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Wow then I would get several of them for my works! My Clarinet Quintet is 62 minutes long so it will get 2 of them!!

We staff have decided that it might be a good idea to open the awarding of badges up to the members, not just the staff. The staff aren't perfect and can sometimes miss some good opportunities to award badges to members for some of their excellent or distinctive content. So if you feel like you have been overlooked for an award you deserve - let us know! Tell us which piece you think deserves what kind of award/badge and why and we will consider granting it to you. You can also suggest awards for other fellow composers' works! Refer to the following list of manually awardable badges. If a badge doesn't exist for your particular achievement you can suggest new badges/awards in that thread:

There gonna be this one guy who’s probably treating the badges like Pokémon

I present to you the new badge - The Colossus of Prora

Hallo @PeterthePapercomPoser, I have created a PNG which could be used as basis for a badge. Some considerations: The original photo can be found at Wikimedia Commons under https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20-07-06-Prora-RalfR-DJI_0120.jpg. Please check whether it can be used concerning the license conditions. I have nothing against a „Collossus of Prora“ badge, but I would remind that this building did not have the best reputation because of its „problematic“ history. Originally erected by the Nazis as a huge holiday resort for their „Kraft durch Freude“ (Strength Through Joy) project. After World War II it was used a long time as military barracks, first by the Soviet Army, than by the East German Volksarmee. Since the mid-1990s, it stood empty for a long time and was exposed to decay and vandalism. Now it is (at least partly) renovated and houses a hotel, apartments etc. A more detailed overview can be found at Wikipedia under https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prora.

how about, "better than th..." oh nevermind

Upps, the "Colossus of Prora". Did you mean something like that?

Hello everyone, I recently updated a little draft of music for string quintet on the incomplete works forum and I just developed it into a full piece. After some thought, the section felt somehow like a developed theme, so I composed a main theme by using some of the musical features found in that draft I composed. The piece is an elegy and has the following sections: [m.1~m.9] Introduction -- The introduction was composed by making use of the most important harmonies of the piece: Cmaj, Cminor, Dbmaj and Gmaj. [m.10 ~ m.25] Main theme -- Main theme in C minor. This theme is in 2/2 (cut time). It works as a period but, in this case, both statements end in a half cadence (the second has a stronger modulation to G). [m.26 ~ m.40] Development section (original draft) -- Developmental section which starts with the main theme in Cmaj. This section is repeated once and it is in 4/4 (common time). [m.41 ~ m.51] Restatement of main theme -- second part of the main theme repeated once, this time ending in a perfect cadence (with picardy third in last chord). I am considering repeating also the first part of the theme in the restatement. Somehow I feel the development lasts for long enough as to justify a complete repeat of the initial theme, but I am still not sur. Any suggestion about the best thing to do is welcome! I think the atmosphere fits that title of "elegy", but it is also too hopeful at times so I am not sure if it is really an elegy. Please, let me know if you have any suggestion for the title! Also, I am not sure about the use of dotted notes for those moments in which they need to cut the phrase a little earlier. Would there be a better way for notating that? Thank you! As always any feedback is more than welcome and hope you enjoy it!

Here is a list of Manually-Awardable Badges that aren't directly related to a competition or event: Musical Debator Melophile Holding Strong Opinions History Buff Philosopher of Music Theory Buff Orchestration Buff Keen Ear Keen Eye Musicologist Ivory Tickler Symphonist Chamber Guru Troubadour Concertophile Outstanding Orchestrator Maestro Soloist Master of Improvisation Skilled Arranger Film Buff Video Game Buff You've Got Rhythm Got Published Got Performed Tune Smith Prolific Composer Counterpoint Wizard Sick Beats Period Composer Ardent Producer Hepcat Aleatoric Composer Bando Drum Major Pop Song Aficionado Brass Aficionado Woodwind Aficionado String Aficionado Film Composer Recording Artist Musical Dramatist Challenger Avid Listener Musical Socialite Ingenious Harmonizer Dance Music Impresario Headbanging Rocker Musical Storyteller Musical Explorer VGM Enthusiast Film Music Enthusiast Sculptor of Sound Audiophile Idea Peddler Star Performer Choir Master Musical Architect Immaculate Engraver Impeccable Taste Local Lurker Abstract Composer Guitar Guru Collaborator Accomplished Virtuoso Musical Advisor Elegant Classicist Amorous Romanticist Programmatic Composer Master of Subtlety Dedicatee Lo-Fi Audiophile Better Than Thatguy Lavender Hands Effect Ardent Reviewer The Colossus of Prora Feel free to suggest badges as well! - PeterthePapercomPoser

Somehow I also missed this one: The "Bestowed Maestro" badge for 10,000 reactions received!

Oh then maybe the criteria should be a thousand or higher

Hello I've recently decided to take orchestration seriously. Just as I did with counterpoint back in the day... Yes, although I study on my own, I have always been self-taught, at some point you need guidance from an expert. So I am taking a course in orchestration. It is really for a very small group (only four people), which means the feedback is very powerful, as each person's work is reviewed in depth. I've learned a lot about the classical style (paradigm: Mozart). Why and for what purpose each thing is used. And here I share my version (reviewed by my teacher) of the orchestration of the first movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 5. Now I'm working on Mendelssohn.

I see why it is Skull Collector By the time I get it, My head is already a skull.

Yeah, this is one of those hypothetical late night thoughts I had. Honestly, this is more of a inspirational completion thing that someone would do where they are inspired by one of the badges to write a piece of music purposefully trying to get that badge

Thank you Peter, I become the first recipient of this badge!!!!!! 😍

“Good evening, dear friends. Here is the scherzo from my third Sonata. I hope you like it.”

The badge was already there! Even Thatguy himself got Better than Thatguy badge lol!

Some parts are now used as living space, shops, etc. now, though. I am fully aware of it's history, and it is already thought of and I have a good reason for that choice. You see, it hurts to analyse long works...

Oh, I didn't expect to receive an answer to my "badge" which was in the first sense ment to be a joke. Since I would welcome to award a badge to the "longest piece", it is a good idea to follow @TristanTheTristan idea about a "Colossos of Prora". Concerning the icon, it was really just a "joke" of me using a WikiMedia Commons Picture and mashing it together to a "badge icon". I'll look tomorrow, whether I have some better personal photos from that location or whether I can gather more background about "Prora" before creating such a badge for the YC forum.

The Colossus of Prora Someone who has written (music) something longer than 30 min. The Colossus of Prora is the longest building in the world.

A very enjoyable piece. Leaving aside some noise and clicking issues in the audio, I think it lacks something to bring it closer to the style, and that is dynamics. Although classicism (and Mozart, of course) did not make extensive use of gradual dynamic contrasts (but rather more powerful ones such as piano and forte), there are none here either. More than that, it is the accents, sforzandos, etc., which were very common in this period, that make it sound like it.

Hi @Cafebabe! This is a nice classical sonata! The thing that bothers me when listening to this at first is the really bad balance between the melodic right hand and the accompanying left hand. The left hand should be softer and the melody in the right brought out more to be in high relief. Before, the only way to make this happen is to use MS Basic Soundfonts and use velocity values for the right hand. But I don't know if you know about a recent trick I learned in writing piano music in Musescore Studio 4 using the Musesounds Piano. What I do now is I write the piece for two tracks of basically two separate pianos - one for each hand. I go to the layout options and have each piano displayed with only one clef in one staff rather than in a grand staff for both. Then I bracket them as if they're one grand staff but each retains its own individual identity. This way I can give each hand its own dedicated dynamics and volume, reverb and other settings giving me more control over what is the most prominent part of the composition at any given point. I also noticed that you don't have any dynamics in your piece at all. Maybe you didn't find it necessary, and it could be argued, it is more historically accurate if its meant to be played on a period instrument. Musically, I find the retransition back to F major at the end of the exposition a little abrupt and forced. Another thing is that I'd expect each theme in a sonata to have ample time to speak before going into transitional figures. This would usually be done by giving the themes a full period, double period or sentence form which you don't do and it makes the themes seem like they can't stand still and start to flit about try to run away from themselves before the listener has even had a chance to absorb them. Also, when the development section starts, it seems like it's just a chord progression without really any relation to the themes. It makes me question what, if anything, is being developed. Although I had a lot of critiques of this piece, I did find it an overall enjoyable easy listening experience. Thanks for sharing!

@Frederic Gill inspired this one. He wrote an invention as an exercise from one of his Counterpoint books on the same motive that you can hear here: I was inspired by his attempt so I decided to give it a try myself. Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

Comment: Rhythm: you have many unaccented dissonances (4th beat), before consonances at bars (1st beat). According to my books, the cadential effect of this breaks the flow. But as part of a repeated design, it creates a shift to the left in the rhythm. Another element that creates a shifting effect is the (10) suspensions on 2nd beat. Interesting that when you heard my v1 for the 1st time, you were caught by the Bb in me1, on 3rd beat, and questioning about the key being Db (major) or bb (minor). Because in your compo you’ve put more ‘accent’ on the 3rd and 4th beats and opted for a more minor & dissonant approach. This is highlighted in your final cadence. In contrast, my compo has a ‘dancing’ rythmic pattern (quarter notes on almost all 2nd beats). In me10, the last Cb you put (? for sake of symmetry with the ongoing sequence and the following one?) makes a 1st parallel aug4th with the next (accented) interval. I find that a plain C sounds better with the upper voice and the new key (f?).

Well, I would start learning harmony. Soyar´s advice is excellent. By harmonizing simple, short known pieces, you will get the hang of it. At the same time, I recommend you to learn the theory, in order to understand why things work or do not work I also suggest that you should invest in a keyboard, and hook it up to a computer with a notation program (e.g.Musescore). This setup could be the easiest way for a practical study of harmony using different chords. You can store, compare and playback your work any time. Moreover, you can always see the score of your work. It is important to obtain a skill in notation and reading scores. At the same time, you can start writing (play) some VERY simple, short melodies. Then, continue with harmonizing your melody. Start with chords, and when you are satisfied, you can go for variations (for example make arpeggio´s of the chords, add a bassline etc. This is the way I started. In principle, you can do all this by yourself. There are on-line courses in composition, but mostly, I find them of limited value. Instead, I would recommend you to find a teacher.

This thread needs more activity

Yeah you did, as I don't have the time nor energy to make another year review anymore now lol!

"Be Honest"

I like it because it is different. It's 'you'. In the result, it shows your own inspiration, more than mine. But It's like being schoolmates taking the same course, lol. I'll take the time for analizing the score and get back.

I have several: Music theory matters and learning everything about it should be one of your top priorities Just because a few people out there have different tastes/opinions doesn't mean it's all "subjective" Get it right at the source; "mixing" can't do anything about bad pieces and crap timbres It's better to be great at one genre of music than middling in many Don't forget about woodwinds Avoiding "parallel harmony" in melodic lines to mentally appease the spirit of Bach, who is dead, will hold your orchestrations back from their full potential Work with live musicians as much as possible Compose something every day A 2 minute piece people want to play on repeat is better than a 5-minute epic they'll only listen to occasionally Improvisation has its place, but you should use it sparingly; every note should have real thought behind it. Friends don't let friends imitate Schoenberg A recording/mockup should be seen as inseparable from composition rather an interpretation of it and should therefore be as polished and the very best presentation of your piece as possible; "raw" or "live sound" is usually a cope.

update: feb 8 I have composed something that is more conform to an invention. see 'v2'

Did I miss something?

I've used an 8-bit soundfont here because I have not found any orchestral soundfonts that I liked. Everything has just too much vibrato and too heavy a texture from a HIP (historically-informed performance) point of view. I think Bach works well realised as 8-bit music so this is the approach I took. If you prefer audio which is faithful to the original instrumentation then I've attached a version of it here.

Oh sorry 😔

Looks like @Omicronrg9 already created badges for just such a purpose! From the bottom up: Local Celebrity Trending Artist Eminent Personality Famous Worldwide Nobody has yet received the "Famous Worldwide" badge nor the "Eminent Personality" badge.

Continuing with the Scale Materials Chapter in Persichetti's "20th Century Harmony" I wrote this Clarinet Quintet. The prompt was "8. Construct a solo clarinet line in the lydian mode supported by phrygian string quartet harmony. Set both the melody and harmony on the tonal center Bb." Thanks for listening and I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!

That's a neat idea. Except that this would not be a manually awardable badge but based on a rule (10,000+ reputation). The other problem is that right now the highest reputation held by anybody on the forum is @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu's at ~2,000. 10,000+ reputation seems like quite a lofty goal if nobody in the whole history of the website since the early 2000's has ever achieved it!

How about the "everyone's favourite" badge if your reputation is over 10 thousand points or higher

This sounds really nice. How long have you been composing scores (just curious)?

Hello This aria could very well be in a Baroque opera. It's a shame that the sounds are so strange. It sounds like it's from the 90s with the new age style, when they did covers of classics. It sounds like electronic music.

A beautiful piece with particularly harmonious interest. It needs to be completed with dynamics and accents. With that, the fact that the accompaniment pattern does not vary would not be such a problem, as it is a little monotonous as it stands.

The subject of this one first came to mind roughly 7 hours ago already in its current form, and realizing its potential I wasted no time in writing it down, lest I forgot its exact melodic contour whose progression has been able to accommodate for elaborate chromaticisms in the other voices. Now, after yet another sleepless night put to good use with tireless contrapuntal machinations, this little fugue for string trio is at last complete in my eyes. YouTube video link:

I just want to let you guys know that I greatly appreciate you guys joining The Arcane Alchemy. Here we will make some amazing pieces and come up with some great q&a's, so again thank you guys so much for joining!

I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. Utilizes the full instrument very well. I enjoyed the upward sequences, really built excitement. 1:50 beautiful. 2:45 a wonderful build up. 3:40 exciting. 4:05 awesome, and great playing here. Nice ending.

I also want to add here, that if anyone wants to send any music my way, they totally can. If it is capable of being sung by a baritone, I am offering my time to sing your melodies for you (without accompaniment) so you can hear it in a real voice. These would NOT be for commercial OR public use, but independent study unless otherwise communicated. If you have something for a soprano or tenor which would not fit my voice, you can transpose it yourself down to a baritone range and I can sing it for you. I don't expect anything in return, but I do hope y'all use this opportunity. I too often see composers writing difficult music for the voice, when in my opinion, the art is at it's best when easy for the singer. I am not currently accepting music for recitals, but I am always hunting.

Hi @kaiyunmusic! I love your soft-jazz vibe in this piece. It reminds me how a dominant chord doesn't have to have a leading tone. And I like how you resolved on a major 7th chord without a 3rd. Harmonic nuances that give that relaxing jazz vibe. The piece is notated well although I might not have used triplets in the penultimate bar but I'm assuming you did that for the sake of your rendition/notation program? Thanks for sharing!

Going to review less as I am self studying

Hell yeah brother

How about we just ban AI and trust that people are honest, and if people find out that it's AI, they get temporarily banned. This way, people will be afraid to post AI content and not post any.

I don't think we should be Draconian about policing this. I think the policy should be no posting music composed by AI, but I really think it would be a mistake to start policing and interrogating every post and assuming it's AI until proven otherwise. If there are indications that a piece might be AI (e.g. no score provided, telltale signs of Sonus, posted by someone with no prior history on the forum, etc.), then it makes sense to inquire further into it. But demanding proof of authorship from every composition would be a drastic overreaction to an issue that has, as far as I'm aware, only actually cropped up once here so far. I'm against AI compositions on the forum, but I'd rather waste my time once or twice giving useless feedback on an AI composition than chase real people who are posting real compositions off the site.