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    • Hello everyone, I'm back, at least for the moment. I wanted to share one of my in-progress arranging projects and humbly ask for your criticism.  I decided to write a string quartet version of a Caroline Polachek song I love (linked at the bottom.) A PDF, Finale file, and audio file are linked below: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/ljosc9l0xfy0k6fc6r69d/h?rlkey=aml3pst90rdspugzuyiyjllb2&dl=0  If you use Finale, please open the Finale file. (You should have no issue if you hit download after the "Can't load this file type" prompt.) In my mp3 the violin 1 part is absent; I'm not sure why. This is apparently a glitch with the software. My apologies! I am working on transferring the audio to my DAW, but until then, I hope this audio is still helpful in some way to those who don't have Finale. Backstory and questions In my notation and score prep class at music school, we were given an extra credit challenge to post a composition or arrangement online and make it buyable over the next month -- I am aiming for mid-April 2024. At the moment I'm thinking I will sell my score on ArrangeMe. https://www.arrangeme.com/ My works mostly fall under the classical umbrella, but during my past year at college and especially in this current class I've notated very short excerpts and arrangements of pop and rock songs. This "Butterfly Net" arrangement is more extensive, though, and I'm having some doubts about it in terms of texture, rhythm, and narrative pace. I really want to do this beautiful song at least some justice and I would greatly appreciate your advice. I know that arrangements fall on a scale of very faithful to more transformative. For example, Josh Cohen's piano arrangement of "Paranoid Android" by Radiohead is closer to the latter, because Cohen created a spacious intro with a completely different mood than the original, and he extends and reworks later sections within the song. I would like to be faithful to Polachek's formal structure and honor her precise harmonies and melodic lines (I simplified some rhythms) -- because I don't have much time. A string quartet obviously has many limits and I have some specific questions: - I have the pizz. cello emulate the guitar in the beginning, and in the chorus the viola plays pizz. to add rhythmic interest where the percussion was. Is this effective, or distracting? - Am I changing textures too quickly throughout the piece so far? I would like to slowly build the energy and drama.  - In bar 19 I considered having the viola continue playing a rhythmic part, but I recognize that it's basic practice not to have all four instruments playing together for the entire piece. Without the viola, bar 19 onwards sounds silly and anemic to me. How could I add some lushness that the original has without exhausting my ensemble?  Thank you so much for reading and for listening! Please hear the original "Butterfly Net" below, and an audio file of my arrangement:    
    • Sorry for the late reply. Could you please explain what you mean by segments? Like just break into a new line at each end of a theme? I appreciate your response!
    • Just putting this out there: I just finished my piece! It can be found over here: I've just posted a new thread for it. If you've been following this work for some time (for some reason; either way I thank you 😉), you can go check out the finished work there. Thanks for the support, @PeterthePapercomPoser and @Henry Ng Tsz Kiu! Your kind words gave me enough strength to keep going 🙏
    • 'If They May Dance' is quasi-programmatic, depicting a waltz that continually rises and falls until reaching a bombastic conclusion. A main melody is weaved into the piece itself: it constantly changes into slightly different forms to keep the piece cohesive. This work is the summit of my composing career so far. It also marks the longest time I've ever spent on a singular piece (~4 months). I'm pretty happy with it, and I don't really have much else to say about it. My progress throughout is documented in this thread; if you're interested, feel free to check it out. As usual, all feedback is appreciated! Would love to hear from you all 😊
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