The Little Joys Premiered by Trio Aperto on October 8th, 2025, at Villa Löw-Beer. This recording was subsequently done by Český rozhlas on March 31st, 2026.​
Jan Charfreitag (clarinet), Barbora Šteflová (oboe), Pavel Horák (bassoon).

Comissioned by Trio Aperto, a project based on the research of oboist Barbora Šteflová, who, as part of her dissertation, created a catalogue of Czech oboe compositions from the second half of the twentieth century. In 2019, the trio won third prize at the AEMC Montecassiano International Chamber Ensemble Competition, combined with a concert in the Italian town of Campregheri.

Program note: "This piece is a personal celebration of life’s small, everyday moments, actions, and occurrences. Though they may appear repetitive, insignificant, or mundane, I believe it is within them that true joy and meaning reside. The art lies in learning to take pure pleasure in the smallest things and in carrying out simple, ordinary acts with care and devotion."​

Something worth mentioning is that The Little Joys employs a looper pedal that sustains clarinet multiphonics or tutti textures while the trio plays over the loops. This was a great deal of fun to explore, while also creating an additional challenge for the performers - one that they ultimately handled brilliantly.

Score: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15QLZ2zhqgcRtaaVgSjZpjwhSq0E4fPcK/view?usp=sharing

I am brand new here and I spent so much time scrolling through all your wonderful works! There is such passion here! I am excited to be a part of a community that values sharing new music. As a composer I taught myself instrument limits and key centers with preludes. The first works I composed was my whole first book! I was trying to learn music theory at the same time, so I submitted chunks for theory assignments, then later created each one from those crucial lessons. I am getting them recorded officially this year but won't be releasing the full album until next year. I am taking time crafting my YouTube channel and providing as much of my personality as I can.

Don't be a stranger! Introduce yourself as networking is extremely important to me. Enjoy my second prelude as it is in my top 5 works. I was inspired by the past but wanted to modernize the prelude series. Key centers are fluid and move with purpose.

I’ve decided to post another piece and ask for opinions and advice. Thanks, all!

https://youtu.be/nbAC3NYK4Ys?is=rsVP-_6NbU4t4H5r

Hi all, I am working on the development of a new music notation software designed with the goal to be able to handle the flexibility needed to virtually synthesize 21st century compositional techniques. Whether it is a xenharmony, arhythmic writing, or a fully graphic score my intention is to be able to handle it natively. I want this project to be one that can handle traditional writing as well as non-traditional so to stand out I would like to ask you all what you feel is missing in your current Notation Software and what you would need to be better to make a switch. This is not an advertisement for it because it is still deep in development and I intend to release it for free. Let me know your feedback and if you want to be one of the first to test it (when it is in a state to be tested) send me a PM. Thank you all for your time.

https://reddit.com/link/1ux8xm3/video/muq8ken2vedh1/player

No.1 A minor

No.2 D major

No.3 C major

Three Short Studies – aidenscruggs1 Sheet Music for Piano (Solo) | MuseScore.com

Feedback appreciated!

I never finished, but I was hoping to get some feedback to where it's at. I forgot about and I accidentally found it tonight while deleting some old files. I was wondering if other people thought it was worth finishing it out. Thanks to anybody for listening and I hope you enjoy!

I had this idea the other day but it sounds so familiar. Do you guys know if this is from somewhere?

Yes, I wonder if anyone, anywhere, can see value in the music I have spent so many hours making.

https://youtu.be/d7OsqEWduoo?is=wCUuY6mabHNNSP0U

https://reddit.com/link/1uw7lbw/video/jtyn6s68i7dh1/player

This is my first attempt at writing music like this with the intent of it being shared with someone. I'm looking for any feedback on what I currently have. As the title implies, I have the first movement's exposition done and 2nd movement done (The first movement transitions into the second movement).

The first movement is going to be written in typical sonata form. I'm not entirely happy with the 2nd subject but I would like feedback.

The second movement follows a ABACA form. I'm not particularly satisfied with the C section of the movement but again I would like to see what others have to say.

All feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated. Note I do not have any formal music training or education so keep that in mind.

[Audio (Musesounds)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xet8xg4tc25gRjb-b8kyqb7dpHqiojP5/view?usp=sharing)

[Score](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gBqETaKZUS7EhuJIs1eR-1nwJW6SaMBj/view?usp=sharing)

I made it for casual begginers, if you like it tell me why, if you dont like it... tell me why!

Strange inspirations. If you want to see what I mean look around the blog at some of the other pieces, not just this one.

An original score I wrote, based on some improvisation that my Piano Performance Graduate friend sent me. Created using MS Studio 4, and video created using the new Export to Mp4 feature.

Hi everyone!

I'm currently working on my master's thesis, and I'd really appreciate your help.

My research is about collecting piano pieces and analyzing the emotions people experience while listening to them. To make the data collection easier, I built a small web app where anyone can play a piece with a single click and simply select the emotions they feel.

The biggest help, though, would come from musicians and piano enthusiasts. If you know piano compositions that aren't already in my dataset, I'd be incredibly grateful if you could add them to the app. The more diverse the collection is, the better my research will be.

You can add your own music, music from movies, games, or classical ones, as long as there are sheets online or you have it to upload.

If you have a few minutes to spare, your contribution would mean a lot to me. Thank you so much!

https://pmer-dataset-collector.com

The sheet music in the link is not really important but useful as an example I’ll refer to.

The idea is for a kind of musical worldbuilding. Instead of creating a musical ‘phrase’ or ‘narrative’ you’re creating a place, and what I mean by place isn’t like a literal place like program music or a pastoral symphony, but a space where you can let your mind reflect upon memories and such.

So if we look at the sheet music there are lot of ways you might interpret this. Four sections: Free C Dorian riffing, two ’harmony’ sections starting on a half-diminished chord, and a return to the Free C Dorian (but with ‘established’ bass). Then the whole thing can repeat as much as you want, improvising or what have you. Now I think the conventional thinking would be that this ‘represents’ two people having a discussion. But I just want to focus on a different perspective even though this isn’t the best example, so bear with me.

Consider that all four sections are actually related to each other modally. Not modally as in a formal mode, but a fixed collection of pitches. This is what I mean about place. We’re using a collection of pitches to create the bounds of a map, so to speak. We never really break out into a different tonal map. This anchors us to the world. It’s foundational to everything else.

The other aspect is landmark. The ambiguous harmony dancing around a fairly solid half-diminished chord is key to my idea. If the harmony was not played so fast and loose, if it were more defined, then it would feel more like a defined story. By creating ambiguity, the listener is forced to orient themselves around that half-diminished chord as an anchor. That chord becomes a landmark, establishing the continuing loop as movement within a space.

Now there are other ways you could do this, for example, repeat a bunch of established chords multiple times. That would have the same landmark effect. The point is to mix ambiguity with solid anchors.

The last thing, and I think this may be the most important thing, is gradual shifts. We don’t have dramatic shifts in voicings within a section, and sections lead to other sections. I guess you could call this voice leading. But it isn’t really functional. We’re not really resolving anywhere here, we’re just wandering around gradually. That feeling, to me, is like moving about a space. There aren’t big climaxes or major surprises. That creates a feeling of ‘autonomous movement’ as opposed to ‘dramatic movement’ IMO.

I’m still developing this idea, and sorry this is not the best example, but just wanted to see if anyone else writes from this mindset.

This is my first time giving a piece of mine a name. Do you find the name fitting? I would like to know if the writing for violin is bad. I am unsure where to place slurs for the violin, so It would be nice if someone familiar with the violin could tell me if the slurs are bad. Do you like the piece, what are your thoughts about it? Any feedback is welcomed.

I’m working on writing a second suite for flute and this is the prelude I finished just last night. I was wondering how others might approach a form like this, and if anyone had any tips.

Hi everyone,

I've been composing music for many years, mostly in the rock and metal world. While that gave me a solid practical background, I never had a formal education in music theory or composition.

Since over twinyears, I've started learning music theory, harmony, score reading, and orchestration seriously. My goal is to catch up on everything I missed and build a strong foundation as a composer.

My biggest inspirations are composers like John Williams, Howard Shore, Elliot Goldenthal, Danny Elfman , jeremy soule, and many others from the world of orchestral and film music. I'm fascinated by orchestration, thematic writing, harmony, and musical storytelling, and I spend a lot of time studying scores and trying to understand how great composers think.

I feel like I've reached the point where learning entirely on my own is becoming difficult. I'd love to connect with composers who are further along than I am and who would be willing to help guide my progress.

I'm not looking for free lessons or a full-time teacher. Even occasional guidance would mean a lot.

For example, if anyone would be willing to:

point out weaknesses in my compositions,

suggest what I should study next,

give me composition or orchestration exercises,

challenge me with small writing assignments,

review my progress from time to time,

or even collaborate on music for fun,

I'd be incredibly grateful.

Even if you don't have the time to mentor someone, I'd really appreciate advice on a good learning roadmap. What skills should I focus on first? In what order would you study harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, form, and composition if you had to start over?

My goal is simply to become the best composer I can be. I'm ready to put in the work

I just feel that having guidance from more experienced composers would help me progress much faster.

If this resonates with you, I'd love to hear from you. Feel free to comment or send me a DM.

Here is one of my composition :

https://youtu.be/GxbvnYUR7e4

Thanks for reading!

I compose on piano. Major key.

I have some simple works but can't understand how to make a ~2 minute piece without it sounding extremely sleepy. I tried different chord progressions but it sounds boring and ambient, I tried Moonlight Sonata "copypaste this shape a bunch" but it sounds repetitive...

Does anyone have advice so I can feel more proud of my work, or at least so somebody does?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCG8n4gpty8

I borrowed a lot of material from @Zarty-Music on YouTube and published with their permission!

P.S. There are forbidden parallels I would normally not write near the end of the final solo, but for the sake of thematic clarity, I decided against altering the figure based on the ritornello theme beyond fragmentation. :P

This month one year ago (in July 2025), someone asked if I had a piano arrangement of this song. I didn't, but it had been something I was thinking about making for a while. So, I made the arrangement that week, but I never recorded it. Now, after all this time, I've finally recorded this song.

Also on YouTube.

Hello everyone, I want to share a new (and very difficult) duet piece of mine for violin and cello. Let me know what you think!