BlazingDragon

I love your use of the flute's lower register. It's such a warm timbre! Wonderful little piece.

Thank you for the comments! @jawoodruff The form of this piece is inspired by an experience I had. I woke up from a vivid night of dreams, but they quickly evaporated from my mind's eye. I struggled only to recall disjointed scenes that didn't seem related. Eventually, I had an ecstatic 'eureka' moment as I remembered more and those pieces formed a coherent plot. I began the piece with a small melodic fragment in the trombone that I kept repeating and elongating. It finally expressed itself as a whole with the andante section starting at measure 41. This represents me remembering an entire scene of the dream. The solo piano section at measure 79 represents a seemingly unrelated scene. These eventually come together in the final section of the piece starting at measure 137. This is the first time in the whole piece that the piano and trombone rhythmically align. This section combines rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic material from disparate earlier sections. The instruments reach parity and achieve call-and-response. Neither is in an merely accompanying role. My goals for this piece were to: -Develop a coherent work longer than 4 minutes -Develop from motifs rather than whole melodies or chord progressions -Work on breaking away from strictly tonal harmony -Explore harmonic rhythm and get away from chords always changing on downbeat -Make the instruments have a conversation rather than having the piano serve as accompaniment

My favorite part of the first movement is the syncopated violin figure starting at measure 35. I also like the downward chromatic motion in the flute from around measures 27-30. In movement two I love the double stops in the cello and also the exciting bassoon lines. I liked the development of this movement. The pizzicato section of the third movement was refreshing. Great work on this piece! If I were to offer some small piece of advice, it would be to explore more timbres within each instrument. For the strings as an example, sul ponticello, flautando, spicatto, col legno, overtones, using mutes, etc. This would add color to the piece and would also make performing it more interested, especially during sections with more stagnant or sustained lines.

Gorgeous harmonies that go to unexpected places. I love the dissonance in the low-mid strings at 1:29 and again at 1:40! One small critique is that I wish there were fewer voices playing the third of the final chord. It sounds a bit off balance to me.

So many lovely colors, and your use of rhythm is refreshing! I feel that I could learn much about piano writing from studying this piece. Wonderful work.

This is my first time writing for the trombone outside of an orchestral context. I would love feedback regarding how playable this is and whether you think trombonists would enjoy performing it. Thanks for listening!

I feel like I'm stuck in a rut of composing four and eight bar phrases. When I try to break the mold and try something different, the result sounds awkward, forced, and clunky. What are some methods of composing smooth asymmetric and extended phrases? I think part of my problem is that I come to cadences at predictable times. What can I do harmonically to postpone a cadence and keep the resulting phrase sounding organic? I have a lot more questions, but I think that will do for now. Thanks guys!

I plan on becoming a music composition major and will soon be sending out transfer applications for the December 1 deadline at most conservatories. I have scores to submit, but many of the schools that I want to attend require recordings of works (which I don't have!). What are some good ways to get compositions recorded, especially with only four or so months available? Some additional info: -I just finished my first year at a local community college and will be going back in the Fall. -I already have completed Music Theory I-IV (tested out of I-II), Ear Training I-II, Music Composition I, Honors Choir (I rehearsed the chamber choir for several weeks and conducted a piece at our spring concert), Applied Piano I-II, and will be taking more music classes in the Fall. -Ideally, I want to transfer to USC in the Fall of 2013 after completing my second year of community college with the goal of eventually going into film scoring. I have a number of potential "safety-schools", however. I'm well-rounded musically. I have plenty of theory and ear-training under my belt, got a I rating at State Solo Contest for voice in high school, have attended a music composition camp, am familiar with classical, jazz, and rock harmonic idioms, and have been composing for years. It would be frustrating to have come this far and not make it as a composition major because I don't have live recordings of my music. I do have MIDI Mockups using quality sample libraries, (East-West Symphonic Orchestra) but many colleges want real recordings. I could probably put $300 toward recording but that's it, and I don't even know where to start finding good performers. My other frustration is that these conservatories seem to want compositions in a variety of orchestrations. I can find a pianist, but am I expected to submit a recording of a full-orchestral or even chamber piece? Would it lesson my chances if I just submitted solo pieces or something like piano/violin? Any advice would be very appreciated.

The piece does evoke a sort of cold, chilly atmosphere with the timbres that you employed. Specifically, the high piano rolls and triangles hinted at delicacy like falling snow. In terms of an role playing game, this piece brings to mind quite a different picture. I imagine entering a town that is covered in snow and completely abandoned. Houses are burnt, fences are falling apart, and the howling of the cold with is all that cuts through the deafening silence. The chord progression is sad and mellow, yet the timbre of the pad leads me to take on a sense of mystery. The player enters an old cathedral, as represented by the organ. A few pews are overturned and hymnals scatter the floor, many with pages torn out, perhaps to be used for kindling a fire at some point in the past. There is an inherent sense of wonder. What became of this place? What caused the damage, and why are there no signs of life? Perhaps there are clues in the cathedral...or within the vastness of the catacombs underneath... The harmonies and orchestration, as I said, gives me a sense of sadness, mourning, and mystery. In terms of practicality, I am not sure if the piece would function efficiently over world music. It could make the player associate the continent with gloom more than winter, despite the cold sound. If the game goes in that direction, it will function well, and it could do well as a dungeon piece in my opinion. Musically, I enjoyed it quite a bit. The pads/choir added a very organic sound to the piece, and some chords caught me a bit off guard in a good way. The piece developed with thickening texture and orchestration, but it never became too climatic or demanding for background music in a game. The only exception would be the cymbals which could maybe be brought down just a tad in volume in my opinion. Also, will you find a way to make the piece loop for the game? Nice job! =)

The end reminded me a bit of "Once Upon a December" from Anastasia. I liked the chromatic parts and the variations in volume. With some swelling strings in the background and a timpani to imitate the opening rhythmic figure, this could be a nice piece of film music. Quite bittersweet.

I don't know if this is exactly art music or film music, but I had fun composing it. The beginning of the song gives me the following image: Underneath the gray and cloudy sky, a humble peddler walks down the cobblestone street with his wares. The poor guy is down on his luck and feeling a bit down...How does the story go after that? That's for the listener to decide!Peddler's SongI would love any feedback concerning the composition. Was the climax successful in your opinion? Were any harmonies too strange in context of the piece? What do you think about the articulation use? Would you have done something different to make the climax more powerful? Anything would be fantastic!Peddler's Song Peddler's Song

Thank you for the very helpful critique! I took you advice and created a new version. While the chords remain primarily the same, I have added more melodies and counter melodies. I also added more instruments for new colors. Thank you for the link! As for the song, the strings WERE very repetitive. I added a horn into the string harmonies. Hopefully it helped a bit. Here is the updated version. It does, however, have a couple glitches. A static noise cuts in at about 1:50. I can't figure out how to remove it and have tried everything I can think of including tech support forums. :/ Is this better? Drifting (Revamp)

I listened to the first piece. It has a nice, simple melody that is easy to follow. However, I have some critique. There are no dynamics at all, and I think it might sound better if you slowed the tempo down a bit. Also, in the left hand, all that is going is plain arpeggios throughout the whole thing. My advice would be to add some dynamic contrast, slow down the tempo a bit, and vary the left hand stylistically. Maybe throw in some block chords once in a while. The melody is pretty much the same throughout, but moved around in sequences. Try expanding the piece and giving it some new contrasting melodies and sections.

Thank you Rolifer. I will check out the products that you mentioned, as I've just acquired some spare money. :) As for the advice on the song, that seems pretty solid. I'll see if I can incorperate some more woodwinds for the melody and switch the string harmonies with some brass once in a while. I did join a long time ago and posted some midi files. I'm glad to be back and involved with such a dynamic community.

I just finished this composition and would love some constructive criticism. It stretched my comfort zone, as I generally compose for piano, but I like how it turned out. It has various strings, a triangle, piano, and clarinet. I would love to fully orchestrate it but have little knowledge of orchestration up to this point. You can listen to it without downloading it here: -Drifting-