My first orchestral piece ever!

Hey everybody-this is a big step for me so any help I can get along the way is greatly appreciated. I've never been much of a composer, but it's something I've always wanted to do. I've been writing short things, improvising, and arranging Video Game Music for a long time now, but I got a bit of inspiration to write something orchestral. I'm at the very early stages, but I'd love to get tons of feedback along the way.

I'm making this in cakewalk sonar, simply because it's the medium I'm most comfortable in.

http://drumultima.arnoldascher.com/orchestra.mp3
EDIT: if the above link doesn't work, it's also here: http://drumultima.home.comcast.net/orchestra.mp3


So am I doing it right? I feel like I need to fill out the opening more, right now it sounds far too thin and underdeveloped for me, and the movement into the brass stuff sounds totally unprepared.

Thanks!!!

lol, this is a very good start.
I can feel the game music influence, but it isn't overwhelming. I love the color you make with the strings.

I thought the build up to the brass was okay. It could be better (maybe more subtle like the rest of the piece seems to be...), but it worked. I also think that the opening worked. I think the opening brass could be a little shorter, but it was by no means too long.

A score would be nice, but i don't imagine you can do that in cakewalk.. i don't know...

Overall, I say keep putting this level of pruduction into it and you will have a very nice piece.

Hi,

Very nice opening; minimalistic in its approach (which is something I don't always enjoy) yet held my interest due to the lovely melodies and counter-point.

When the woodwinds initially enter it might be more effective to make them a tad louder. The melodies are very interesting but are a tad difficult to properly appreciate at such a quiet level. The double bass/celli/bassoon ostinato sounds very nice in my opinion; catchy, well written, (I'd say you have an ear for good melodies based on that).

At 2:35 - The oboe (trumpet?) plays a minor 2nd (in relation to the Bflat chord) and in my opinion this dissonance is a bit innapropriate. Possibly would have sounded better above an A minor chord. Also, you introduce a few more dissonant moments later (eg 2:50) which in my opinion do not necassarily work within the context of this piece. The chord (including oboe melody) at 2:55 is very interesting however. My personal opinion - dissonance works better in a piece with more harmonic movement, where it would be much less unexpected.

On the whole I thought it was a very enjoyable piece and as a first orchestral piece shows a lot of promise! Your orchestration is nice; each melody is well suited to its assigned instrument/s. There is a lot of melodic flair within the piece.

As I mentioned earlier you could do with a bit more harmonic movement, rather than staying in the same key for the duration of the piece. Although I do not know your musical background, I think it would be a good idea for you to listen to more concert hall works and draw inspiration from them (but obviously don't stop listening to game music!). That's just my opinion - I'm basing this on my own experiences as my first forays into orchestral music were a bit static harmonically, and listening to a great deal of concert hall music was incredibly useful! What is fairly clear though, is that you have a good ear and from my point of view this is very impressive work for your first ever orchestral piece! Keep writing and by all means post the results!

PS - This would work incredibly well in the next Sim City game!

thanks for the replies so far!!

i should note that what I have written so far is only a small part of a much larger scale piece. The brass stuff will be a new section.

almacq, i'm a music student at peabody conservatory (for percussion, not composition-though I do live with a composer who goes by "oingo86" here!), so if you want to name specific composers to look into, I can do that Right now I feel the most influence coming from John Adams, Steve Reich, Stravinsky, Phillip Glass, and this chiptune artist who goes by "disasterpeace" lol. But if you have any other ideas, please let me know!

sorry for the double poast, but I did a fairly substantial update tonight. My dad (who's a tuba player) told me that the high Ab in the tuba would have to be marked as optional but the rest was fine... Aside from that i actually made a melody and stuff! Let me know what you think!

http://drumultima.arnoldascher.com/orchestra.mp3

ok I'm listening now - liking what I hear a lot!

The clarinet melody at the beginning is much easier to hear, and sounds really good!

The dissonances are still there But what really is important is that it sounds good to you! Harmony is a very personal thing!

Judging by the above list you are a minimalist (how did I guess!?). In that case I would recommend listening to Ravel's Daphnis and Chleo suites.
YouTube - Ravel - Vladimir Ashkenazy - Daphnis et Chloe -Daybreak(1/3)
This is the 2nd of the two suites. It's not strictly minimalism, but it certainly will help you out!

I've got to go right now, but I can come back later with more ideas later if you wish.

Keep up the good work by the way. I'm still very impressed by your piece!

I really like your piece. I wish that I could do something like this, but I don't have the technology available to me...It's disappointing not too, but listening to things that sound really well "assembled" are things that make not having it worth it in a way. The percussive effects were subtle which I liked because I think that most times they are often too much for a piece of music.

Very nice - the texture with the string pads is really beautiful. The harmonies are great - nice lush voicings. The rhythmic layering is really cool...it all builds quite well. And, I actually really like the sudden shift in colour at the end when you add more percussion and brassy stuff. Gives a nice shape to the whole thing...

Where's it gonna go from there?

I enjoyed the piece. I can't say I know much about minimalism though. So stylistically I don't know what to say.

I like the contrast between the beginning and the end. The beginning is a bit more upbeat, and pretty. Whereas the end, is more active, and doomful sounding. But I think a greater contrast in volume would be cool.

I know everyone says this, but I like the string effect. It sounds good, and me feel happy.

A more dramatic ending might be cool too. But the volume contrast idea I had earlier might take care of that. Just a thought.

Good song.

Originally Posted by robinjessome

Where's it gonna go from there?

who knows!

Actually i want to expand the second section a bit, so that it works proportionally with the buildup. after that, I want to play with more texture, I think. expect some mallet percussion, harp, and piano soon

thank ya'll for your feedback!!