SergeOfArniVillage

@PCC thank you for taking time to listen! MIDI performances are, indeed, double-edged swords, aren't they? I actually try to write in such a way that MIDI playback won't butcher what I write, because sometimes, MIDI just cannot cut it for certain pieces. An inspired pianist is always going to outdo MIDI playback. I don't know how much a live playback would elevate this piece, though. I hope one day, I can find out! And you're right about "just keep writing". I also believe that's the best way to improve!

@Albayrak thank you! I also think it'd be interesting to hear what a literal orchestral representation of this would sound like. I looked at this through the lens of "something orchestrated being reduced", except in this case, the reduction comes first, so it'd be funny to hear it *actually* orchestrated! I have no clue what that would actually sound like. @murphybridget thank you! I actually had a lot of fun writing this piece. It's a completely different approach from what I normally do. @Aw Ke Shen that's a flattering comparison, I happen to really like both of those composers. They both had a unique way of expressing themselves.

I think this right here is an excellent example of atonality done right. Interestingly, not only is it written with that "creepy" vibe in mind, but the colors you achieved are beautiful, in a velvety, "morbid" sort of way. This is one of those pieces that benefits from being played on the kind of piano you performed on, since it kind of has that slightly honky-tonk piano chorus effect going on. The colors "pop" and become more "flavorful", for lack of a better term. The other performance is also good, but using a "cleaner" piano kind of misses that character. I also think it's neat you incorporated a very clear minor 6th chord both near the beginning of the piece and later on. It contrasts well with the spikier sections of the piece. The near-literal knife stab is a nice touch. It's really cool you managed to make something that's both atonal, but is also still musically appealing and engaging to listen to. Thanks for sharing, and kudos!

I think this is awesome. I was interested to hear how you would develop a heavily chromatic fugal theme, and the results are really striking. This piece has some really dramatic and powerful moments, and it all feels natural and "earned". Henry used the word "fluid", and I think that's an apt description, as well. When I listen to a well-constructed fugue, I always feel like I learn something about contrapuntal possibilities. And I always get that feeling from your pieces. You write with conviction. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed listening to this!

@Thatguy v2.0 Oh wow! You, sir, are a king. Thank you for the link, I look forward to hearing his music when I get the chance!

@Thatguy v2.0 ... ... ... thank you. I'm kind of stunned by such high praise (and maybe I cried -- no details, but I'm just going through a lot) I remember seeing a lot of Berlioz's comments, but I actually never listened to Berlioz's stuff. I don't know why his music fell through the cracks for me. I wish I could hear some of his work, I love listening to people who have a unique style. And yes, my user name: Serge of Arni Village. From the game Chrono Cross. I was 18 when I played it. And there were times when the music (I learned later it was composed by Yasunori Mitsuda) would play, and I would just put down the controller and stare at the screen in complete and utter disbelief at what I was hearing. Thoughts and emotions that went far beyond anything I could have ever imagined, and to this day could not really describe (because the words don't really exist, and cannot exist, but can only be expressed without words, only sounds), and yet played in my ears, but now beating in my heart, a beauty and significance so powerful that it ached. You know how you once called me a "music chef"? Mitsuda's style of composition is, to me, like when a chef makes a "reduction", boiling a sauce down until it's most potent and amplified essence becomes manifest. His music is, on the surface, so unbelievably simple, and yet somehow, done in a way that stripped away all "distraction", and is so sincere, so raw, so completely devoid of anything even approaching the pretentious, that all that is left is the boiled-down reduction of a pure emotion. (And so underneath the simplicity belies genius. Mozart said something I believe is really profound. "Love is the soul of genius." The complexity of a thing or lack thereof isn't the soul of genius -- it's the love you put into it.) And experiencing something like that changed me. Listening to his incredible soundtrack is what made me want to be a composer in the first place. I never, ever would have gotten interested in composition if not for that soundtrack. (Incidentally, some of Mitsuda's music features striking pauses. I learned early on how important pauses can be!) I feel the same way as you about music: music isn't about difficulty, it's not about flashiness, it's not about proving oneself in whatever way... to me, it all comes down to, "do you have something to say?" Then, say it. Express it. Even if it's uncomfortable, or it hurts to say, or it makes you feel too naked: say it. So, thank you, @Thatguy v2.0, and again, thank you @PeterthePapercomPoser and @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu for taking time to listen and comment. I really appreciate it.

I happened across this performance of Scriabin's famous etude on YouTube, and just wanted to post it here. Caution: this performance is as beautiful as it is apocalyptic and bone-chilling. https://youtu.be/-1BcfTdRSpE?si=9FANd2TrGU6eSbYu

Update: cleaned up some of the score, some parts were pretty messy.

@PeterthePapercomPoser thank you! What you said about writing sonatas putting your weaknesses on display is so true. It really taught me a lot about tightening my writing so that it doesn’t just go all over the place. @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu thank you! Yes, this is my first multi-movement work. I mean, I have written multi-movement works before, but this is the first one that came out unscathed 😂 everything’s a learning experience! About the “quasi 2nd voice” note, that was just something I wrote down when I was figuring out how I wanted to develop that section. The accented note there and following accented notes felt like they were somewhere between “just a harmonic note” and an actual 2nd voice with a full quarter note stem, which I thought was interesting. But I just forgot to delete the comment, it wasn’t supposed to be on the score. I’ll delete it later, when I clean up the test of the score, since some parts are still messy. ”Beware of random pauses!” 🤣 My God, it feels like a new meme has been born! That’s hilarious. Thank you both for dropping by and commenting, I appreciate it.

This had me grinning like an idiot all throughout 😄 your variations are so clever! The 4th one in particular almost made clap at my screen! Your writing is airtight. Not a single "wasted note", so to speak. And not just airtight, but somehow sincere and convincing, it's downright infectious. Thanks for sharing, this was awesome 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

I think this is excellent. I look forward to the rest of the movements. While I think everything's well written, there's several lovely moments in this piece that stuck out to me in particular: -- bar 51 morphing into bar 52. It feels almost like the tugging, and then rattling of a chain. A very striking sound effect in context. -- bars 107 - 114 I love how the hand crossing over to the bass adds a certain textural contour. It reminds me of something ... molten and steely, yet smooth. -- bars 144 and 148 and 157. The pauses are great. I noticed the YouTube commenter who complained about how bad and random the pauses are, and then he completely undermined any semblance of his own credibility by saying it "objectively ruins the form" or whatever. But in so doing, his ignorance provides an excellent life lesson that transcends music. It just goes to show, not everyone's viewpoint is worth considering, and there are times it's appropriate to simply ignore criticism that flies in the face of good sense. Just as there is good and worthy criticism from people who seek to provide different viewpoints to enrich a person (for no one knows it all), there is criticism that exists for the sole purpose of tearing down and making oneself feel superior in one's own imagination, and what value is there in it? That individual clearly has a LOT to learn, and he will only achieve it if he ever learns the wisdom that comes with humility. Thanks for sharing, Henry 🙂

Wow. You've really made something incredible here. As Henry mentioned, this piece is bursting with color. I don't know how you managed to coax such beautiful colors from these sounds samples -- you deserve better software, because currently, it's a bit like looking at a sepia-filter photograph of a rainbow. The colors can be made out, but they are "duller" than they should be. I'm looking forward to this piece getting a sound sample facelift when you have an opportunity. When it comes to virtuosic writing, a good rule of thumb is, "is it necessary? Does it serve the music?" For example, you mentioned Liszt's Mephisto Waltz. On occasion, Liszt got carried away with his writing 😂 but his Mephisto Waltz No. 1 is an excellent example of mature virtuosic writing. The slow section in the middle with the repeated R.H. notes and octave achieves a "warble" that adds a certain eeriness and mystery to the piece that couldn't be achieved otherwise -- the virtuosic passage serves the music. Those infamous R.H. octave leaps just before the explosive finale -- not only are they visually impressive to the audience, but they provide a thin texture that's immediately contrasted by the deeper, thicker chords that he wrote between those leap sections. In other words, all of the virtuosic writing served the music. So, my advice is, as long as you make sure that your virtuosic writing serves the music, and isn't made the point of the piece in and of itself, your music will come across as mature are well-founded. This piece you've written, for example, for the most part, comes across as written for the sake of making music -- as it should be. It's exciting, passionate, colorful, unique ... and the virtuosic writing adds that element of "daring" that couldn't be achieved another way. However, I'm willing to bet there are certain passages that could use some refinement. Try turning it into a game -- a game of, "how do I write this passage in a way that most works in harmony with the natural mechanism and movement of the hands and fingers?" That's something that's really helped me with my writing. I hope my ramblings made some sense. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed this!

This is the first Sonata I've written. I've attempted to write music with multiple movements in the past, and have always struggled with it. I decided to give it another shot, and this is what I came up with. Let me know what you think: comments, thoughts, criticisms all welcome.

I think this is excellent. Sometime about ragtime, to me, is that it has both an "old-fashioned" feel to it, and yet a timeless quality to it. This isn't just charming, it's so tightly written I don't think a mosquito could squeeze through. Personally, I disagree with the "not so tuneful" criticism, I think this piece generally has great melodic contour throughout the whole piece, with some stand out moments (bars 11 - 15 really stood out to me, for example). The dense chromatic harmony might be a bit jarring for some, particularly people who are not musicians, but I think a charismatic performer could easily win an audience over. This one's a winner. Thanks for sharing!

Dang, this is awesome. I love it when a piece contains writing that's both musical and virtuosic, and the two complement each other rather than being at odds with each other, and this is a great example of idiomatic writing that's also just great to listen to. Great job!