sparky

But you did say "Dead ends:Then there are the people who are eternally trying to bring back tonality, which essentially entails appropriating a Romantic aesthetic infused with one or more of..." First of all, pitch centered music is tonal. Second, tonality isn't a dead end. Thirdly, out of the "approaches with some validity" I would say that only 2 are relevant... some, I'll admit, I don't even know about. Do you know who the big composers are now a days? Most of what's winning competitions and actually getting played by performers contradicts what you consider a "dead end". Reich won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009... so much for dead end (mind you, I'm not even a fan of his music).These threads are pretty annoying. Whether it be "Lachenmann clones" or "tonal" music, none of it is "dead" or "valid". Sure one can think it's outdated or not their cup of tea, but don't say it is a dead end.

Well there's many ways to analyze contemporary pieces, but you can't look at them like you would look at say, Brahms. i.e. "Oh look that's a V going to I." Generally, composers now a days don't really follow functional harmony. The piece you posted makes use of a lot of chordal extensions, i.e. add 2s, major 7ths, etc. If I were looking at a contemporary piece, I would look to see if there was any predominating intervallic patterns both harmonically and melodically. Does the melody make use of big leaps ( it does in this piece)? Are the chords triadic, clusters, fourths, or is it more contrapuntal? How does the composer transform and vary the initial motifs/themes throughout the piece? What's the overall form? Does it even have a clear cut form? These are just some questions you could ask yourself to get started.

Where are you getting your information from...? I've had this discussion with many in the composition faculty at my school, and most agree that composers are actually reverting back to a more "tonal" or at least pitch centered approach... I don't know where you're getting this "dead end" from. Ellen Zwilich, Sergio Assad, Leo Brouwer, Corigliano, and Dan Welcher are just a few examples, and all extremely successful composers.

I can't really see all the notes well... it comes out a little small on YouTube. I would suggest uploading the score here. At first glance the guitar part seems perfectly doable, but like I said; I would need to be able to see the notes completely, especially for the chords because that's where composers unfamiliar with the guitar fail to understand its chordal possibilities. As for the Viola part, the single lines look doable; I would need a more visible version of the score to confirm the double stops.

Just finished my first semester at University studying music composition... honestly the audition plays the biggest role in whether or not you're admitted into the program. Sure you can have awards, and good grades (I had good grades, no awards) but in the end you have to be able to play well and write well, and they wanna see that you can. I only applied to two schools (not easy schools to get into either), but after each audition they accepted me on the spot. I HIGHLY recommend becoming as proficient as possible on your instrument even if you're going to study composition.

not sure if this is still going on, but I uploaded the piece I was going to use for this challenge.

If we're scoring a scene then is it acceptable if the piece is relatively short? Mine is about a min and 30 seconds... then again I haven't seen many movies with music playing in any given scene for more than 3-4 min.

can we use a small ensemble like a piano quintet?

I'll join

I'm in the same boat as you except I'm already a senior and will be going to college this fall, focusing whole-heartily on composition. Remember most music schools require auditions on a musical instrument, so make sure you refine your playing. I was accepted into UM and FSU (I didn't apply anywhere else), and while I feel my compositions were strong, I think my playing was the more impressive part of my auditions. Granted, I've only been composing for two years. They like to see someone who can not only compose, but also play their instrument at a high level.

Love using modal stuff in my pieces. I'm particularly fond of the Dorian and Lydian sound. I used a lot of modal ideas in my piano duet. The difficulty is keeping that modal sound and not allowing the piece to stray into the usual major/minor realm. This is why I love Ravel's music so much, he can keep the integrity of the mode so seamlessly

probably my favorite piece

Usually get a melody going and then just try A BUNCH of different harmonies over the melody.

Yeah Beethoven's pieces definitely create a crease in the fabric of space and time and exist beyond our time period. 4 dimensions bro

flows for me