For My Country

Hello everyone,

Summer break has started for me and I now have time (when i'm not at work) to learn the things I didn't know and become better from them. In the past few days I've learned that I do not know much about composition, but I am trying hard now to learn. This piece shows what progress I have made (I hope) so far and what is to come.

For My Country is about the things a knight does for his country. I'm not going to get to in detail of what I was trying to express and instead let you figure that out on your own. I hope you enjoy this piece.

Link:
Start Player

Any comments/advice or otherwise are welcomed. Thanks for listening.

So this piece is just supposed to convey one emotion? It sounds like the knight is doing somethin drastic for his country? don't know what it is but I think with the title like "for my country" it should have a national anthem kind of theme springing out of the middle of this piece contrasting the dark nature of what the knight may be doing with the good it will bring for his country. Just a thought..The begining Reminds me of the soundtrack of Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story.

Hello Reth,

Thanks for posting. I took the time to look up "Dragon:The Bruce Lee Story" and I can see how the main theme resembles this pieces or at least the beginning (mainly the percussion ideas.)
I wouldn't say this piece conveyed only one emotion although it portrays one more then the others.
I actually never thought of putting some kind of national anthem in the piece. That is an interesting idea.

Again thanks for posting.

Hi Bob!

I've listened to the piece a few times over, and I've got some thoughts for you, as requested.

First off, the growth throughout the piece is very well executed; it builds steadily but with a good sense of subtlety, nothing too over-the-top. I really enjoyed your use of glockenspiel for those high accents, they really worked.

Your trumpet around 1:40 was bothersome, but I think that's more the result of the sample itself than the writing. The dissonances it leads into are very tense and then your little arpeggio-ostinato ending fade is a good transition. Having said that, I thought it did end rather abruptly.

Which leads me to my next point. The piece sounds more like a cue (as in film or game terms) than a standalone piece. The reason is largely because it doesn't do a whole lot to keep the attention of the audience on its own, and it has the short span that tends to signify such pieces. I think that this would work really really well as the musical track for a fantasy game's trailer, or perhaps for a dramatic in-game cinematic. I got a very clear sense of that kind of idea progression throughout.

In terms of orchestration, you didn't do anything too far out, but you are definitely competent with the arrangement you used. Again, I really liked the glock accents and I thought your use of the sections was solid, if a bit detached. What I mean is that they didn't really feel like the sections of the orchestra were communicating too much between each other; you gave them each a self-contained role and then stuck to it for the most part. That's not necessarily a problem, I'm just pointing it out.

The recording is well put together, and your samples do their job admirably with the possible exception of that trumpet which sounded a bit on the bitingly harsh side...maybe mix it lower and double it with some warmer instruments if you don't have another trumpet sample?

Anyhow, overall this was a really strong effort. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your composing. Let me know if you need me to take a look at anything else.

Bob

I think I know some about your music and how it is to be used. With that said, I know your not composing this as a standalone piece, elsewise it would not of been posted in this section.

I like the trumepets as they are, I enjoy the dissonances the bring to the piece. I also like the slow build. I also think that you did a great job with the snare. The pqatterns in the snare fit perfectly throughout the piece.

Overall, a very fine production.

Well done

Ron

Hey Marius,
Thanks for posting. I see what you mean about the trumpet. The sample is a little harsh and I may have mixed it a bit loud compared to the rest of the piece. However, it does help with the heavy dissonances so I will mix it lower and double it with some warmer instruments or I can lower it and arrange the horns to play in unison and raise there volume since they will produce a smooth layer over or behind the trumpet.

I agree that this piece is more of a cue than a standalone piece. In a sense I was going for that although I recognize that as a double edged sword.

I also see the orchestration communicating issue. I left the melody to the woodwind and the brass with small sections of piano. The strings as well as the horns played resonance and harmony for basically the entire piece. The 2nd part of the piece the strings plays the same notes but as rythm. I did purposely do this though I realize it isn't the most advance method of orchestration.

Well, thanks for the detailed critique. It is greatly appreciated. (Glad you liked the glocks. )

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Hey Ron,

Thanks for the enthusiasm. Glad you liked the snare and the piece.

I like the trumpet too, it just needs a little work on the mixing side.

Thanks for posting.