable harmonies for a string bed to go underneath the intricate arpeggios in the harp. Not sure I've done it very well. Also, some of the chromaticism in the harp part may be unplayable, because of the pedals? Haven't got around to adding slurs and phrasing yet, and as usual, my dynamics are designed for midi only. (N.B. Updated versions will be posted lower down the thread.) Frank Bridge - The Dew Fairy #28.mp3 Frank Bridge - The Dew Fairy #28.pdf

Thanks Kyle, I'm so glad you enjoy the piece, as I don't think it's very well known. The tuplets are crazy; but I was just reflecting what was in the original score. Bridge writes them as reduced size notes, rather like Chopin's flourishes; but this was the only way I could think to translate them into midi. One thing I'd like to fix is the tenuto accents in the harp part, as they're too strong at the moment. Will have to see if I can tweak the properties. Anyway, many thanks for listening and commenting. Alex

I must confess I'm not a fan of Bridge. I know he got more intriguing as he aged, which I find attractive. I really like this arrangement!

Not a harpist, so I couldn't speak to the playability of this piece, however, just judging off of the difficulty in the reading of this alone, I would wager to say that it would be either extremely difficult to perform, and would likely be reserved for only the best of the best harpists 😅 as far as your question regarding string harmonies, I feel that it was done very well. it blends well, and it very much so fits the description that your title suggests. Very ethereal, whimsical, magical etc... I was also gonna comment on the fact that you had a pppp for piccolo while they were playing in the high register, which would be physically impossible, but as I thought that it was likely just for the playback, your description of it affirmed that suspicion lol so I'll leave that one be. Though, I do wonder if this could be more legible if written in a different time signature? 🤔 Right this second, I haven't taken the liberty to subdivide what you have here, to suggest a specific time signature, however, I say this because the 11-lets & 15-lets, without having some sort of a split-beam, at least to me, become difficult to follow, and appear unsightly, but that's simply my own opinion on the appearance and readability of the score itself. The work itself is phenomenal! I'm simply unsure of how it would be best written to allow for the clearest interpretation while reading. Thanks for sharing, and apologies on my lack of suggestions for alternatives :/ at the time I've decided to login, my brain is just not at its peak performance, as I've just made it back home from a repair job and it's currently 12:32am my time 😅

Hello Folks, I'm glad to be showing a little bit more music for you all. Today I'm showing a piece I wrote a while ago, but never planned on showing because Musescore can't perform it. But I recently upgraded significantly to SWAM instruments. Much less lush but more controllable, this piece was the first I wanted to do because of it's intimate feeling, and use of overtones and unusual techniques.. This piece is meant to reflect my experience of grief, specifically, the kind that surfaces while I’m trying to fall asleep. On some nights, like the one that inspired this piece, sleep feels impossible. Stress, homework, expectations—they all build up, one on top of the other, and under their weight, grief begins to surface. Suddenly, my thoughts are filled with loss. It’s not painful exactly, nor is it something I want to erase. But it carries a quiet melancholy, releasing the sadness, anger, and tension I’ve accumulated over time. In a strange way, this grief becomes a kind of relief. A way to let go of everything I’ve been holding in. Still, it lingers. It loops in my mind. Eventually, I have to let it go so I can rest. I have to keep living. I can’t stay immersed in sorrow forever. So I walk along the river, letting the sounds of the water drown out my thoughts. I walk until my legs are sore, until exhaustion replaces emotion. Then I go home, lie down, and finally sleep—my grief forgotten, at least for the night. Also this piece was one of the few I actually (somewhat) planned ahead. This is what I had planned "Walk to forget Bass Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, 1 Percussion, Violin, Viola, Violoncello. This piece is intended to in some way, describe my experience of grief, specifically while trying to fall asleep. Some nights, like the night this piece is based off of, I struggle to fall asleep. Stress, homework, expectations, all pile on top of each other, and this pressure releases grief. Suddenly my mind is occupied by grief and loss. It’s not painful, or something I want to forget. But it’s melancholic, it releases the sadness, anger, and stress I’ve felt over time. This grief is actually a chance to release all my struggles. But it goes on and on. At some point, I must forget my grief again, so I may sleep. I must go on with my life, and cannot wallow in my grief. So I walk along the river, till the sounds swallow my mind. I walk until my legs are tired and that’s all I can think about. So I go home, go to bed, and have forgotten my grief, and everything that caused it, and sleep. So how do I convey this in a piece of music? I need a theme/motif for grief: I imagine something in the alto saxophone. I think introducing it with a poking/prodding motive, like a repeated note, taken from instrument to instrument. An idea that represents the stress of life, poking my brain to the edge. This I’m not sure will work with the time constraint, and I may just begin at the next part. Then a swell and complete change to the grief motive. In this context, I imagine something legato and sostenuto, non-triatic and lacking “home”. I think the alto saxophone should appear in the high register for the first time, everyone should be in a higher register than before, which might make the prodding motive earlier less effective, but this grief motive more effective. The grief motive must have a rhythmic element to it, so that it is recognizable as key centers change, and the pitches can be moved around functionally, to allow moments of tonal beauty amongst the quartel nature of the motive. There also needs to be a nature element, an ostinato to represent walking, and getting distracted by the wind, the stars, the river. The grief motive slowly becomes less and less present until it is taken over by the nature motives. Then we sleep. A meditative ending." Walk.mp3 Izaak Thoms Walk Final.pdf

Hi @Churchcantor , I split your post from @Fruit hunter 's original post: I do this because we want to follow the rules in our forum etiquette: In rule 2b it says: We have this rule because by posting your own music under other members' post, it will 1) divert the original intention when the member wants some feedback on their own music rather than your music 2) causing your music to lose chances to be reviewed since it is posted under other members' posts 3) It is impolite to do so. I know that you only want to respond to other members' posts without malice. But you also need to know that this may cause some disturbance and dismay to them since you repeatedly post your own works to other members' posts without much discussion, thus they won't have much gain from your posting of your own work as a response. It would be better for you to just create your own post for your own work and then quote it under other members' posts. You are also to be reminded that if you keep posting your own piece of music to other members' posts in the way you do this time, you may receive warning points for that. Hope you understand that we clearly don't want to issue warning points to any members. Henry

Here's my analysis of the three aspects you requested (harmony, orchestration, and interpretation). I've organized this post accordingly. Harmony Strengths: You use layered tones very well, especially in the strings, bassoon/contrabassoon, and brass. For example, the opening sul pont immediately creates a tense atmosphere that really suits your subject. Key Improvement Areas: There is too much harmonic stasis. We spend too much time hovering in dominant or tonic pedal harmonies without much meaningful movement beneath. Yes, these pedal harmonies go a long way to create atmosphere, but they also delay any sense of harmonic identity or direction. Even when the Allegro arrives, the harmonic palette doesn't change substantially, the texture just gets busier and louder. We are moved rhythmically but not harmonically. Suggestions: Consider using long pedal sections more strategically, with chromatic shifts in the held bass tones. These can create a lot of drama without adding rhythmic complexity. You might also consider employing modal harmonies, like Dorian or Phrygian, to evoke Central Asian/Siberian folk music traditions in a way your current diatonic approach cannot. Orchestration Strengths: Percussion! You use this section very creatively and imaginatively, and the intricate instructions and directions signal real knowledge of percussion techniques. The bowed vibraphone and screaming gong are great examples of thinking outside the box to achieve your desired effect. Key Improvement Areas: The greatest issue facing this piece is balance and crowding of registers. For example, in full orchestra passages, nearly every instrument is playing forte (or louder), and most are in similar registers simultaneously. In an actual performance, this will create a wall of undifferentiated sound rather than the textured climax you're looking for. Moreover, most of the instrument families tend to do the same thing together throughout the piece. The brass, for example, play similar rhythmic figures at the same time in your climactic sections. Same with the strings; there's a lot of doubling with the other string members. Suggestions: Stagger instruments' entries, especially with the brass, to improve timbral clarity. For the woodwinds, try not to write at the high end of their registers during climactic passages (except maybe the flute and piccolo - oboe and clarinet will become fatigued much more quickly), as they'll have to play extremely loudly to be heard. The violas are particularly underused in this piece, although all the strings sort of play the same thing most of the time. See what you can do to give each member its own line. Interpretation/Coherence Strengths: You employ strong structural ideas to frame this myth. Section I (Adagio minaccioso) is environmental and mythic. Section II (Allegro) is growling and rhythmic. Section III (Andante sonoro e vellutato) is the emotional heart of the piece. Sections IV-V (Moderato minaccioso) return us to a more aggressive character. Ending with an abrupt silence is good instinct! Key Improvement Areas: The Allegro goes on for too long, with the same rhythmic textures enduring for about 50 measures. On the other hand, the Andante should be longer. The lyrical woodwind-writing here is especially intimate, which suits the first-person encounter. If this is indeed the point of human contact, it deserves more development! Finally, the piece's emotional trajectory is loud --> quieter/lyrical --> loud again --> louder. This means the piece ends on its most intense moment... climactically dynamic, but it may obscure the mythological/encounter narrative you're going for. Suggestions: Consider giving the Allegro section an internal arc to give it more character (maybe the creature stops and listens, or there's an external threat that suddenly appears). Also, if the first-person encounter is meant to be the core of the story, consider whether that last section is a return to the environmental myth-telling perspective or if it's a different kind of confrontation. All in all, this is an ambitious work with a strong programmatic concept and some real moments of orchestral imagination (especially the percussion)! Thanks for sharing with us. Best, Jordan

Thanks to all 12 participants who submitted music to the competition - the recipients of the "Landscapes - Soundscapes - Participant" Award! Padovana et Gagliarda “Detta la Lombarda” by @L.S Barros Amidst the Clouds & Flowers by @InstrumentalistElle Sacrificed to the Wilderness by @Fruit hunter Morning On Whidbey Island by @BipolarComposer Spring Submission “Rainy Weather” by @therealAJGS Chinese Fugue by @TristanTheTristan Sunset Suite in C minor by @Musicman_3254 City Rail and Nightingale by @Wieland Handke Alishan (for Flute Quintet) by @HoYin Cheung "Warmth" by @UncleRed99 The Voyage of a Lone Ship by @ferrum.wav Lamentare Ciobanului - “The Shepherd’s Lament” by @ComposaBoi The members have voted! --==<< Decisive Fanfare! >>==-- And the winners are: For winning the "Rustic Mood" Award with 9 votes - Padovana et Gagliarda "Detta la Lombarda" by @L.S Barros will receive the following badge: For winning the "Nature's Garden" Award with 10 votes - Amidst the Clouds & Flowers by @InstrumentalistElle will receive the following badge: For winning the "Peace of Nature" Award with 6 votes - Morning On Whidbey Island by @BipolarComposer will receive the following badge: For winning the "Nature and Civilization" Award with 9 votes - City Rail and Nightingale by @Wieland Handke will receive the following badge: For winning the "Forest Echoes" Award with 5 votes - Alishan (for Flute Quintet) by @HoYin Cheung will receive the following badge: For winning the "Home and Hearth" Award with 9 votes - “Warmth” by @UncleRed99 will receive the following badge: For winning the "Pastorale" Award with 8 votes - Lamentare Ciobanului - “The Shepherd’s Lament” by @ComposaBoi will receive the following badge: For winning 3rd Place overall with 8 points - City Rail and Nightingale by @Wieland Handke will receive the following trophy: For winning 2nd Place overall with 9 points - we have a tie! Padovana et Gagliarda "Detta la Lombarda" by @L.S Barros and Amidst the Clouds & Flowers by @InstrumentalistElle will receive the following trophy: For winning 1st Place overall with 16 points - The Voyage of a Lone Ship by @ferrum.wav will receive the following trophy: Congratulations to all the winners! We will now move your pieces to the "Competition Hall of Fame" sub-forum! And thanks to all the following participants who also reviewed all the entries! The contest would not have been as much fun and as instructional as it was without you! The following members will receive the "Heavyweight Reviewer" badge for reviewing 100% of the entries (12) submitted to the competition! @Luis Hernández, @Kvothe, @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu, @chopin, @Wieland Handke, @ComposaBoi, @ferrum.wav, @PeterthePapercomPoser, and @Tónskáld And the following members will receive the "Welterweight Reviewer" badge for reviewing 66% of the entries (8) submitted to the competition! And the following members will receive the "Featherweight Reviewer" badge for reviewing 33% of the entries (4) submitted to the competition! @TristanTheTristan, @HoYin Cheung, @Fruit hunter, and @UncleRed99 Thank you to all 13 Ardent Reviewers who reviewed the contest entries! This is perhaps the first time that the number of reviewers exceeded the number of contestants! Great turnout people! And thanks for me @PeterthePapercomPoser for organizing and managing all the competition polls, announcements, submission thread, badges, results, satisfaction survey and advertising outreach! I will receive the "Community Organizer" badge! To take the Landscapes - Soundscapes Satisfaction Survey go here: To listen to all the entries go to the submission thread: To check out all the popular voting polls go here: And for the competition announcement go here:

Heyo! This was the piece I was thinking about entering, but too late did I realize it was composed for a larger ensemble than the competition asked for. Nevertheless, I’d like to hear feedback. I wrote this in high school, about the sunset, the night animals coming out, and the following sunrise. Please use your imagination with some of the Noteflight playback, like on the percussion rolls. https://www.noteflight.com/scores/view/9a6240a2f89f631e24a47c955afe7d222913aca7

Hi everyone, I'm new to this group and am excited to have found the community. I recently began writing original music for concert band. What feedback do you have for me regrading the piece below. My primary goal in writing March of the Fire Brigade is to learn and get better. My students may end up playing it this next school year as well. Thanks for any critiques you can give me! March of the Fire Brigade

Actually, I was mistaken. The areas I heard weren't parallel 5ths, rather, parallel 4ths. Which are still just as weakening to the overall harmony, in my opinion. places like in measure #51 between the clarinet and flute, for example. (b. 51 Flute & Clarinet) two parts moving at a 4th or 5th interval back to back like that is something to be avoided, as a good rule of thumb, when it comes to composition. (P.S. I've said this before, I think, but GAWD I hate noteflight's navigation... 🤣... Makes me wonder why most, if not all of us just simply use musescore, but to each their own!)

21st: The Most Innovative Composers In the 21st century, music has become remarkably fragmented compared to previous eras. Yet, as in every age, there are composers who stand out as groundbreaking. Who do you consider the innovative composers of the 21st century? Here are my examples. 1 - Richard D James I consider him to be the greatest composer of the 21st century. His innovativeness has evolved with the times, influencing Mike Paradinas, Tom Jenkinson, Thom Yorke, Björk, and countless others. What deserves particular mention is his use of high-speed, computer-generated rhythms alongside a consistent body of work. From Syro (especially XMAS_EVET10) to Drukqs, and across aliases including AFX and Polygon Window, each release is characterized by detailed sound texture construction. This level of craft places him apart from most contemporary composers. His process of immersion in sound itself appears central to the results. (Related: Tom Jenkinson. Not confined to bass or jazz, he deploys rhythms to develop a distinct style, as heard in his recent Kammerkonzert.) 2 - Georg Friedrich Haas While I am not someone who can analyze and discuss music in a strictly technical sense, starting with In Vain and continuing through subsequent works, there is a distinct originality in how he incorporates conceptual elements — including performance in complete darkness. His style differs from Ligeti's, but the logic of his ideas and his ability to realize them compositionally are notable. 3 - Michael League As producer, leader, and bassist of Snarky Puppy, his compositional work merits attention. He may not belong to the category of historically canonical composers, but tracks such as Somni and The Curtain represent a high level of cross-genre craft. His solo work occupies a distinct space, making use of jazz harmony and a particular tonal quality that is difficult to classify. 4 - Ludwig Göransson Active primarily in film scoring, his work shows consistent originality. Black Panther stands out within his output: rather than simply placing African music within an orchestral, his use of sound reverberation and electronic tones within individual tracks represents a specific compositional decision worth examining. His trajectory outside of film scoring remains an open question. 5 - Ambrose Akinmusire Beyond his work as a trumpet player, his compositional approach is notable for the integration of classical strings and explicit social content. The string writing contributes to a fluid quality in the compositions, and certain rhythmic passages — in combination with the drum writing — share something with Hania Rani's approach. He stands as one of the more genuinely contemporary voices currently active. (These are just my current opinion.) What do you think? Who do you consider to be innovative composers?

Thanks for the positive feedback! Where specifically did you see I used parallel 5ths? It would help me to go back & relook at them. I composed this before I even knew what a tonic was😂

Cloudburst 9 was one of my 3 attempts at a high energy, big jazz band work I wrote in 2007. I played keys in high school and college jazz band. But could I reproduce a 70s big jazz band like Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, etc in my Cakewalk DAW? I decided to gave it a try. My track in 2007 was ok but the drums lacked sophistication. So I opened up the folder and discovered I had audio file tracks without drums. The instrument wav files sounded amazing still. Which I was surprised. Drums now remixed with variation and punch. The trombone and trumpet leads are from the same synth brass from my Roland keyboard. It sounded very much like a trombone and trumpet, but it's a synth patch. One of my fav sections is the final trombone solo where the rhythm section energy picks up a notch. Also I have a favorite minor chord in the work. Maybe you'll notice it. Music and virtual instruments composed and performed by me, no AI . Not really a jazz genre, more like show tune maybe, and fusion. I know the mix can be much improved, but I'm not going to remake all instruments right now. Maybe later. DAW: Cakewalk Sonar 7(in 2007) and remixed with current Cakewalk Sonar All Instruments: Roland Fantom, with added vsti DSK Brass for the sax section Effects - Sunset Live Room, and a touch of spring reverb

I enjoyed this too. Has the Chattanooga vibe 100 percent! It's less than 3 minutes and doesn't need a fancy development. Once you get to 4 minutes + maybe add a sax solo or something over a verse. I wrote a few big jazz band pieces as well, in 70's style. Check out my Cloudburst 9. Hope you post something again!

I wrote this yesterday in time I should have allocated to study for University, but alas this had to be born. The name is because it reminds me a little bit of Ravel, though perhaps it is closer to his student Vaughan Williams. The main themes are presented at the beginning and then each subsequently orchestrated on their own. There are some interludes for the brass and the final two darker sections are connected only motivically to the rest, though there is a deep harmonic relationship between those last two. It is not intended for real performance, I think the sound is clear enough and the work short enough to not need a score to follow (my excuse to not clean it up haha). https://youtu.be/zKFozjlhlJI?si=1WDGgZvzNyXdK_cu

The program does the heavy lifting by itself. However, you should check over what you write. "Behind Bars" is what everyone using these days. Stone's "Music notation in the 20 century" comes is second. Stone is about modern notation conventions. Behind Bars is about the standards. Both are useful. I would use Behind Bars make sure my score meets standards. Then if there are modern convetitions i might use stone's. Or score study. (score study is the best.)

Thank you for your reply, and I am sorry for the delayed response! Currently, I have a computer automatically generate sheet music for me. What I have in mind is to first use a computer program (such as MuseScore, though I would welcome any recommendations) to automatically convert MIDI into notation, and then study music notation in order to correct and refine the output. As for writing by hand, that is certainly something I would like to be able to do eventually, though I imagine that is still a ways down the road. In addition, my primary motivation for wanting to learn notation is analysis. Just as many of you do, I would love to be able to analyze pieces of music from a notational and theoretical perspective. In short, my two main goals are: correcting and refining the output from software such as MuseScore, and performing musical analysis. Those are what I am primarily hoping to work toward. Best, Lithl.

Sympfonija nr1 2 mov.mp3Simpfonija nr 1 jud 2.pdfHere is my symphony

Hello @JP S. ! I get what you were going for but the music sounded much too martial to me to match any specific landscape. But it does nicely portray the events you described. I think the final portion is meant to sound like the sunrise and the awakening of the animals right? But I can't help but notice a slight similarity to the theme from "Spaceballs": Anyway - there's only a slight resemblance. I enjoyed your music so thanks for sharing!

@PeterthePapercomPoser @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu @UncleRed99 Lol, I put the Noteflight link in the first time but for some reason it didn’t go through. I reinserted it now, so hopefully you can see it

helloooo "The Voyage of a Lone Ship" is a piece for mixed quintet (violin, cello, horn, timpani, and piano). it is based on a sketch from the website youraislopbores.me*. i've asked a random person to draw a landscape for me to base my composition on and what i got is this sketch of a lone ship sailing on the sea under a starry night. the piece contains many different aspects that i try to portray: the lone night voyage, the shimmering star, the creaking wooden ship, the wavy sea, the exciting morning conundrum, and the night fall once more. *of note, youraislopbores.me is a website where real people can roleplay as an ai and answer/draw prompts from humans. people can also be the role of the humans and give the "ai(s)" (people who's roleplaying as ai(s)) many kinds of prompts. therefore, this artwork is not made by ai. a real anonymous person sketched my prompt and created the artwork below. this website is an act against ai art in general. im going to be honest, composing this piece was a tough journey. i had to rewrote the early sections so many times and my motivation keeps dwindling down day by day to finish this, but ive pulled through!!! i'd say there are many things that i'm not entirely satisfied with the piece, but it's in a good enough condition for me to post. also mightve gone overboard with the duration, oh well lmao enjoy the piece guysss The Voyage of a Lone Ship.mp3 The Voyage of A Lone Ship.pdf

and indeed, old member. @ferrum.wav you should check out @SergeOfArniVillage works!

HI there, are you writing by hand or using a program?

Here are my overall thoughts about this competition: Overall, the competition was competition went well. I think new members might find the three-month time limit a challenge. However, seasoned members, with the flow. It allows entries to submitted and to be scored fairly. For the spring competition, I was a judge! There was one entry that stand out! Sadly, it was scored very low. For now, the competition should be for fun. and open to all. But I do not want to anyone to bummed out if they score low. So maybe new members should encourage from seasoned to join after they have a couple works? (just a thought).

Indeed we need our imagination as there's no link here 😜

Glad to hear you nonetheless participated in writing a Landscapes - Soundscapes themed composition! Where is the link to the music?

I can play that song fairly well on Electric, fretless bass, but can't handle those constant high G Sharps vocally, without a microphone, at least! 🤣

Oh, you will reach the point where you don't even need to think of analysis anymore. Use the accidentals that are easiest; even if the music is complicated, make it as easy to read as possible.

Thak you so much @SergeOfArniVillage , I am really glad you liked it! I also considered mixing both sections but, to be honest, the main reason I started with the tonal section was because I lacked skills and ideas to keep the atonal section going. So before mixing atonal and tonal ideas I think I will need to learn much more about atonality (what makes it work and different techniques). Thanks for commenting!

I'm just a random passerby, but I just wanted to say I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this! It's refreshing to hear a work that looks so complicated on paper, sound so simple and easily understood. And to be clear, that's a sign of masterful compositional skills. Honestly, inspiring, and this gives me a lot to think about. Thank you for sharing!

Hi Sam, The first problem I notice with this, is a technical one. It sounds like you have your master level set too high in the mixer, and it's causing a lot of peak level distortion. There's also quite a lot of octave doubling across the orchestra. This is notorious for causing distortion, because the instrument libraries are artificially adjusted to be perfectly in tune. So you get lots of frequency build up that you wouldn't have in a real orchestra. Some more expensive libraries allow random detuning, which helps circumvent this problem. Octave doubling is something forbidden in strict counterpoint, because it sounds weak. So it's probably best avoided where possible. (I'm being a bit of hypocrite here, because I've made exactly the same mistake in the latest piece I've posted!) Anyway, hope that helps a little. Alex

Hello @Josephine_Maccrimmon ! Welcome to the forum! Sorry for a late reply. I think the beginning of this sketch set up the mood well. You have many things you can do to move the composition forward. First is harmony. You are just staying in tonic D flat major in the passages presented. How about a half cadence and then modulates to a different key? Like, you can have a phrase ends on Ab major which is the dominant chord, and then start in a close key and then gets back to tonic Db major. You will already get some progress with this formula. Next is the instrumentation. You are using the flute as the melody carrier. What about the other instruments? You could easily switch roles with each of those instruments, for example having piano/oboe/quena playing the melody. Another thing is texture. What about changing the texture to a more polyphonic setting and invites more counterpoint? Also what about a contrasting section with different mood, tempo and key? These are all what you can consider for developing a piece! Henry

I wrote another Romance for my girlfriend Julia's birthday. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think! Romance No. 2.mp3 Romance No. 2.pdf

You will be fine. :) This is a stress free environment.