Beginner Vs Pro Composer: Can you hear the difference? 

Well, if Frank and Mieke ever get married they’ve now got the perfect piece to play them down the aisle! Cracking job David! 😊

This was an absolutely amazing experience. Thanks so much David, you're so kind! Oh and instructive, of course! :)

Could there be a five composers video with this idea? A minute long peace by a "rookie" and five composers doing their crazy covers of it but still trying to keep it recognizable.

If we can stretch the metaphor of the piece as representing a romantic relationship, to me Frank's original version is an expression of someone experiencing that relationship for themselves, and David's rework is like a parent watching their child experience that same relationship with the benefit of more life experience and sharing in the same joys but also able to better see the nuances.

One thing I immediately noticed about the original was that, as a bassoonist, it was a very taxing part. Dotted halves the whole way through makes for a very tiring experience. David's changes, while making the piece a bit more technically difficult (slurs to high D, 16th note runs, yadda yadda) it makes it far less physically demanding from an endurance standpoint. There are more obvious points to breathe and rest and having a variety of registers and rhythms means the embouchure uses different muscles throughout, rather than sitting on the same muscles used the same way.

This is honestly so inspiring. I wish there were more opportunities for aspiring composers to get their work played. Perhaps it could be established (as some kind of rule of honor) for professional groups that they do one "open submission" piece at each concert instead of only playing things by classical / known contemporary composers.

That was educational from a technical music perspective; but it was also just kind, generous and romantic. Human beings at their best. Love to you David, Frank and Mieke ❤

In a world filled with war, divisiveness, hatred, disrespect, and never-ending bad news it is easy to head toward emotional disconnection--but then something like this video, filled with creativity, kindness, intelligence, and love comes along and pulls me back from the brink. Thank you David, Frank, and Aeolian Winds.

i liked both versions. Frank really has talent!

A really thoughtful video, learned a lot listening to the reasoning behind some of your decisions.

Man, this vid had me smiling the whole way through! Very nice David!!!

The main flute melody reminded me of the waltz theme by Michael Giacchino in the Pixar film "Up." Great job, Frank, composing the piece and great job, David, for making the piece sound fuller and richer.

Rensen’s original (or can we say “Rensen’s Original”?) is gorgeous. Honestly. He wrote a beautiful love-letter to his girlfriend. [Speaking of metaphors, the breathlessness of the writing is in itself quite meaningful… (if slightly unmanageable in real life; we do gotta breath…)] But the idea of expanding and inserting a trove of pertinent, gently elevating contents and magnifications from the experienced Bruce style-that truly brings this love letter from a breathless, heartfelt, private testament of love, to a deeply satisfying, universal piece of literature.

It's really interesting how well your ten points apply to writing a story, particularly the task of going back through and foreshadowing the ending. It was great to see the reasoning you used when picking things to emphasize and transform and draw out. The original felt like a song, and the revision feels like a story or a play. What an amazing collaboration! Y'all had me crying happy tears to see their reaction to the performance 😭🥰

As a fellow composer studying music at university, this made me smile more than you could imagine! You really nailed your approach to this David; getting the best out of it for you, your audience, Frank, and Mieke!

That was a great video idea! So entertaining and informative. Frank seemed very happy. You're a nice guy David :)

It is a beautiful piece of music, wrapped in a moving 'hero's journey', with a topping of a rich music lesson, which is VERY accessible even for a layman such as myself. Thanks David, for making such consistent, high quality content ... I loved this!!!

This was really beautiful. not only musically, but also in terms of the warm athmosphere the co-composer/teacher provides, and which is evident in much of his other output.

This is amazing. My brother asked me to re-arrange his proposal song into something like this. I finished arranging the intro but felt like it was too much at first. Then the first tip here right away helped me! Im gonna rework on my arrangement. Thank you!

"Welcome to the world of composition." This feels especially impactful for me who just got into composition. There is this indescribable feeling after penning down the last note of the first ever complete composition that reminds you you have crossed the threshold and entered a new world. Hearing a piece that you wrote being performed live is incredible, seeing the musicians putting in time and effort for it makes all the doubts and insecurities you have to face while writing worth it. I wish I had someone saying such a thing to me when I recorded my first composition. Congrats, Frank! It is a sweet and beautiful piece. You can be proud of it for sure!

These tips are tremendous as well for improvisors to think about when constructing a solo!

I think the sweet spot will be somewhere between the two versions. The revised version has better structure and some lovely harmonies (the oboe/flute rising sixths at 24:42 in particular, later echoed by the clarinet/bassoon). But there are sections where a lot of simplicity of the original was replaced by quite noisy/busy stuff and I felt that detracted from the intended mood of the original. Great video though, very instructive stuff and how lovely for someone to see their composition performed by professionals.

This was a master class in composition and arrangement for wind quartet. Lovely. Thanks for making such great content.

Im almost crying, wow... 🥲 what a video!!! David you have smashed it out of the park yet again; the initial idea for this video, the execution, choice of guest composer, exceptional editing, EVERYTHING is just perfection! Frank and Mieke are the cutest couple ever and I wish them many more years of happiness together

I would totally love this as a series! It's like watching a musician's dream come true with all the passion and excitement. Plus it's really educational to see/hear the original idea with all the "pitfalls" one often fails to see at first - and then experience the piece "fixed"

Amazing video. Frank is very mature to be able to let you rework his baby like that. A lot of people, especially beginners, can't handle criticism no matter how constructive it is. I loved this!

I cried haha. Seeing how this young composer listens carefully to your advice, and the emotions when they listen to the final piece, it's magic. Thanks for doing this !

I'm having a very tough time in life lately and this is one of the few things that made me smile. So much love, joy and care. Sometimes music is what keeps us going.

As a fledgling composer myself, this video had some very profound tips on composition. Things that took me decades to figure out and things that I had never thought of. A lot to think about here.

It really needs to be said, how perfectly Dutch people speak English. It’s really not a given. But astounding. I experienced it first hand. They sound so natural and with a rich vocabulary.

This was a very lovely and wonderful video! I absolutely loved it! I think Frank Rensen's original piece was already perfect. It encapsulated the tone he was looking for extremely well. David's rearrangement/reworking of the the piece just added polish to what was already there. It took it from 100% to say 130% or 140%. Though, in some sense, I feel like David's rearrangement expanded the piece to fit a wider setting, maybe like them in their home town, versus the original which may have been simpler but was potentially more personal (i.e. fit a more personal setting, like inside of a home). It is hard to say which is fully better. They were both very stunning and great! Thanks for the video!!!!

such a young guy with so much emotional direction and purpose is incredible!!

This is extremely wholesome. You two guys are great!

I know Frank quite well, such a versatile and great dude. Keep it up 💪

This is a really cool format!

This is heartwarming! David you are an example for all of us. It reminds me of the Jacob Collier's work of vocal reharmonizing on youtube. As a inexperienced composer I find your advice on further developing a piece of music tremendously valuable! I've watched all of your videos and have been following you for years, and hope you make more videos like this. Thank you

Speaking of taking advantage of not understanding my own logic or just having mistakes, I remember in one of my best big band charts I ended up just missing 8 bars of drums and it got auto-marked as rests in the notation program I was using. Take it to rehearsal and it actually was kind of amazing that dropping drums in that spot did a great job of preparing the next section, so I left the "out" in, so to speak.

I am so happy that you gave Frank an opportunity for his piece to be played, while also providing constructive ideas on composition! As a composer myself in college, hearing my music played live is one of the most emotional opportunities possible, and it's very motivating for new composer to get that!

Really heartwarming to see Frank and Mieke's smiles as they heard the performance of the reworked version!!

It's such a beautiful piece! The original and revised versions! I love Frank's excitement during the whole thing. There's so many things I learned from this. Frank, imagined if you had this playing at your wedding. That would be the most touching thing in the world.

Have to say Frank produced a simple yet really beautiful tune and the ending is so lovely, it is a tear jerker. OK, David, your changes were also not bad - the explanation of why, though - that was really instructive. Thanks Both!

i feel like Frank's original sound more like pixar and David's version ended up sonunding a lot like studio ghibli (Joe Hisaishi style). And both were great!!!

David Bruce, not only I've enjoyed your music (starting from "Gumboots") and your videos assays on music, but this just seems to be the nicest thing to do for young composers. I was smiling for 30 minutes :)

I enjoyed watching this video as I am a beginner composer myself. I'd love to see more of these videos as this video was very enlightening to me

This is one of the most wholesome videos I've seen in ages! Also I couldn't resist tearing up hearing the end result; it's a very moving piece.

Such a beautiful piece he made there! Last year I also had the pleasure that a real orchestra played my composition, it's an incredible feeling hearing the own composition live-played. Great job Frank, I loved the piece!

I bow my knee before your work. It's amazing !

Wow....... real people reaching out to one another in a loving way....sharing, participating, encouraging one another....and in person, one face to another. All of this far more beautiful than the music will ever be, and sadly, rapidly disappearing.

Beautiful original composition and amazing ideas for edits, especially 8&9. However, what’s most graceful is Mieke’s appreciation for everyone’s efforts. The world needs more people like Mieke. Thanks to composers and performers, too. We couldn’t have heard this if not for you.

Awww... What a lovely time for all concerned. Frank and Mieke seem such a happy young couple - what a lovely present from Frank to his girlfriend. A new enterprise for David too, re-composing for lovebirds XD. Really good from the Aeolian ensemble to realise the original and modified pieces. So happy for for Frank at such a young age to hear a piece of his played by real life musicians. I'll be dead soon and have accepted that I will never have this rare privilege.

Excellent, I will show this video with my students! It is very good learning. Hello from Bolivia

“It’s maybe even when you move away from knowing what your doing that your own voice starts to emerge” Probably my favorite line in this video. It applies to so much of all fields of art

This was a wonderful and inspiring idea. I love how you were able to explain each alteration that you made as part of an easily digestible set of pointers. The final fleshed-out version sounds glorious and remains so recognizable and true to Frank's original vision. Very lovely, thank you, Frank, and Aeolian Winds so much for putting this together.

I'm looking forward to reading, "The Joys of Accident & Fortune: A Memoir" by David Bruce.

frank's collection of stuff behind him is going to make my dad so happy :D

This video had me smiling all the way through. As a novice myself (presently arranging for a choir), I found David's information invaluable. Both pieces are beautiful and I can picture them being used as an introduction to a movie, especially that last chord used as a fade in to a wide scene. I only found your channel this week David, you are an inspirational teacher. Thank you to you and to Frank.

as a 23 year old myself who is finishingtheir composition degree something about this video is making me so emotional.. seeing Frank be so happy and excited and care-free and self-assured about what he composed makes me think of how i was when i first started composing. And how I feel now when you go through all these composition crises and crises of aesthetics and then you get into contemporary music and then you start to find passion in a different way, and thats very exicting and promising, but. But sometimes i yearn for that innocence i lost and can never go back to (because i refuse to, i suppose)

What a brilliant video concept. Saved in my reference playlist. I intend to apply exactly all of these in my next composition.

Wow! Fantastic musicianship and sound from Aeolian Winds!

Anybody who has a boxed set of Fawlty Towers videos clearly has impeccable taste and will do just fine in their life and career.

In the developed version, I no longer found myself hearing bits of “Casey would waltz with a strawberry blonde.” I’m sure the young composer had no awareness of that old song, but I learned it from my mother, who learned it from her mother. My grandmother was a very talented pianist, and could play popular songs going back to the late 1800s and going forward to the 1960s.

I love how supportive you were with the whole thing, you didn't even seem to insult or dislike what he made, just offering really good constructive criticism and being super supportive I learned a lot from this and I'm sure many others did too!

This is probably your best video yet. Frank's piece was already creating so many feelings and emotions for me as I was listening to it. I think when you mentioned the ending of the piece to him and told him how people would feel listening to his music that he didn't really believe you, but hopefully if Frank reads this, I'd like him to know that his music was very powerful and clearly conveyed the feelings and tone he was talking about. This being his first composition and he's already captured the most important element of music (in my opinion), which is conveying his message successfully to his audience. I think he's done a fantastic job of that. It was a joy hearing your modifications build up his piece and elevate it as well. Thank you for this video David!

I've never watched something so wholesome, litterally what Patreon is all about. Thanks so much Bruce.

I loove this idea! It's entertaining but it also helps a lot of the advice really stick when you have such a solid example of taking a beginner work to the next step By the way I hope frank continues to make music. He has a really good ear for melody it seems like

13:40 I love the point you've made about accidental discoveries, I always felt guilty whenever something accidentally turned out well, I felt that it wasn't really genuine since it wasn't on purpose

The metaphors of both compositions are so beautiful. The original, being the more pure, innocent (perhaps naive?) romance. The revised composition a more sophisticated, nuanced (perhaps experienced?) love. I was moved by both. Bravo!

I love your approach to music creation, David. The music world needs more of the warmth, kindness, generosity and humour that you bring. This video lifted my spirits.

What a brilliant thing to do! And what a wonderful class you give Frank in composition. What great fun we all had, you, Frank his girlfriend and all of us watching the video. I learned lots from it. Just a really great, educational, fun thing to do I hope you do a few more of those.

What a lovely chap and his partner. Lovely little song originally as well. Also brilliant selection of shelf content there. Top man!

I really enjoyed this demonstration! Thank you for sharing!

Frank is adorable! It's so nice that you did this for him! I don't know anything about composing, but you gave what seemed like good advice and what you did with the music was amazing, and I loved hearing you explain it. It's like editing a bit of written work, where you look at the grammar and syntax and stuff but with music!

The first things I always notice about compositions by inexperienced composers David, is that they often don't know the ranges of the instruments, and they also often don't leave room for the musicians to breath in wind and brass parts. I always taught my former college students to think of the music as a conversation, and that no person can just keep talking and talking, without taking time to breath, and also think about what they are going to say. I started off as a boy in Vienna playing the bass and cello, and then received my first music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music as a classical guitarist, after coming to the USA as a teen. I later also received a Masters in Piano, Theory, and Orchestration, and taught myself how to play the Alto Sax, so that I would have a better understanding of wind instruments. I came up with a little exercise to share with my music students. I would tell them to make a fist with one of their hands, and to tightly blow into their fisted hand between their thumb and forefinger, for the length of any written passage they scored for any wind instruments. They would often run out of breath before the end of the written passage, and discovered how long a wind musician can usually play, before having to take a breath. This in turn, made them better at their scoring, and also at learning how to use "phrasing" for their written parts. ... Peace! 🎼❤☮

great introduction to the world of composing! thanks for the inspo!!!

"You're a composer Harry!"

this was wonderful, positive and loving on every level. not only for Frank to write such a beautiful piece for his partner but also for David to take the time to build upon it and share his craft. thank you so much, all of you, for putting this out in a world that feels really dark right now. really needed something positive today so thank you from the bottom of my heart!! love the piece, Frank!

You're a very talented and kind person, Mr. Bruce. Thank you for sharing your talent with the world.

Wonderful job by Frank and bravo to you David for doing such a fabulous job in reworking it and sharing your insights with him and the rest of us!

This was so incredibly kind. Bravo, David. And: a fantastic reworking!!! It really kept the spirit of Frank's original piece alive thru the entire thing

This was beautiful! All of it - the music, the collaboration, the love. It was an experience I really needed right now. It gives hope. Thank you!

Good work, both of you! Lovely and inspiring all around. Beautifully played, as well.

Great content David (and Aeolian Winds and Frank). I felt I have just sat through a master class. Please do this again.

I hope you do more of these mentoring videos. It felt satisfying to cheer Frank on and see his piece bloom. I also learned many new things about composing. Thank you!

I am happy that I support this channel. Keep up the wonderful job!

what a wonderful idea, you could make this a series! very instructional, and very heartwarming to see his reactions

How kind and supportive David is. What a positive collaboration. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

So many lovely energies gathered here... Frank, Mieke, the original composition, David's rework, the generosity of the ensemble, and the exuberance of the reaction. This is a very tranquil and uplifting half hour!

Love this video. Really helpful breakdown tips. I love all the different colours you created with the varied instrument combinations and the interest that your transitions create. Particularly love the bass moment (wanted more of that) and the bassoon solo. Thanks for this video, I'll take away a lot from it.

Wow, what a lovely video and lovely couple!! Excellent idea and to see Frank’s gleeful reaction to his music being played in real life was so sweet.

This is one of the sweetest and most enjoyable things I have seen in a very long time. David is such a gifted teacher and Frank has a bright future as a composer. Bravo to you both!

This was beautiful! Can't imagine the excitement of musicians playing your own composition, even got a little teary imagining some day I will compose a piece and maybe someone will play it.

This is a marvellous introduction to the art of composition. I really feel I could have a go myself - thank you - and a lovely reaction form Frank. Made my day!

This was wonderful! Great explanations of what you did, why you did it, and things to consider. Well done. Congratulations to both of you.

Ohhhh my goshh, this was absolutely amazing and so beautiful beyond measure :') Frank and Mieke, you two are adorable and so talented, so genuine, so excited and so open to learn and experience new ideas. I am so inspired by both the original piece and the new version, and my heart is so warm. Thank you so much for making this David! This brought such a light to my music and I enjoyed every second of it. Thank you thank you thank you!

That was brilliant! There's so much insightful points made in this video. Thanks for sharing this.

Beautiful and beyond inspiring. This was an incredible endeavor.

What a lovely video! Great insight about how to write or arrange a piece of music, but the true love between Frank and Mieke was also so heartwarming to see!

Don't know how this popped up on my list, but it is so sweet, with the original ... and then the enhancements and additions. And the reactions of the couple. Really moving and magical to watch this. We have been doing units on composition in my band classes, and the students have enjoyed the chance to be creative in a new way. I will show them this video for inspiration on 'where to go from here'. Thank you for a lovely video!

So amazing! Thanks Frank and thanks David! ❤

What an amazing example of talent being nurtured by a fine composer who is also a great listener...