I wrote it all on Musescore 4- unfortunately I don't own an "intentionally" microtonal instrument. Bad guitar tunings unfortunately don't count! Some of the microtonal scales of my own finding (using different interval patterns, i.e. 4 diesi, 5 diesi, (also, I just realised I don't know what the plural of diesis is?)) and also others that I've found through some light research (KZfaq videos & resources like the xenharmonic wiki). To create your own, just combine different numerical patterns, repeating or not. Each combination will have a different character to it. I'd recommend avoiding using too many small numbers in creating your scale (sequences such as 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, etc.) as I believe it removes a lot of the inherent tension of a scale. Happy composing!

Thank you! Her videos are what first exposed me to a more nuanced understanding of microtonal theory in the first place, a truly inspirational creator!

Thank you!

@@ThomasRamsay_Music You are very welcome😊

31 tone equal torment

Same here! Just an absolutely wonderful gem of a piece.

hmmm... actually the recording here is played on the piano 🤓

That would've been absolutely wonderful!

I love Poulenc's chamber music- particularly the Clarinet Sonata- as It is all so wonderfully written & emotionally rich, but it couldn't't have been written by anyone else. The last two concerti by Prokofiev are weird- I currently lean more to No. 4, but I still need time to understand them better. Still really great works!

Personally, I've always been more partial to Anda, especially in one of my favourite works!

Because of the repetitive structure & harmony, I was thinking of writing a few more tunes and stringing them together, instead of just looping the same one getting consistently more irritating. I'm working on it just now, and will hope to have a few more done soon.

Such an underrated composer... definitely one of my favourites!

I liked it a lot as well- for me, I don't think I could pick between a fast and a slow one. I like the excitement that a faster performance brings, but, as you pointed out, a slower tempo really brings out the harmony & counterpoint!

That's a good idea- stay tuned!

I was looking to include more recent repertoire in these videos, partly because I love introducing more obscure pieces, but also because I really love and am passionate for them. I'm still exploring Rautavaara's other piano concerti, but the first always made the biggest impact to me on first hearing. I wasn't sure where exactly to clip it, so I settled on the ending. What a wonderful, wonderful piece of music.

@@ThomasRamsay_Music you believe dissonance makes good music?

@@IEEMAZ_Convoluted_14.2.8.5 Interesting question! Dissonance is a compositional device and can be used in both good or bad ways. It's a bit like, say, adding a specific herb or spice when cooking food. Sometimes it can ruin a perfectly good dish, but other times it will transcend the initial meal.

@@ThomasRamsay_Music Com-lately agree with that statement. Which category though do u believe Rautavaara fits best in though?

@@IEEMAZ_Convoluted_14.2.8.5 Whether I think Rautavaara is good? Whether Rautavaara is dissonant? The answer to both of those questions is yes!

I was going to pick Brandenburg 5, but then I realised that I could get away with it more if I picked the keyboard concerto 😃

One of, if not the best, slow movement from any piano concerto!

@@ThomasRamsay_Music it is truly a great mix of romanticism and impressionism

Thank you so much!

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you enjoyed it!

The music of Kapustin is so, so wonderful- and the concerti are a great entry point! For me, I discovered Kapustin through a KZfaq recommendation after the Ravel G major concerto (another personal favourite!), and eventually found my way into the concerto for 2 pianos and percussion. It's a crime Kapustin isn't more well known. Happy listening, and glad I can help more people discover this wonderful music!

@@ThomasRamsay_Music I work on it ;)

@@FrankDuepree Absolutely love your work, thank you so much for championing this amazing music!

Personally, I am still coming to grips with the Brahms concerti- maybe it may just take more time and maturity to really "get it". Maybe eventually they'll be favourites, but for now, I'm still trying.

​@@ThomasRamsay_Music oh I know what you mean. I even went to a live performance of Brahms 2nd concerto recently, to see if that would do it for me, but nope. Left me cold.

Same to you, dude!

Very much an inspiration for me! I found quintal harmony a really great entry point for exploring microtonal ideas, as the open 5ths are both stable and malleable enough to experiment with while keeping a more "consonant" sound.

Thank you so much!

Ravel's harmony is stunning- one of the reasons as to why he's my favourite composer!

Ravel is my favorite also he’s just the best

@@KobaltBlue680 I strongly, strongly agree!

No problem! I just hope that I can show off more composers like Kapustin & Rautavaara in an easily accessible way for people to enjoy. Happy listening!

Absolutely! The guide tones (G#/Ab + D natural) are the same so the harmony can function in the same way (dominant), but with the Fb (instead of Bb) creating a bigger pull to the Eb, which, while delivered upon, is subversively recontextualised as the 3rd of a C minor harmony. Rachmaninov truly was a master composer, and fairly jazz when he put his mind to it!

Thank you so much! I've been working on revising it a bit- will post an updated version soon.

@@ThomasRamsay_Music Awesome!

You've just watched one! Well, the piano isn't mine, but it's the best I've got access to. For other videos of me playing piano, you can check out the shorts on my channel- both of them are me playing piano/keyboard.

He does look a fair bit like Nixon in that photo! For a world leader who wrote piano music, perhaps you'd enjoy Paderewski?

Thank you!

Thank you, really glad you enjoy it!

I know about the Moszkowski & Paderewski, I just haven't gotten around to listening to them yet. Tveitt I haven't heard about at all, I've be sure to check it out, thank you for the recommendations!

It really is an incredible recording of an incredible piece. I wasn't really sure how many people would know it, it's definitely more obscure than most of other Piano Concerti. Glad to know I've found a fellow Rautavaara lover!

Thank you very much!

@@ThomasRamsay_Music the kapustin one was so good thank you for presenting me to that

@@davikersulks9525 No problem! Kapustin is definitely lesser known, I only heard about him in 2020 after his death, but his works are of an astonishingly high quality.

@@ThomasRamsay_Music i knew him in 2023, but my repertory with him is pretty limited, only some piano sonatas, the concertos, preludes, and now the concerto for 2 pianos thank you for recomendating

@@davikersulks9525 No problem! I first heard it on the recently Frank Dupree Kapustin album, which is incredible! I got it for the concerto (I believe No. 5), and ended up falling in love with the Concerto for 2 Pianos & Percussion.

Both Ravel's & Kapustin's concerti are so jazzy I love them

omg jazz classical

@@AndreaColombo-fx1wh It is amazing!

Go listen to the 2nd movement of Barber's Piano Concerto- it is, in my opinion, equal to or greater than the adagio. Simply and astonishingly beautiful.

Please go to another channel more suited to, well…you.

I absolutely agree, it's way overshadowed by the outer movements.

@@ThomasRamsay_Music yeah, especially the first movement because of the cadenza

@@karrotkake I specifically decided with using the 3rd movement, as it seemed rather obvious to go with the cadenza.

You sang beautifully!

They really are wonderful. The Rachmaninov was a great discovery for me, a bit odd at first, but I enjoy it more every time I listen to it, and it might just overtake 3 as my favourite soon...

The great composers in the video were famously self-critical (apart from maybe Prokofiev), especially Rachmaninov! And the music? It's wonderful!