I better introduce myself al little as a beginnner. My name is Shirakawa Yuki, I'm a Grade 11 IB music student (haha, hello to all IB students in this forum). Currently, I am composing a Theme music as part of IB project. Here's my first composition "Necromancer Theme." (using sibelius). I hope you guys like it.

If it's finished, it didn't feel "complete" :\ . The Baritone/Bass with sop. and alto notes got boring.

Pretty good though. :)

Lol, it is not completed yet, but I have no idea how to finish it. Any suggestion?

Did you put alot of energy and thought into that piece?
If I get an idea of how you could end it I will post it
here
----->( you could end it by just lengthening the lowest bass-note at the end)

lol, thanks One Winged, you are the best!

This is my first official composition, so I tried putting all my effort into it.

I also made a random composition last year. I'm still inexperience back then (and still inexperience even now :heh: ). But I'm really proud of it and hope you guys would like it too.

First one: Very cool for a beginner. I liked the last part. Maybe if you could bring out a flowing soprano melody that flows independently of the other parts, but which blends with their harmony (ie homophonic, but not necessarily homorhythmic), and repeat the chord progression you have going.

Second song: not a bad melody, but the chord progression and the accompaniment were boring.

lol, I also got that coment from my teacher that I used too many arpeggio throughtout the music without thinking. But I really want to find other ways to accompany my composition. Can you suggest which one would best suit the second song? (becasue I am hopeless as pianist)

Thank you so much!

I liked this new song alot! sounds like something I could have made myself, back in the days. cant really help you out on accompaniment though, I would suggest you listen to music and just mimic things that you like into your own music =). Btw your teacher is wierd. I dont hear too many arpeggios in the new one.

toodiloo*

lol, thanks One Winged. Arpeggio were present in many of my previous compositions (free-time composing) so my teacher was annoyed at me. I promise you that when the IB music assessment is done, I'll post some of my previous and latest compositions (please don't laught at them ok?).

The Flute part is WAY off range. Measure 12~ got smudgy with the bass part.

lol, which composition are you refering to? I believe I didn't use flute in both my composition. Or is it the soprano part? Yes, that must be it, it didn't show red on Sibelius, but that's only a theoretical range (which is much wider than real life). I'll definately change it.

thank you Clarinetist, do you play flute by any chance?

I agree that arpeggios weren't the problem. I would have liked some arpeggios in it, or some partially broken chords (example: Nocturne in Eb Major by Chopin). Try to bring out a countermelody to accompany the main one.

I'm in IB Music, too, but I'm doing it HL, so I don't have to have my assessments in until next year.

lol, which composition are you refering to? I believe I didn't use flute in both my composition. Or is it the soprano part? Yes, that must be it, it didn't show red on Sibelius, but that's only a theoretical range (which is much wider than real life). I'll definately change it.

thank you Clarinetist, do you play flute by any chance?

It's "song1". I know the ranges through orchestration study. ^_^

wow, so you are doing music in university? lol, no wonder you are so good at music.

(yeh, I have a friend, so currently: 2 IB Music first year)
Is it hard doing HL? Lucky I did standard, so I only get to do compositions.
lol, I shall follow the rules and stop asking personal questions.

I am recording some of my latest (random) compositions at my school this tuesday, I promise I will post it up for you guys to comment (so don't laught). I'll make both you guys stun with my IB SL ability!

Thank both of you so much.

First... Welcome to Ichigo's!

Okay, so I listened to your second composition. For the first few seconds, the moving accompaniment was quite decent as an opener. But after a while, the piano became very dull. Also, the strings felt a little too thick, and this is probably due to the fact that the bass strings playing a little too loud with those boring long notes. You always presented your melody with the higher strings, which is sometimes good, but not always. The reason for this is because one very important rule about orchestration is that you must ALWAYS keep your sounds 'fresh' and interesting to the audience. By presenting the melody with one timbre (the higher strings in your case), can tire your audience very quickly. Therefore, a way to eliminate this is to have more instruments playing the melody in different ranges and etc... I think Clarinetist's comment about the flute was actually for the ocarina/whistle that you used. Since it's MIDI, I can't really define which instrument it was. But I think the notes are possible to be executed if you used a larger ocarina or low Irish whistle (one of my favourite ethnic instruments).

But again, it's not really random compared to many other beginner compositions. It's an exceptional try. I hope to see more of your work in the future.

^ I used Sibelius Scorch to view it ;) . That's why I was referring to it as a "Flute".

But I'm pretty sure the sounds were ocarina or whistle. I'm quite used to defining MIDI instruments, lol. Their horrid qualities are so memorable.

Now that I think about it, it is whistle :heh: .


wow, so you are doing music in university? lol, no wonder you are so good at music.

Actually, my knowledge of orchestration is from teaching myself (self-taught). Since the music classes where I live are so easy, I just extend my musical knowledge by just teaching myself.

(Everyone else where I live, they're still studying intervals XD . They also don't know the "basic terminology"; subito, tremolo, dolce, ritardando, rallentando, etc... plus tempo markings. But they only know cresc. and dim.) .

lol, so you are really ahead of your class. I hope I could learn more from you. (I know subito tremolo ritardando and rallentando, but never heard of dolce before, haha, still inexperience)

I hope I can still enter music university :)

By the way, my school is divided into houses (yellow, green,...) and I wanted to compose a choir chant for my house (the Yellow!).(I am more familiar with choir since I joined choir for 3 years now, but still have not much hope). I am really starting from scratch, and hope to gain more experience on the way. Hope you guys can help me out.

Thank you, you guys are so kind :lol:

wow, so you are doing music in university? lol, no wonder you are so good at music.


Actually in the US, IB is still in high school (because American high schools go two years longer than most European high schools), so I'm actually doing music in high school. My teacher could be a college professor, probably, though. Thanks for the compliment, though.

lol, I listened to your compositions and got an impression that you are already working as experienced-musicians, never thought that you are still studying :lol: won't music class be dull for talented musician like you?

I really look up to you and hope to be as close to your level as posible before finishing IB. I am sure that there are so much I could learn from here than my music class can offer.

Not at all! There's so much I still don't know! I'm really not that good at all, I just got lucky with some inspiration and some natural talent in composing. I'm having a bit of writer's block right now, though...

Anyway, back to YOUR music.

lol, (back to the topic) The yellow team house chant. I have an impression that some battle-like theme with choir like Liberli Fatali (FF8) should be nice to compose. I do have a friend who is a violinist in yellow house so string is available. It is just an impression, do you guys have some other impressions?

Here is my chant lyric (Randomly composed):

Omnis Villa Rextus
Gloria cronicus!
Bellator excello
bellum apparo
scholasticus sapientium
fatum ares judicium


Lord of all houses
Glory to yellow
Excellent warriors
prepare for war
Wise Scholars
decides fate of battle


Please comment and if anyone speak latin, please correct me. I never wrote a battle theme before, so I hope you guys would help we out along the way.

Thank you

I have finished my first Draft of the Yellow house chant "Gloria Crocicus." (after 2 hours of working:lol: ).

Here is my chant lyric:
Omnis Villa color Rextus
Gloria cronicus!
Bellator excello
bellum apparo
scholasticus sapientium
fatum ares judicium

Translation:
Lord of all houses
Glory to yellow
Excellent warriors
prepare for war
Wise Scholars
decides fate of battle

lol, it is not completed yet, I tried to improve it, but run out of ideas. Do you guys have any suggestion?

Why not make it a little less sad. more forte notes for the people! It needs more "jävlar anamma!", I was expecting "WE ARE THE BEST!" and got "we tried to be the best... but failed".
catch my drift?

lol, I do feel that when I listen to it myself too! what does "jävlar anamma" means? and how can I make it sound like we are the best? Can you give some technique and ideas?
(Abit too many questions, but it would really help me with this composition)

Thank you so much!

"jävlar anamma" kan be loosely translated into fighting spirit.
try using a major scale for starters. maybe add fifths to the bass, hmm...
thats all I can think of at present. hope you are satisfied with those pointers.

Edit: By the way, listen to the russian national anthem.

Don't necessarily make it major, but just make it a little more bombastic. School fight songs should not be mellow!

Do you guys know the time signature for common millitary march? or any suggestion of what time signature I should use?

lol, I am sure once I am working in right time signature, I can start composing on my own (using DeathRider and OneWinged's advice). Hope you guys would help we take a good start

For a march, use 2/4. ;)

Thank you so much clarinetist, I owe you, One winged and DeathRiders so much, I'll try to continue by myself from here and I promist I'll show you guys the outcome.