I wasn't sure about whether or not to post this in the Composition forum but putting it in one of the others wouldn't make much sense.

Anyway, This is a medium to share your arrangements. If you are an arranger, like I am, you like to have people critique them and make suggestions as to how to improve them. I'll start things off.

This is "The Magic House" From Final Fantasy VI. I wrote in in Finale by ear after listening to it on the OST. Then I put it through GPO, panning the instruments to their original seating position. Although I don't know if Audacity messed that up when I recorded it. I tried my best to make it sound authentic, but GPO doesn't save anything I do before I play the song, so i have to make changes while it's playing.

GPO hasn't been too good to me lately. I still can't figure out how to save changed I make to the Kontakt player before I play the song in Finale. Oh well...oh, and sry for the poor kbps. it's only 112. it was the only way to fit the attachment on the forums lol.

For all of you string players out there, I think you'll like this arrangement. The famous Canon in D for a String Sextet.

Instrumentation:

Solo Violin
Violin I and II
Viola
Cello
Double Bass

Tell me if you want sheet music for it, cos I can upload the MUS file as well =]

It's actually not called a string sextet, it's solo violin on top of string orchestra. ._. Indeed the sampling quality is kind of low. However, I found your arrangement of canon rather monotonous. It's just... too standard. And your voicing for each part seems to be off at times. Your solo violin was also too prominent in its high register, which leads to the fact that it got tiresome really quickly. Around that 3:30, somehow, it lost the canon's traditional quality when you changed it to a variation.

The orchestration is slightly weak, but this seemed like a good practice.

I would ask for the sheet music if i played in a group..and actualy im learning the viola.

And, This could be because iv played this song so much that its gotten a little boring, I thought some where around 4 minutes and up, that it was getting boring and it needed something new.

All and All it sounds good to me

I tried my hand at arranging a piece for a jazz band here. It's Santa Esmeralda's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood".

I don't have Garritan Jazz Band yet, so I guess you'll have to suffer through a MUS file lol.

Note: This is not finished yet, I am just getting some opinions on it, and some CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. (not just saying it sucks and not giving any reason why or what I could change or do differently.)

Sir_Dotdotdot has been the only one that has had anything constructive to say so far. (and no offense whatsoever to Noir, but he comes off as a little harsh)

Not that I'm disrespecting him, he is more experienced in this sort of thing. However, I don't like to be flamed. Please elaborate on anything you want, but don't just say something like

"the melody(ies) is/are utterly boring and unrepresentational.".

That, for example gives me nothing constructive. Please Noir...elaborate lol.

Enjoy "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" ^_^

The Canon:

Let's just say that I have (almost) perfect pitch, and it sounds like you took the original Canon In D and put the first few measures with the Violin (Solo) part a 3rd lower. In the original, it goes from F#-E-D-C#, when you did D-C#-B-A, which made it sound like it was (almost) a piece in minor. But then you just put it with the F#-E-D-C# movement later.

To explain: the D-C#-B-A movement made it sound minor, for the B Minor key signature includes a C# and F#.

(Note that this is just based on my personal opinion.)

That's all I can say; Sir_Dotdotdot said the rest. :heh:

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood:

I couldn't think of much, for the sound wasn't the "best". The only thing that didn't sound right was how the cymbals were used; they were trying to syncopate it in a way, which didn't sound to good to in my ears (concerning the ones a part of a triplet).

Thanks. I thought about that, and I realized that I put in a generated beat track that Finale had. I didn't really want to sit down and take the time to write out a drum part for the whole song lol. (lazy i know, aren't we all sometimes?) =D. I'll make note of it and fix it, thanks again ^^

This is Time Scar from Chrono Trigger. I arranged it into a hard rock/metal piece. Again, you'll have to suffer through Finale's sounds lol. The double bass drum may be a bit much at about the 1:15 mark so if you have your speakers loud you might want to turn it down a bit lol.

Enjoy

EDIT: Here's another one. It's two themes from the Wizardry game series -- for a Woodwind Quartet. Not the typical quartet though. I arranged this for my friends for Solo and Ensemble. My group got a 2 (just for intonation issues, we would have gotten a 1 lol). However, the judge could not stop raving about my arrangement. I have grown quite fond of it. I hope you guys like it too.

What year of finale do you have? because for some reasons its not letting me open it. It wont let me open any of clarinetist's finale files either.. maybe i need to update from the 2006 version

Wizardry Woodwind Quintet:

Good arrangement, but there's only one spot of concern; it's probably the playback, but the clarinet just sticks out too much.

Wizardry Woodwind Quintet:

Good arrangement, but there's only one spot of concern; it's probably the playback, but the clarinet just sticks out too much.

Not to mention the flute doubles the tenor sax in octaves causing it to sound too thick and honky. However, the counterpoint isn't bad.

Thanks. Yeah, the doubling could have probably been avoided. However, later in the piece, the tenor sax deters from the flute melody, making it sound less honky. As far as the clarinet sticking out -- especially during the piano/sforzando section was a little concerning. But I didn't think it was too bad. I wanted the clarinet to be dominant when it had the eight note runs as it was sort of a solo thing before the instruments started trading off.

@Darkened Angel -- I use Finale 2007. So you have to get notepad 2007 if you want to read the files. It's just a good thing that notepad is free lol.

Well, seeing as how we can't post file attachments in the Music Discussion forum, I will put the arrangement of our marching band show here.

"Immortal" -- Based on Hello and My Immortal by Evanescence.

Track 1 - parts 1 and 2

Track 2 - parts 3 and 4

I thought time scar and your arrangement of Don't let me be misunderstood were simply amazing.

Thanks a lot. I did put some time into Time Scar, but DLMBM was just something I was dabbling in. I'm glad you liked it! ^_^

The only things i was worried about were:

In Don't let me be misunderstood: You made the trumpets go ridiculously high. High C's are possible, but the High D's are playable only be experts.

In Time Scar: I'm not sure if a divided guitar part can have 2 different rythyms on the same guitar.

That's not really high for trumpets. We have high C's in our marching band show this year. If you want high, try looking at the first trumpet part in TANK! from Cowboy Bebop. That's a high G...yeah, way higher than a C lol. As for Time Scar, there are two electric guitar parts so one can have a different rhythm than the other. =]

No I mean that at one point you had 1 guitar on a divided rhythm. And which high are you talking about? The one on the staff, or the one 2 ledger lines above the staff?

In Don't let me be misunderstood: You made the trumpets go ridiculously high. High C's are possible, but the High D's are playable only be experts.

No. Wrong.

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/porschegtiii/HighC.jpg

That is the limit of screamer trumpet. That C. Screamer trumpet starts at about the G above the D in question. First trumpets in high school and some in middle school should be able to play that D (very few in middle school).

Man, you need to listen to more Maynard Ferguson!

But yeah, there is no problem with the range in this piece.

I arranged this awhile back for a concert band. I'm still pondering how the percussion parts will integrate into this piece. I don't have auxiliary percussion or much of anything for that matter, heh. Tell me what you think. Personally, I love the ending. haha--so random

I believe what you were going for at the begining is a trill, but up a half step. I believe it should be notated as so...

http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h255/porschegtiii/Notation2.jpg

Porsche got the notating part correct, however, it should start with a C flat instead of B flat (you trill from the top so it won't sound awkward).

THIS CONCERNS Bb Pitched Clarinet, and all others, not concert pitched instruments (except for the C Clarinet, obviously).


Porsche got the notating part correct, however, it should start with a C flat instead of B flat (you trill from the top so it won't sound awkward).

I must disagree; in this case, according to my experience, it will sound more awkward if you were to start on the top. x_x

Being a clarinetist (obviously :P), that is the most awkward trill you could use. Really. It's the trill that gets way off tune, no matter how professional one is (unless if one were to make his/her own mouthpiece, that is). It sounds "fake", in other words, if it were for performance. If you want, I will make a recording tomorrow with ALL possible ways to play this trill. :think:

I must disagree; in this case, according to my experience, it will sound more awkward if you were to start on the top. x_x

Being a clarinetist (obviously :P), that is the most awkward trill you could use. Really. It's the trill that gets way off tune, no matter how professional one is (unless if one were to make his/her own mouthpiece, that is). It sounds fake, in other words, if it were for performance. If you want, I will make a recording tomorrow with ALL possible ways to play this trill. :think:

I must disagree to your disagreement. Trilling from the top is the most common and usual way to trill in most music (meaning classical, romantic, baroque, and etc...). At first, I thought that you trill from the bottom too, until my oboe teacher told me that the proper way to start a trill is to start from the top note. However, when you said it's weird, it's probably because you tongued it too hard or you try to emphasize the main note too much (which you're not supposed to; trills serve somewhat as an arppogiatura).

Well, the nature of the piece itself is a little awkward. It's based off of comedic themes so some things are bound to sound weird in it. That's why I did the trill in the beginning. It's sort of like a foreshadowing. To tell the audience that the song is going to be awkward/funny, etc. At least that was my rationale when arranging it. =p

I must disagree to your disagreement. Trilling from the top is the most common and usual way to trill in most music (meaning classical, romantic, baroque, and etc...). At first, I thought that you trill from the bottom too, until my oboe teacher told me that the proper way to start a trill is to start from the top note. However, when you said it's weird, it's probably because you tongued it too hard or you try to emphasize the main note too much (which you're not supposed to; trills serve somewhat as an arppogiatura).

Sorry; I was referring to this specific trill on the clarinet. It isn't that easy to do (starting at top note) unless one takes the time to learn the whole key system and what happens when a specific key is pressed, otherwise, it will go down a "microtone", as you call it. :/

I'll post a recording later, but I'll say that the C#/Db (4th line) has a lack of support in a way.

Excuse my tone; some spit is still present, but it is better than my last recording that I posted somewhere. :heh:

The one marked bottom starts from the bottom, and the one from the top is marked "top".

"Improper" is when one uses the very common fingering for C- C#.

"Improper 2" is when one doesn't know about alternates, etc, and decides to only use the C# key, which ends up being C# --> D.

So, it can be done, but a lack of dynamic control is in effect (in other words, it's pretty hard to crescendo it); see file "C#- D, actual". It does sound "normal", but it requires a bit more effort than other trills. x_x I would suggest, on the individual clarinet part, to mark a "L" on top of the C, and "R" on top of the Db (which is the easiest fingering). It's not that clear compared to other trills, which is what I meant by "fake".

That's what I have to say.

EDIT: :o Biggest mistake ever. It should be C --> C# on the file names. x_x

As a composer or arranger, I don't think it's necessary to clearly address these fingerings. It's up to the performer to do that. However, understanding what's difficult for an instrument is good reference of what you should do and what you should not to too much while composing or arranging.

As a composer or arranger, I don't think it's necessary to clearly address these fingerings. It's up to the performer to do that. However, understanding what's difficult for an instrument is good reference of what you should do and what you should not to too much while composing or arranging.

It doesn't matter how well your write something if the performer can't play it...For example, you wont find a tenor trombonist who can go from a low Bb to a B natural very quickly, as it is a jump from 1st position, to 7th. So, if you were to put that in a piece of music, at a fast rhythm, we most likely couldn't play it, but as that isn't in this song, the point is moot.

Quite personally, I thought it sounded great. I think that the woodwinds kinda overpowered the brass in the play back though. And I thought the Alto Sax and Oboe doubling sounded a little funny, but still good.

It doesn't matter how well your write something if the performer can't play it...For example, you wont find a tenor trombonist who can go from a low Bb to a B natural very quickly, as it is a jump from 1st position, to 7th. So, if you were to put that in a piece of music, at a fast rhythm, we most likely couldn't play it, but as that isn't in this song, the point is moot.

Quite personally, I thought it sounded great. I think that the woodwinds kinda overpowered the brass in the play back though. And I thought the Alto Sax and Oboe doubling sounded a little funny, but still good.

I'm not saying you can write something unplayable (um... hello? I'm striving to be an orchestrator here, so why would I advise someone to write unplayable things?), I was merely saying little details like what Clarinetist pointed out does not need to be applied by the composer when notating.

I started adding percussion to VOCT. Tell me what you think. I tried to make the percussion fit with the mood of the piece as best as possible.

W.A. Mozart
Original Key in B minor
Arranged for Alto Sax, Bb Clarinet, 2 Bass Clar. Quartet

It's my solo and ensemble group. I know, the instrumentation is a bit weird,
but who doesn't play around with it from time to time, right? Tell me what you think. Any constructive criticism is appreciated =]

It lost the Mozartian quality, majorly. It sounds nothing like Mozart. May I ask how you arranged it? Did use directly use the original score and threw all the parts together?

Well, of course it won't have the same effect primarily because it was a piano piece. (and Finale doesn't really help either) but I found a version of the piano piece and went from there. I also had some other versions of Adagio that were for other quartets or quintets. So I scrutinized those for ideas.

It's not the physical effectiveness of the arrangement (i.e. instruments and blah blah blah), really. It's the feel of a classical Mozart-esque sound you usually associate with when you listen to his music. It's not easy to arrange something Mozart if you're not acquainted with his style fluently, especially arranging for a more modern ensemble. Just studying the scores aren't enough, you actually need a lot of experience handling the style.

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Create your own thread for your arrangements/compositions to get proper feedback on them. This thread is soley dedicated to Giles, and therefor I refrain people to comment on these two pieces.