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I think it's a good start, it's really got some "classic murder mystery" feeling to it.
But to your score: I'm sorry to say it looks a bit shoddily done. For one you absolutely must write dynamics. Like it is, no musician would have an idea how loud to play, so there's no way you could achieve any balance between the instruments or really go for the dramatic feeling your title suggests.
Then there are also some other issues:
- The Glockenspiel always transposes two octaves upwards, so don't write it that high. Write it two octaves lower.
- The long held notes in the flutes are, well, quite long. Consider allowing them to breathe some time. It all depends on the dynamics of course how long they can play without breathing. In the clarinets it should work in one breath, but again, it depends on the dynamics.
- Clearly indicate your orchestration. How many of each instrument are there? All the instrument names seem to indicate that there's one of them playing, but you still use several notes at once in their parts, so it must be more than one. Also, if there are more than one instrument playing one part, always indicate whether it's just one instrument playing a specific passage, or several. Is the long clarinet note played by one clarinet, by two, or by seventeen clarinets? What about the following horn passage? Etc.
- Your articulation/bowing indication for the strings in the beginning is unclear. What do you mean with "slurring all 16th runs"? Do you mean one slur per group of four 16th? Why not just write those slurs for easier readability then? It looks a bit like laziness.
And if always four 16th are slurred together, the question remains how you actually mean "down bow when each begins (if possible)". Do you honestly want each group to be played on downbow? That won't be very practical. Instead of such ambiguous notes, rather write out your slurs and articulation, and use downbow and upbow marks if you find it necessary. (Which you did of course in many places)
- Your instruments seem to be written in C, even though in front it says "Horn in F" and "Clarinet in Bb". Either make a clear note that your score is in C, or transpose the instruments.
- On that matter: Horns are generally always transposed chromatically and written without key signatures, not as a "key transposition". I.e. write your horn parts without key signatures and use accidentals where necessary.
- Articulation also needs to be clearly indicated for all other instruments, especially in passages like bar 24 for the winds. Is everything staccato? Slurred groups of 4? Of 2? Etc.
- I assume your "Man 1/2"/"Woman 1/2" indications in the choir mean solo passages. If so, clearly write that it's a solo.
- Always write the text out below sung notes, even if the same text repeats. This again seems more like laziness than anything else.
- If you have two singers in one line, it might be easier to read if you used two layers.
- The timpani rhythm in the beginning would be easier and more logical to read as:
8th rest - dotted quarter - 8th rest - dotted quarter. If you strictly don't want the first note damped before hitting the second one, use a tied over 8th note instead of the second 8th rest, but most timpanists won't dampen that note anyways (even though they technically should).
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Apr 26 2008, 6:22 PM
Linear Mode
