Look Mummy, no hand
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Posted on Nov 18, 2009 12:30 am
Bleak
A small pie will soon be eaten
Member Since: Aug 26, 2004
Hey lads,
Recently I smashed up my little finger pretty bad playing Cricket.
This means that the guitar will be down for a few months.
So i thought I'd have a crack at one of them there symphony do hickys.
I thought I'd post a snippet before I really got started just to get some feedback as this will be a fairly large undertaking and I'd like to know the pitfalls and general going's on of such an enterprise.
I can't even imagine the things I don't even know I don't know about this so any help would be appreciated.
It's called bleakus opus (joke name for now) in my music section.
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cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Nov 18, 2009 02:50 am cricket? people actually play that?
I jest, I jest.
Are you really trying to do a full symphonic score? Or just make a piece using classical instruments?
I listened to the track you posted. Not sure what kind of feedback you're looking for, but I will say, you had some of those sting players going crazy with the tremolo.
Nov 18, 2009 07:37 am Nice job bleak :] i certainly enjoyed it. Sorry about the hand btw, d*mn them cricket accidents! Most dangerous sport on the planet!!! ;] i jest as well.
Well, i'm certainly no classical composer. But i know some from when i took my theory class in school. How brushed up are you with "voice leading." If you've never really heard of this theory before i can bring out the old textbook and type down the rules/guidelines on here :] i found it pretty interesting! Its a nice decision making piece of knowledge, designed to help separate 2 or 4 voices in a piece like this.
That being said, there's absolutely nothing wrong with the way you composed this, it was pleasant sounding to my ears. But if you're not familiar with voice leading, it may help.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Nov 18, 2009 06:17 pm Indeed, you are going in the right direction. Although I will agree with coolo on the strings. Those would be some uberly pissed off string players and they'd have some sore arms from all that.
Otherwise you have a really good start at a kind of dark piece. I'll have to give it a better listen to be more objective later or tomorrow though. Gotta work on the scout slide show tonight.
J-botByte-MixerMember
Since: Dec 04, 2007
Nov 18, 2009 11:39 pm Yeah, I agree it sounds like a pretty good start. If you haven't already, I'd recommend picking up a book on orchestration, like the latest Edition of Kent Kennan's Technique of Orchestration, which one of my former instructors recommended to me. There's also Principals of Orchestration by Rimsky-Korsakov, which is pretty much a standard. Having a book on orchestration helps you get a good idea of the limitations of certain instruments (A harpist can't play such huge chords as a pianist, a cellist can't make as quick runs or arpeggios as a violinist, etc.) various idiosyncrasies unique to different instruments, as well as more modern playing techniques. It also teaches you the "proper" placement and grouping of instruments in the written score.
I do like the way the Kennan book is laid out, and I feel it's pretty straightforward. I know the Kennan book also has different instrument load-outs for varying sizes of orchestras, as well as a good "map" of the different positions which will help with panning the different layers.
I would highly recommend starting relatively simple. I'd keep the score under 10 minutes, but it can go longer if need be. You can also think of an orchestral piece as an open canvas for a painting. You can have the main theme, different textures of that theme, color/brightness, different ways the theme can develop, contrasting ideas to the theme, the structure of the piece itself, and also dynamics and all their subtleties.
Quoting myself from another thread here, but another thought from my instructor, was that you could think of a piece of music as being a conversation. The subject matter can change over the course of the discussion. Other people can enter and leave the discussion, adding their own input into it, and eventually the conversation ends after people have to leave or part ways, or run out of time, etc. It could end all at once, or die out gradually. It could be a very loud discussion between many people in a large room, say at a convention, with a lot of different things going on at once, or something quieter, more intimate like a chat between a close group of friends.
Anyway, I'd recommend coming up with your main melodic idea, and then think about the overall structure of the piece. Plan out a general idea or map of the piece. Play around with ideas, how the theme could develop in various ways. And for starters, don't worry about the limitations of the players themselves. That's what going back and editing is for hehe. Well, unless you're Beethoven, and demand! that it be done this way. ;)
Hopefully some of that made sense. My head's still a bit foggy from all this damned coughing from being sick. And yeah, my ears are a bit stopped up still as well. Bleh.
cooloFrisco's Most UnderratedMember
Since: Jan 28, 2003
Nov 19, 2009 02:45 am Jbot, that part about being a conversation really resonated with me. That's a cool way to think about it. Dope.
J-botByte-MixerMember
Since: Dec 04, 2007
Nov 19, 2009 03:41 pm Yeah, I while I was at Univ. of North FL, I was fortunate to do some independent studies with a great instructor on composition. The guy's name is Gary Smart. He really has a great way of explaining things with some really visual analogies. He also had a way of speaking that really made things sink in as well. He's a heck of a pianist as well ;)
BleakA small pie will soon be eatenMember
Since: Aug 26, 2004
Nov 20, 2009 07:52 pm well,
Quite a bit to digest here :)
I really appreciate all the ideas, particularly from J-bot. That information will be a great help.
The aim is to do a full score but perhaps that might be a little ambitious considering it's a first attempt.
Oh, and the violinists will play what ever i damn well tell them to play :)
Nov 29, 2009 01:34 pm I think it sounds really good. Sounds like it should be in a movie.
And to J-bot, I currently go to UNF. I'm hoping to get into the music program and major in music education starting after the spring semester. I haven't met Dr. Smart yet, but I have heard many good things about him.
HuePinnipedal Czar (: 3= Member
Since: Apr 11, 2004
Nov 29, 2009 10:18 pm Bleak.... if anyone could pull this off, it'd be you.
Really looking forward to hearing what you come up with.
Heal quickly, bud!
