I lost one of my GCSE music compositions today and i have given up.

i dont even know how i lost it. I find composing really hard and well now I give up

Sorry for the moan but I am so annoyed

Was it saved on a computer anywhere? If it was, then take a look through the back ups, especially if it was a school computer, schools tend to keep some back dated back ups of the system.

Whatever you do, don't give up! You can always do something to make the situation better, no matter how bad it seems!

I have looked all over the computer for it and i checked ... its gone

Have you tried the recycle bin?

Yes

Was it the school computer? If so, go to IT asap and ask tehm to look for it. If they're worth their salt they'll keep backups, hopefully including your composition.

I dont think the music computers are on the network

It's true, the school music computers are not on the main school network and there are no back ups made

I definitely give up

Don't! Can you remeber any of it at all? Have you got any notes you made while writing it, an understanding the brief? You can't give up now Soph!

Composing is my weakest point and now I have lost it. I cant do it

Yes you can. Talk to your music teacher 1st thing tomorow and see what can be done. If its already been marked then you may be able to get away without actually physically having it. Anything is better than nothing.

I have told him, I have told him I give up. He told me to check for it again tonight which I have and now I give up.

Have you printed it out at all?

No. I have nothing left of it at all now

I also noticed it is the 13th March today. I arent usually superstitious but now i wonder.

Did you email it anywhere?

Stop saying you give up. It's so negative. Just try and do it again.

Thought you were SMILEY now??

Stay positive!!

I was smiley until I was so stupid and lost my composition.

Would you sacrifice a GCSE for a moment's apathy?

I tried so hard for this and I am so STUPID i lost it.

I dont think I can do it again

What standard are you on your instrument?
Have you ever had a really hard piece?
And did you think 'I can't do this so I won't', or did you think 'I'm going to do this!'?
The only thing to be done is to do it again, and the only easy way out of that is to accept it and do it.

I am not a natural composer, my teacher has told me this I find it so hard and I have been put off by what happened today. I tried I really did, but I failed

Posting on here and moaning about it isn't going to get your composition back. Turn off the computer and go and sit at your keyboard and start again

I know it isnt my composition isnt coming back, I cant do it i have tried. You can compose we know that Ben but some of us cant!

But you should bear in mind that, while you failed, you triumphed over the composition if you tried hard.

Consider later in life, when you get a worse mark for your GCSE and you wish you had re-done it. You will consider how it would only have taked a few hours away and you would be so much better off for it.

I'm not suggesting you should do it all in a one-er, but you shouldn't take the apathetic outlook.

Soph - Firstly, commiserations on losing the piece. I know how frustrating this can be. Learn for next time that backing up is essential, especially with school computers.

However - now that the piece is gone you have two options. You can write another one (and if it was nearly completed you must know it well enough to be able to jot down bits of it again) or you can fail your GSCE (is this what happens? I don't know the system in the UK). Forget about your anger & disappointment - it's not going to make you piece come back. Examine the two options and decide which outcome you would like, and go for it. Remember, there is still time, and you are responsible for how things work out.

Good luck. I hope you make a good decision

Soph15

Don't give up - you need a good result and this will help you on your way. Sit down calmly and try again to think what you wrote - even if it's only small bits of it and then, gradually, start to piece it together again. Save carefully what you've done and keep printing it off so you don't lose it again. It may not be the same piece that you originally composed - it will probably be much better

When you've managed it, think how enormously proud of yourself you'll be and how loudly we shall all be cheering for you. Keep us posted - hope to hear good things.

Can you compose something it gets just out of your heart? maybe all these feelings help you to create something truly yours... tragic, sad... try to express how dissapointed (sp?) you are!

I was smiley till I was stupid and lost my virginity. and im STILL smiley!! losing things isnt always bad!

Excuse me for coming on to this thread. Ben has given you some good advice here. I've just had a quick read through what you've said. In the time you have been recalling what has happened today and your feelings about it, you could have made a great start on a stonking new composition by using a pencil and some paper. When I have a student who loses something, it's never a great problem. The mistake is made IMHO when they don't do anything to rectify the situation and just expect sympathy.

I'm sure you could sketch out a few ideas even before you go to bed if you have a go.

I arent giving up because I dont want to, i am giving up because i cant do it. I have tried harder than you all might think but now i have ruined it.

If you managed to write a piece the first time, then you can write another one.

You have been given some terrific advice on this thread. Make sure you re-read it when you've calmed down and are ready to take it on board. And don't forget to be gracious and thank the lovely forum-ites for their wonderful advice!

You are right.
Thankyou everyone you are all great. Thankyou for your advice... apart from one of Bens comments

As for writing another one I dont know.

Good on you Soph! Don't you feel a little tiny bit better already?

What I brilliant idea! I haven't posted here before Soph because I couldn't think of anything useful to say, but I think LadyO's idea is a really good one. Why don't you have a play around now on your instrument and jot down what sound expresses how you feel about what's happened.

I know the problem must seem insurmountable, and of course it's a blow, but it isn't insurmountable. You need willpower, to gather your strength (mentally), take a deep breath, put the past behind you, and then start again. It's the only thing to do. You CANNOT let yourself down by not doing it. Get the upset out of your system tonight then start afresh tomorrow. And remember, we're all rooting for you - you can't let US down either!

Thankyou, I just feel stupid and annoyed. I dont even know how I lost it that is how stupid i am!

Thanks again everyone I feel better now you all know I appreciate your advice

Thanks nic for your comment about thanking people it does actually make you feel a little better



Thankyou. I havent just let myself down but the teacher in a way.

SOPH! GET OFF THE FORUMS AND START DOING YOUR COMPOSITION!

I think that we should all ignore Sophie until she has done some work on her composition, that way we can't be blamed for distracting her

I am not going to do anything tonight as I am too tired anyway. You cant be blamed for distracting me from something I arent doing,

Sorry everyone, dont mean to annoy.

But thank you

What matters most is that you don't let yourself down. You haven't done that - yet. You will only let yourself down if you don't at least TRY to rectify what's happened. YOU MUST TRY!

What happens when I cant do it wont i feel more let down then?

No, because you will have done your best and you can't do any more than that. But it is not doing your best to give up without trying.

But don't set out with the expectation that you will fail. Expect to succeed, and make sure you do. You've done it once, you can do it again. The only difference between now and last time is that now you are upset. But you have to get over that and do it again, just like you've done before. And now you're more experienced - so it might even be better!

Thank you Skylark I appreciate it.

I think I will see how I feel about it all in the morning as right now i think I am too annoyed to do anything.

You just keep trying until you can do it. Every note you discard is getting you one closer to a note that you're going to keep. My students get frustrated when they practise a certain passage dozens of times without getting it perfect, but everytime they do it they are one step closer to getting it right.

On another note - I think it is important to remember that in life, not everything comes easily to everyone but that isn't the important part, it's how you cope with the things that are thrown your way. I think you've been really admirable in admitting to the problem, asking for advice, listening to the responses, thanking people, etc. This is what is important.

Thankyou

It is just stressing me a bit.
Thankyou for your advice as well. I agree that not everything comes easily in life.

I'm sure we'd all feel the same way - you need to get it out of your system first before you can start afresh. Have a good night's sleep and things always have a habit of looking better in the morning


That is so true - this will be the first (well maybe not the first!) but one of a number of setbacks that you are bound to have in life because everybody does - don't let them get the better of you! You are in control of whether you let setbacks affect you - you can either let them grind you down, or make you stronger.

I hope I see things better in the morning

Thank you Skylark

You've made a good start with the smillie I feel very positive that you'll be able to do it. Let us all know how you get on

1. You're not stupid - or if you are myself and most of the people I work with ((including lots of Oxbridge physics/maths graduates and PhDs) are too. We've all lost work we should have saved/backed up at some time or another, usually with a very important deadline looming.

2. It doesn't take as much time or effort to redo something as it did to do it the first time - part of producing a piece of work is going through the initial thinking it through, learning the stuff you need to know, taking lots of dead ends etc - you don't have to redo all of that, you only have to redo the constructive stuff (and OK, maybe a bit of the not so constructive stuff).

3. You're probably right to not think about it tonight and start fresh tomorrow, it will all seem a bit easier then.

4. Try and remember to keep copies / back stuff up in future

5. Good Luck!!

I firmly believe that everything happens for the best. You will write a better composition.

I once lost an entire essay of 5000 words I had spent 4 hours typing up on the computer.......I screamed, I cried, I went a bit hysterical, I hit a few things, then went and had a cup of tea.......and sat down and spent the next 5 hours typing up any bits of it I could remember and re-ordering it - and saving to disc after EVERY sentence I'd typed.... (!!!!!!!) If I'd sat down and said I couldn't do it and I was going to give up, I'd have failed my course......and let my mentor and course leaders down.........