Thread: Check This Out
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Old Jun 15 2008, 1:31 AM
penguinsbyc penguinsbyc is offline

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Hi!
I only looked at The Enduring because you said it was your best so I'm just going to comment on that.
First of all- congrats on getting a performance. Definitely an awesome thing, and keep that up. Performances make the world go round. Or something like that..
Heres just a couple of things...

First thing I notice is the abundance of doubling going on. Although some doubling is a good thing, I would consider maybe scaling back on the unisons. The entire band doesn't need to be playing the whole time. Some of the greatest textures come from individual parts that aren't doubled.

Another thing, along the same lines, is the idea of contrasts. From measures 38-54 the same line is repeated, just in a new key. For more interest to be added to this section add some "contrasts". For example, the first time a smaller ensemble could play, and the entire band joins with the new key. Or a counter melody could be brought out a second time. There are a million different ideas to spice up sections like this.

I feel like the melodic line is lost in this piece. Although your ideas are all good, none of it really comes back later. Develop a theme or an idea and it will make any piece that much better.The best composers do so much with so little (think Beethoven's 5th).

And is there a particular reason you ended the piece with a unison note? The chordal material before the ending makes it seem as if a final chord is expected, not a final note.

Overall I think it is a nice piece, just take into consideration these things next time.
I look forward to hearing more!
-Corey
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