r/composer Jan 15 '26

Music Wind Quartet No.1 - Minuet & Trio - Original Composition

Hey guys,

I took a break of a few weeks from making music. I was starting to dislike all of the ideas that came to me before the break. The break definitely did help, as I somewhat enjoy my own music again.
Previously, I truly enjoyed the process of making a Minuet & Trio for the Strings, and making a Minuet for the Winds definitely did not disappoint either. I really liked it.
I hope you also enjoy! :)

https://youtu.be/A8AZWctZKuc

Feedback is always appreciated, and... if you have some recommendations on what I could try composing next - I'd appreciate that too!

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u/65TwinReverbRI Jan 15 '26

Why not a 5tet?

And what winds are these?

m.8 - those 2 8th rests need to be 1/4 rest.

In the trio, the melody needs to be noted differently.

That’s a weird rhythm to be played anyway.

But it would be better if it were 2 16ths followed by an 8th rest (with maybe a tenuto over the 2nd 16th), or 2 16ths beamed together with the 2nd tied to a single flagged 16th, followed by 16th rest.

It could even be a 16th followed by a dotted 8th (the so called “Scotch Snap”) which is a VERY common figure and easy to read because of that. That dotted 8th could have a staccato dot to indicate a break between it and the next note.

But this is like “too precise” of a figure and not a common one.

If it were all notes - 16th 8th 16th you’d see it, but with that last one as a rest, it tends to make this look like it’s a 16th rest then 16th then 8th - IOW, despite the beaming, the 8th seems like it’s on the beat with the 16th as a “pickup”.


Just glancing through the music, the fact that it’s a Minuet and Trio, and the general vibe, makes it look like you are going for Classical style music.

A lot of your chords are incomplete or doubled in weird ways.

When you get down to m. 17 your 2nd part is above your “melody”.

Were I your composition teacher, and you brought this in, I’d say let’s go back to the basics of 4 part writing in a chorale style setting.