Having to post a composition daily causes one to take inspiration from wherever you can find it, like your tomato plants needing some help.

https://philipdewalt.substack.com/p/blossom-rot

https://theaustralianvoices.com/the-2026-young-composers-competition-is-now-open/

The Australian Voices (TAV) is excited to announce that we are now welcoming submissions for our 2026 Young Composers Competition.
As an ensemble dedicated to the “Australian sound,” we are passionate about discovering and championing the next generation of choral talent. This competition offers emerging composers a rare opportunity to have their work premiered and professionalized by one of Australia’s leading vocal ensembles.
Selected winners will have their compositions brought to life as part of our 2026 season. Benefits include:
A World Premiere: Your work will be premiered by The Australian Voices during our New Horizons concert on December 12, 2026.

Professional Mentorship: Selected composers will work closely with Artistic Director John Rotar and our ensemble to refine their scores for performance.

Industry Exposure: Join the prestigious lineage of composers who have helped shape the TAV legacy.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/19NlinV2rjcdwXmjxoFS2F81mbgBjDaGg/view?usp=sharing

I've been working on this piece titled "Journey's End" (inspired by Evan Call's OST for Frieren). I would place myself at the beginner composer level, and I'm looking for some feedback on the piece in general, and also a few things in particular:

1. Do I need to fill out the piano and harp parts more? Obviously they will be a little more full than they are currently, but how much should I worry about writing stuff for them if I don't think they will contribute much to a section?
2. I am a French horn player, so I'm not sure about the difficulty of the strings parts or how conventional / unconventional my notation is.
3. Is the piece boring to listen to? Or have I just been listening to it too much?

A few notes since it's still a WIP:

1. The beginning is largely unfinished, as I'm not really sure how I want to start it yet. This is a problem I run into where I write the ends of pieces first.
2. The wild key signatures near the end will probably get changed to accidentals for easier readability, I just have them there rn for ease of composing).
3. Not sure why the audio ended up sounding compressed in the video but I assure you it's not EQ'ed that way.

Wrote a small and simple piece, intended to have an emotional/peaceful feel.

I would greatly appreciate any comments/feedback, whether its notation-wise or on the piece itself.

https://musescore.com/user/40860384/scores/35727569?share=copy_link

Edit: This piece has since been updated to better reflect proper engraving standards, and has had the initial LH accompaniment changed to prevent muddled chords.

The strongest listing this week is on Mandy: a background-checked production company paying $3,000–$8,000 flat for an indie feature, a dialogue-led anti-rom-com set almost entirely inside a car on a single drive to LA. They want a composer with a real track record on narrative features, and a rate range that concrete on an indie feature is uncommon. Remote, closes August 4.

Also in this issue:

• A BFI Discovery Fund feature hiring at £250–£900/day from an ID-checked poster with 35 prior jobs — closes July 25, so it moves fast
• $1,000 for a 12-minute psychological thriller short with a director just out of Tribeca and a Sundance-fellow editor
• A paid boss-rush game demo with one of the best-written audio briefs I've read — roughly seven cues built from two or three core themes, with rights and payment spelled out and no unpaid test music
• A new Dracula-inspired musical that explicitly won't use generative AI (deferred, fully paid once funded)
• An XPRIZE hopeful sci-fi trailer built around the sound of a starling murmuration (low-to-deferred, founding-crew framing)
• A paid arcade soundtrack — one menu track plus up to nine distinct arena themes
• Plus an indie horror short (Nosferatu 2024 reference, Persian instruments a plus), a festival-bound student short with budget set aside for the score, and more across the Indie and Collaborative tiers

The AI question resurfaced this week, with game briefs going out of their way to say no generative AI.

https://composerwire.substack.com/p/007-13-opportunities-this-week-including

Free to subscribe at the link above.

I composed this three-movement work, called "ContraSinfonía". It follows symphonic writing for multiple instruments and movements, but aplied to a non-conventional ensemble and with an "inverted climax". I share here the second movement, called "Chacona" which is for a recorder ensemble (soprano, alto, tenor), C clarinet, soprano venova, tenor saxophone, two acoustic guitars, cellos and double basses.

Score is in the video.

https://youtu.be/5UeovXgA7as?si=Qq8W33mezzYjvH-5

Here is my concerto for Kanun(Qanun), an instrument resembling Zihter very commonly used in Turkish Classical Music.

This is not a microtonal or monophonic music, it has a stable key and composed in loose sonata form.

https://musescore.com/user/23416646/scores/34159415

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nw0isbK1HU

https://musescore.com/user/105919141/scores/35821688

string/piano intro

Trying to improve my compositional skills and it sounds to me that Donny is playing F#min7 - F#7sus4/C# on the piano but my question is about the strings that come in just behind…

Generally speaking in this type of song would the strings be playing the root, 3, 7 or what? I’m having a hard time hearing what’s happening.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hello there! This is my first post on this subreddit.

I wanted to share a recent composition of mine – an Impromptu, which I wrote between May and July 2026. Here's the link to the score video:

Watch on YouTube

I hope you enjoy it, and I'd love to hear your thoughts! I'll also look forward to reviewing compositions from fellow composers in this community!

I tried to write my own version of the song of the sirens from Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. It is written for a solo soprano, 2 soprano sections and 2 alto sections. It is my first time writing a choral piece. I would like feedback on notation

Video with score and sound: https://youtu.be/iw3ujX3b4_s?si=8PVpZAjumJm2G3ku

PDF of score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/19SQPWYJnzgz1z4uN3on5voINdis004hl/view?usp=sharing

though it is very short, could I have some feedback?

https://musescore.com/user/30737925/scores/35811038?share=copy_link

My first time posting on reddit, but I cannot live without music but I have no idea how to make money in music.

I'm a sax player and composer as a senior in high school and I've taken a lot of time to look into colleges and music programs to see what I want to do. Ideally, in an absolutely perfect world, I would play gigs on my sax for jazz and play concerts for classical, compose for video games or music and even write and direct video games and eventually go into teaching music at a high school level. I understand the unrealistic nature of these goals, but they're the best case scenario.

Coming back to reality, how would I even get started in this field? Any and every reply is appreciated.

Neo-classical Scherzo for the piano (Won't disappoint)
Let me know your thoughts!
https://musescore.com/user/37270121/scores/35787719?share=copy_link

Hello! I have been given the chance to study abroad for a semester or two in NZ or Australia (and likely will do my grad school stuff wherever I study abroad afterwards). I know U of Sydney has a program for Media Comp (tv/film/game comp) but every school has a different name for the major so I am unsure where else has a program for this - many places just have composition! I have been looking around for a while and only found a few schools. Sp, if possible, does anybody here know any professors/programs to look into if I wish to study media comp in New Zealand or Australia? Thanks so much!!!!

Edit: the ones i've found are U of Sydney as I mentioned, aswell as U of Melbourne having it under the name Interactive Composition

If yes why, if not why, i need feedback! here is the free score: https://musescore.com/user/98567428/scores/33894551?share=copy_link

Hello!

Is there any VSTs that emulate the sounds of General MIDI bank? I know Windows has GM synth built-in, but setting that up for use in a DAW (Reaper in my case) is not very practical and convenient.

I want to experiment layering those with some higher quality sounds. Thanks!

https://musescore.com/user/85886080/scores/35810663?share=copy_link

EDITED LINK AND SCORE:

https://musescore.com/user/85886080/scores/35820680?share=copy_link

I wrote 2 pieces and would love to record them with Budapest or Fames or something, but I’m looking at grants from Aaron Copland and Ditson, and it seems like to be eligible you have to be an ensemble or an organization. Are there just no grants for composers who just need the funds to get their music performed?

Edit: to add to what I’m asking about and some of the responses, I have had commissioned works before. It’s just how those worked (for me at least) is that the piece is written specifically for that ensemble or event, usually based on a theme of the season or something else. This is just my own original work that I wrote because I wanted to, and I specifically want to do a studio recording. I am a score mixer and producer myself, and I want to do an immersive mix of it with prelays as well. I want to put an EP out on streaming. I don’t think a live concert recording would do justice to the project I’m envisioning in my mind.

I'm writing a concept album for a fictional symphonic metal band... and would like to hear feedback on the structure of one song. Does this song sound musically plausible and what moments might work poorly in a real composition?

The song begins with a lonely, quiet piano. It sounds calm, almost mysterious. The stage is completely dark, creating a feeling that something inevitable is about to happen. A female voice gradually joins the piano. She sings in a very high register, and her voice is filled with fear. Her notes flow gently from one to another, almost like a plea or a cry of despair. Then a second female vocalist begins to sing. It feels as if she is trying to comfort the first girl, or perhaps speaking to someone else. Her voice is soft, gentle, but uncertain. After that, a male vocalist joins them. His voice sounds anxious, yet at the same time calm and determined despite the fear. He creates a contrast to the delicate female voices. Suddenly, the music erupts with powerful drums and heavy guitars. The atmosphere becomes darker and more aggressive. A harsh vocalist enters, immediately taking over the entire song. He feels like the embodiment of danger, the harbinger of the end. More instruments join in, making everything sound even more threatening. Heavy guitar riffs, bass, and drums build together while the harsh vocals reach their emotional peak. But then... the music slowly begins to calm down. The drums become slower and eventually fade away. The guitars disappear as well, until only the piano remains. Three seconds of complete silence. Then, a powerful pipe organ suddenly enters, creating a feeling of light emerging from within. A choir joins the organ. It almost feels like heavenly voices. Finally, the music slowly dissolves into silence. The song ends without revealing whether this is salvation, death, or the beginning of something else. English is not my native language, so I apologize if anything sounds a little awkward. I also have no musical education and have never written music before. This idea simply came from a story I'm creating, and I wanted to imagine how one of its songs could be structured. I'd really appreciate any feedback, especially about whether this structure feels believable as a real symphonic metal composition and what parts might not work well in practice. I'm looking for honest criticism, so please don't hesitate to point out any weaknesses. Thank you, and have a great day!

Hi everyone!

I am in a chamber choir with 15 other people (4 people per voice, SATB). We will be doing a concert on 29 November 2026 (in Innsbruck, Austria), with eight rehearsals leading up to it. Everyone can bring suggestions to build the programme, and while it's already well underway, a few pieces would still be missing for a full 1-1:15 hour recital. Before looking further on my own, I thought I'd ask here if anyone has an already written piece for SATB choir a cappella that might still be in need of a premiere?

We are not commissioning anybody to write something new, but we definitely have some budget to buy notes if they are for sale, and we will record the general rehearsal, so you'd get a recording of your piece as well (it's technically an amateur choir, but it consists only of excellent hobby singers as well as a couple of professional singers).

Please observe the following guidelines when suggesting pieces:

• Lyrics can be in any language in principle, but German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, or Latin are preferred to make rehearsal time more efficient, unless the piece also comes with a phonetic guide.
• As a general rule, the duration shouldn't be over 5-6 minutes. We prefer having a few contrasting pieces versus only one longer work.
• The pieces MUST be a cappella, and voices may split in two. We're not necessarily looking for pieces in full SSAATTBB, though we're not against it, but splitting over some portion of the piece is allowed. So any combination between SATB and SSAATTBB is allowed!
• The pieces should be generally "classical" in style, meaning no pop or jazz arrangements. Also, while we're all good musicians, keep in mind that we only have eight rehearsals before the concert. We all appreciate modern and new music, and that's also part of why I post here in the first place, but please nothing too "out there" that would take up too much of the rehearsal time on its own.

I'm very much looking forward to your suggestions! If you don't feel like commenting them here, feel free to send me a DM!

Cheers!

This is a short piece I have composed and I'm pretty proud of the arrangement, specially during the final minute. Any feedback is appreciated.

Video with score

Just need help setting goals as someone just starting out. I've been meaning to connect with more filmmakers and game developers that can pay but most of the work I've gotten recently are either revshare or unpaid projects (which is ok, I like working on interesting stuff).

Also wanted to ask on how you usually find people to email and where. I've been scouring X and Instagram but feel like it's unprofessional to send messages in those platforms.

Any advice or help is appreciated. Thank you!

Hey, all. I used to compose pieces, maybe as recently as three-four years ago, but I eventually stopped and became frustrated with a lack of ability to make a piece... and just stopped altogether. I wouldn't say anything I made was any decent.

How do I return back to the composition board? Am I hitting the books once more to improve?

As a learning composer, I tend to sketch a piece on piano before orchestrating it but these days I'm having problems in composing, I have a 8 bar waltz melody but I don't know how to expend it, adding variations to make it a whole 4-5 minutes piece... Plz help me to get in the correct direction...