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Sir Pickles of Mercury hereby declares his entrance into the Grand Competition. (also: happy five years on the forum to me!!!!)

[INFO DUMP pt.2] Unfortunately this scenario is only hypothetical and will stay hypothetical. To be as blunt as possible, there is flaw in the logic. So far, no one I have seen on the forums or any of your uploads have critiqued the raw music. It has been often aimed on the presentation of the music and in this case, about the sheet music. Having music performed is a competitive goal. 100s-1000s of people submit works every year for performance opportunities, both in the educational and professional scene. Speaking from my own experience, all the opportunities I have applied for have asked for a Resume and portfolio. Even if you have "the best work" from an subjective standpoint, they will go with the more experienced person in the professional scene and in the educational realm, they are more likely to give more chances to newer composers. I have made over 20 original pieces that I personally say are perfect and several arrangements. Most of my pieces are for the orchestra, and in my notation engine... I have over 100 files worth of scores. Out of all my music, I've been given the chance to have only four of my pieces performed, three of which were by me. I cannot understate how hard it is to get music performed for large ensembles. Yes, I know a lot and can guide a lot of musicians, but I am just another dude who does not have a big portfolio. I have to start small and work my way up. If a producer asks if you have a portfolio, this indirectly will show if you have had music performed, NOT just if it was made. I can draw a stickman but I do not call myself Monet or Dali. Just because you made a song or two is great, yet, how much experience do you have hearing your music live? If you haven't... then how often are you participating in the music community? Have you worked with other conductors, professors, soloists and varying ensembles? To tie back into the forum, we only want to see others succeed. This is why I share such detailed analysis of varying scores. It may be the one encounter that opens a new door in their thinking, or help provide an expectation of scores in the community. This is why I comment now. None of it is personal, at least coming from me. If you wish to talk about score engraving, then I'd be willing. It's a different ballgame compared to the music creation.

[INFO DUMP] Kvothe has merit in their critique. There are plenty of truths about music and the most basic one is that this art is here for you to enjoy. Whether it is by music creation, performance or listening to a song, it is here for all humans to express and interact with. This said, we live a society, and there are rules, expectations and trends for us to follow. In the music industry, this is very much true. Most of us here are professionals in the classical/ traditional aspect of music creation and performance, while some focus on more modern productions and performances on the popular stage. When it comes to the idea of having your work performed, the first and most basic universal is to have sheet music ready for musicians to perform. Sure, a studio or individual can only use the MP3 render and call it a day, however, that may not work for all cases. You may hire a band or an orchestra to play the music, however, they too will expect some PDF or printed copy to use. No matter the means, if you truly wish to participate in this field, you must inform yourself on the current practices. Why? Because there is an expectation and standard for music distribution. One aspect often overlooked is the side of copyright and trademark protection. If you have a work performed or licensed, you need to have this protection for widespread use. If you publish the score, it must also be protected. Just because "you made it" doesn't always guarantee it is protected. To tie back in, this is the fundamental point of Kvothe's comments. You cannot just throw a score out into the community and expect everyone to respect it like they would a Mozart work. There are professional expectations in engraving, formatting and document layout. So much so, people may disregard your score if you misspelled an instrument part. Sheet music distribution is under a lot of scrutiny and please do not take any comments about it personally. We are all spoiled by good sheet music and to be fair, we expect to see it... especially if we have to spend money for a copy.

I’m excited to share my new piece: Sonata No. 23 in F-sharp major, written in binary form. It’s a charming and playful work, full of unexpected harmonic twists that give it a unique and stylish character—perhaps the most distinctive sonata I’ve written so far. I composed this piece in just a few hours spread over two days, making the creative process as spontaneous as the music itself. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it—let me know what you think in the comments!

I enter

No, they are not allowed since you need a trio Quartet, or a quintet .chamber Orchestra’s or in this case what you may be referring to as a string orchestra at minimum could contain at least up to nine players. Two per part other than double bass since they rarely get Div.

To fix this, I'd suggest setting your page margins and score size to fit Letter sized pages, only. As when you export PDF, it will try to fit the score on a standard printer sized page. You can also attempt to shrink the size of the score by going to Format > Page Settings... > Staff Space: (Lower this value to decrease the size of the staff, which will allow for more room on the page to fit it while shrinking the overall size, or, increase it to enlarge the staff, allowing for less to fit on the page.)

Hi @Bjarke ! Good job making the score look cleaner! I think it really simplifies the look when you write it in 9/8. But you could have applied the same logic to the 5/4 bar as well! You could have written it as a 15/8 bar! Thanks for sharing.

Why hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to listen and write such a detailed comment—I really appreciate it :) I’d be happy to share the full score! It’s still a bit messy since it came together from sketches, but I’m currently cleaning it up and will share it as soon as it’s presentable. Your point about saving some of those authentic cadences for a coda (especially with cymbals) is very interesting, and I think you’re right that it could make the ending feel more impactful. I've used similar structures in my codas, usually ending the introduction with a subtle phrase. This time it was a bit different, but hey! I'm glad they provided a great start :) And I love reinforcing the waltz harmony with brass and winds underneath (specially with the French Horn)! Thanks again for the kind words and thoughtful feedback—it really means a lot!

Greetings! This is a very simple madrigal, as when i was making this i was very bored, so the writing isn't my best. But i kinda like it. Enjoy! LOB 72 There was once a bird.mp3

This is my submission for the Landscapes competition. For my landscape I have chosen this photo I took a few years ago while on vacation on Whidbey Island, which sits on the Puget Sound near Seattle. It's written for Oboe, Bassoon, and Harp. I wanted to capture the quiet, stillness of the moment with music that is very simple and delicate. Morning On Whidbey Island.mp3 Morning On Whidbey Island - Score.pdf

Hi Bioplar, The choice of instrument for this composition, certainty, was correct. Harp, Bassoon, and Oboe do create the tonal colors for a pastoral piece. You could have choose any wood wind instrument, for they soft, warm colors. When I hear the harp, I envision mermaid playing on rock. (that is just me) The woods, I think, create dreamy aura in this piece. I enjoy interplay oboe and bassoon with the harp. Overall...nice job

Several months ago, I posted a piece which was at the time an exercise in sonata allegro form, which I decided to make the third movement of a sonata in d minor. I've had this theme in my head for a while, so I decided it would be the perfect time to use it. I went down a big rabbit hole of nonfunctional modal harmony, which was quite fun but really challenging to work out (though I wrote the secondary theme in five minutes during a chemistry lecture). sonata in d minor movement 1 audio.mp3 sonata in d minor movement 1 score.pdf

Seeing as my schedule will open up in the next few weeks, I suppose I will participate :)

A beautiful piece that strikes me as being in the neoclassical style. It’s always lovely to see handwritten sheet music. I’m not sure if it’s a live performance or a virtual instrument; these days, anything is possible. The sound is a bit ‘muddled’ for my taste in a style like this.

Wieland, thank you for taking the time to comment on my work. Your interest is much appreciated. Mark

Hallo @interlect , that is a good question. Honestly, I also never heard about „Counter-Melody“ or „Twin Melody“. However, since I’ve always use counterpoint when composing, possibly I can explain something about. First of all, the “reviewers” who have concluded that this piece is not counterpoint may be somewhat surprised, since the piece has a “jazz” or “big band” feel that one doesn’t necessarily expect when looking forward to a piece performed on an organ, a piano, or perhaps by a chamber orchestra. But that kind of „style“ is not the issue. Counterpoint is not a style of music or related only with a certain era, namely the Baroque time. There is, for example, a Russian composer, Nikolai Kapustin, who wrote always in Jazz „style“, including 24 preludes and fugues in Jazz style, which – of cause – apply counterpoint. So, counterpoint is a composing technique, rather than a style: Counterpoint, or polyphonic music is all about voices that form rhythmically and melodically independent (horizontal) musical lines. When two or more such voices occur in a piece of music, they interact with each other, following certain contrapuntal rules and thus creating harmony. Since all voices are equally carriers of the melodic and rhythmic material, there is no specific melody voice and no subordinate accompaniment, for example through (vertical) chords. While singing independently, the voices do not have to be completely unrelated. Often, one voice repeats or imitates what another voice has sung before, as is the case in a canon, for example. Counterpuntal compositional technique fascinates with its efficiency in the use of thematic material. Once started with the (fugue) subject and the „accompaniment“ in the other voices (which is, in fact, no accompaniment but material being developed in interaction with the subject), there is enough material with which to compose without having to stop and reflect. To come back to your example: To me, it’s inherently a typical jazz piece based on a chord progression over which the band begins to improvise. In a chord progression, the vertical approach—that is, the chords themselves with their harmonies—is the fundamental compositional or improvisational technique. The melodic material follows these harmonies and generates the horizontal lines as a result of them, rather than as their original idea. And even though your two brass sections interact with each other in a kind of melodic dialogue, I get the impression that they are engaged in a “playful competition” to see who can deliver the better improvisation over the underlying jazz harmonies, rather than developing a “subject” or thematic material. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I really liked the piece, but it is also for me no counterpoint, and the other classifications like “Twin melody” or “Counter-Melody” (which, as far as I know, aren’t clearly defined terms) seem to be an attempt to express in a single word what I’ve tried to explain in more detail.

Well... Musescore Studio has never really been all that great at translating MIDI to .mscz... in this case, I see no difference in that fact... lol Here is the .mscz file that resulted from opening the MIDI with Musescore. If you let me know what it is that you're trying to accomplish, or, if willing, you'd be able to send me a copy of the score that you're attempting to format, I might could give you a hand with that, directly rather than indirectly. Just let me know!

Dear all. I am glad to share with you the final movement of my Symphony No.1! This is the official conclusion of my whole set of Symphony No.1! I can't believe it is done after few years. Hope you all enjoy it! About the work As usual, the highly motivic and related to other movements. The third three notes "dat-dat dat!" serves the main motive (and new material) of this movement. As an answer, the motive from First movement (blue) is immediately recalled with little modiciation in rhythm. The second mvt. motive (green) also enter the party very soon. The work reaches the climax at m.244 from the build up of m.193 which goes into a very big bright chord. The last part of the work starts are m.274 and ended with a crash of different motives.

Great, that looks better. For the next version, I want to look through the score and look at bars repeat the same material and re think them. I am sure the piece can logically breathe with out them, yes? After that, we will look at 5/4 section...

Thanks a lot for your comment @Kvothe I re wrote the score with new ideas and tried to improve it with the 9/8 meter. Others have mention it as well and I thought then why not give it a try then? Here is the new re written version. WarBorn complete re write draft 3 03-04-2026 - Flow 1.mp3 Warborn recomposed draft 3.pdf

Music sounds good, how do you produce your music? I noticed you transition from piano improvisation straight into MuseScore 4. When you're moving those ideas over, do you find yourself live-recording MIDI to capture the 'feel,' or are you manually inputting notes to keep the notation clean? I always struggle with how much human data to keep versus making it look perfect on the page.

Thank you so much!!! I'd love to share the orchestral score, but I need to clean it up first haha. These melodies were brought together from sketches and unreleased pieces, so the score is still a bit rough. I'll try to tidy it up and share it as soon as I can. I usually aim for more subtle harmonies and gentler phrasing than Strauss II, and that’s part of my "unique" take haha. I guess sometimes I achieve that, and other times it turns out more robust—like a Viennese waltz. Thank you danishali903 for listening!

Dipping my toes back in music composition after a hiatus. Last year, I wrote this piece in honor of the Detroit Medical Orchestra. This orchestra comprises volunteer musicians from the medical profession in the metro Detroit area, including doctors, nurses, dentists, medical students, and more. Their mission is to bring healing through music, and they perform free concerts throughout the region to achieve this goal. I’ve been a part of this wonderful orchestra for many years, and I wrote this piece to celebrate its 15th anniversary. This piece is somewhat an unofficial sequel to the very first piece I posted here on this website, as it continues to explore Greek mythology. (https://www.youngcomposers.com/t34170/nocturne-for-orchestra-an-ode-to-nyx-goddess-of-night/#comment-1186668533) More information of the piece can be found in the short program notes in the PDF score. The Detroit Medical Orchestra had the opportunity to perform this at a local hospital. I'm linking the performance here, as well as providing the audio MIDI mockup. Any comments/feedback is highly appreciated :) Asclepius.mp3 An Ode to Ascelpius, God of Medicine and Healing - Full score.pdf

@danishali903 : This is well crafted piece! I love all the different textures and colors. My favorite part is the slow string introduction. Those harmonics....just wow.

Here's a musical quote from "The Outsider" by Colin Wilson. It features a discussion of T. E. Lawrence, Van Gogh, Nijinsky, Diaghileff, Stravinsky and Debussy. And if you've gotten this far, thanks for reading!

Hello @L.S Barros Your piece reminds of the Baroque period suites. Texture-the chorale(homophonic) texture succeeds at establishing a peaceful, serene scene. Harmony-Although the harmony is primarily diatonic, the chromaticism shines through in other means...non chord tones. Score-The score is clean and the engraving is spot on. Orchestration: I felt maybe there some imbalances. (lack of dymanics)

The info dump that @MK_Piano wrote should help you, too. Back in the golden days of hollywood, there was orchestra at hand to play the music for the films. Even before the advent of DAW's. Now, with DAW's what occurs: the composer sends the demo to studio for approval. Then his or her team prepares for the final cut (post production). Orchestration, copyist, ect. Now if there are synths, those are not part of the live recording. If there is one. Dune used synths and custom instruments. Scores today have become more hybrid @interlect. Learn to write well. Take feedback when it is provided. :) Final note: I agree with @MK_Piano on how scores should be presented. We are here to help you. Let us do that...please.

Hello @Thatguy v2.0 What a lovely prelude you have here. :) I am will now provide review: 1) At bar 5 and following you marked what pedal markings should be. But you do not need to mark them every time. Just show us once and then use sim. expression. That way, you show the performer what the pedal markings. 2) the counterpoint is spot on. I see no issue there.

Why hello there, When I was listening to your piece, I heard a compound meter and not simple meter. From the score, you have a simple meter (3/4) with triplets that gave me that me that impression. and Other triplet figures too... Switch 3/4 and replace it with 9/8. you will still have the triplet feel! You might have to adjust some bars to adjust to meter. But overall, you will be surprised... The direct modulation from D-A was a nice surprise. It reminded how J. Williams modulates.

Why hello there, I would like to see the full, if possible. That way, I can full see how you orchestrated each section. However, what I can do is give a review from the audio. I love the dovetailing in the woods and the cadential closures. That is nice touch. However, I think those authentic cadences might serve a better purpose in a coda, especially with the cymbals. :) The Patti roll was excellent. That provide a great start. I think when you have interchange between piano and strings. With the lyrical melody, use wood wind. Then when you have piano part strings! Strings can handle such bouncy melody. :) Background material: Underneath, you can use brass and woods to create waltz type harmony. Overall, this is charming piece.

This is quite charming! I would love to see a score of the parts that are orchestrated. If I had no context and turned on the radio and this was playing, I would've honestly thought this was a Strauss waltz. That's probably my biggest gripe with this. I think it's suppose to be an homage to the Strauss Viennese Waltz, but it lacks originality or a unique take on the genre.

Very Good Well Done You've Set a Standard that's Hard to compete with.... By using only 3 Instruments, you've been able to create an inspiring, "MOOD".

So are chamber orchestras allowed?

I've heard those before; even after writing music for 38 years, it sounds impossible to a non-pianist! Easy trick to it, I suppose.

Oh! Really easy scale down.

Hi ....................Whats the difference between "Counter-point vs TwinMelody" ? The Track below was submitted for a Counterpoint Evaluation, and came back as Negative, stating: not counterpoint. A Double brass Section 1: panned left 2: panned right If its not counterpoint is it classed as a Counter-Melody ? COUNTERPOINT vs TWIN MELODY.mp3

WOW Wieland Handke ..............Are you Intelligent ! what a wonderful post, i shall be referring back to this regularly thank you. when a woman has a double pregnancy, its called TWINS....... so a "Twin-Melody" is a Double-Melody, know as "Polyphony". when you think of a Cave man & woman................we've come along way from Hitting a Drum with an Animal Bone......he he thanx again x https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-melody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyphony

Measure 36.

We studied this piece in Orchestration, it was wonderful. Our textbook had different voicings/arrangements of chords w/ audio recordings so it was really helpful. I love this description...it's really a combination of instrument capability & range knowledge, compositional/arranging chops, and creativity. Imagining what you want the final to sound like and using your tool kit to make it happen.

A beautiful and thoughtful prelude of which the counterpoint and harmonies linger in your ear long after you listen to it!

Hello! This piece was one of my favourites to compose, sadly the software that i use to render the lyrics (Cantamus) didnt work nicely for the words: Cricket, Leap'd, Jump'd, Alive, Pass'd and Tra la la. So sorry for that! I hope one day they can update the software and its able to render it correctly! (If you guys have suggestions for free realistic vocal synthesizers i would be pleased to check them!) The story is about a woman and her beloved singer cricket, who sadly has passed. Alternative title (Detto lo) "lament for the death of a singer cricket." Lyrics: I once had a cricket green and strong and he went: tra la la la He leap'd and jump'd and sang, He did not use the common slang tra la la la Then one dark day he pass'd my cricket went away No more music no more dance, goodbye my cricket. tra la la la. I once had a friend that sang for me and he went: tra la la la But now he's not alive, And i still sing in the wildlife tra la la la No money in this world can buy my cricket back No gold coins nor golden rings can buy my cricket tra la la la. Poem written by: MYSELF! mixdown-_1_.mp3

The submissions are final at the time that they are submitted to the competition. (I will add this to the competition announcement - thanks for bringing this up)

I do wonder though as I am both participating and looking to review, it wouldn't be in my best interest to review and give feedback if they may change their work and possibly improve their result before the deadline lol. It's not a big issue, however, a little internal dilemma.

Something better. Trio. I am.

Yes - thank you for pointing that out!

Unfortunately, I will be busy this time of year. I am hoping that everything becomes less busy for me during the summer. Good luck to everyone.

No, it was MuseScore's built in theorbo, in their MS Basic sound font.

Some badges must me earned. Some are given freely, but there is one badge that rules them all. Legend holds that a mysterious "better than thatguy" badge is given only to a chosen few. You must search through the members profiles and sift through their badges to gain further knowledge. I wish you well in your quest.