Music Composition Name Generator

Titles for sonatas, suites, tone poems and cues

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Generate titles for instrumental and classical pieces: form and key titles like Nocturne in E-flat minor and String Quartet No. 2, subtitled works like Sonata No. 3 'The Lamplighter', character pieces like Lanterns on the Canal, and soundtrack cues like Arrival at the Citadel.

About music composition names

Instrumental music is titled in two broad ways. The first says what the piece is: its form, its key and its place in the composer's output, as in Nocturne in E-flat minor or String Quartet No. 2. These generic titles are the norm for sonatas, symphonies, concertos and chamber works, and the number only records that it is your first, second or third piece of that kind. A work may carry a subtitle as well, which this list writes in quotation marks: Symphony No. 8 'The Long Thaw', Etude No. 3 'Hailstones'.

The second way gives the piece a picture or a mood. Short piano and chamber pieces of this kind are called character pieces (The Heron at First Light, Rain on a Tin Roof), and an orchestral work that follows a story or a scene is a tone poem (Tone Poem: The Iron Bridge). Suites and sets gather several short movements under one name, such as Seven Postcards for Piano.

The list also covers studies named for the technique they train (Etude in Thirds, Study in Crossed Hands), dances with their instruments (Pavane for Two Harps), and film and game cues (Main Title, Save Point). The subtitles and descriptive titles were drafted for this list; the plain form-and-key titles are generic by nature.

How to choose music composition names

  • If the piece is abstract, title it by form and key and let the number record the order you wrote it in. Add the instrumentation when it is unusual: Sonata for Bass Clarinet and Piano tells a performer more than a poetic name would.
  • Reserve a subtitle for the one image the music keeps returning to. Symphony No. 2 'Tidewater' works because a listener can hear the idea; a subtitle that needs a program note to explain it is doing too little.
  • Match the form word to what you wrote. A nocturne is slow and night-like, a scherzo is quick and playful, an etude trains one technique, and a passacaglia repeats a bass line. Musicians will expect the piece to behave accordingly.
  • For film and game scores, name cues by what happens on screen (The Vault Opens, Hallway Chase) while you work, then pick the most evocative ones for the soundtrack album.
  • Name the key of the piece's home tonality, not of its opening bar, and write it the standard way: capital letter, then flat or sharp, then major or minor.

Frequently asked questions

How do you name a classical composition?

The standard way is form, then number, then key: Piano Sonata No. 4 in B minor or Cello Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor. If the piece has a clear image or story, add a subtitle or use a descriptive title on its own, such as Moonrise over the Salt Marsh or Elegy for a Vanished Glacier.

Are these the titles of real pieces?

The subtitles and descriptive titles were drafted for this list and are not presented as existing works, though one may coincide with a piece somewhere. Plain titles such as Prelude in F-sharp major are generic, so other composers have used the same form and key before. That is normal practice and does not stop you from using one.

What should I call a piece for a film or game soundtrack?

Cue titles usually describe the scene or the job the music does. The list includes functional titles such as Main Title, Title Screen and End Credits Suite and scene titles such as Siege of the Northern Gate and Farewell at the Docks. Keep them short enough to read in a track list.

Do I need an opus number?

No. An opus number is a running count of a composer's works, usually in order of publication, and many composers never use one. The titles here leave it out, so you can add your own, such as Op. 1, when you catalog your pieces.

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All 500 music composition names

This is the complete list the generator above draws its random batches from, sorted A to Z and grouped by first letter.

Plain text, one name per line.

A: 20 names

  • A Child Counting Stars
  • A Field Seen from the Train
  • A Greenhouse After Hail
  • A Half-Remembered Tune
  • A Hero Returns
  • A Season in the High Pastures
  • A Stroll with an Umbrella
  • Above the Tree Line
  • Airship Deck
  • Album Leaves for a New Violinist

A, continued

  • Along the Pilgrim Road
  • Alpenglow
  • An Old Photograph, Slightly Torn
  • Andante and Variations in D minor
  • Arpeggio Study in Contrary Motion
  • Arrival at the Citadel
  • Articulation Study for Clarinet
  • Atlas of Winds
  • Aubade for Horn and Harp
  • Aurora over the Ice Fields

B: 30 names

  • Bagatelle in G minor
  • Bagatelle No. 5 'The Hiccup'
  • Ballad for Viola and Orchestra
  • Ballad of the Lost Caravan
  • Ballade in F-sharp major
  • Ballade No. 1 'The Salt Road'
  • Ballade No. 2 in G major
  • Ballet Suite: The Paper Lantern
  • Ballet Suite: The Tinsmith's Apprentice
  • Barcarolle 'Green Water'
  • Barcarolle for a Still Lake
  • Barcarolle in A minor
  • Bassoon Concerto in D minor
  • Battle Theme: First Encounter
  • Battle Theme: No Retreat

B, continued

  • Bells Across the Valley
  • Berceuse 'The Night Train'
  • Berceuse for a Newborn
  • Berceuse in A-flat major
  • Bestiary for Brass Quintet
  • Blue Hour
  • Blues for Bass Clarinet
  • Bolero for Two Guitars
  • Book of Hours: Twenty-Four Preludes
  • Boss Theme: The Iron Warden
  • Bourrée in E-flat major
  • Bowing Study: The Long Breath
  • Brass Quintet 'Bell Foundry'
  • Brass Quintet No. 3
  • Breath Study for Oboe

C: 41 names

  • Cakewalk for Toy Piano
  • Campfire Theme
  • Candle in a Draft
  • Canon for Three Violas
  • Capriccio 'Magpie'
  • Capriccio in B-flat minor
  • Capriccio No. 2 in D-flat major
  • Caprice for Solo Flute
  • Carol Fantasia for Handbells
  • Cavalry on the Ridge
  • Cavatina for English Horn
  • Cello Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor
  • Cello Concerto No. 2 'Driftwood'

C, continued

  • Cello Sonata 'Ferryman'
  • Cello Sonata in C major
  • Chaconne 'Thirty Stairs'
  • Chaconne in E major
  • Chaff on the Wind
  • Chamber Symphony 'Signal Fires'
  • Chamber Symphony No. 2
  • Character Select
  • Chorale and Storm
  • Chorale for Trombone Quartet
  • Chorale Prelude in E-flat major
  • City of Gears
  • Clarinet Quintet 'Reedbeds'
  • Clarinet Sonata No. 1

C, continued

  • Cloud Shadows on the Moor
  • Comedy Overture: The Wrong Train
  • Concert Etude 'Waterwheel'
  • Concert Overture: The Shipwrights
  • Concert Piece for Horn and Orchestra
  • Concert Study 'The Juggler'
  • Concertino for Marimba and Winds
  • Concerto for Chamber Orchestra
  • Concerto for Orchestra 'Clockworks'
  • Crossing the Border at Dawn
  • Crossing the Frozen Lake
  • Cue 1M1: Cold Open
  • Cue 3M7: The Stairwell
  • Curtain Call Theme

D: 20 names

  • Dance of the Dragonflies
  • Dance of the Salt Harvesters
  • Dances from a Lost Village
  • Dances in the Old Court Manner
  • Dawn Chorus for Orchestra
  • Daybreak Reprise
  • Deep Space Lullaby
  • Desert Caravan
  • Dialogue for Harp and Vibraphone
  • Divertimento 'The Picnic'

D, continued

  • Divertimento for Wind Octet
  • Divertimento No. 4 in A major
  • Docking Maneuver
  • Double Concerto 'The Correspondents'
  • Double Concerto for Horn and Cello
  • Double-Stop Etude
  • Driftwood Fire
  • Duet for Piccolo and Tuba
  • Duo for Violin and Viola No. 2
  • Dust in a Sunbeam

E: 17 names

  • Eight Folk Dances for String Quartet
  • Elegy 'For an Empty Chair'
  • Elegy for a Vanished Glacier
  • Elegy for String Orchestra
  • Elegy for Strings and Distant Bell
  • Elegy in C-sharp minor
  • End Credits Suite
  • Entr'acte for a Puppet Theater

E, continued

  • Epitaph for a Drowned Village
  • Escape Sequence
  • Etude in Repeated Notes
  • Etude in Seven-Eight
  • Etude in Thirds
  • Etude No. 11 'The Spinning Coin'
  • Etude No. 3 'Hailstones'
  • Etude No. 7 in D-flat major
  • Evening at the Boathouse

F: 27 names

  • Fairground at Closing Time
  • Fanfare for a New Bridge
  • Fantasia 'The Buried Bell'
  • Fantasia in G minor
  • Fantasia on a Fisherman's Hymn
  • Fantasy and Fugue in C-sharp minor
  • Fantasy on a Street Cry
  • Farewell at the Docks
  • Film Suite: The Far Shore
  • Final Boss, Second Form
  • First Contact Motif
  • First Frost
  • Five Aphorisms for Piano

F, continued

  • Five Bagatelles for a Rainy Week
  • Five Rustic Pieces for Cello and Piano
  • Five Windows for Wind Quintet
  • Flute Concerto 'Thermals'
  • Flute Sonata in E minor
  • Footpath Through Wet Bracken
  • Fountain in the Courtyard
  • Four Nocturnes for Harp
  • Four Rounds for Recorder Consort
  • Four Seascapes for Orchestra
  • Four-Mallet Study: Rain Sticks
  • Foxes in the Snow
  • Foxtrot for Muted Trumpets
  • Fugue in B-flat major

G: 5 names

  • Game Over, Try Again
  • Garden Suite for Harpsichord
  • Gigue for Solo Double Bass
  • Grasshopper Scherzo
  • Gulls Over the Slipway

H: 17 names

  • Habanera for Guitar and Flute
  • Hallway Chase
  • Harmonics Study for Solo Violin
  • Harp Concerto 'Rainshadow'
  • Harp Concerto in D-flat major
  • Harp Sonata in G-flat major
  • Harvest Dust
  • Harvest Festival Overture

H, continued

  • Harvest Suite for Strings
  • Her Handwriting
  • Herbarium: Eight Pieces for Harp
  • Homage to a Forgotten Bandmaster
  • Horn Concerto 'The Hollow Hill'
  • Horn Trio in A major
  • Hornpipe for Tin Whistle and Strings
  • Humoresque 'The Wrong Hat'
  • Hymn to the Turning Year

I: 8 names

  • Ice Breaking on the River
  • Idyll for Small Orchestra
  • Impromptu in B minor
  • Incidental Music for a Winter Play
  • Inn at the Crossroads
  • Interlude: The Sea at Night
  • Intermezzo 'Between Trains'
  • Invention for Two Bassoons

J: 1 name

  • Jig in Nine-Eight

K: 1 name

  • Kitchen Suite: Six Pieces for Wind Trio

L: 17 names

  • Lament for the Last Lighthouse Keeper
  • Lamplight Through Frost
  • Ländler for Clarinet Trio
  • Lanterns on the Canal
  • Lapidary: Seven Stones for Piano
  • Last Climb to the Summit
  • Launch Sequence
  • Leaving the Farm

L, continued

  • Legato Study for Small Hands
  • Legend of the Hollow Oak
  • Letters Tied with String
  • Logo Sting
  • Love Theme
  • Low Tide at Evening
  • Lullaby (Distorted)
  • Lullaby for a Restless House
  • Lullaby for Strings

M: 20 names

  • Main Title
  • Marbles on the Stairs
  • March 'The Tin Whistle Brigade'
  • March of the Clockwork Sentries
  • Market Square at Noon
  • Marketplace Hustle
  • Mazurka in G-sharp minor
  • Mazurka in the Old Style
  • Metamorphoses on a Folk Carol
  • Midsummer Bonfires

M, continued

  • Midwinter Noon
  • Minuet for a Music Box
  • Modal Study in Dorian
  • Montage in the Workshop
  • Moonrise over the Salt Marsh
  • Mosaic for Percussion Quartet
  • Moss on the Steps
  • Moths Around the Porch Lamp
  • Mountain Suite for Horn Quartet
  • Music for Harp, Strings and Distant Horn

N: 11 names

  • Nightfall on the Plateau
  • Nine Haiku for Flute and Harp
  • Nine Variations in A major
  • Nocturne 'Sodium Lamps'
  • Nocturne for Alto Flute
  • Nocturne for Orchestra: Rooftops
  • Nocturne in E-flat minor
  • Nocturne No. 4 in B major
  • Nocturne No. 6 'Porch Light'
  • Nonet 'Nine Lanterns'
  • Notebook for a Left-Handed Pianist

O: 13 names

  • Oboe Concerto 'The Reed Cutter'
  • Oboe Sonata in G major
  • Octave Study
  • Ode to a Disused Railway
  • Opening Titles: The Long Road
  • Organ Prelude in D-flat major
  • Organ Symphony 'The Great Window'
  • Ostinato for Four Marimbas
  • Overture 'The Clockmaker's Holiday'
  • Overture for a Small Town Fair
  • Overture to a Winter Harbor
  • Overworld
  • Owl Light

P: 37 names

  • Partita for Solo Viola
  • Partita No. 3 in D major
  • Passacaglia 'The Slow Tide'
  • Passacaglia in F minor
  • Pastoral for Oboe and Strings
  • Pavane for Two Harps
  • Pedal Study: Bells in Fog
  • Pentatonic Etude
  • Perihelion
  • Perpetuum Mobile for Marimba
  • Petrichor
  • Piano Concerto No. 1 'Cobalt'

P, continued

  • Piano Concerto No. 2 in E major
  • Piano Quartet No. 1 'Quarry'
  • Piano Quartet No. 2 in F-sharp minor
  • Piano Quintet 'The Glassblower'
  • Piano Quintet in D-flat major
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 'Ember'
  • Piano Sonata No. 4 in B minor
  • Piano Sonata No. 6 'The Switchyard'
  • Piano Sonata No. 9 'Unsent'
  • Piano Trio No. 1 in F-sharp minor
  • Piano Trio No. 2 'The Orchard'
  • Planetfall

P, continued

  • Polka for a Broken Piano
  • Polonaise 'The Standard Bearer'
  • Polonaise in E major
  • Polonaise No. 2 in B-flat minor
  • Polyrhythm Study: Three Against Four
  • Prelude 'Before the Snow'
  • Prelude and Fugue in A major
  • Prelude in F-sharp major
  • Prelude No. 14 'Wet Slate'
  • Prelude No. 9 in E-flat minor
  • Prelude to an Unwritten Opera
  • Procession of the Lanterns
  • Processional for Brass and Organ

Q: 3 names

  • Quadrille for Wind Octet
  • Quartet for Flute and Strings
  • Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in E-flat major

R: 15 names

  • Ragtime for Solo Tuba
  • Rain on a Tin Roof
  • Reel for Fiddle and Piano
  • Reprise: Home Again
  • Rhapsody for Bassoon and Strings
  • Rhapsody in D minor
  • Rhapsody No. 2 'Tinder'
  • Rhapsody on a Shepherd's Tune
  • Ritual Dance at the Standing Stones
  • Romance 'The Second Letter'
  • Romance for Viola and Strings
  • Romance in D-flat major
  • Rondo Giocoso in G major
  • Rooftop Standoff
  • Round for Four Cellos

S: 94 names

  • Salt on the Windowsill
  • Sarabande for a Quiet Room
  • Sarabande in C minor
  • Save Point
  • Saxophone Quartet No. 1
  • Scenes from a Village Wedding
  • Scherzo for a Thunderstorm
  • Scherzo in F minor
  • Scherzo No. 2 'Quicksilver'
  • Scherzo No. 3 in G-sharp minor
  • Seaside Suite for Wind Band
  • Serenade for a Closed Window
  • Serenade for Thirteen Strings

S, continued

  • Serenade for Winds No. 2
  • Serenade in B-flat major
  • Serenade No. 1 'Open Windows'
  • Seven Doors for Solo Piano
  • Seven Postcards for Piano
  • Shopkeeper's Tune
  • Short Fanfare for a Small Victory
  • Siciliana for Oboe d'Amore
  • Siciliana in G minor
  • Siege of the Northern Gate
  • Sight-Reading Piece No. 12
  • Signal Towers
  • Sinfonia for Winds and Percussion

S, continued

  • Sinfonietta 'Paper Boats'
  • Sinfonietta in D major
  • Six Bells: Pieces for Carillon
  • Six Epigrams for Oboe
  • Six Miniatures for Clarinet
  • Skaters at Dusk
  • Sketchbook for String Quartet
  • Sky Harbor
  • Slow March for Pipes and Drums
  • Slow Waltz for Accordion
  • Small Suite for Recorders
  • Snare Drum Etude in Open Rolls
  • Snowfall over the Orchard
  • Something in the Walls

S, continued

  • Sonata for Bass Clarinet and Piano
  • Sonata for Guitar in A minor
  • Sonata for Solo Cello
  • Sonata for Solo Violin 'Thread'
  • Sonata for Two Cellos 'Siblings'
  • Sonata for Two Pianos in G minor
  • Sonata No. 1 in C-sharp minor
  • Sonata No. 3 'The Lamplighter'
  • Sonata No. 5 in E-flat minor
  • Sparrows on the Wire
  • Spiccato Caprice
  • Staccato Study
  • Stakeout in the Rain

S, continued

  • Starlings at Sunset
  • Still Water, Late Afternoon
  • Stinger No. 4
  • String Octet in E major
  • String Quartet No. 1 'Cartography'
  • String Quartet No. 2
  • String Quartet No. 4 'Letters Home'
  • String Quartet No. 7 'The Beekeeper'
  • String Quintet No. 1
  • String Sextet 'The Orchard Wall'
  • String Sextet in C-sharp minor
  • String Trio 'Three Rooms'
  • String Trio in B-flat major
  • Studies in Color, Set One

S, continued

  • Study for the Left Hand
  • Study in Crossed Hands
  • Study in Five-Eight
  • Study in Sixths
  • Study on a Ground Bass
  • Study on One Note
  • Suite for a Shadow Play
  • Suite for Wind-Up Toys
  • Suite from an Imaginary Film
  • Suite from the Lantern Festival
  • Suite in an Antique Manner
  • Suite No. 3 'Market Day'
  • Suite No. 4 in A minor

S, continued

  • Sunrise over the Quarry
  • Swallows Returning
  • Symphonic Dances from the Marshlands
  • Symphonic Poem: The Amber Road
  • Symphonic Sketches: The Estuary
  • Symphony No. 1 in A minor
  • Symphony No. 2 'Tidewater'
  • Symphony No. 3 'The Foundry'
  • Symphony No. 3 in A major
  • Symphony No. 4
  • Symphony No. 5 'Of Bridges'
  • Symphony No. 6 'Northern Rivers'
  • Symphony No. 7 'Of Glass and Iron'
  • Symphony No. 8 'The Long Thaw'

T: 79 names

  • Tango for String Quartet
  • Tarantella for Four Hands
  • Tavern Reel
  • Temple of Echoes
  • Ten Inventions for Two Guitars
  • Thaw
  • The Almanac: Twelve Months for Piano
  • The Attic Window
  • The Beech Wood in October
  • The Bell Ringers
  • The Blacksmith's Rest
  • The Carousel in Winter
  • The Cartographer's Dream

T, continued

  • The Chart Room
  • The Chase Across the Rooftops
  • The Clock Mender's Bench
  • The Detective's Theme
  • The Drowned Lighthouse: A Tone Poem
  • The Empty Bandstand
  • The Fallen King
  • The Four Winds: Symphonic Scenes
  • The Heist Begins
  • The Heron at First Light
  • The Hour Before Snow
  • The Kettle and the Rain
  • The Lamplighter's Round

T, continued

  • The Last Ferry
  • The Little Procession
  • The Long Shadows of August
  • The Mayfly's Afternoon
  • The Mountain Hut
  • The Music Box Motif
  • The Music Box with a Missing Tooth
  • The Night Watchman's Lantern
  • The Observatory
  • The Pass in Fog
  • The Promenade at Low Season
  • The Reveal
  • The River Remembers

T, continued

  • The Road North
  • The Shepherd's Hut
  • The Slow Comet
  • The Snail's Pilgrimage
  • The Stag at the Forest's Edge
  • The Sunken Ruins
  • The Tall Ships: A Maritime Suite
  • The Toy Drum
  • The Train Platform
  • The Vault Opens
  • The Voyage of the Paper Boat
  • The Walled Garden
  • The War Council

T, continued

  • The Weir in Spring
  • Theme and Variations in F-sharp minor
  • Theme for the Lost Expedition
  • Theme of the Forest Guardian
  • Three Bells at Dusk
  • Three Intermezzi for a Quiet House
  • Three Lullabies for Piano Four Hands
  • Three Pieces for Solo Cello
  • Three Rivers: A Suite for Strings
  • Threnody for the Felled Orchard
  • Ticking Clock
  • Timpani Study: Distant Thunder
  • Title Screen

T, continued

  • Toccata 'Hammer and Anvil'
  • Toccata and Fugue in F-sharp minor
  • Toccata in E minor
  • Toccatina
  • Tone Poem: The Iron Bridge
  • Trailer Cue: Rise
  • Tremolo Etude
  • Trio for Horn, Violin and Harp
  • Triptych for Organ
  • Trumpet Concerto 'Brass Weather'
  • Trumpet Concerto in B minor
  • Twenty-Four Miniatures in All the Keys
  • Two Elegies and a Dance
  • Two Landscapes for Strings

U: 1 name

  • Underscore for a Quiet Betrayal

V: 12 names

  • Variations 'On a Street Vendor's Call'
  • Variations on a Lullaby from the North
  • Village Theme (Morning)
  • Village Theme (Night)
  • Viola Sonata 'The Understudy'
  • Viola Sonata in F minor
  • Violin Concerto 'The Weathervane'
  • Violin Concerto in F-sharp minor
  • Violin Sonata No. 1 'Juniper'
  • Violin Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor
  • Violin Sonata No. 3 'Low Sun'
  • Vocalise for Viola and Harp

W: 10 names

  • Waltz for the Last Guest
  • Waltz in B major
  • Waltz No. 2 'The Coat Check'
  • Wedding March for Two Violins
  • What the Letter Said
  • Whole-Tone Etude
  • Wild Geese Overhead
  • Wind in the Telegraph Wires
  • Wind Quintet No. 1
  • Wind Quintet No. 2 'Five Chimneys'

Z: 1 name

  • Zero Gravity Waltz