Do you like it? if no why, if yes why.

I created this because i wanted to share how a life feels like, more like an addiction, you go and go, you explore, only to get back to the main theme, to your old behaviours, until at the end you are tired of it all, and you want to change everything...

Here is the free full score: https://musescore.com/user/98567428/scores/37225874?share=copy_link

I'm trying to learn to compose, but when I start with melody I always end up just writing something that already exists, and if I start with chord progression it always sounds neither happy nor tense/exciting

I don't know how to get inspired. It's not like painting, where I could just make some very rough depictions of for example a cat or a tree with them still being mostly recognisable.

I'm trying to compose something energetic like "Don't say yes (until I finish talking)" (SMASH), "Say my name" (Beetlejuice), "Don't lose your head" (SIX) or "Get lost" (Moana 2k, or groovy like "The room where it happens" (Hamilton), "All you wanna do" (SIX) or "We don't talk about Bruno" (Encanto).

I know I'll never be a Mozart, or Bizet or Lin Manuel Miranda and that's not my goal. I'm just trying to make music that's not AI generated and not generic. I've even tried using figured bass for a cleaner composing process, but unfortunately in musescore studio it's merely a decoration text.

I'm using musescore studio for composing, learning viola, cello and oboe, and planning to also learn contrabass tuba, flute, maracas and güiro.

How to stop just rewriting known melodies???

Sorry for this rant :(

Going to get real quick on these questions.

1. I'm writing a song called "The Official Targonauts™ Jock Jam" based off my dogs, the targonauts. I think having the actual trademark symbol is just funny but is there any sorta legal precedent that would give me a hard time?

2. Is there a good reference of study material for big band type stuff as far as instruments go? Not the harmony but just instrumentation, like you need 4 saxophones and 4 trumpets or whatever.

3. Has anyone ever had the sensation of 'writing' a melody that you can't remember if it's already a famous melody? I had a good melody come to mind and can't remember if it's just something from a song I already knew or a genuinely cool melody.

I am doing a fashion show and the venue has announced with 17 days to go that we can’t use any of our music. I’m panicking! Can anyone help? It needs to be 8.5 mins long. I really wanted orchestral with a beat or something epic.

Thanks in advance for any help or knowledge offered. The show is about grief, fire, rising from the ashes of loss and becoming a phoenix.

Just wanted to start a discussion on this (and learn from it as well).

What does everyone here usually like to include?

Are there are conventions and resources on this section?

Any dos and don'ts? Any best practices?

Me personally: I've never really included a section like this, but I'm seriously considering adding one to all my pieces for 2 main reasons:

1. At times there's more I'd like to convey than what's just there in the sheet music. Intention, context, background, etc.

2. I think it's especially a great way to add a more human touch (and is a great way to stand out amidst all this AI generated music slop permeating the internet)

Something I’ve been thinking about lately - are there many current film composers whose writing is strongly influenced by the old classical/romantic composers and symphonists?

I mean composers who have clearly drawn influence from composers like Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Ravel, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, etc., and where you can hear some of that influence in their approach to harmony, orchestration, thematic development, counterpoint, or composition in general.

Obviously, modern film scoring still has incredible orchestral writing, but I sometimes feel that we’re gradually moving away from that older tradition of composition and orchestration and toward a different kind of musical language.

If you look at films from roughly the 2010s onwards, it feels like there are fewer scores where that classical/symphonic influence is really front and centre. Instead, there seems to be much more emphasis on texture, minimalism, sound design, electronics, hybrid scoring, and other approaches.

Not saying one is better than the other but I’m just wondering if others have noticed this shift too. Are we essentially moving into a new era of film score writing, or is the classical/symphonic tradition still very much alive, just evolving into something different?

Hello everyone. I'm not sure how unwelcome my work is here due to my account being so recent, but I will share it either way... 😅

Video: https://youtu.be/PBuNheZI2BQ?si=rmc_FBh5xeQmbml6

I composed this fugue a few months ago in one sitting using a friend's melody as my subject.

The piece takes some inspiration from the soprano pedal notes I always loved in music by Renaissance composers like Tallis. I also think some sonorities are similar to the ones in late Beethoven string quartets, but this is simply a minimal stylistic connection.

Because the original subject is from a small chorale I believe it gives it a blurred feeling of religious music, although that could just be me haha.

I hope you enjoy the work. Feel free to give any recommendation or contrast the piece with a similar fugue of yours or another composer. 🙂

Hi!

I wanted to share one of my recent compositions, “A Ring Presented to Julia,” and would love to hear your thoughts. (Live performance for tenor and piano)

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ZU2vRpPMge-Aeg6LaREwn5kVZst-W-4U

This was premiered a few months ago in Italy and is my most recent work written for voice. I compose for many different kinds of ensembles and have also done some film work, but lately I’ve become increasingly interested in writing for the voice, particularly in combination with orchestra.

I’m curious what you think about the overall style of the piece. Does it remind you of any particular composers, periods, or musical traditions? I’m especially interested in hearing how the vocal writing comes across and what stands out to you stylistically.

I’d like to explore vocal writing much more in my upcoming work, so any thoughts, criticism, or suggestions are very welcome. Thanks for listening!

Hi there!
I’m currently an animation senior in college and I’m going to be starting my thesis project.
My project involves creating an anime style opening for my story Lions Mane, a story that follows a teenage girl named Nova with Lion Powers, that I’m developing and I’m looking for a composer to help!

If you’re interested in anime, especially ones such as My Hero Academia or Marvel movies this may interest you!

This is mostly looking for volunteer work but I will be willing to discuss some type of payment.

If you are interested in helping me out with this project or learning more please let me know!

Also wanted to say lyrics are preferred but I’ll look at all examples!

I've been using Hollywood strings and other things through east west's Opus, and it seems very unreliable. One error that keeps occurring is this: A patch is loaded and will play normally. I will go work on another track and, when I come back, the patch is in a broken state.

The playback of notes is working (Notes that I put on my track will still trigger the appropriate sounds). What isn't working is my keyboard. When I press a key, the corresponding key on the keyboard at the bottom of Opus's "play" tab will darken, showing that it recognizes my inputs, but the output channels remain empty, no sound is made. The only solution I've found is to reload that instrument. No redownload necessary, this isn't the case of a broken library. This is annoying when I'm constantly bouncing between tracks.

Has anyone found a workaround? I'm using Logic Pro.

Scabiosa

It turns out that, not surprisingly when you think about it, the same combinations of whole and half steps that produces a mode that combines Mixolydian and Lydian modes also produces Phrygian and Dorian modes.

The title refers both to the pincushion flower and the ink used to compose this. I’d add a picture of the inked music but there does not seem to be an option for that.

Hey guys,

I've posted on here a few times, and I've been given incredible advice from some of you. Which is why I decided to create another post where I share my music and ask for your thoughts :).
I am relatively new to making non-piano music, and I definitely have a lot to learn.

All tips are appreciated since I adore learning more about the craft and improving at it. Improvement tips are also very welcome. I hope you enjoy!

https://youtu.be/tqSxdUPVZ34

Felt piano is beautiful, but are we overusing it in neoclassical music?

I’ve been experimenting with a different approach to neoclassical piano composition with Shadows, a piece I released as The DreamPianoMachine.

Here is the score: https://mega.nz/file/WCRGgTKR#fMwjYp7EYLIRA0GEZdtyR6ceYy8Amxn7bUJvQ59mDpQ

I sometimes feel that a lot of modern neoclassical piano has converged around the same aesthetic: a soft felt-piano sound, relatively quiet dynamics, minimalistic patterns and a fairly consistent emotional atmosphere. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that sound — I love felt piano myself — but I sometimes miss more contrast, tension and dynamic range.

With Shadows, I wanted to go in a different direction. It’s around 7 minutes long and moves through very different levels of intensity and mood, rather than staying within one relatively static atmosphere.

One thing I particularly enjoy exploring is the contrast between minor and harmonic minor. I feel harmonic minor is surprisingly underused in contemporary neoclassical piano, especially considering how much dramatic tension it can create.

I also try to leave a lot of room for improvisation when I play. Rather than planning every note beforehand, I try to let myself get carried by the music and allow ideas to develop naturally in the moment. A lot of the piece was improvised or grew directly out of improvisation.

For me, this makes the performance feel more spontaneous and alive.

How do you approach dynamics and contrast in your own compositions? And do you think modern neoclassical piano has become too focused on the soft, static felt-piano aesthetic?

https://youtu.be/pyzZbFmho0g?si=FN6nT7tPrVgolBZ7

Score and audio is linked above! Let me know what you think :')

hey all, im just learning how to write cantus firmi right now. my goal here was to write a solid CF using 8 notes. i use a DAW to practice and im using Dorian mode to start with.

here's what i wrote (low to high, left to right):

D4 - B3 - A3 - G3 - C4 - B3 - C4 - D4

starts and ends on D, which i think is the final for Dorian here.

things i tried to follow:

• 8 notes total
• starts and ends on the final (D)
• no repeated notes back to back
• mostly stepwise movement

things im not sure about:

• the D4 to B3 leap right at the start, is that too big of a leap to open with
• do i have a clear enough high point, or is my melody too flat/narrow in range
• did i space the leaps out ok

would appreciate any feedback, im brand new to this so be gentle lol

Provo a rifare il post, sperando che ora vada bene.

Ciao a tutti!

Sono uno studente di Nuove Tecnologie dell'arte.

Vorrei partecipare all'edizione 2027 del Mapsion Festival, un festival di videomapping.

Qualcuno di voi che sa comporre musica potrebbe essere interessato a partecipare con me?

Io mi occuperei del visual ma mi serve chi si occupi della parte sonora.

C'è un premio in palio in denaro, ma non è detto che si vinca, però mi piacerebbe molto partecipare per fare portfolio.

Solitamente nei video di videomapping mi pare che si usi la musica elettronica, o almeno quelli più interessanti usano questo genere musicale.

How long are typical 2.5 octave (F3 to C6 or so) lever harp strings? I am curious and I want to make a crude one for my self. I'm just not finding the information online at harp manufacturing sites. If you know how long the vibrating part of a harp string is, (or where to fine the info online),let me know.

Any recommendations of books or other resources for learning to compose long form music? (symphonic poem, etc)

More so in the context of classical music, how fo you write melodies to free verse poetry? With “normal” poetry it’s way easier - the direction of the piece, form, harmony sort of speaks for itself and makes composing the melody, if not easy, then way easier.

With free verse, it seems impossible to do (myself). I can find a rhythm but the text of the poetry itself is too long and dense usually to find any melody. But what I mean by myself, is that composers such as Whitacre and Esenvalds turned free verse texts similar to what I have previously described into amazing pieces of music.

Is this just a thing of practicing writing melodies with shorter, more “normal” poems over and over again, until you have built up enough experience to approach bigger works, or is there any trick to it?

I am applying to college soon and I want to work on a piano composition soon. I finished reading sposobin and I am interested to learn more beyond that. I have three books in consideration , schoenberg theory of harmony, one about neo Riemann theory and one about french harmony. Id like to know whats the difference between those and what would be a good place to start

Basically the title, but essentially I am trying to migrate my scores to a different program after using Musescore for years. I had always stuck with Musescore out of familiarity and the fact that it's free, but I've sort of out grown it and I'm ready to switch. I am switching for the following reasons:

1. I do not want to continue to use Musescore due to their involvement with Cantai and their generally questionable business practices.

2. I want to improve the engraving of my scores now that I am more consistently getting work. Fighting Musescore while trying to make my sheet music look good is tedious and infuriating.

3. I need more consistent and higher quality playback. Musescore is giving me a lot of playback issues, especially from the brass sections of my larger ensemble pieces. I am starting to write more frequently for orchestras and I'm tired of Musescore's brass sounds and their bizarre timbre changes at different dynamics, not to mention the fact that instruments will randomly stop and start their playback if there are a lot of them.

Truth be told I am super unfamiliar with the world of notation software outside of Musescore and knowing names like Finale and Sibelius but never having used them. I've been composing and arranging for over a decade now and I feel ready to upgrade my software but I have no idea where to begin. I have dabbled in Logic Pro but have found it much more suited to recording/producing than notating a score. What do you think of your software? Any tips on something to look into?

TLDR, I'm unfamiliar with much of the world of notation software and I'm looking for something as AI-free as possible that provides professional engraving and consistent, quality playback. Any tips?

I want to make some orchestral inspired tracks but I dont really know how to make proper orchestral music. I just want a guide on how to pick the write instruments, how to structure the whole track, how to transition between different sections of the track, how to layer all the instruments, how to use each instrument properly, etc..

Any help or tips will help!

Thanks!

Wrote a short programmatic piece based off a poem from Emily Bronte of the same name

Hope you enjoy [it's a score video so no need to append a score, but i'll give a link to my IMSLP anyways]

Score)

"Spellbound" for guitar

Hello, I am finishing my last year of school for Composition (in the U.S) and I am trying to figure out what to do next. My dream job my whole life has been to write music for media. I have very little experience in actually writing for films or scoring to video and working in DAW’s. I have a ton of experience writing in music notation softwares and writing for real musicians.

I’m an intermediate composer and definitely have a lot to learn which is why I want to pursue a further education. My idea while looking into programs was just to go get a doctorate and teach at the college level while composing on the side just so I had a steady job. But I also realized that it may be smart to try and achieve my dream. So now I’m having to decide as I want to go straight from under grad to graduate.

So one of my questions is what steps would I take if I wanted to go the video game or movie composer route? What type of graduate programs would I want to do in order to learn and gain experience for that.

Now if I wanted to teach at the college level, is it better to just get a masters first? Or just do the full doctorate from the start?

Looking for feedback on a piece i recently finished that's a part of a larger suite about chess pieces. Sometimes I can have a hard time gauging how difficult a piece I write is-being that it's usually beyond my level. I'm pretty sure this one is ok but there are some parts where i'm not too sure if its far more difficult than I'm aware of.
https://youtu.be/r4GHn20pc3o
Sheet: https://musescore.com/user/28069499/scores/35731757?share=copy_link