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Showing content with the highest reputation since 10/15/2026 in Posts

  1. Thanks for clarifying, Vasilis — I misunderstood the obstacle as the audio recording rather than the video's room sound. Since you already record into GarageBand/Pianoteq, one option is to film the same performance and use its GarageBand export as the video's soundtrack. Align a clear first key strike in both recordings, check alignment again near the end, and mute the camera audio. That keeps the actual performance while leaving mechanical keyboard noise out of the finished soundtrack. If you use iMovie on Mac, Modify > Detach Audio separates the camera's audio so it can be removed after alignment: https://support.apple.com/en-mt/guide/imovie/mov267936bb2/mac A short test would tell you whether that is practical with your setup, without committing to filming a whole sonata.
  2. Hi Wieland, This mix of fugal and dissonances is quite unusual (to my ears), but really enjoyable. As already mentioned by others, the contrapuntal material is really interesting, well done! The end in particular (starting from bar 91), I really found profound and full of emotion. And after 3 listenings, I found the orchestrated version: WOW !!! The only criticism there is that I find it a little "too diverse" in instrumentation (if that makes sense). But really: well done, and I liked the Parisian feeling (I really felt I was in Montmartre), which is in line with Paul Verlaine's theme! Did you get any prize for it in the end ;-) ? Cheers, Julien
  3. I get what you mean :), I made this version of the "score" for myself so I already know how to interpret it but if I wanted someone else to do it I would tell them to interpret freely! I think same goes for the poem, it doesn't mean anything clear and different people will interpret (or recite if we want to compare to playing) it in different ways.
  4. Oh, all right. I also see graphic scores as something like that, but as a composer, you have to be prepared for the fact that the interpretation of these scores can vary greatly from one performer to another. The thing is, some people believe that a graphic score is a kind of PRECISE set of symbols indicating exactly what should be performed. Well, that’s not my idea of musical indeterminacy. The beauty lies in allowing interpretive freedom and giving weight to the performer(s).
  5. Now, it's a time to help someone who wants to discover music - since I was helped by YC members a lot :) I have some examples that would be up your alley. Ludovico Einaudi: Moments of Peace Nils Frahm: Felt Ólafur Arnalds: Trance Frendz Hope this post helps you, have a wonderful musical journey and welcome to YC! Best, Lithl.
  6. Hi I think it's a very interesting piece with an intimate feel to it, which I really like. When it comes to graphic scores like this, I don't have much to say because everyone interprets and works with them however they want. For me, that's an added element of interest.
  7. 2 points
    Not sure where you're based. In the US, courts require "meaningful human authorship" to claim copyright, not just human contribution. You did not author the final product, just the prompt. It is possible to claim copyright to your part, but not to the final recording. Suno may have granted you commercial license rights if you paid them extra, but that is not the same as being able to claim copyright. Also, after listening to music created with Suno like this, I'm always less and less worried about AI music taking over. The use of kitsch and corny elements are through the roof, seem to have no relationship to the genre/style of the original concept, and have a redundant, non-developing form. "In my AI ethics course, any user that creates with AI is the sole author." - I am quite curious as to what sort of unreliable AI ethics course would be promoting this, as it's standard knowledge that all writing, graphic, and musical LLMs are only possible because you are not the sole author.
  8. Civilization 5 has some pretty sick music. This is one of my favorites.
  9. I originally wrote the first version of this piece for a Cello Quartet, during a very dark, and sadly extremely depressive time period of my life. I decided to rewrite it into a symphony-style work a few months ago, expanding its one minute original version into a fully developed piece that captured and added a new perspective it hadn't had before. Currently, this symphony version is 7 minutes long from start to finish. I am curious to hear the world's thoughts, especially in regards to transitions, structure, and the arc of the piece. For some very simple context for my goals with structure, it is meant to not be "easy" flowing and clear. It's interpretive and dynamic, each section usually adding a little bit more context to the last time that variation was played. It's meant to symbolize the return of event-specific previous positive and negative emotions, how they shift over time, and that usually no matter what, thoughts of a previous time inevitably come back to remind you of it. However I worry that I emphasize the dynamic type of relationship too much that it could be negative and have an unclear arc perhaps...? Note: I am submitting this to a composition contest in a few weeks, so my goal is to have it fully understandable and clear by then. FILES UPDATED ON 10/17/2026 Homage to a Longing Memory.mp3Homage to a Longing Memory.pdf
  10. Hello, This is such a delightfully bizarre piece. You got such a great touch...to make dissonant things sound good. Bravo. When I first listened to the piece, I didn't really get it. But the musical idea was memorable and stuck around in my head. Returning back after a few weeks, and I don't know...I think I get it a bit more now. My fav part is at 0:11. Those doted notes. I actually typed this comment, had to do some work, and listened to some Bartok while during the work and then suddenly heard that brief idea at 0:11 (your piece) in one of his pieces below at 0:42. I don't think it's "that similar", but your music makes an impression...which is a lot more than I say about some other music.
  11. Hello, I didn't read any of the preamble you provided for your music this time. I've listened to this piece on/off in the last few weeks. Like your other works, I find it very intricate. One gets the feeling like you are very deliberate about your notes. As usual, the engraving is absolutely beautiful. Is the applause at the end from a performance/is this you playing? 1:38 is very nice. I don't know why but the main theme sort of reminds me of something I might hear from a Pokémon game (ahhh I know, maybe this is not the feedback you want to hear for your elegant, pristine works!) Generally speaking I found the harmony to be a bit weird. Not in a bad way. The song comes off written in a way where it's obvious you know how to use conventional harmony. I guess perhaps you have found/looking for your voice? I can't tell just yet...probably need to listen to a bit more of your music to find out. I find that your music does tend to be a bit muted from an emotive point of view. I don't think this is intended to be a criticism...it just doesn't feel that emotional to me. I hope that makes sense. Perhaps it's a compliment? The music feels really deep sometimes, but the weird random harmonies throws me off a bit. My ear isn't really that used to all of it.
  12. 2 points
    Hello, Looks like you are on the right track to composing music! You didn't really ask for any specific feedback, so I will just throw some initial thoughts that come to mind. The piece is sort of long enough (almost 2 mins) but doesn't really move too much from your chord progression. You mentioned something about "listenable". I mean, I only have 2 mins of material to work with. I hope that you aren't trying too hard to focus on playing it too safe. In my opinion, you really gotta take risks. I always remembered my second composition I ever did, I felt like it sounded weird and disliked it, but my brother really always encouraged me to go further with it, since he found it more "interesting" to listen to. Somethings to consider - adding intro/outro. Often times, adding some sort of development section really spices things up. It's no coincidence that most pop music these days might throw in a bridge right before the ending of the song. It's a tried and true formula. So yeah, I would really look at the structure of your piece, that's the main thing that really stands out perhaps as being next steps for you... One of the core compositional techniques is to be able change things. Change the rhythm? Change the chord structure? Change key even perhaps? Then you get into more abstract ideas...change the atmosphere/change the where the listener is listening/change the genre?? I hope you keep writing, cheers!
  13. Maybe a little bit yes, I think most of what I write imitate or tries to imitate baroque style, even if I don't really intend it 😆. I didn't really knew how to write something longer/with less repetition on so short "theme", that was I think main problem here... If you could write, what could be done to achieve this, it would be very nice :)
  14. Hey @Wieland Handke ! Thank you so much for your review! I always want to reply but I have been sick for almost two weeks (still so) and threw up twice 2 days ago, and also digging myself into Scarlatti so I am not that active in this forum recently. Whenever I write I never expect how long a piece would be, as I am not writing for any competitions/commissions. I always say that I am selfish and I always write for myself instead of any other people. I write to express myself and I will let the music grow and speak for themselves. The duration of "my" piece (if they are really mine) is not what I the mere labor barer can control. What I have to do is to make sure the music express itself out fully, resonably and coherently, with technique and care and honesty only. I didn't choose the instrumentation either; the 1st inspiration popped out during a night when I woke up from sleeping, in the sound of a String Sextet which is the opening of this piece. I have no choice but to follow my inspiration haha. I even (unwillingly and forcefully) write 6 part fugue thx to the Sextet medium, as if I write for any other medium or instrumentation I wouldn't have dreamt of myself tediously writing a 6 part fugue! This shows another aspect of how "selfish" I am as I only write for myself, I never care for the feeling of my listeners! :) I don't think of any imagery for the beginning but I think yours is an apt description of it. What I was thinking then was human represented by freaking violas immersed and resonated in Tao by Heaven (represented by Violins) and Earth (represented by Cellos), that's where my shameless subtitle "Heaven, Earth and Human" bases on. The fugue is in 26:33 of the Youtube video for the whole Sextet, or 11:53 in the 2nd movement audio. Thank you so much for listening to the Sextet and remembering the piece even it's a year ago! I really appreciate it! Henry
  15. 2 points
    Fellow period composer here. Although i'm specialized in renaissance and early baroque music this is quite lovely! It's incredible what you did, the piece is quite long aswell, i have tried doing similar pieces but i always give up, seeing this makes me quite happy. Bravo!
  16. 2 points
    I listened to your waltz. The concept strikes me as interesting, and so does the way you work with harmony: you clearly try to move away from conventional progressions. The semitone relationship between the triads sounds interesting and vivid. But, purely in my opinion, it isn't very well realized here. If you make a signature feature out of this progression, it should be carried through the whole piece, very clearly and consistently. Yet in bars 6–7, and again in 9–10, you break your own scheme, and the piece goes from interesting to a bit dull. If you had held on to this harmonic ostinato (G minor and F-sharp minor), it would have come out much more convincing. Good luck! =)
  17. 2 points
    I've updated playback now. Continuo is probably not very correct in meaning of voice leading, but it would take triple this time to do it... Also the score had some minor typos in choir words, so it's also corrected. I don't know if I should change keys for choir, so I let them stay like this for now. Waiting for further things to improve here or in next works.
  18. The allegro below was an earlier movement for a wind quartet (back in 2019) that now contains lots of revisions. At the time, I thought it was 'perfect' but almost 10 years later, evidently it was not! 😬 Second movement recycled from another standalone piece I had made for wind quintet originally. The Rondo is a work in progress. Currently working on the C section (minor). I quite like the theme... think it is catchy. String Quartet in C (Allegro).mp3 String Quartet in C (Second Movement).mp3 String Quartet in C (Rondo Idea).mp3 String Quartet in C (Allegro).pdf String Quartet in C (Second Movement).pdf String Quartet in C (Rondo Idea).pdf
  19. listened to your quartet and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a finely crafted neoclassical piece. You've both preserved the style and built a very clear form, which is extremely important for works of this kind.
  20. I listened to your composition and enjoyed it. It has an interesting image, and its musical language is simple but not boring. The form is good, too: a well-proportioned ternary structure with a recapitulation. Best of luck in your future work :)
  21. Your composition doesn't sound terrible at all; on the contrary, it's interesting and cohesive. But yes, you're right: it's technically not easy to sing. It takes a very strong vocalist. Could you tell me how you recorded it? You've intrigued me with your remark about an AI performer.
  22. 2 points
    I used older ones just for fun/to learn to write in various keys. I can always change them, I forgot about it to be honest 😅
  23. 2 points
    Another point about the score, I'm not sure what has happened with some of your clefs. I also use Musescore, and there are indeed work arounds for lots of things! A great first effort at a longer work!
  24. No, this is not a live recording. The pedal sound you hear comes from sound libraries that imitate pedal noise. There are live performances of it too, but as the author I didn't like how this étude came across in them, so I chose to play it by hand on a virtual piano and record it for the vinyl. Due to health issues, I’m now finding it increasingly difficult to perform my compositions live. why I build all my music with MIDI files, even pieces that could be played. This étude is very easy to play, but unfortunately I can't play even that anymore, so I only write it in the software. This one, however, is a live performance, though the recording quality is very poor.
  25. Is this a live recording? I ask so because I hear the pressing sound of pedal, and if it's so it's a really good playing. On the piece itself it has sentimentality and melodic fluency, and it reminds me of piano music from @UncleRed99 and @MK_Piano . Thx for sharing! P.S. Thank you! Henry
  26. Hi Vasilis — on your point about recording your own playing: if the Clavinova's sound is the obstacle, the Pianoteq setup you already have could give you another route. You can use the Clavinova as a MIDI keyboard, record the live performance in Pianoteq's standalone MIDI recorder, and then export that performance as audio with your chosen piano. That keeps your actual timing, velocity and transmitted pedal movements, rather than relying on a notation playback. The connection depends on the Clavinova model (USB-MIDI or conventional MIDI), and a short test of the velocity response and pedal is worth doing before a full take. Save the MIDI performance as well as the audio so you can try another sound later without replaying it. If it is the action or pedal feel that is holding you back, that is a different limitation. Which Clavinova model do you have, and is it mainly the sound or the feel that you would like to improve?
  27. Dear Lithl, Thank you so much for your kind words and for listening to my sonata! I’m really happy that you recognized the main motif and enjoyed the contrasts and dynamics. And hahaha! 😂😂 I can’t believe I made such a terrible mistake with the spaces around “Binary”! I’ll have to be much more careful next time. Perhaps I should revise the whole sonata because of this serious problem! 😂😂😂😂😂 As for recording myself playing, I would really love to do that one day. Unfortunately, my Clavinova is not exactly the ideal instrument for presenting my music, but hopefully I’ll have a better piano in the future. Thank you again, my friend, for your kindness and support. It means a lot to me! 😊 Warmest wishes, Vasilis
  28. Hi Vasilis, I'm glad to listen to your latest piece. This sonata has a particularly strong motif to me: I immediately recognized it and dived into the whole piece. The change of pace and dynamics is wonderful—there's great contrast that makes me excited for what comes next. But there is a big problem! That is, the topic title is "( Binary)" not "( Binary )"! No, it's not even a problem, haha. In any case, it's always so nice to listen to your piano pieces in this forum. If you have the opportunity, please record your own playing, like Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff. Thank you for sharing, I like your pieces 😊 Best, Lithl.
  29. <font dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;"><font dir="auto" style="vertical-align: inherit;">B2 (Op.25 Etude 4 hand).mp3</font></font>
  30. Hello. First of all, thank you very much for liking my piece. For any composer, the most important thing is that the energy and the part of the soul that the author wove into the work reach the listener. I’ll try to answer your questions. I don’t work in Sibelius. I work in Studio One with MIDI files (whether I build the music artificially or play it by hand on the keyboard makes no difference here, since the MIDI files are recorded on the screen). So when I was asked for the score, I had the program print out part of it. It is only a copy of the notes and contains no other musical markings. I haven’t needed to prepare this piece for a live orchestra yet, as it is a brand-new work. Of course this is not the final score. It will need a great deal of work when (if) it is prepared for an orchestra rehearsal. That’s why I don’t have the strings split out by individual instrument, and so on. So please don’t be too hard on me about it. Think of it as a rough draft of the score, with only the notes marked. Sponsors help me with vinyl pressing. It isn’t very expensive, but it depends on how many copies you press and how you design them. Pressing 300 copies with good packaging costs us about €3,000-3,500 on average. Prices differ from company to company, and where you press matters too, as do shipping costs and taxes. You are absolutely right that my music stands closest to film music. Yes, that’s so, and it’s a sharp observation. Excessive grandiosity? I would rather call it heightened pathos. I love pathos-filled works (and romantic ones too. I’ll soon upload my Adagio, which has not a trace of pathos and is entirely romantic and melancholic :) ). In general, I have works in many different genres, from rock and jazz rock to classical. I love working in different genres. Now, the main point about this piece. Yes, when writing it I chose, for example, the structure of Tchaikovsky’s ballets. I still tried to carry one common motif (sometimes played by a flute, sometimes by another instrument) through the different parts, so as to keep a sense of unity. The outline of the piece is written above. It consists of 7 parts, and each part is meant to express the specific content of that outline. Take Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker or Swan Lake, where every part is an independent piece. I approached it on the same principle. Whether I missed something or it didn’t work out is another matter, and only the listener can decide that. For example, the fifth part is solely the attack of the sharks, and there I deliberately gave up the principle of a single, clearly pronounced leitmotif. So yes, that is a structural choice in my piece. Your view is close to mine. I also planned to make an animated film based on this piece, but so far no sponsor has appeared. As you know, film requires a huge amount of money. We’ll see. It’s a new piece, and someone may turn up. And finally, thank you once again for the kind words. All the best. The translation was done with Google, and I hope it says what I meant to say :)
  31. Hi @Mamuka Chkheidze ! Do you have the full audio of the piece? I don't have a spotify account and in this preview of your piece it just allows me to listen to some seconds of it. Thx! Henry
  32. The deadline is 10/30, so two weeks from now really. I am currently working the such optimizations you included above, as well as others (weird tempo/mood marks, slurs, consistent rhythms, etc.). I will post an updated PDF of such basic optimizations before the weekend. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated. In case you read this again, this files have been updated above
  33. Hi Mr. Chkheidze, welcome to our forums. The overture sounds wonderful, as well as the second movement, but I was revising the score of the first movement you submitted and I see that it gets cut off. In the last page (78) you can see it clearly. I suppose that it goes attacca but if it does, I have no way to know just from the score alone. It seems like the movement does not finish there. My suggestion —in case it was cut off— would be trying to export it as A3 or even bigger paper so there's enough space. It's true that even in that case, it's not easy to follow a score of such dimension. If this was not cut off, I would suggest a double bar at the end or a double final bar, marking "attacca subito" if you intend to keep going to the second movement without pause. Maybe you do know about this, but just in case! That you release this (or the final, recorded product, I suppose) in Vinyl is surprising to me, just as a note. Is it costly? Now on the piece itself, I would say that you have a lot of ideas, and you sure know how to make bombastic stuff that could fit very well in a soundtrack. I normally listen to the works twice or thrice before emitting some judgement, because often a single listen is not enough for me to grasp enough details or places I would like to stop and comment. While writing this comment I'm listening to the work for the second time and as I progress in the piece I see that this great music you have brought us may err on the side of excess, in my humble opinion. Excess of bombastic fortissimo moments, of tutti, of fast contrasts, and of lack of elements that would make the piece be perceived as a whole. Of course, there are very good transitions too, like the one you do from movement 2 to movement 3, and a whole lot of enjoyable moments, but I don't really get the impression of listening to a cohesive multi-movemented work, but at well crafted environments or atmospheres, or even excerpts of music that do share instrumentation in common and that would, as you suggest, work as part of some cinematic product. There is, in my opinion again, A LOT of material here that could be further developed to make a whole suite of itself. Finally, I hope the translator doesn't fail. My favourite part of this work is undoubtedly the clarinet solo part on movement 7. It reminded me a lot of "E lucevan le stelle" from Puccini https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAXE-lczgu4 Many thanks for submitting your work here. Best regards, Daniel–Ø.
  34. Hello, I am looking for more contemporary piano music with the following keywords: peaceful, pensive, sensitive, emotional yet simple. For example: August Hirv Jane Avril Akira Kosemura etc.
  35. Hi @PeterthePapercomPoser , What a strange sort of work, mixing modes like that. The result is however astonishing, really well thought and nice to the ear! The principle reminds me of Etudes (like Chopin's or Liszt's), complex pieces intended to "improve your technique", but which are also real pieces in themselves. So to your question: yes, I feel you've gone beyond the simple exercise, clearly. Must be complicated to learn though (due to the dis-harmonic aspect) Thanks for sharing, Julien
  36. Hey Tunndy, Some feedback: I like the beginning: the rhythm, the darkness, really cool! Bars [7-10], really not my favourite section. I like the change of tone bar 28. I agree with Tristan that having forte everywhere would deserve a bit of nuance... In general, in enjoyed it, thanks for sharing! Julien
  37. No, that idea hasn't crossed my mind :). Besides, I don't know the technical capabilities of the accordion very well.
  38. Thank you Luis! I sort of felt like adding the score as some sort of behind-the-scenes kind of thing, it was done before the recording and I practised by following the "score" and improvising around it. I felt like adding it since it's part of the process and if someone has critiques they can maybe point to those in the score... Then again, it's a new thing I'm trying! Thanks! :)
  39. Hey again Vince! I like how this one sorta starts like an invention. It also has a certain dichotomy between major and minor that's really interesting. Like I didn't perceive the main melody in the beginning to be in F# minor, but the piece is clearly meant to be in that key since that's how it ends. Also, just from listening without the score, I wouldn't have known that the piece modulates to Db so very smooth transition there. I would perhaps make sure that the tie from A natural to Ab at the key change with a slur over it is clear that you mean that to be a different note, not just a continuation of the A natural (perhaps a courtesy accidental might be in order). But that's just an engraving nitpick. Thanks for sharing!
  40. Have you thought about transcribing for accordion? Mark
  41. Two movements of a separated work, feel free to give any critique! Pavane.mp3 Prelude.mp3 Prelude(L).pdf Pavane.pdf
  42. 1 point
    Thanks, I'll try to utilize dynamic and add a better intro/outro with chord progressions on the next one. I do still have difficulty with left hand as it was not as agile as my right hand, and I kept play it safe by playing on a single chord with cadences. Changing tempo and key might still out of my ability to work with.
  43. No worries, I appreciate the update!
  44. Hi again, I wanted to provide an update. I have begun my annotations, but due to my schedule, it will be a few more days before I can confidently relay. I should have them by the end of the week if all goes well.
  45. Thanks @Grant Weep for introducing me to this Bartok piece! I already love the Music for Strings, Percussion and Celesta and this ensemble is right up the alley of that one. I am hard pressed to find the similarity between my dotted quarter and eighth note figure and this piece at 0:42 - I had to listen really hard to even detect what it was that you meant. But I guess there is a miniscule similarity! And I'm always glad to be compared to Bartok - one of my favorite composers for sure. Now I'm going to have to check out the rest of the movements of this Sonata! Thanks for your review and recommendation!
  46. You're welcome! I'm confident in your ability with Ai and it will be very entertaining, too! My record label creates with Ai then we reproduce it with an actual band. It's a fun process! It's interesting to see what's possible with Ai then create the human composition in studio. It's somehow meaningful in that way. Do you create live versions of your Ai creations?
  47. 1 point
    Hi Thatguy. I like the contrast between the arpeggiated chords and the almost solo voice passage. Both of them combined act as the structural pillar of the piece in my opinion, and you make good use of them. It may be true the midi doesn't do it justice. Engraving-wise I'd suggest putting these wide arpeggios in small notes so it's even clearer where the molto rubato acts and where the piece gets a bit more rigourus in tempo. I don't quite get the switching between Db and C#. Why is that? That aside, the prelude works for me but it wasn't my cup of tea compared to other preludes I've listened from your list. It's soft indeed and pleasant to my ears, especially the middle section in which the (1) seems to wander around chords. How many preludes are left? Or are they not gonna have a set end? Best regards!
  48. Mario Party 2 - Space Land:
  49. @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu As always, you performance is lovely to hear. That makes sense now @Thatguy v2.0. I forget that programs are not smart enough to understand how we play the piano. :)

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