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Hey everybody! I'm new to this forum so this is my first post. I am an organist and accordionist and recently started composing my own music because, you know, why not? I enjoy doing it, but have had some trouble recently so I am looking for some advice on how I can improve. I am trying to compose in a baroque style, sort of like my two favorite composers, Bach and Vivaldi. I am trying some "simple" forms currently, like minuets and chorales. They don't sound terrible to my ears, but I know that there is lots of room to improve. The files are attached if you would like to help me out. (thank you!!) My first question is: How can I come up with good ideas (and continue the ideas)? Sometimes when I try to compose I just get nothing and end up deleting my work out of frustration. My second question is: How can I eventually build my way up to compose more complex things? I have tried other forms and some more complex music, but am unable to make anything sound natural. If anyone can help me out with this that would be great. I can't thank the people who do enough. Thanks again everyone!

As the title implies, this is my first composition for strings. Coincidentally it's also my first thing in a sonata like form. Tell me what you think! I don't shy away from constructive criticism. As a note: I do enjoy dissonance, both as a composer and a performer, but I know that some people do not enjoy that in the same way.

It's short, and that's because I didn't know how to lengthen it much more. I leave it here just in case someone wanted to improve on it. I really feel like their could've been so much done with it. As always, I'm open to feedback.

Hello! I've been finding myself composing multiple pieces at a time. I find a theme (I guess that's what it's called) that was meant to be a part of a bigger piece and use it to begin or create a new piece. Anyways, I think this piece could be way better, especially how I deal with the topic of tension and releasing tension. That is, if you notice, every time a "climax" is reached I just hit a very low note that is meant to be a sort of a musical slap. But I really think there are other ways to deal with climax. Comparing to my previous "pieces", I think this one is more solid, even though not as I would like it to be. Feedback would be appreciated.

This is an art song I wrote as a setting of an Emily Dickinson poem I rather like.

Hello! This is my first time attempting to compose a piece. It's quite short (lasting only ~15 secs), and that's because I really didn't know what to do. Other than watching almost nothing other than a few music theory videos on YouTube, I actually know nothing regarding music, so this might be quite amateurish! Please do tell me how I could improve on this.

Hello everyone, I have been studying music composition for 6 months over books and the internet but since none of my acquaintances knows about music composition the feedback I receive is null. I would greatly appreciate that you could give me any. There is really many things I do not know and many doubts, so I will be thankful for any feedback! -------------------------------- About the song --------------------------------- The composition are six 30-seconds variations over the different greek modes (locrian exempted) in F. I set myself to follow some rules, such as using only diatonic notes (no raised 7th in minor modes either), an almost constant eight note rhythm for the middle voice and a similar beginning and ending of each variation for every mode. The original theme was the Ionian mode and from there I decided to write a similar 10 bar piece for each greek mode for practicing.

I'm going to post all my piano compositions in chronological order. Numbers 7, 8, 11, 13 and 15 are the best ones in my opinion. 1.-Compositions from youth. (I wouldn't even call this music) 2.-Random piano piece. (Modern I guess) 3.-Variations on a theme (Second piece I show in the video)(Classical) 4.-Katyusha (Variations)(Romantic/Virtuoso) 5.-Musical experiment. (Modern) 6.-Portrait of a dahlia. (Modern) 7.-Memories. (Romantic with jazz) 8.-Invention in D minor. (Canon)(Baroque) 9.-Crab canon. (Modern) 10.-Videogame experiment. (Modern) 11.-Feline Night (Jazz) 12.-Chromatic practice. (Experiment)(Modern) 13.-Elegía moderna. (Modern) 14.-Consonantn't vals. (Experimental/mixture) 15.-Portrait of a deaf man. (Modern/Romantic) If you liked or you have some advice please leave a coment. If I see people show interest I will post my other works.

This "Beginner's Piano Suite" marks my so-called '3rd Opus", which sounds so odd to say. (The idea of having an "Opus" sounds awful self-important to my ears, but at the same time, it gives a sense of beginning, middle, and end, and the thought of "I'm done with this, I'm moving on to something else" is liberating, so I really like that aspect of it!) Here's a little backstory. For one thing, I was tired of making pieces of piano music that were extremely difficult to play, and I have a fondness for pieces that are simple, straightforward, and "tell a story", so to speak. So I tried to tone down virtuoso writing as much as possible, and focus on "what" I wanted to say, instead of "how" to say it. I took some inspiration from the idea of video game music, thinking of a scenario or character and having that be what started me off. Most of them are played at a really slow tempo, which is inherently easier to play. A couple are more up-tempo, and probably offer the greatest challenge. Some sections may be tricky, and might be cheating to have in a "Beginner's Piano Suite", but I did my best. It's not a very long suite. There are seven pieces, and to listen to all takes maybe 15-20 minutes or so. Here they are: https://app.box.com/s/3i5d36uhkfwmd0gj5b84jmqplhoioebp [Op. 3 No. 1, "Dawn's Lullaby" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/0ecvpduruu110pa9ukksgty2bqmlt8jx ["Dawn's Lullaby" PDF] https://app.box.com/s/9rknasfzt22sdm8kcqx1ot7jzq7ei9y7 ["Op. 3 No. 2, ""A Lamentation" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/nfclmphylif5ztavoq7t1d5h5p6y6ifq ["A Lamentation" PDF] https://app.box.com/s/csiounws38ep6waojlityorrdofgt3z1 [Op. 3 No. 3, "Cynical" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/rrdfpfkmwortupqtqb1hqh581u16kevb ["Cynical" PDF] https://app.box.com/s/oa840nl7vfyadcv3ey0302fwotrar8h3 ["Op. 3 No. 4, "The Fireplace" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/p8haj6opgevr8g90v2i0z9b2qitdxxz9 ["The Fireplace" PDF] https://app.box.com/s/yumtrw9w5rlppww2pi5m0dix24a206jg [Op. 3 No. 5, "Resistance" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/fg5mr8o4x6ydnsloqp5q6a82vcrgcz09 ["Resistance" PDF] https://app.box.com/s/5ilpdnvqx27gyj05l7atnyc3d9ar414c [Op. 3 No. 6, "Remembrance" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/vgaadllbnc1izmm7meits7vzom2x9rmc ["Remembrance" PDF] https://app.box.com/s/tv8akqk6i409ibxz3i5187571syxwpjn [Op. 3 No. 7, "Adagio" WAVE File] https://app.box.com/s/qhompslta6x3wzh1owzj2a6g7tu74a2m ["Adagio" PDF] Thoughts/comments/criticisms all welcome. Thank you!

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Hi, I was hoping I could get some advice on a clarinet solo I am writing for my audition portfolio. I only play guitar, but I wanted to write a solo for clarinet to add some variety to my portfolio. I am worried that the phrasing that I'm coming up with isn't particularly suited to the clarinet or any wind instrument for that matter. I am using Instrumentation and Orchestration by Alfred Blatter to get a better idea of what I can and cannot do on clarinet. If anyone who plays clarinet could give me some advice on if the piece is playable that would be great. Any advice on the composition itself is also welcome. I'll upload a screenshot of the first 9 measures of the score (rough; haven't add in the dynamics or other markings yet) along with a rough playthrough of how I would like it to sound on guitar. Also, if anyone knows of any solo clarinet pieces I could study to get a better grasp on what it would be more fitting for the instrument, that would be very helpful. Thanks!

I'm an amateur in many senses of the word—I have never composed in a professional or academic setting and have only begun learning some things about music theory this summer. I made this piece a few days ago and it's my longest composition, though still below two minutes long.

Hi! I'd really like to learn basics of music composition. I'm very interested in writing classical orchestral or piano music, but I have no idea where to start. I know that the best option would be finding a good tutor, but I'd rather learn by myself via internet. At the moment, the wish to learn is basically all I have, apart from small theoretical background. I don't even know what skills are necessary for composing (which makes searching for articles online incredibly hard). I would very much appreciate if someone could give me some advice on where should I begin. Should I first improve my piano skills? Should I improve my ear? Should I find myself a book? Should I start with an online course? How much money should I spend (I presume it's hard to get good quality content for free)? Should I use multiple sources? If anyone has experience with books or online courses that suit my level of expertise, I would be grateful if you could share it. My current knowledge and skills: I can recognise and use major scale, melodic and harmonic minor scales, as well as a few modes of major scales (I have some experience with jazz improvisation). I have no problems with constructing and recognising intervals and some basic chords with inversions (minor, major, augmented and diminished, a few types of seventh chords). I have pretty developed ear. I'm quite good at playing saxophone and I also have some experience with piano (which is convenient I guess ...). I would be very grateful for any piece of advise :)

Hey all, I was commissioned to write this piece for a intermediate level orchestra, with focus on the horns, violas, basses, oboes, percussion, bassoons, and low brass, the lesser used instruments by kids learning instruments. I decided to make it so each variation featured the a certain instrument. The only catch was the sections that these instruments had were huge. Like, almost 20-30 horns, for example. So I did my best to blend it all together, and this is what came out. This piece was heavily reviewed by the coaches of the program so it could be confirmed to be played by younger students. So any orchestration issues you may see, while not intentional per se, definitely were influenced by the jury I had. Enjoy!

Hi all, I'm new here, this is my first post. I know nothing about making music, at all. I tried picking up a couple different instruments in my youth, but never stuck to it and lost interest. The thing is, I have tons of songs in my head that I really want to get out onto paper, computer, recording, something? I come up with them all the time, not even meaning to, but they get stuck in my head, and I want to get them out. The songs are complete in terms of music, just no lyrics there. Any advice on what to do here? I don't know how to compose or play any instruments so I could record, and even if I could play one instrument, for example the piano, I would have to learn many instruments in order to record an entire song. Is there some kind of software that will help me here? Thanks in advance.

Hello! I'm interested in beginning to compose, especially in modern styles (a la Ligeti). However, my music theory knowledge is minimal... I can read notes and that's about it. (Except sometimes when a note has more than a couple of ledger lines :veryunsure:) Anyway, as I said, I'm into contemporary music... Ligeti, Bartok, and Yun Isang are among my favorite composers. I love listening to their music, but I usually don't get a whole lot out of it since I don't understand the concepts being demonstrated. That being said, can anyone recommend to me a good place to start (e.g. textbook, website) where I could learn music theory? Everything that I've found just explains reading music and then stops. Thanks! P.S. I'm new here... sorry if I'm putting this in the wrong spot.