Hey all,
It's not VG Music but I'd love it if someone could listen to my work "Sonata In Seven" and share some opinions on it! It's something I wrote for a piano competition but I've not had many people hear it (nor can I actually play half of it). Here is the render from Sibelius
http://soundcloud.com/roblaidlowmusic/sets/sonata-in-seven-for-piano/
Please try to look past some of the wrecking of subtle dynamics, particularly at the start of Mvt 1 and the end of Mvt 3. I warn you now, all three movements are 13 minutes long in all, but if you only listen to one please say which one (although they are meant to function as a unit)
Thanks so much

I've only listened to the first act, but:

It feels a bit 'paint by numbers'. I hear 8, maybe 10 different motifs in the space of 5 minutes? And the transitions between each motif are quite abrupt.

That's probably because it's in classical Sonata form which deals with subject groups instead of "motifs" There are 2 main subject groups, in F sharp minor and E major respectively and an introduction in F#, Thanks though that's interesting and not something I'd considered

I had a chance to listen to all 3 pieces, and I do think one underlying tone that happens often are abrupt transitions. Kind of like you rush into them instead of spacing them out. For example, at 2:47. The transition into the motif that echos movement two could have been much more gradual. You could have slowly built up a framework to transition there. Plus, the large space you left there happens not too long after your blocked chord chunks at 2:00 makes it feel like unneeded empty space. An example of a geat transtion within the piece starts at 00:54. The build up is slow, and to increase intensity, you add in the repeating bass note at 1.27, which tied in perfectly to the change in emotion and dynamic. 1.46 was another iffy transition, I thought. The runs have exceptional speed (adding a sense of urgency to the piece), then it slows once you hit the motif from movement one, and then it seems to slow even more (which would effectively lead up to the part at 2.00), but it starts to get faster before you transition to 2.47. A lot of oddly placed push in pull, I think, but it could be my preference. Transitions like this happen often throughout movements I and III. I think that movement II was fine, as far as transitions (though I do wish you had built off of it more!).
Another thing that would do wonders is dynamic contrast. I know this is a Sibelius render, but if you were to record this live (being played by the right pianist), this piece would be pretty ballin'. It's very nice! Piano pieces are one of the hardest things to compose, and you did a solid job!

I hope my comments were helpful!

This is really a great job. Perhaps some of the transitions could have been put together better. This song is maybe 90% there, but is very awesome as it was. Some of the chromatic runs, especially the high intensity ones, would be great suited for video game action or intensity. There are very clearly defined parts of the song, and they are awesome, so just tie them together a little better and you'll be there!

Do you play piano yourself?

Also, very close to the end, there is a roll of straight 16ths or maybe 32nds or something -- my point is they are very fast. They sound fake, like a death metal drum machine pumping 32nd note triplets. But as a whole, I found it very enjoyable to listen to and I even zoned out a few times and didn't even notice I was listening, which a lot of game music will do. I've followed your Soundcloud

Thanks for the feedback all! Dakota, those runs sound abysmal I'm aware but I'm hoping it's the fault of Sibelius! I'll have to wait until I can find a pianist good enough to play it to find out. I do play piano myself but I can only do Mvt 2 and the easier bits of the other ones, although I'll do some proper practice on it at some point.
As for the transitions, thanks for the feedback! The sudden changes was what I was going for but perhaps looking at your feedback I went a bit over the top. The third movement particularly is meant to be pretty abrupt, but the first movement could do with some looking at too. Thanks very much for your comments It was the first solo piano work I've ever written so I'll be sure to keep this in mind next time. Thanks again for taking the time to listen to it all

edit: forgot to say, there are lots and lots of dynamic contrasts but again the MIDI has wrecked it