gmm

Awesome! The orchestration is great, very reminiscent of Tchaikovsky. I really like the buildup at the end to the big trombone descending scale. The only constructive thing I would say is I think the trombones should play something instead of a descending scale here. Maybe try and find one of the descending motives from somewhere else in the piece? I think this would give the piece more overall motivic unity and make this moment more impactful. Either way very well done, thanks for sharing!

Nice! Very fun and quirky

Very nice! I think my favorite part is the violin solo near the end - it adds a nice contrast. The only thing I would say is I feel like m. 55 could be a bigger moment. I think more crescendo and a molto rit. here would really make this moment shine and make the sub p chord on beat 3 more impactful. Great job, and thanks for sharing!

This is awesome! I really like the aesthetic and the unique harmonic textures. The climaxes on pg 8 and 10-11 are particularly enjoyable. Out of curiosity, do you have some sort of framework for using the quarter tones? Like a set of chords you use, or certain rules of counterpoint? Or is it more or less freely based on what you thought sounds good?

Hi @BipolarComposer, this is really good! I like all of the tense dissonant textures. This really conveys a sense of internal struggle, as is one is slowly losing their sanity. I particularly liked the cool flute texture around 2:30, and the foreboding English horn melody immediately afterwards. The celesta before 6:00 is also really cool. The rhythmic elements you introduce around 7:30 is a welcome contrast, and the subsequent buildup to the end is very intense and effective. Thanks for sharing! If you happen to have a score it would be great to take a dropper dive into this. I’ll also try to listen to the second track when I have a chance.

Found this thread, looks like there is a lot of confusion on this topic 😅 https://vi-control.net/community/threads/is-the-piccolo-above-the-flute-or-below-in-score-layout.83869/

Ah I gotcha. I put it there since it is doubling the third flute. I think I've seen it this way before... I'll see if I can find an example. But it also seems reasonable to have it above the flutes as well.

Hmm that's odd. On my screen it is pretty clear, but it did take a second to load. Maybe give it a minute to load all the way? The piccolo sounds an octave higher than written, so it is actually an octave above the 2nd flute.

@PeterthePapercomPoser thank you so much for listening, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Good observation! I suppose I didn't necessarily intend to always stay in the 3-2 grouping, it more or less just came out that way. I will say there is some ambiguity in some parts of the flowy melodic line you point out. The part I indicated below could be more naturally interpreted as a 2-3 grouping, which would go against the 3-2 ostinato underneath it in the horns. But I didn't think it made sense to change the horn part just for this, and I also kept the notation this way for consistency across the parts. Thanks, I'm glad you like it. I was really just trying to come up with an ostinato that conveyed a lydian feeling, and just wrote a melody to flow above it. But you're right, I would imagine this section is more difficult to play than one would expect 😅 Awesome! I'm glad you like it. Hmm are you referring to the resolution on the video or on the pdf itself? I would expect the video to be difficult to read at a detailed level, but I would think the score pdf should be pretty clear, depending on the resolution of your monitor at least. Thanks again for listening! I always appreciate your feedback!

Hello fellow composers! I am very excited to present my newest work, the first Movement of my Sinfonietta No. 3! This opening movement is intended to be lighter in mood, with a simple structure. The plan is to eventually follow this with a slow second movement, and a fast third and final movement. I had a few goals in mind as I composed this, feel free to evaluate how well I achieved them: Focus on simple, memorable themes and motives Keep the overall structure simple, in this case A-B-A-B Write something in an unusual time signature (5/8) Have a greater emphasis on rhythmic elements. Evoke an overall lighter, fun mood. The movement is structured as A-B-A-B, with a brief introduction 0:00 - The Introduction presents the rhythmic motif, which is contrasted with a sweeping pentatonic melody 0:22 - The first theme is a soaring melody, first presented in the violins. A contrasting woodwind theme is presented, before returning triumphantly to the soaring melody, which then builds to a climax with the opening rhythmic motif 2:03 - The strings usher in a staccato melody in the lydian mode. The woodwinds then introduce a simple melody that floats above, with periodic hints of lydian dominant. The section builds to a bombastic climax, with the horns and trumpets soaring above the orchestra. 3:12 - The first theme returns, this time in the English Horn. The overall structure of this section remains the same, but with significant changes to the orchestration. The section builds to a climax again, this time more resolved. 5:26 - The staccato lydian theme returns, this time more urgent. The section builds to a climax in the horns and trumpets again, this time with an ominous bass melody underneath. The entire ensemble crescendos to fff to end the movement. As usual, I have several questions for feedback, feel free to answer as many or as few as you wish: What effect does the music have on you? Does in conjure up an image? Or an emotional feeling? Does it tell you a story? This can be the piece as a whole, or a specific part or parts. What was your favorite part? What was your least favorite part? How well do you think the motives are developed? Do you have any comments or critiques on technique, e.g. harmony, melody writing, counterpoint, orchestration, voice-leading, etc.? How do you feel about the overall form? Is it effective? Do you have any comments of the quality of the performance in the audio file? I really want this to be a decent representation of how the piece would sound if it were performed live, since it is unlikely it ever will be. Feel free to put your "conductor hat" on and critique the "orchestra". I have included a score and welcome any constructive feedback on its presentation. And if you're like me it's a lot more fun to follow along with the score. Are there any composers this reminds you of, that I might enjoy listening to? Thanks for listening, I hope you enjoy! If you liked something I did and want me to explain how I did it, feel free to ask. -gmm Score link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EnjEuPwdFr7Ep-f4SRH3BEMYTKxfxu48/view?usp=drive_link

I’ve only had time to listen to the first movement, but I love it so far! The opening pastorale scene is incredibly evocative, and transitions smoothly into the more lyrical section. I also like the interplay of the counterpoint and how each melodic voice complements each other. And I also thought the way you returned to the opening theme was awesome! Thank you for sharing! I’ll let you know what I think of the later movements when I’ve had time to listen. -gmm

Hi @Some Guy That writes Music, this is really good, you have a lot of interesting ideas here! I really liked the rhythmic section beginning at m.91, as well as the string writing starting around m.130. I also liked the Oboe solo starting at m.109, but I was curious why you gave it to the second Oboe instead of the first? If I had to offer up some constructive feedback, I would say maybe try to write more individual and contrapuntal parts for the brass, particularly in the faster section (m.21 or so). For the most part you have the brass playing block chords, maybe try to give them more unique and melodic lines? Overall I enjoyed listening, thank you for sharing! -gmm

This is great! really like the varied use of color, and the overall dark and chaotic. I also really enjoyed some of the contrast you created, particularly around 3:40 with the more lyrical strings, and also the shift to the more mysterious mood at around 5:00. Would you be willing to share the score? Would definitely like to take a deeper dive into analyzing this one!

This is really cool! I really enjoyed the piece from beginning to end. I thought the overall structure was very effective, beginning with the somewhat aleatoric intro, then shifting into the more consonant and expressive sections, and the climaxes were very effective. I particularly enjoyed the shift that occurs at m.23. I think my favorite part was m. 40, very powerful climax! If it’s ok, I wanted to ask about some of the harmonic devices you used, specifically: The chord at m.8 is really cool, how did you come up with it? The horns seem to be playing some kind of locrian natural 2 structure, it I’m not sure how that fits in with the trombones and bassoons beneath them. Also I found the string melody at m.10 interesting, I was curious how it fits in with the harmony underneath? Is it some kind of tone row juxtaposed on top of the harmony? I really liked the trombone melody starting after m.33! I was curious how you harmonized this with the strings? It looks like you’re going from F Lydian to E aolean, then E flat Lydian? The harp ostinato starting at m.42 is really cool. I was wondering how the triplets in the strings a few measures later at m.45 or so fit in? Is this like a D major over F major polychord or something like that? Overall this is really great! It sounds like you are entering it in a competition, so good luck! Hopefully you win a prize! -gmm

Thanks @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu and @Thatguy v2.0 for your kind and encouraging words, I'm glad you like it! This is a fair point. I was attempting to do this with the passage starting at 1:32, but admittedly it is quite short lived. Thanks again for listening!