ideas, not songs, cuz im not finished with these songs :P i seriously need help, im stuck, and i have pretty good ideas here, too :P

balladrev and halcyonrev3 are the same songs, but balladrev is a piano and synthesizer version. they're pretty much all ballad-like songs, so if you dont like slow songs, go away :P

PS plz ignore the text i typed in on the edges. seriously. ignore them TOTALLY. they are not there. when i count to three, you will ignore them. one, two, three. good.

you can be critical, ok? and sorry i cant convert them to MIDI cuz i used Notepad to make these songs :P

EDIT: i realized that halcyonrev3 is not complete, so... yeah. and also, the file names are not the names of the songs, i just have trouble naming them, so ignore the titles, too xP

MIDIs

halcyonrev3.mus------ Felt random at times...
ballad2.mus---- If you think you're ready, learn how to ACTUALLY notate the Violin part correctly... <_<
tobewithyou2.mus---- WAY too sudden at the 3rd measure... and the Bass notes were too close to the right hand notes (at times), making the Bass Part having almost no point of being there.

The first one kinda felt jumbled, but it had a few good ideas in there. In the second: the violin felt really out of place, and the piece as a whole felt a bit too predictable sometimes. The piano version, I felt, was better. The last one seemed way too random to me. Plus, nothing caught my attention in that one.

Well, overall, these are unorganized ideas that would need to take shape. ;)

thanks everyone, and thanks for the MIDIs, death :D

and yeah, i dont know how to notate violin parts, can someone teach me o.o and i might have to make it a piano duet because its impossible to play it alone o.o and that last one, it was hard to think of the other parts, because i was just humming a tune and found it could make a great chorus, but i need help on the other parts...

oh, and im planning on entering one of these in a future competition when they're done, but does vague feedback count as help?

heres another one i found, comment please :D

EDIT: I want to drag this out because i feel the first movement is too short, and the second movement is just a mess right now.

another song i found, i really dont like the counterpoint at the end, it just sounds, wrong. and i dont know how to end it, so in the meantime, it will just have to be "repeat and fade." i hate repeating and fading, but, oh well :P

your "tobewithyou2" had characters that reminded me of my own music. I didn't think it was random, I just thought that it shouldn't have had those rests where the music just cuts off. Of you imagine it without the breaks it's an okay piece.

i was thinking of putting some violin parts to fill that in, but seeing as i dont know how to notate violin parts :P

ballad2.mus---- If you think you're ready, learn how to ACTUALLY notate the Violin part correctly... <_<


Actually, many parts are quite possible, and that extra low note can be executed from scordatura, and some double/triple stops are possible.

^Measures 7 & 9 (sorry for not being specific). :heh:

But, I would've notated it as:

Violin I
Violin II
Piano
Synthesizer

Oh, and wwspianomix- The Clarinet can overpower the flute at times (Clarinet is written an octave lower than Flute...)... Another suggestion: That may be a bit too fast for the clarinet (16th notes)... Not many Clarinetists can double tongue (as it is needed in that piece... I think :heh: ). Clarinetists are used to seeing SLUR marks on their parts (fast parts), just so you know ;). It's hard to tongue that much all at once @_@ .

oh, psh. forgot the slur marks x.x and i know that, im a clarinetist, too xD tonguing that would be a nightmare o.o but yeah, its not a final, so ill add in the final touches to phrases, dynamics and stuff and separate the violin into two parts later. and i found the violin can go down to G below the staff (at least), but i think ill transpose to a higher key to make sure. im also aware violinists first learn in the key of G, so they must be comfortable with that particular key.

and what do you mean
(Clarinet is written an octave lower than Flute...)? so should i transpose it so the clarinet part is an octave lower than the flute's part, and playing both is comfortable? (i also know quite a bit about flute mechanics :heh:)

Basically... Clarinet MUST be written an octave lower than the Flute, otherwise, it will overpower it. ;)

Change the flute to a violin, violin and clarinet = bartok, lol.

Ooh, I like that "Flight of the Seabirds" one. I thought it sounded really good! ^_^

Basically... Clarinet MUST be written an octave lower than the Flute, otherwise, it will overpower it. ;)
oh. ok o.o i heard that the flute cant be heard well in the staff, so... yeah.

and ok rovski, i just have to learn the violin's range, first o.o i know it can go to G below the staff, but how high can a typical player go? o.o

and thnx marlon, "Marchissimo" by Philip Sparke really inspired me to make that piece, because I just LOVE it. everything was awesome about that song o.o

EDIT: the flute sounded weird an octave higher, so i transposed the clarinet part an octave lower, and it sounds pretty good, even though it kind of lost its "magic"... maybe i could use a violin to support the flute, and another violin to help the cello... :think:

EDIT 2: I took Rovski's advice and changed the flute to a violin, and i also added an extra violin to help the cello, and it sounds great ^^

For the violin, u dun have to worry how high it goes... The highest i had come across while playing the violin is from paganini caprice no.7. That is an octave of the D 5 ledger lines of the treble clef, u wouldn't go that extreme in ur compositions. For a intermediate player, he could play up to E 3 ledger lines of the treble clef with ease.

oh ok, thanks a bunch :D

and i hate working with percussion on NotePad because you have to guess which note is which, and when you decide to transpose the entire piece, the percussion parts transpose too, and you have to start all over again x.x so in my pieces, ill rarely have percussion in them...

erm, does anyone happen to know the ranges of a cello, oboe and bassoon? xD i have a vague idea of the oboe and bassoon, but i have no idea about the cello =/

okay, pplz, noone commented on this one yet ;) and heres an idea that i think would sound better on a harpsichord and a backup instrument (viola/violin/oboe?), comment o.o

EDIT: they're both unfinished, but i wanna work on the first one because i feel that the first part is too short, and needs to be stretched out o.o

I liked Theme 0" alot! I mean alot! leave it as a piano. Harpsichord will make it too boroque and I think it will lose some "sparkle".

As for kelli, I highly doubt oboe will work but I think viola or violin wouldn't hurt in trying.

the songs name isnt kelli, i just made it for her cuz she wanted a song she could play on her guitar :P its proper title is intro and fugue, although it might be incorrect...

and theme 0 (dont know what to call it :P) , thats the song i meant to add a violin or stuff to it :P i was gonna turn it into a trumpet and harpsichord piece, but ill follow your advice. i think ill keep it as it is and just keep adding parts to it, though i have no idea where to start... maybe i should introduce another melody...

Very polyphonic for both pieces. For these kind of pieces, try to avoid using modern woodwinds or brass intruments. The important thing is to have it sound pure.

yeah, i try to write these kind of pieces because they're fun :D and ill try not to use modern woodwinds or brass instruments, although which instruments are considered modern instruments? saxes? =/

sorry for all of you waiting for the revised "Flight of the Seabirds," but i still have to work some things out :heh: heres an old theme i found to keep you amused :sweat: im actually also working on a revised version of this song, too, so comment please :)

You might want to split the Trumpet staff into 2 trumpet staffs. (Obviously, one Trumpet cannot play two notes that often, unless they have studied multiphonics).

Good Luck ;).

Hmmm... well, I think the composition itself was good, but it bothered me that I can't quite hear the trumpet that much. But that's not really your fault, so yeah... Good job. ^_^

clarinetist: well, yeah, obviously. it IS a first draft o.o

Marlon: thnx, and it kind of bothers me, too x.x i need a USB cable so i can transfer recordings from my keyboard, but ive kind of been busy...

im thinking of merging this with theme_0, whaddya think? :think:

revised tandhtheme (heh, i really need names for these :heh:) and added some stuff to theme_0. and in case you didn't notice, i tried to add in part of theme_0 to tandhtheme. its not done, so pardon any laziness xD

EDIT: heres one: in measure 21 of tandhtheme, disregard the clusters in the second trumpet part, im giving them to the harpsichord as we speak -.- and theme_0 needs a lot of cleanup on the counterparts, so... yeah -.- suggestions?

There were a lot of unpleasant dissonants in theme_0. The second (alto) voice was too technical too, so it's not quite counterpoint, but rather harmony.

oh, ok -.-U ive been trying to figure out how to fix that, but...:bleh:

so, what about the revised tandhtheme? does it sound okay? ;)

i just got the eval. version of noteworthy, yey o.o the instruments sound good and theres a wider variety, but notepad was WAY easier to figure out -.-;; ill try to use it more often so you pplz w/o anything in the coda music series can listen to my stuff, k? ^^

psh, forget it, noteworthy is too hard to use x.x heres a little theme that im going to combine with tobewithyou (posted in the beginning), and im also going to combine another theme with that as the chorus. the flute replaces a solo voice, which i might consider adding lyrics to it. theme of the lyrics? it might be "Dreams Do Come True," or "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God." It might also be a mixture of both o.o this is one of my first attempts at incorporating drums to a song, and also my first with lyrics x.x wish me luck :heh: attached is the intro to the song ;) pv stands for piano and voice, fyi o.o

Can't.. comment.. too.. short..

Remember to actually post more of a song (like a verse or two) before posting only about 9 measures of song. I've done that before, and want to cut back on it, but give us more, I can't tell if that's actually the song or just a short introduction.

oh, ok, ill just work on it more, then... and yes, thats only the intro, im merging this with other motives i made :heh:

EDIT: attached is something i made when i got irritated at my sister, its called peaceful thoughts, go figure :heh: still gotta straighten out a few things, but remember, i was trying to control my anger at the time :P

You can make better bass parts than I can, but the bass part got really annoying at the 4th-5th measure ;) , and use some pedaling. Fermata at the end, please, then Finale Notepad will play the notes one by one rather than that really fast rolled chord...

i think ill keep the last chord like that, because peaceful thoughts aren't supposed to come slower and slower until they go away, they're supposed to end on a happy note ;) and i dont really use pedals in my music, but ill try... thanks for the feedback :D

and btw, i didnt know notepad actually sustains the note! i thought it was just for show! amazing :o xD

ew. you know what? it sounds too jumbled up with the pedal. I think I'll leave that one for the player's discretion ;) *writes opt. ped. throughout* xD

remember that halcyonrev3 song in my first post? well, i found the unfinished rough draft of it ^^ it was originally a piano solo with mostly block chords. ew x_x

It didn't flow as nicely as I would've wanted, but that might just be me. IDK... It just didn't really draw my attention. Nonetheless, it was enjoyable. Nice job. :)

Your ballad needs work on the most basic of levels. For one thing, your chord progression doesn't match your melody. This makes your harmonies really clash. That can be fixed with some reanalysis of the piece.

The other major problem is that things seem to happen in your song for no reason. Occasionally we hear triplets or syncopation, but to no greater effect than to show that you know what they are.

I'm interested to hear the finished version you talk about.

erm, i wouldnt really call it a finished version, but here it is. i worked on it a bit since my first post... like i took those random parts down an octave, and... wait, thats pretty much it :heh:

and im pretty sure that i did all of the chords right... idk. lemme check. feedback on chords?

Ugh... Messy notations. x_x Which is one of my pet peeves. Apart from that, I don't think you need a synthesizer to enhance the harmony, the piano is good nuff by itself. The piece was okay overall, but it was a song that'll you forget after you listen to it.

thanks for the quick reply :) and its not my fault, blame the program, BLAME THE PROGRAM!!! xD and thanks for the advice, although i think ill need to add a second piano to take those arpeggios in the bass clef x.x

EDIT: ick. it doesnt sound as smooth w/o the synthesizer, so i think ill keep it.

EDIT2: but, it might sound better with some pedals?

Well, I wouldn't really call this a fugue (a fuguette? haha j/k), but it's a short and simple piece that I might work on more... eh, enjoy :\

EDIT: I just realized I forgot to add the key signature... its printed as A minor with accidentals, but it's supposed to be in D minor, sorry :heh:

It didn't sound like a fugue... But there were many parts where the chords were messy and whatnot.. ._. I don't know what else to say, cos I lack concentration today.

The fugue, I'm not sure what a fugue is but it sounded like Bach. Which isn't a bad thing, I like Bach's songs. But it di sound a bit random and wierd, or is that one of the qualities of a fugue?

I did like the balladrev.MUS one though. It had a great melody, but the sheet music was all messy, it looked like dazzling fancy colors =D oooh... The red didn't sound random at all, I liked it.

yeah, i guess i need to make the "fugue" more complex to classify it as a true fugue. Yeah, I LOVE Bach's songs xD but, ill never amount up to him...

and people were saying that the red parts sounded random before i lowered them down an octave, but it sounds okay now. The messy sheet music? The stinking program just does it like that -.- ill clean it up when i finalize it...

and more people have been commenting! thanks for all the support! :D

Wow, my first song made on NoteWorthy, w00t :lol: (as painful as it was, even if it was a 20-measure job @_@) Turns out I don't have the equipment to record it into a MIDI :( So, make do with it :P I don't want to key it in AGAIN in NotePad, tough luck :P

Hmm, two views and no comments? :( COMMENT, PEOPLE!!! Unless it's too mediocre/cliche to be commented on o.o Opinions?

^Finale Notepad is more used in this forum than Noteworthy ;) .

It's not that I don't want to comment, it's just that I don't bother to get Noteworthy for just commenting on one song. ._. I'm sure other people feels the same as well.

Oh, okay x_x Well, since thats that case, I'll key it in NotePad and get back to you @_@

In the meantime, a lot of people were making Christmas songs, so I made my own ("Christmas Twilight"). It's not done, I just have an incomplete "skeleton" of the song, but I want feedback to help "complete the skeleton," I guess :heh:

"christmas" is the original, but in "christmas2," I changed some things around...

The orchestration of the two are icky. But the melody is fine though.

Yep, the orchestration didn't go that well...

It may be a bit hard for you, but you may want to study a bit of orchestration. (What I did was look at a bunch of orchestra scores :lol: ).

It is mainly due to the lack of "orchestral knowledge" I have, but it might also be due to the fact that NotePad only allows 8 staves, or doesn't allow much dynamic variance o.o; So, I'll go study orchestration now o.o;

Just a head's up: while studying orchestration (got bored after a few minutes :heh: ), I decided to download NotePad 2007! However, I know that you guys still have 2006 stuff, so I'll post songs in 2005 format.

EDIT: The point of this post was to just inform you that I'll be able to open up any 2006 stuff, like suggestions you might have *hint hint ;)*, or even your songs on your threads!:D

Just wondering: in what way was the orchestration not so good? ;) Is it the instruments, or the parts I assigned them? I replaced the french horn with a viola and the flute with another violin, but would it still be 'icky'? *sigh*

^Everything I know about orchestration, I learned (at least most of it) from just looking at a full band/orchestra score ;) . I also think about the timbres (I think timbres are how the instruments sound when played) that I am blending together.

Then there's a bunch of octave stuff with doubling. ;)

EDIT: It's your blending of instruments that didn't go well. I believe it's measure 10... I didn't like the guitar part much, for some reason, and I didn't like the Mallets/Harp doubling.

I doubled the mallets and harp because the mallet's sound was too thin, and the harp's sound was too warm; when together, the mallet's gave the harp an "edge" to it, and the harp softened the mallets; it gives off a twinkling sound (twilight :)), so I'll keep them doubled (unless anyone has a suggestion?).

(EDIT: Oh, I do! I do! It sounds better with a guitar playing the melody and the harp playing the guitar part (in the beginning). I think I'll take the mallets out of this piece, though...)

As for the guitar part at measure 10, I'll change it; I think it's that low "G" that sounds weird. I want to keep the guitar arpeggiating chords, though, but I'll give it quarter notes instead. Thanks for the help :)

So, which beginning do YOU prefer? :think:

EDIT: Added a few things...

^So, is the orchestration better? ;)

It's better, but it still sound weak, in my opinion. :mellow: For example, in Christmas 2, guitar and harp direct unison is not good... You're ruining the harp's tone and revealing guitar's nasal quality. Secondly, you also directly doubled the bass part of harp with cello, and by doing that, you're just covering out the harp's sound... And not to mention these pieces would be better with a bass line with less movements. But that's just a little part of it... Use your musicality to figure out the rest. Good luck.

And not to mention these pieces would be better with a bass line with less movements.

How so?

This song isn't turning out too well... Now, I think it's too busy, I need to make it simpler ;) Plus, I think I'm stuck @_@ I hope this "composer's block" goes away soon x_x

Well, anyways, thanks for those of you who made suggestions, you've been a great help :)

How? Well, make your bass with solid notes (i.e. whole notes, or whatever that lasts for as long as your chord holds).

Oh sorry not being clear enough... I meant how would it improve these kind of pieces? Just wondering so I could make less mistakes in future pieces :heh:

EDIT: I thought about adding a minor rendition of the theme in the next part... Did it turn out well? :huh:

Oh. It's cos you have a clear, and simple melody, and to retain it's simple quality, simple accompaniments are the most effective. But then again, there are many kinds of simple accompaniments.

Oh, got it, thanks :)

Took out the minor part at the end, but I think I'll add something similar because I think this piece is too short and needs contrast in order to have a really joyful feel at the end when this theme is repeated...

EDIT: Added an idea to transition into a minor part, it might need to be smoother?

I added more stuff in Christmas Twilight, and I FINALLY got around to putting my Sonatina in NotePad :heh: It's really a 10-minute job because the left hand plays the basic sonatina accompaniment :sweat: On Christmas Twilight, I extended the minor part a bit, but I think it needs fixing x_x

EDIT: Oh my goodness, whatever's the opposite of "composer's block" (composer's sphere? lolz), I think I have it :sweat: I've been bombarded with ideas for "Christmas Twilight"! Enjoy :D

Could you post a midi version, I can't open your finale.

I would, but I use NotePad '07 :\ Hold on, I'll ask someone to turn it into a midi for me ^_^

For some reason, the Sonatina reminds me of Mozart (I've studied A LOT of his pieces, too :\ ).

The Christmas Twilight- I don't know about giving the Violin that part at 26, and also, I (for some reason) didn't like the Viola and Flute doubling at 34... (maybe it's because I usually see Flute for higher notes...). Try adding more instruments at 57 (the Flute feature), and again, I didn't like the doubling at 66, the doubling with Cello + Flute.

I just feel picky today, for some reason, so I may be wrong with this stuff (EXAMS for me tomorrow). Good luck ;) .

I can admit, though, you are better than me at Major-Minor switching :) .

Yeah, my sonatina was pretty much Mozart-cliche... That left hand part is used in many sonatinas, and not just by Mozart :bleh: And according to my friend, that 16th-note scale run I put in was actually part of Mozart's more famous songs x_x It was my dad's ringtone, I heard it everyday x_x

Thanks for the praise on the major-minor switching :) Aside from that, I'll look into doubling better instruments, or better yet, not doubling at all ;)

I think I'll move the violin part on 26 to after the transition from minor to major (after the major to minor one) because it's so light and happy :) Maybe it would bode better for the flute... I'll change the doubling of the flute and viola, I listened to it carefully and didn't like it... I'll change the cello and flute doubling to give the flute the melody and give harmony (with the same rhythm, but embellished a bit) to the cello. How about that? I'll post it up later, this is sort of a memo for me :sweat:

Sorry KK, I can't find anyone who can convert it into a midi for me :( If anyone who's reading this can convert christmas2.mus into a midi, please do so and post it up here, please?

If you want to listen to it, you can download Finale NotePad 2007 if you can...

98 measures! (and (hopefully) counting!) I ended Christmas Twilight with a tutti, but I think it's too short and should be expanded; I also think I should end with a harp solo (I can't really end with the climax, can I? I didn't think so :bleh: ) I need to tweak the tutti a bit, I think a note or two might not correspond with the chords... I also think I missed something that was suggested o.o;

Comments, please?

Well, you don't have to do everything suggested... :mellow:

Oh, and at bar 16, that F on viola isn't sharped, so there's a minor second dissonant, which is no good. And that xylophone roll on bar 88 is annoying. Then everything after that just went like "blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah", it's too unjustified.

Exactly -.- Thanks for pointing out the viola problem :) I'm trying to fix the "'blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah,'" and I think the flute part's the problem... I also think it's some other instrument, but I'll figure it out later -.-U Too busy :bleh:

Yes, expand it, please! :)

Note: I can get really picky with 16th note runs ;) .

The last 4 16th notes in bar 93 (to me,) wasn't a good transition to 94. (Harp) Also, in the last bar, why not put the sixteenth notes an octave higher? Then there's weird trills in the Xylophone part.

Get picky with the sixteenth note runs, please! I don't even know if harps can play this, in terms of rhythm and range @_@ I fixed the trills in the xylophone part (it's actually supposed to be rolls, like Sir said), but since I can't notate rolls in NotePad, I turned them into sixteenth notes... that okay? And I can't find any good transition from the second to last to the last bar if it were to be an octave higher, unless I invert the chord x_x

^I meant the Last bar 16th notes to be an octave higher ;) .

Oh, I see, you mean that the sixteenth note run in the last bar should ascend rather than descend? I thought you meant transpose the whole last measure up an octave @_@

No.... wait, I'll post it up....

Edit: Notice the 8va marking I added (Which means to play an octave higher)...

But won't that be a hard transition for the harpist? ;) Or do harps have some sort of 8va pedal/button/thingy to do that? o.o;

Large intervals on harps aren't evil at all... ._. Harpists would rather have large intervals than small ones... As their fingers gets tangled with each other.

Oh, I thought it's difficult to remember which string to jump to o.o; Never mind. Never question the awesomeness of harpists xD Thank you :)

If you know anyone who has Finale 2007 or similar software that can convert my NotePad '07 file into a midi, please give their username to me because I think I need to convert into a midi to enter a song in a contest... Please and thank you!

I also expanded the tutti, added another idea for the next part (I don't think I'll end with a tutti, I think I'll end with a solo or duet playing the main melody (flute/xylophone duet or doubled; harp solo; guitar solo; violin and violoncello? ;)). Comments please :)

Around bar 42, it was really messy cos the cello and guitar were interfering each other. Also, bar 82 needs a stronger transiton back to the main melody. The section where all instruments were playing was also quite poor when it comes to the overall sound; they sound too... ununified.

I tried to unify it by changing the notes, but that didn't work out, so I took out the flute part and found that that was the problem, so I gave it a part with the same rhythm as the melody to bring it together a little more. If you mean the part with the guitar arpeggios (was that the correct term? o.o;), then I'll try to change the guitar part because I think it's to blame :bleh: I also think I found an ending, so tell me what you think before this goes to the CCCC ;) (sorry if this song is getting monotonous -.-U)

Thank you Sir and Clarinetist for helping me with this song :) (KK and others interested in listening to this song, someone might turn up at the CCCC with Finale '07 or something, so I can ask to turn this into a midi and you can listen to it when judging is up :))

(Picky with the 16th note runs again) XD .

Meas. 102- Huge leap at the start from 101. It's playable, but it didn't sound right together (I took the time to click every 16th note) :heh: .

Wow, thanks for doing that, I appreciate it :)

Is it a little better now? :think: Heh, not much experience in sixteenth note runs :heh:

What sixteenth runs are you people talking about? :mellow: Maybe you're confused with arppegios? And it's just fine.

Your best composition yet ajamesu.

Great job--keep it comin.

(Thanks Noir7 for the webhosting site)

Aldric Ulep-Christmas Twlight.mid (http://two.xthost.info/mazeppa/Aldric%20Ulep-Christmas%20Twlight.mid)

There ya go buddy. If you want the real link just click "Quote" on this post.

Good luck.

Is this your Christmas Compo entry? If so, I'll give a deeper analysis when the voting thread is up... but you're definately on the right track, that I can say for now :)

Yeah that's his.

I can't thank you enough, Mazeppa ^_^

If anyone's interested, I completed my .MUS version of my song (it's the same song, but with a little story behind it :) ). That story sort of explains the minor part in a Christmas song o.o; I'm going to go put up my entry now, I hope I do well!

EDIT: For those of you who can't open the file, here's the background info to the song:

"As Christmas approaches, everyone rejoices as families are brought closer together, and joy fills the air. When the Twilight is reached, Christmas is over and everyone is filled with the post-holiday blues. Not for long, as New Year's is just around the corner..."

I just played around a bit and came up with this short and loopable fanfare (it could be used in an RPG; if anyone wants to use it, give me credit and ask me :P )

All I can say is that it lacks the fanfare feel... And it's mostly due to the weak instrumentation (the choice of instruments). :mellow:

;) Well, I actually thought of the tune first, so I guess it can't be called a fanfare :P The first 9 measures (including pickup measure) did sort of sound like a king's theme or something to that effect, but I guess the flute's and the piano's rhythms ruined the feel (in the second part) :P It gave it a more percussive/pop effect(?). Well, I changed it around a little, let's see :mellow: Btw, I plan to add harmony to the trumpet part in the last 8 measures(?), so... yeah :heh:

EDIT 2: Ooh, let's celebrate the 100th post on this thread xD Okay, back to our regular activities :P

I still don't see it as a fanfare, it's more like an anthem alla chamber ensemble. The melody is all right, but it's not interesting... Even with your rhythmic harmony and countermelodies.

;) I modified the bass in the piano at some parts to make it sound more kingly (I guess x.x) This is the first song I'm writing in this genre, so is it okay (yet)? :huh:

It still lacks that maestoso and bright feeling, and it's mostly due to your use of instruments.

It's neat--

I like it; keep working with it.

Changed orchestration and added a timpani; did the orchestration get better? I'll add some timpani rolls and dynamics later xP

I listend to the midi of your christmas twilight. It's a very nice piece but I don't hear the christmas. I heard a very good "Peaceful Days" theme. It sounded like something that would be played after the climax of an anime and everything is back to normal.

That cello still annoys me cos of the stretchiness and non-enthusiasm :mellow:, but the brass parts are fine. Keep at it.

So it was the cello ;) I chose it for it's round sound (and it's stretchiness xD), which makes it sound majestic (well, IMO). Thanks for the feedback :)

KK, shh, wait 'till the judging :hey: NotePad is pretty limited, I couldn't get a bell pad/celeste or tubular bells for that song ;) Peaceful Days is a pretty good theme, though, I'll have to admit :heh: Thanks for the feedback, although I'll be reading it in the judging round again :heh:

EDIT: I feel bad for double posting like crazy, so I'll try to edit a post instead of double posting all the time :) Don't comment on the minor part, please, I'm still not done with that part (I don't even know if I'll keep it in the song :P )

Noone notices I update my songs, so I'll double post if I have to post up a song :heh: I finally squeezed out an ending, and I kept the "slow" part in the song. I'm not done yet with the "slow" part or the ending, so, nyeh :bleh:

EDIT: I think I'm done with this song (except for measure 64, still have to clear that up :bleh: )...

I'm done! I just need to tweak some spots here and there in the minor part, but other than that, I think it's pretty much okay... What do you think?

Since I'm pretty much done with the piece above (comment please if you think something needs to be fixed before I file this in my "Finished Songs" section :heh: ), I came up with this... thing o.o;

Haven't posted in a while :P Sorry, was kind of stuck in Writer's Block. The last idea didn't really motivate me, so I started on a new song. It's another waltz :D Have no idea what to call this one, so... Flute, violin and piano, easy enough, right? Feedback would be appreciated ^_^

Oh, and if anyone with a Finale 2007 product (Printmusic, Allegro, etc.) that can convert .MUS to a midi please convert "royalcrest.MUS" to a midi (AKA fanfare3.MUS) and post it up here? Someone on another forum requests a midi to be made. Please and thank you :)

I REALLY can't say anything about royal crest (must be the playback through Notepad)... other than... I don't feel like the Cello is a good instrument to place in a brass ensemble... especially without other strings or woodwinds.

The waltz you made... add some slur marks. ;)

Maybe instead of the Cello you could maybe use the euphonium, they both are baritone voices, but the euphonium might blend with the other brass better than the cello.

~Don't know if I spelled euphonium correctly.

Yeah, I was thinking about the euphonium, but isn't the cello part I made a bit too high for it? Well, sure, it's playable, but unless the player is better than others, then it might be hard to play (would any euphonium players/experts/knowledgeables like to correct me?). Also, I thought that the cello gave it a majestic feel...

I'll get to the slur marks on the waltz ;)

Maestoso (majestic) can be played by any instruments, you know. :mellow: It's just the timbre that differs instruments from each other. A replacement for the cello could be Wagner tuba, alto horn, or alto trombone. Though I'd suggest Wagner tuba as it's more popular than the other two (and sounds better too).

As for the waltz, it's pretty nice, though there are places where it can be improved, but it's more melody/harmony-wise, therefore it's more up to personal preference than technical.

Oh, okay, thanks :) It's just that different instruments play maestoso differently, and the cello plays it in a stretchy way :huh:

For the waltz, does anyone think the violin'll overpower the flute if they're in the same register?

alto horn, wagner tuba, and alto trombone players are probobly rare to find.

Range of the euphonium...
http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texte/images/euphoniumrange.jpg

Oh, thanks ^_^ I'll just give the cello's higher parts to a french horn :)

:think: Sometimes they play the same notes, and sometimes the flute is an octave higher, so it's your choice ;) .

Oh okay, thanks ^_^

This is a GREAT example of orchestration (Beethoven's Egmont overture). See Meas. 16-19 for the Flute and Violin Doubling he used... it creates that smooth effect ;) . (I typed it all up myself, but it's incomplete).

Wow, that was really helpful, thanks :D It does sound smooth when they're doubled an octave, I'm going to experiment doubling with tenths :)

This is a GREAT example of orchestration (Beethoven's Egmont overture). See Meas. 16-19 for the Flute and Violin Doubling he used... it creates that smooth effect ;) . (I typed it all up myself, but it's incomplete).

Actually, flute against violin at the same octave isn't always a great idea. :mellow: Beethoven used it for colouring effect (notice how it only lasted for 3 bars). Flute and violins' tone quality is quite different, and if you directly double them at the same octave, an awkward sound is going to come out. If you do it octave (assuming flute being higher) the violins will lose brilliance and the flute will sound shrill over the time.

PS: If you really want a good octave doubling with flute (assuming you want the other instrument to stand out more), make sure the flute isn't at the brilliant register.

Thanks a lot, your advice has been really helpful to my songs and my (oh so limited) musical knowledge :) By the way, what IS the flute's brilliant register? :mellow:

EDIT: Hasn't changed much, I'm still studying on flute/violin doubling :sweat: Do the chords in measure 15 sound ok? I'm not quite sure if they're right x_x

The brilliant register is the one that "pierces" (probably around the 2nd G above the staff and higher). I'll comment on your song soon...

"there's not much in your cello part that can't be played by a trombone.
you might consider reworking the 2nd horn part and the "cello" part and redividing them among a "new" horn part and a trombone.

There's one thing I'd warn you about, however. Piano and brass is not a natural mix of timbres, so it could be problematic in spots. I'd thicken the piano part a bit to compensate for the fact that the brass are likely going to overwhelm it even in the softest parts. Avoid those "single lines" in the piano part. Thicken them up with chordal tones and octave doublings. You might consider changing some of the piano part's register as well to place it in a more resonant register.

How about adding a bass trombone (derived from the piano's left hand, and some of those low cello notes) as well as a tenor trombone and then rethinking the piano part?

make it 2 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones... and piano."

Those were comments on royalcrest from another forum o.o; I don't think it'd work without the timpani, unless I strip the piano part down to provide the percussive effect of a timpani and distribute the piano's parts to the other instruments (notepad only allows 8 staves m(__)m)

That song's giving me a headache, I think I'll leave it alone for now x_x

Made a few changes, and thought of a title (I thought this waltz simulates the afterfeel of a roller coaster and all that good stuff in a fair/carnival).

Placing the parts tenths apart isn't a good idea, because the violin's sweeter sound (or it could be the midi :P) is higher up, but I want to bring out the violin, but the flute would be at it's brilliant register, so ;) I'll use tenths if I want to bring out the flute (even though it's sweeter sound is in it's lower register ;)) Maybe I should change the key...

Oh, and as a bonus, I've added one of my earlier songs (possibly my earliest, since it's the first page in my not-lost-anymore music tablet)(handwritten, so I just keyed it in). I kind of had some help from my friend, but all he did was make a few chords Gm9 instead of Gm (he made his own version in 6/16 x_x). It's not done, so :bleh:

Not bad on the waltz...

On hopeless, the rhythm will get boring if it keeps being repeated (sixteenth notes in the bass part is what I suggest, or make it more lively).

My friend said that, too, and he suggested arpeggiated everything. It makes it sound like each chord is being barfed up x_x I was also thinking of adding a bass to make the bass more interesting (I'm not good with drums, so :bleh: ), but I figured that the constant rhythm would entrance people (ostinato). ;)

Remember this piece? Still not done with it, but a friend wants to play it, so I changed it around a little ;) Oh, he's not performing it or anything, he just wants to play it for fun :sweat:

EDIT: When Trumpet 2 plays two parts, those are just ideas, and last 5-6 measures I put up are also ideas, so don't go there ;)

Don't double the leading tone!
Edit: The leading tone is the f# in this case if you didn't know.

Don't double the leading tone!

I agree. The eighth notes with the mordents sound weird...

Playing/singing those oldie's using the pentatonic scale inspired me to create my own pentatonic scale song (I think it uses the pentatonic scale... doesn't it? :unsure: ) I'm also stuck. This is only a portion of the song (~20 measures). Tell me if there are any problems with it so far, thank you :)

It's pretty well done :) . I think it is based on the pentatonic scale (haven't went through it for a while, so how would I know :lol: ?).

That doesn't sound pentatonic to me.

Deathraider is right. It's more like jazz chords alla pop/rock style. Thus, I'm not gonna comment about it, as this style is not my expertise.

It sounds very nice, maybe you could go the Aerosmith style or something with this: add guitars and a bit more brass.
I think if you'd finish this it'll be awesome, I already love the start!
Although, I'd recommended using a trombone instead of the trumpet, at the parts with the staccato and then a longer note. (If you know what I mean)

Really? Because I tried to stick to the scale, but I guess something went awry :P

Psh, I'm not that great with guitar :P or trombone. But, I decided to use them both anyway XD I also changed the voice to a solo alto sax, which I've never written for before, because this is to sort of experiment with instruments I'm having difficulty with, so... meh. I also put in some drum fills, yay :D

I'm still not done XD Where I left off, I might either repeat a strain or two, or I might just end it with a guitar solo and a scruff or something.

EDIT: I think I'm finished. Tell me what you think. I also decided to call it "Twisted Train," even though it's not exactly an original phrase :P

This may help you...

Ignore the Trumpet + Alto Sax doubling at the beginning. It's an arrangement I made, but unfortunately, couldn't finish. (2007)

I am SO bad with guitar. So I just decided to double it with piano, but I don't know if it will work that way.

EDIT: It was basically an arrangement from String Orchestra ---> Jazz Ensemble which is SO hard...

About your song: There's not much I can say about it :P .

Really? Because I tried to stick to the scale, but I guess something went awry

What do you think a "pentatonic scale" is, then?

It's just the major scale without the 4th and 7th, right? I think the song fits the criteria except for those D#'s and occasional Fs, and most of the notes in some of the weird chord progressions (C => F# => Bm => E => Am, etc.) I guess those things discredit it as a pentatonic-scale-based song, then ;)

Clarinet solo with piano accompaniment. Short, simple and sweet. Sounds better in Concert B in my opinion, but it's gonna be a pain to play x_x

Some of us can't tongue as fast :P , so insert some slurs. I could play that (with some more tonguing practice). At least give the piano the melody sometime ;).

Added the slurs and piano feature (Please ignore the weird triplet at the end, NotePad won't let me finish that last triplet, and that goes for all of the songs I used triplets in (if triplets take up the whole measure) x_x ).

:P Just like my songs, the form's a bit "strict". But that's how most Solo + Piano songs are.

I felt the songs needed some more rests. It just went blabbering on for the whole beginning section and the ending section. ._.

Changed the guitar of your piece 'Fun' a bit. Hope you like what I've done. If you do I'd suggest going on like that. Also, I believe some notes fall out of guitar range - not sure!

Sounds cool, thanks PFK :)

Done with a new song, written pretty much in the same style as "Twisted Train." For lack of a better title, I named it from the words I got the main idea from (the first few notes of the trumpet melody). Actually, the words were Mary, mary, from my cousin, who moved to the mainland, but that wouldn't be a suitable title :P. I miss her :( (By the way, her name's not Mary, she just calls people Mary when they're being stupid :P). Mind the moderately difficult trumpet part :P The piano originally was an electric guitar and another electric bass, but I wanted that bass part to stand out more, and the guitar part was questionable (its playability). The trumpet part, I had to put some things down an octave because it'd be too high. I didn't wanna change the key cuz I didn't wanna rewrite the trumpeKind of a Band-Aid ending, so :\

I'm also working on this other piece, which I didn't finish because I'm just stuck. Everything after 77 is just messy ideas :P Criticize, please :)

ALDRIC(H)!!!
i found you
o.0
~kelly

"Tell em, Tell em"- Try to avoid putting Tenor Sax and Alto Sax in unison so much...

"wqwp2"- The oboe part (meas. 6) where the player starts tounging the sixteenth notes is VERY hard. Trust me. I used to play oboe :P . The harmonies in 21-23 will be better if oboe is taken out. It's usually not great to put Clarinet higher than oboe. Same with 25. In the middle section, avoid low staccato notes for the bass part. You also could use some long tones.

Well, I was trying to go for that octave doubling texture thingy to solidify the melody and stuff...

Yeah, sorry, didn't put any slurring marks :P Do you mean the one near the beginning (I didn't really confirm if I wanted to include that part) or near the middle?

For the staccato note problem, I would put in more brass instruments and stuff to play the long tones (maybe a euphonium), but NotePad only allows 8 staves :P I'll leave it as is for now.

Thanks for the help :)

I included some very rough and short ideas I have... For "vipirec," I don't think I'm gonna have a recorder play the melody, but I want a pure woodwind tone (not a flute), maybe clarinet would work? For "precfant," something went wrong and I couldn't use wind chimes, but that's okay, it's only a rough draft...

Comment please :)

In "o"- Flute would be better off if you substituted it for Piccolo, because at
some times, the Flute is lower than the oboe. I'll PM you an image...

"vipirec"- Too short. Can't say anything :P .

"precfant"- Also too short.

Okay, I trashed all those ideas :P (in other words, put them away to be looked at later, which will probably be never).

Here's a new one, it was inspired by a melody I heard somewhere (the opening viola part). Tell me if I made any mistake with the contrabass, since I've never written for contrabass before. Is it okay to give them staccato parts? Would something like measure 5-6 sound weird?

It's just an idea. Feel free to point out any orchestration issues (I think a couple might be present...)

Cello and Contrabass have the same range, it's just that Contrabass sounds an octave lower ;) . Based on my studies, it is usually better to put Cello and Contrabass on longer notes (note: not long tones, longer notes). This is because the low strings usually take a little longer to "respond". Think of it as being reverb/echoish...

All I can say at the moment.

Oh, okay, thanks :) Well, since they take longer to respond, the stretchiness won't go well and will be hard to play with the "tightness" of the pizzicato strings, then, right? And it will sound weird like in the playback ;) Should I double the melody with piano, then, to make the downbeats of the melody more precise?

I was actually referring to your doubts on meas. 5-6 ;) . You are, somewhat, starting to get it... sometimes the stretchiness won't go well if there's a bunch of pizzicato. Yes, it will sound somewhat weird. Piano... :think: it won't go well with Piano, either. I was thinking about a Bassoon/Contrabassoon...

Here's a .mus with more instruments :) (Contrabassoon)+ a better idea of how it WOULD sound. I did the dynamic control and everything, but note that this is only MIDI... which is the same as all .mus documents <_<.


Notice on this version on how the pizzicato strings... are barely heard. Pizz. is very soft.

Okay, thanks :)

Sorry for double posting, but I have to bump this thread up :P

Finished with the song, but temporary title, not enough instruments (I was using the one w/ the contrabsn. as a guide so i couldnt edit onto that one) and possibly some orchestration problems. Btw, it's my longest song yet clocking in at 154 measures =O I know the ending is kinda weak, but cope :P

Here ya go... Comment please :)

Avoid so much glissando o.o . I doubt any string player (other than harp) can play glissando that fast. You have got to have more instruments playing at the ending (at once ;) ).

"wqwp2"- The oboe part (meas. 6) where the player starts tounging the sixteenth notes is VERY hard. Trust me. I used to play oboe :P . The harmonies in 21-23 will be better if oboe is taken out. It's usually not great to put Clarinet higher than oboe. Same with 25. In the middle section, avoid low staccato notes for the bass part. You also could use some long tones.

Quite untrue for those facts. Those oboe sixteenths are totally fine. I can say that cos I am more experienced with the oboe. Furthermore, I think it's alright to have staccato bass notes.

Edit: Also, in your last piece, most of the glisses were okay, don't be afraid to use them, but just don't overuse them as they get annoying after a while and remember gliss up are usually harder than gliss down.

Forgot to post up the finished version of "o2rev," but I didn't change much except for the ending and that I made all the glissandi in the strings opt. :heh: Only way to make sure it's playable...

More ideas... might not continue with these, even though they were kinda rushed... On "kabgan," mind the flute/french horn thing at the end, the flute idea is for later on in the song if I further it... Also just ramblings, not in any particular structure.

In "danceoffiregoddess"~ Try to avoid closely spacing almost all of the strings. And avoid putting Viola higher than Violin II o.o .

"kabgan"~ It's going to be hard to hear the Flute at times. Plus there's some stuff that I can't think of right now.

"rolpla"~ Too short to be commented...

The first one was quite annoying with all the glissandi everywhere, it's also quite repetitive in style and feel throughout. As for the second one, it felt like you were treating your ensemble like a piano, which isn't quite a bright idea. As for your third one, I suggest you to loop it, cos it felt too much like game music.

Wow, fast responses o.o; Where have I put Viola higher than Violin? Other than the dolce part :P For the first one, maybe I'll make that part longer and edit the dolce part, maybe squeeze in another instrument and put the strings on two staves :P

Well, maybe I'll make it a piano solo or something for the second one :P And that third one was intended to be RPG-ish, I'll loop it when I'm finished :D

Where have I put Viola higher than Violin? Other than the dolce part :P

Sorry, ignore what I said about that before (Viola higher than Violin). But one thing though: for most of that song, you put Viola and Violin II in 3rds, which will get very repetitive after a while.

I actually find the idea of having viola playing higher than violin quite interesting, now that you mentioned it. I say this because viola has a very special timbre out of all the stringed instruments. The somewhat nasal and metallic quality of viola can be an interesting effect if you put it on top of the violins. :O

Yeah, it has that stinging sound in its higher notes which I love so much...

EDIT: In case anyone wants to hear it, hears how "Dance..." would sound like w/o glissandi in the strings... Easier on the ears and probably easier to play :P Kinda lost some of the energy, though... Ack I still have to lengthen the dolce part and maybe stick a major part in to change the feel around... I'll do that later (meaning like a couple of months from now :P) and work on "kabgan." Does anyone else think it sounds like BGM for a movie or something?

EDIT 2: Don't wanna double post on a song I've already posted, but I worked on "kabgan2" a little. I'm gonna call it "Iridescence" for now (I just learned that word :P). No doubt of orchestration problems, but I can't fix some of because of NotePad's limitations x_x I have dial-up, so I can't download any demos, and even if I did, I'd only have it for like a month, so what's the point? :P I'm saving up for PrintMusic or maybe even Allegro, but that might take a while... Lolz it's a good thing NotePad saves backup files cuz NotePad froze and I lost "kabgan2," but it was all good cuz of the backup file :P

I might change the quartet part to a quartet with moving notes and a synth (and give that piano-like viola part to a harp or something), but right now, it's finished. I'll broaden the instrumentation out later and whatnot, but I'm kinda sick of this song now :P

kabgan2~
Flutes hate keys with sharps, unlike string instruments :P . Horn is quite low at meas. 26-27. Be sure to write div. instead of not at meas. 34, 37-38 and other similar parts for Violin (also meas. 6-10, meas. 12-20, meas. 22-29 with Cello) . Meas. 37-38; you might as well put Violin in unison with Flute. The extremely high note at meas. 41 is sort of annoying (Flute). I believe that your Flute + Tenor Sax parts would be better if it were an Alto Sax instead of Tenor Sax. I'm not sure about the rolled chords in the Guitar Part (meas. 45-49).

danceofthefiregoddess~

Meas. 65-72 just got more annoying :mellow: . In meas. 138-144, I did not like the clashing of notes x_x .

kabgan2:

Your orchestration is way too clustered, it's going to turn out quite 'clustered' for your audience to perceive your melody.

I am QUITE aware that flutists hate sharps, I'm in band, I'm in the clarinet section, I sit right behind them, I hear them shout "Ugh, sharps!" I can also play flute a bit :P I put sharps in anyway cuz the key was fitting (or was it to annoy flutists? :whistle: ).

It's not impossible for the horn to play, and I might give to to baritone/trombone to play or whatever later.

I'm not crazy, I know those are impossible for the strings, it's for string quartet, I just don't have enough staves. Measure 6-10, layer 2 is Vln. I, layer 1 are double stops.

I might change it to double in octaves with piccolo (piccolo playing the high note), but I'm keeping it cuz it's part of the melody and you might be judging on playback a BIT too much.

I will split up tenor to all of the other saxes once I get enough staves.

What did you not like about the rolled chords? I think they're playable (I can play the guitar, but I never actually checked if they're possible, haha).

Annoying is opinionated *cough*, so tell me what was annoying about those measures. Annoying to play? Annoying to Listen To?

Seriously I didn't put those clashes in there something must be wrong with the playback or something went wrong when I copied it cuz looking on just the score and not listening to playback, it was just fine. Something's wrong with the viola playback cuz when you take it out, it's just fine, and on a score it's just fine, and it's identical to the gliss. included version which sounds fine. Don't judge on playback too much cuz I can't control it :P For example, the trumpet and the tenor sax would be louder.

EDIT: Where was the orchestration too clustered? More importantly, what is a clustered orchestration? :P If you're talking about that mushy low part at the end, that was supposed to be a dramatic contrast to the distinct and high climax, if not, then please explain :)

EDIT 2: Do you mean how there's so much going on that the melody is blurred out? Maybe I could start with a solo with the main melody (unaccompanied or maybe flute w/guitar accompaniment, or maybe opening with guitar chords), then a duet and then measure 1 or something like that.

I am QUITE aware that flutists hate sharps, I'm in band, I'm in the clarinet section, I sit right behind them, I hear them shout "Ugh, sharps!" I can also play flute a bit :P I put sharps in anyway cuz the key was fitting (or was it to annoy flutists? :whistle: ).

It's not impossible for the horn to play, and I might give to to baritone/trombone to play or whatever later.

I'm not crazy, I know those are impossible for the strings, it's for string quartet, I just don't have enough staves. Measure 6-10, layer 2 is Vln. I, layer 1 are double stops.

I might change it to double in octaves with piccolo (piccolo playing the high note), but I'm keeping it cuz it's part of the melody and you might be judging on playback a BIT too much.

I will split up tenor to all of the other saxes once I get enough staves.

What did you not like about the rolled chords? I think they're playable (I can play the guitar, but I never actually checked if they're possible, haha).

Annoying is opinionated *cough*, so tell me what was annoying about those measures. Annoying to play? Annoying to Listen To?

Seriously I didn't put those clashes in there something must be wrong with the playback or something went wrong when I copied it cuz looking on just the score and not listening to playback, it was just fine. Something's wrong with the viola playback cuz when you take it out, it's just fine, and on a score it's just fine, and it's identical to the gliss. included version which sounds fine. Don't judge on playback too much cuz I can't control it :P For example, the trumpet and the tenor sax would be louder.

EDIT: Where was the orchestration too clustered? More importantly, what is a clustered orchestration? :P If you're talking about that mushy low part at the end, that was supposed to be a dramatic contrast to the distinct and high climax, if not, then please explain :)

EDIT 2: Do you mean how there's so much going on that the melody is blurred out? Maybe I could start with a solo with the main melody (unaccompanied or maybe flute w/guitar accompaniment, or maybe opening with guitar chords), then a duet and then measure 1 or something like that.

I know it's possible, but the horn is so low, compared to how it's "range" should be. Horns should never be treated as bass instruments, rather, as an alto/tenor instrument.

Yes, it may be better with Piccolo. (x_x *reminds self that ajamesu is using Finale Notepad*)


Rolled chords~ some of the rolled chords are more than 5 notes, sometimes 7 (I think).

What I meant by "Annoying" were the weird quarter notes meas. 65-72 (danceofthefiregoddess); listening... but I don't think you can put staccato any shorter, can you?.

Now referring to kabgan2 again, I believe that Sir_Dotdotdot is referring to these measures:

Meas. 22-27. All you need to do is look at the whole score. It's sort of messy x_x . Referring to your second edit, that is basically it.

Meas. 35-38, 39-47, all have examples of this. 25-29 is even worse, in my opinion x_x , with the clustered orchestration...

Here's what makes it very "clustered":

~Meas. 25-29; either you put Flute and Violin in unison, or take one out. Try to avoid octave doubling(s) between the two instruments. Then there's some other counterpoints going on x_x .
~Plus some other stuff I will have to mention at a later time.

It's somewhat like Clarinetist said, but it's not totally my point. Clustered orchestration was present throughout as you placed all your instruments too 'close' (in both the sense of register and counterpoint) together for most of the time, so it's really tiring after a while. It's okay to voice them closely at times, but you overdid it. Cluster doesn't necessary have to mean too together in range, but rather, in your counterpoint; they're all basically played in the same rhythms thus they will turn out chord-y and chunky, if you get what I mean. :mellow:

Yeah, I see... Ahh I'll fix it somehow :P

Oh and guitars have 6 strings, and all of those were 6 note chords, although I still didn't check if they're playable x.x

"some of the counterpoint feels forced. For example the flute part seems to play a little too independantly from the rest of the ensemble in the beginning, creating some frictions that are unappealing. It's important when creating independant lines, as you have here, that those lines still function together as a harmonic unit. When one line has a note that is dissonant in relation to the harmony below or above it, it should be prepared and resolved.

I think if you went over your piece and adjusted the various lines, line by line, playing each against all the others, you'd see where there are frictions that need resolution or changing."~From Young Composers

So I need to make the flute part softer, change it around or maybe omit it all together... Maybe all I have to do is just take out some of the counterpoint and just turn it into a piano solo or maybe a duet with a piano to make it simpler, haha.

New idea :P This one's a fugue. I fell in love with Bach's "Little Fugue," although I think I may have "borrowed" too many ideas, haha. Does it sound too much like "Little Fugue"? This is my first attempt at a true fugue (maybe a mini-fugue), and from the point at where I left it off I plan to do a minor/major switch on the main melody (again, like in "Little Fugue" :P) and then some other stuff (maybe I'll borrow more ideas...).

I need help on measure 26, by the way, it sounds strange :\

EDIT: Please comment :P

Meas. 26: I hear something weird with the bass part(s). I think it's because the Tuba "sticks out" too much. Plus the French Horn should not be treated as a bass instrument...

I'll comment more later.

Where have I treated the french horn as a bass instrument? I took your advice last time and have been avoiding using it as a bass instrument.

I think I figured it out: is it the sudden change of chords? Fm => D => A all in a measure, and at 150. Yikes. I've tried changing the Fm chord (I think it's unnecessary) to D, Dm and Ddim, and they don't work x_x I left it as is for now...

I added some articulation and slurring and stuff. I think the new part I added makes it sound un-Baroque-ish :P Oh well, haha.

^Sorry. I meant that the French Horn is sort of low. It can play it, but it won't blend as well. (EDIT: IGNORE. It was in Concert Pitch, which made me think about that).

I don't think that French Horns are great at doing glissandos. :\ After all, it's not as if they can move their fingers that fast (and I don't think there's a way for French Horns to do glissandos by changing the embouchure).

I've heard french horns do glissandi, and they're awesome at it in their higher notes :D Of course, it that song I heard them do glissandi in, they were doubled with alto saxes (the ENTIRE song, which was strange), but yeah, high glissandi is wow. Especially with the bells up :) Btw this was with freshman band, so if they can do it, anyone can, haha.

I've heard french horns do glissandi, and they're awesome at it in their higher notes :D Of course, it that song I heard them do glissandi in, they were doubled with alto saxes (the ENTIRE song, which was strange), but yeah, high glissandi is wow. Especially with the bells up :) Btw this was with freshman band, so if they can do it, anyone can, haha.

What kind of glissandi is this? :unsure:

Is it ''air'' glissandi, or is it the chromatic scale glissandi? :\ Because I have never heard a French Horn perform a glissando before.

It is HIGHLY possible to perform glissando on horns. I remember they're better at glissing up than down. But yes, it's possible and it's not strange.

As for Ajamesu's comment about horn and alto sax doubling: didn't you know saxophones are the most compatible with french horns due to the fact that saxophone's original design was based on a horn mixed with a clarinet?

Oh, I knew it was a clarinet, I just didn't know which brass instrument, so that makes a lot more sense :) So that's why they're always in sectionals together... But why double them verbatim? Won't that get boring after a while?

*sigh* I think I beat this fugue thing to death, I don't ever wanna work on it again x_x For lack of better title, here ya go... Haha, it'd be kinda hard to perform...

Just so you know, for your first theme, you are in g minor, not d minor, so I would say that's what you should start in and base your accidentals off of that. It changes pretty quick though, so I guess it all depends.

In a fugue, I wouldn't double instruments if you don't have to, either.

Besides, that, it was very enjoyable.

I agree, it was very nice. It'd require a pretty talented 1st trumpet though. :P

Most of the song remains in C min., though, so that's why I deemed it C min. Yeah, it does switch around a lot :P It'd also require a talented 2nd trumpet cuz the part's just as hard, haha.

Ok, remember that little RPG thing a while ago that I should've looped? I think I'm done with this one, just want to finish all of the songs in my "Works in Progress" folder cuz it's filling up, haha. Here's "New Friends." I named it that cuz I imagined each of the instruments as a protagonist walking in and out of the main character's adventure, helping him/her along the way :)

EDIT: Fixed some stuff up.

That sounds great! It really conveys the feeling that you said you imagined. Also, I really like your harmonies - I could take a few lessons from you on that. :P

Overall, awesome job. :lol:

o.O Is it just me, or does this sound a lot like one of those tunes in those old Pokemon games? But on the technical side, the percussions felt quite annoying throughout... x_x Other than that, I have no comment.

I really don't like how the percussion is used. Plus the ending was almost "out of nowhere".

The meas. 1-7 Trombone and Trumpet call and response was sort of repetitive after a while. Then you decide to do the same with the Trombone and Violin x_x.

It didn't seem to go anywhere for me. But then again, you tried to make it RPGish, so it fits.

Yeah, the percussion got pretty annoying after awhile. Timpani are used to emphasize moods, not like a common instrument.

Overall, the melodies and supporting layers sound pretty good--I like the melodies.

P. S. - Dot is correct, sounds very 'Pokemon-ish'. :heh:

It's supposed to loop again and again so the ending was really just if it was performed or something cuz you can't have a neverending loop if performed, huh? Just a makeshift ending. Also, the call/answer thing, it's only there as an attention-getter. Later on they meld together into the background and then disappear, so it's not that repetitive in my opinion. EDIT: I did decide to take some of it out cuz I just realized it's gonna become more repetitive if it's a loop :P

I was thinking about that too, I was wondering which game it reminded me of... Haha, maybe it's because of all those people walking around playing Pokemon Pearl/Diamond nonstop XD

So, I just pretty much have to lighten the percussion? Yeah, I guess this is good practice for me to learn how to use percussion. Okay, maybe most of the woodblock and triangle parts weren't necessary. The timpani... yeah, I guess it did get annoying, haha, I'll edit some parts out. I'll edit the revised version onto this post later :)

EDIT: Simplified the percussional parts and put some finishing touches :)

Oh-em-gee. I have no idea where this idea came from. I wrote it, but I don't know how as I don't usually come up with ideas like this, which so totally deviates from my norm. I'm betting it was a song that was stuck in my head and my mind just randomly coughed it up again, but I'm interested in where this will go, even though I don't have any more ideas for it (my idea was basically the first four measures, haha). This is my first piano solo in a while...

Pretty interesting. I tried it out on my piano and it's pretty difficult but fun to play.lol. Pretty strange use of counter points, reminds me of debussy.

Oooo, I like it! It reminds me of Grieg.

Thanks :)

I found out where I got the idea for this song: "porko" from Sepharite's compositions. It's not original x_x I think it's different enough from it though, so I'll just keep on with it cuz it's been fun to write, haha. It kinda needs cleaning up though (musically and visually :heh: ), so comments are appreciated I guess :\

*bump* Sorry for the double post, but I finished it (really hastily though with weird dissonances and messy notation) mainly because I wanted to finish this before I study counterpoint because I want to work on something I already did. I also can see what mistakes I made later on, so it's more for me, but here it is anyways :) I hope I named it correctly, cuz I put the adjective after the noun cuz Spanish is like derived from Latin yeah? Moenia Acerbus... btw it's suppose to mean dark castle...

I really love this piece, other than the ending chord. I know more 'contemporary' stuff sounds. . .'odd' to some but this really gave me the twisted ideas and emotions of a Dark Castle.

But yeah, the counterpoint is nice, just re-create that ending chord.

I actually don't think this piece was contemporary at all. The chord progressions and structures are actually quite standard, so I guess that's why it brought me away from the thought of 'contemporary'. I also felt that the melody was repeated too much. You could've done more variations or whatnot to make it more colourful. The last chord was indeed quite out of character.

The last chord was very weird; the song is in E minor, and it's as if you combined a major chord and a minor chord in one roll :mellow:. Take that high G# out and the F out, and add another measure with a cadence...

You're right, it's not contemporary, which is why I didn't state it earlier, cuz I wasn't sure what this would be classified under :)

Yeah, I kinda put it there to enhance the twisted, mad, insane, spontaneous feel instead of an evil feel. There's a slight difference between the two, but it's kinda important (it's kinda like the difference between good and evil except less pronounced), cuz it could be interpreted in different ways, like the chord, or the title. Dark could mean evil or obscured, not seen, misunderstood... The song kinda tells a story of how a person turned insane... It's fun to see how the story changes every time it's played :D Yeah, it's kind of a personal thing, so I'll just leave it at that. I wanted to end on a cliffhanger chord, so I didn't want to use a strong cadence... To be honest, it sounds weird to me too cuz it does kinda ruin the mood, so I'll just turn it into an Em chord and leave it at that until this brilliant idea for a new chord comes (which will probably be never, haha).

Oh, okay, sounds like a good idea to variate the melody :)

EDIT: The difference between the two is the very last measure.

Okay, serious lack of ideas... I was bored and I saw someone arrange their school's alma mater so I decided to steal their template for a marching band (w/o percussion) and wrote my school's alma mater, but not in the style of an accompaniment. I added some new ideas and changed around a few chords, and I also think it's a good exercise for orchestration stuff :) Also, note that I did not buy PrintMusic or Finale or whatever, I just saved a copy of the other person's alma mater and used it to write this... Please point out any orchestration problems cuz I'm pretty sure some exist, thank you :)

This is pretty good, sounds almost like a national anthem. I can't find many flaws in the orchestration (although you probably want to run this through SirDotdotdot).

I've always found saxophone/horn scales with other instruments to be awkward (and other technical stuff) with other instruments, but that's just my personal opinion. It sounds very smudgy for some reason. I would usually put alto saxophone in unison (not all of the time) with second clarinet or horn, which I've seen you've done.

...

Here's a problem (:heh: ): Measure 6 (including pickup): I don't know how many people I've told this to, but woodwinds do not work well with open spacing (horns are the best at open spacing). Look; in concert pitch, you separated the flute/piccolo, clarinet 1, clarinet 2 in 3 octaves (if you think about it, literally 4 octaves) @_@ with only an alto sax in between clarinet 1 and 2.

If I think about it, putting tenor saxophone with the second clarinet doesn't sound too great, because it can be overpowering (according to my ears, if I think of how the instruments actually sound, instead of MIDI :think: ).

I can't think of much more right now, so I'll post more later, if anything :bleh: .

I've always found saxophone/horn scales with other instruments to be awkward (and other technical stuff) with other instruments, but that's just my personal opinion. It sounds very smudgy for some reason. I would usually put alto saxophone in unison (not all of the time) with second clarinet or horn, which I've seen you've done.



It's just your playback problem. Horn and sax are the most compatible instruments. :mellow:


Here's a problem ( :heh: ): Measure 6 (including pickup): I don't know how many people I've told this to, but woodwinds do not work well with open spacing (horns are the best at open spacing). Look; in concert pitch, you separated the flute/piccolo, clarinet 1, clarinet 2 in 3 octaves (if you think about it, literally 4 octaves) with only an alto sax in between clarinet 1 and 2.



It's not a good idea, no doubt, but some octaves can be preserved, for band orchestration purpose. Though, second clarinet can be voiced elsewhere.

As for Clarinetist's other comment about tenor sax and second clarinet, it's okay, it works fine as long as you don't put tenor sax in the low register.

It's just your playback problem. Horn and sax are the most compatible instruments. :mellow:

Actually, I didn't refer to the actual doubling, I just don't like sixteenth note saxophones/horn scale-like figures in general (as I mentioned above, personal opinion). -_-

*bump* Wow, it's been a while.

Thanks everyone. Oh, and to those of you wondering, this major lack of ideas thing is really getting to me. I'm not even motivated to compose anymore, even though I really want to. I tried looking out at the city at sunset, going to the beach, going hiking, even going to China. I was sure China would give me some inspiration. *sigh* So, just saying how majorly stuck I am just to show everyone I didn't die. Hope I finish one in time for the composition contest. If not, I'll just send in an old work or something, or maybe not even enter. Hope to post again soon, with a composition this time =P

I'll just send in an old work or something, or maybe not even enter.

I would prefer if you did the latter actually, since if you did just send in an old piece of work you would be opposing the actual point of this competition.

Oh, okay, thanks =)