ComposaBoi

Hi Peter! I play it, but my piano is really bad with dynamic control and at such a quiet dynamic it's impossible to voice it properly with consistency :< So 8va means "Ottava" and can mean above or below depending on placement. It does not mean octave above. 8vb means "Ottava bassa" and is not a standard notation, though it's increasingly common in the United States. I think that's kind of unfortunate, because it's not supposed to be happy-go-lucky. I certainly don't hear it as such. I hear it as hopeful. I can see why it feels happy-go-lucky to you though: back and forth V-I, bouncy rhythm. Try not to think of it as bouncy though, more like the funeral march esque rhythm of the first theme. Maybe it'll make more sense that way. I actually like that idea. Thanks ❤️ Maybe. I thought the same but about the 3rd movement, which is kind of similar me too! Thanks for the review!!

I finished the other two movements hooray!! Here's the YouTube upload. Please let me know what you think so I might apply the advice for future piano works 🙂 As for the piece itself, it's so personal to me I'm not willing to change anything, though I recognise it's not flawless. I think it is my very best piano piece and I'm extremely proud of it despite its issues. I'll do a rundown of the piece real quick so ya'll know what to expect. Movement 1. Sonata form, both themes are derived from the same rhythmic idea. A theme for desolation and a theme for consolation, which alternate in rotations becoming less and less certain until neither resolve. closes on a 6 4 chord. attaca into... Movement 2. Ternary form. A is a waltz with violent interruptions. B is more restless and dramatic. The return to A is based on first movement closing 6 4. Ending of A is infected with B motifs. Closes with a satisfying cadence at last. Movement 3. Ternary form. This movement is meant to be "looking back" at the events of the previous movements. B section is turbulent again. A section returns. The movement closes with a chorale "prayer." attaca into... Movement 4. Sonata form. Opens with a return to the consolation motifs from movement 1. First theme is dramatic and modulates constantly. Second theme is a combination of consolation and prayer. The climax of the development (and I think the climax of the whole piece really) with the minor version of the consolation theme from the first movement is in E minor which is a tritone away from tonic key. Recap has no proper second theme, only fragments. It ends resolved on a single note all by itself. All alone. Thank you for listening and for any feedback :3

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW What a piece. I've listened to it many times now. Movement 1 Part 1: I love all the pentatonic themes, they're extremely beautiful, especially the one at m. 35 derived from your clarinet quintet, I just wish the audio was a little clearer and brought them out over the texture better. The texture itself is great too. However, the idea that appears first at m. 19 I think is too textural for my taste, almost as if there should be something more melodious overtop of it. The sequencing at m. 111-114, I would include tenuto marks along with the slur which is the more standard way to notate it, and it's clearer to performers what to do. For example, we know with Beethoven's Grosse Fuga, some performers play the slurred quarter notes as half notes, and others play them as quarter notes in one bowing. you do similar things throughout the piece. Some more positive thoughts I had, at rehearsal mark F, it sounds like a call to action! And all the modulating and texture at the end of this first part makes me think of a violent river 🌊 Movement 1 Part 2: I think my favorite part of the movement. Provides a good contrast, but still sounds oriental, so it doesn't feel out of place to the soundscape you've thus far presented. The contrapuntally dense section immediately following the fugato is so powerful!! 🤯 The next part is almost too sparse after that, and not a whole lot really happens for me. My first listen I remember being tempted to skip ahead because I was kind of getting bored 😕 I'm glad for the lighter, simpler mood, and I think it's well earned, just maybe a little too sparse for my taste. The transition back to the beginning atmosphere is epic though 😎 Movement 1 Part 3: Similar thoughts to part 1. Great melodies that are hidden by the texture, not by your fault, but just the audio. The ending is satisfying enough to close the movement but still leaves enough for me to want to listen more. ~~~ Movement 2 Part 1: The sheer pain I hear in the first sections of this part. I think it's too raw for it to warrant or need any criticism. I once again wish the audio could bring out the melody clearer, but it's better here than in the last movement I suppose. I will say about notation this is not how you should notate this. 8th notes already have one tail, so it only needs 2 tremolo lines. Likewise, a 16th would only need 1 tremolo line, etc. The section starting at m. 92 makes me emotional. Well done. The following section is a good break, and was perfectly timed. Had the first section gone on any longer, I would have felt maybe that it was too long, but here it's the perfect length. m.179-182 is oddly very beautiful to me. Almost a taste of what the idea from m.92 would be in a better light. And immediately following, back to tragedy, AGH 😫 Movement 2 Part 2: THE 6 VOICE FUGUE 😮 I don't feel qualified to properly go over your counterpoint and I understand it's not supposed to be the strictest fugue. It sounds correct to me, and it certainly does a good job at expressing what it's meant to, which is the MOST important thing of course. Now, you're going to hate me for this, but I think the cellos being so close so often is really really muddy and creates extremely unpleasant overtones. It might be better with real cellos, probably not though, I wouldn't ride on it. Again, the counterpoint is really great to me, the modulations are smooth and so dramatic, and I love it. I don't want to hate on it, it's just really muddy 🙈 you fix the muddiness later in the fugue which is nice. Movement 2 Part 3: Final part!! The start really makes you feel like it's preparing for something. It makes me excited for the end every time!! As someone trained in singing gregorian chant, I think the chant section is VERY effective, and I love the beautiful passionate chords between 🥹 The turning point and the build to the original Tao material is wonderful too and definitely well-earned after all that! The themes are beautiful like before, and they feel freer almost. It's like a fireworks celebration!! A very good and satisfying and Chinesy ending xP Overall, I think it's definitely a masterpiece and deserves all the praise it's getting and more, (except maybe the deification of you from Fugax Contrapunctus xD). However, I'm sorry but I think I'm partial to your clarinet quintet because I still enjoy that more, or maybe I just like sad music 😛 Anyways thanks for sharing your wonderful music.

It really is funny coming from “FILMSCORE” which film score composers (especially today) are notorious for producing a standard film sound, aka they all sound the same and lack in originality style and uniqueness. p.s. I may or may not write my own review of this masterpiece. Ultimately I love it, but it doesn’t mean I’m without criticism!

As always seems to be the case with your music, I absolutely love it. And your compositional abilities as well as expression blow me away. 😁 That being said, I have two issues with composition itself. Although the 2nd refrain's "bell-like" texture is quite beautiful, it does obscure the melody a bit, especially bars 71-72. I feel just the top note of the octaves would achieve the same effect without obscuring the melody. I'm sorry for saying this, but I think the transition to the final return of the refrain is a tad too long. When I listened the first time, I was getting kind of impatient 😬 I have other issues, but they're just related to the engraving. For example, there are many points throughout the score where slurs collide with accidentals, articulations, other slurs, and sometime the notehead itself! Now of course, we're composers, not engravers. But if we make our own scores, it's my opinion that effort should be put in to make them beautiful and well-polished. Regardless, it's a very beautiful work. I look forward to the concluding movement(s)!

In my opinion it would make more sense to have 2 french horns and 1 trumpet instead of the other way round. Horns do a better job at creating a fuller and more balanced sound. Composers have always used them (tbf kindof lazily) to fill in harmony because they just work well for it. Also, they blend exceptionally well with the woodwinds, which is why they are above the trumpets on sheet music, despite not being the soprano part of the brass section, because they're "in between" the winds and brass. The trumpet on the other hand is very punchy and doesn't blend as well. This is why in the classical era, they're used largely for fanfare-like textures, and in the romantic era, they often take the foreground playing melodies.

OK FIRST OFF WHY IS THERE SUCH A HUGE BLANK SPACE AFTER YOUR COMMENT!?? It's taking me ages to scroll back and forth!! 😭 Thank you. Every time someone tells me that my music touches them or anything like that, it really means the whole world to me. Yup, I can see that too. I might just raise the melody higher, because it'd me more of a hassle to edit the accompaniment and I'm lazy. But if it doesn't work well, I'll have to fix the accompaniment TwT I'll figure something out God willing!! I just have to be careful not to get carried away with modulating, so the second theme doesn't become too long xD And I'm sure there are part writing issues all over the place. I rushed learning counterpoint when I did, so I'm thinking I missed something, especially since I still struggle writing good fugues 🥲 Thank you! And yes, my music is very personal. I only ever write music (except for study pieces or competition stuff) when I'm inspired by something that strikes me in my personal life. And since I'm a super emotional guy, that usually means the music is emotional. Some tell me that I'm actually too emotional for a guy, and they pile it with a bunch of other "effeminate" attributes of mine, so I'm going to embrace that and make my 6th piano sonata purposely feminine 😈

The development took a lot of work xD so I'm glad you like it! I'll try your suggestion out. I'm not sure which part you're calling the "Beethovanian hopeful theme" tbh. Do you mean b. 154 to the retransition? Anyway, I could probably incorporate some Theme 1 motifs in the accompaniment to add some drama 🤯 and excitement like you said. I think I agree. My first draft was even worse with the end, and I thought I fixed it, but as I've listened to it more and more, it's hit me that it still doesn't feel earned. Whereas something like my Seven Sorrows piece, the end feels much more deserved, even if it's musically much less mature than this piece, it still does better in that respect. What will be tricky is how I'm going to fix this issue. I could have like a collapse immediately after the recap maybe. Or I could just get rid of the 2nd theme as it currently is in the recap and have this final triumph take place of it. I think just having it come immediately after the same theme is what makes it feel unearned. Like it was already there, no reason for the triumph. I'll figure something out haha. When I do I'll just post the finished piece to my youtube so I'm not bothering this site with more of this same piece xD

hmm, maybe. I'll try it a little faster. But I'm hesitant to do Adagio because then every movement would have a part at adagio 😬 They're not deliberate, so thanks for pointing it out!! Also, I'm glad you liked this part! I showed the piece to my twin brother (who also composes and imo is much better than me), and he didn't like this part very much 😭

Whipped this up super fast 😄

The root note of the new home key is the note that the augmented chord was gravitating toward. Heard one after the other it makes more sense imo. Also, the keys of all the movements outlines a D augmented chord: D F# A#(Bb in this case for ease of reading and writing 😅) and D again. It’s all part of my massive big brain hyper-genius plan 🤯 (sarcasm) I am actually not a string player! But my brother is and I always have him test my music lol. You’ll notice I have very simple bowing in this movement for the exact purpose of giving the string players an easier time lol. (Sorry lower strings 😬) Hehehe, once again all part of my evil plan 😈 The light scherzo is meant to be “interrupted” by both the sighing motif and the english horn motif from the first movement. It’s nice to hear a second opinion, and interestingly, Tchaikovsky was a massive influence for this movement! Thanks alot for the feedback, I look forward to your “indefinite” future comments! 🤣

I think you said that last time, and I agree! It’s just difficult to compose with the fast chromatic runs 😭 the main thing is that the allegro part is my subordinate theme and I want the exposition to be successful in its EEC, so I need to not modulate TOO far xD but I agree. It gets a little repetitive 😅 Hmm. The problem might in part be due to the program because the dynamic there is forte and fortissimo, but I’ll start the crescendo earlier, maybe even make it start on fp to accentuate the cresc, and maybe I’ll make it molto accelerando instead of just accelerando 🤔 Hehehe that’s what I wanted 😈

I was trying to limit myself more with auxiliary winds with this piece lol, and I thought it worked fine, but I’ll try a piccolo, or maybe just use the very highest register of the flute. I’ll see what works. Yup! 👍 I’ll try that too, but I’ll probably end up preferring how it is now 🤣 I may have stolen that accompaniment from the 3rd movement of Mahler’s second symphony 😬 Thanks for the feedback! I always appreciate it.

Once I'm officially done with the piece, I'm going to put it in musescore 4 with the fancy musesounds. I just don't like composing in that newer program

I'm almost done with this piece, I just want to see all you nice people's thoughts before I call it complete. The program is in the last post I made about it: Thanks in advance for any helpful criticisms or advice 😄