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u/guyshahar

r/musictheory r/JohnLennon r/violinist r/saxophone r/Songwriting r/Clarinet
▲ 3 r/Songwriting

Local Songwriting/Music Maker groups

Is anyone aware of any informal groups where songwriters or music makers meet, share works, collaborate, etc in SW London/Surrey?

Or failing that, any similar online groups?

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u/guyshahar — 2 months ago
▲ 3 r/Clarinet

Notation Preference Question

If you have a piece to read with no key signature (either because it's atonal or because the tonal centre is ambiguous or constantly shifting), how would you feel about having a score that uses only one accidental - i.e. all sharps or all flats - rather than a mixture?

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u/guyshahar — 3 months ago
▲ 3 r/saxophone+1 crossposts

Notation Preference Question

If you have a piece to read with no key signature (either because it's atonal or because the tonal centre is ambiguous or constantly shifting), how would you feel about having a score that uses only one accidental - i.e. all sharps or all flats - rather than a mixture?

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u/guyshahar — 3 months ago
▲ 2 r/Clarinet

Is this a playable clarinet part?

Hi - I'm pretty sure this is easily technically playable but it transposes to A minor in clarinet for the first 55 bars, and I'm not sure which accidentals to use that would be most convenient and easy to read for the player. I've prioritised avoiding duplicate positions with different accidentals and then the direction of the movement. I'm not so well-equipped to assess which would be technically or harmonically most comfortable, hence my question.

If anyone is willing to take a look at this and advise whether there's there anything in these bars that might be problematic for a clarinet player, I'd be so grateful.

The score is at http://heartfulhealing.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/clarinet-Part.pdf and the MIDI audio of the piece can be heard at https://heartfulhealing.co.uk/track28

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u/guyshahar — 3 months ago
▲ 6 r/musictheory

Accidentals when no key signature

Hi -

I'm trying to create a score for a short piece of chamber music I've composed (in Cubase), but I can't find key signatures that naturally fit. I'm told the key in many places is ambiguous and that the tonal centre sometimes shifts quite rapidly, and so it's difficult to find the right key signature.

So, even though it's probably not atonal in any sense, I'm wanting to create a score without key signatures. But this is presenting its own challenges, as I'm told I need to balance a number of general principles (like sharps on clear upward runs and flats on clear downward runs), consistent notation for the same pitch, consistency of pitch representation across instruments, and so on.

I've had a go, and if anyone is willing to take a look and advise me of any difficulties musicians might have in reading it, that would be immensely valuable. It is actually going to be played by a chamber group as part of a composition course I've signed up to at a London College, but it will not have the opportunity of any further feedback before submission.

You can see the score (and hear the MIDI audio render) at Track 28 - Chamber Octet (May 2026) -

This is a slightly dangerous question for me to ask, as I am not musically trained and may not understand your answer if it is expressed in terms of tonal theory.... If possible, please assume that I'm a beginner at all this and that I'm most likely to understand what to do if the answers are expressed in simple terms.

u/guyshahar — 3 months ago