Hello Adrian,

I hesitate to expand on my previous compliment to your Dark Distant Memories song, because it really shouldn't be my business, as a software developer, to "judge" the music that so many bring to this forum. My main interest is providing tools to help people make music, and to host a forum where musicians can support each other's music efforts.

Thus, without setting an expectation on the part of others that I'll into much detail complimenting the many fine examples of music that you all create, I think it's ok for me to further compliment your Dark Distant Memories song, to counter some discouragement you received in another third party forum. I think the Dark Distant Memories demonstrates excellent craftsmanship on your part in several ways.

Perhaps most compelling is the melody of Dark Distant Memories. It has a landscape of dramatic rolling hills-- not mountains with rocky jagged edges-- but nevertheless towering hills contrasted with valleys with gentle brooks. The melodies are memorable, very well constructed. I wish I could write melodies like that.

The harmony serves the melody and song well. The harmony, like the melody, moves forward, keeps the song in motion. Yet, the harmony, like the melody, creates a landscape of rolling hills. The harmony doesn't shock the listener with sudden changes, as which might be appropriate for a different kind of piece that would want to emphasize excitement and tension.

The orchestration very well supports the vocal part when it has the foreground, and then the orchestration takes on its own life when the vocal part rests.

The structure of the piece, such as the phrasing, is logical, not in a mechanical (classical) way, but in a compelling, romantic, story-telling way.

Your Dark Distant Memories is simply an excellent song. I would be proud if I had written it.

I haven't looked at, and don't intend to look at, the comments in the other forums. I don't necessarily find fault with other forums where there is harsh criticism. Each forum tends to establish what it is about. Some forums scrutinize the production values of the music. There is definitely a place for that. Some forums focus on orchestration technique. Some forums focus on composition technique.

This forum and the new Everyday Musician forum I recently started at www.everydaymusician.com focus on the process of creating music. We tell stories with the music we create. In this forum, we share our musical stories with each other. If we want constructive criticism, we ask for it. It is very rare in this forum when someone rudely criticizes another's music, especially unsolicited. I've only silently deleted a couple of such posts ever in several years of this forum.

I don't want to claim that this forum is "better" than other forums. This forum is just different, in that it is oriented towards "encouragement" as a way that we help each other in our music making efforts. There's a place in this forum also for technical advice, but never at the expense of encouragement.

Dark Distant Memories is an excellent song. It deserves live performance.