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So I could see this point being made asking a 'player' maybe, but not a violinist or orchestral string player to use no vibrato, because I agree, the inexperienced player will definitely use vibrato due to 'monkey mind' and habit, rather than reading what is on the page to be expressed to create the music and the feel. If it states N.V. -- which, I'm a violinist. Truly. I would hope you spell that out as violin is not 1924 instrument but rather one of the oldest... in the world. So most of us are taught, music language and not modern (American) language for violin vernacular. This is not really an opinion. And for a great laugh. I googled N.V. and it gave me 'the great State of Nevada' (2024 google) The other day. I knew what N.V. meant in a Worship Orchestra Rehearsal... me being a violinist did NOT play vibrato, because, the composer is going for a certain musical feeling, which can be defined in the overall piece when you listen to ALL of it, it's universal so everyone can somewhat agree that music will usually lean a typical common way of feeling and expression. Not by single words. This is music we are talking about and not dictionary concise definitions. Defining anything with such long windedness (which I am doing now, but I love violin more than food so here is my two cents) cannot be done, truly, because music, by definition goes beyond definition and is expressed from the human heart, mind, spirit, body, etc. When the music (which I did not write) calls for N.V. -- there is a very good reason it is there whether I agree with it or not. That makes sense to me that I first understand that and truly try to understand the idea behind the notation and what the composer is asking for to create the overall effect with the entire orchestra. It matters. With the violin. Every tiny stance, breath, thought matters. That's why we get a paradox from the greatest players being 'free' of all thought by studying many hours a day. Love the discussion. I could talk violin for years... Nevermind, already have. millenia.

I wrote a symphonic piece of a string quartet I orchestrated. I've never written for full orchestra, and I have a reading for this piece soon. I'd love to get some feedback. The big problem I'm at is key changes for contrast and expanding current contrasting sections.

I think the orchestration is pretty good - I kind of agree with Peter that while the first group of themes are very capably written and do have drama, the second part (somewhere after the 2 minute mark) sounds more "majestic", it definitely gave me a Bruckner vibe.

Exactly, the clash of is and should merges to become must… Sadly nothing seems a “must” now. Not even a “should” worths a thing now. Only “is” here and “is” there and value is lost… Maybe I lament here since all “must”s and “should”s are lost and only “is”s remains. There won’t be any tragedy if there are no “must”s and “should”s but only “is”s. A wild animal dies in the forest being hunted or starved. No other animals will lament for it since it “is”, except only when you think it “shouldn’t” or “mustn’t” die you start lamenting it. So there’s nothing to lament even there’s only “is”, as Buddhism sometimes teaches us.

@Marc Deflin yeah make sure to check out @Thatguy v2.0’s guitar pieces including his Dandelion. It’s amazing. (Wait it’s Dandelions… I miss an s…)

Someone mentioned me here. Octatonically related keys are indeed chromatic mediants. In @Gabriel Carlisle’s usage of keys involving those keys would be the Octatonic scale D E F G Ab Bb B C# D, but the modulation to those keys is really common to the point of cliche now I think 🤪! But I myself sometimes use that too in my non film music composition LoL… Henry

Hi @Frank Normandy, I like this dance. It’s simple and effective! As @Jqh73o said, if you use octatonically related keys you may modulate to F minor, B minor or Ab minor, that may suit the dark mood of the tango, and hexatonically related keys would be F# major/minor and Bb major/minor. In your pieces it only modulates to relative major twice, so maybe you can explore more keys in different episodes! Thx for sharing. Henry

Hi @officialmusictracks, I watch 8 bit music theory in YT (thx to recommendation of @PeterthePapercomPoser!) and their analysis is great. You put your analysis in the comment section, so even though it’s informative, it will be less interactive and interesting, in my own personal opinion. But welcome to YC! Henry

I am writing a sextet which features a six voice fugue so I think I can answer the question. For me six voice part writing is exponentially more difficult to write than a four voice one if you want to avoid any parallel fifths and octaves. For me the doubling depends, sometimes I use three root, two fifths and one third, sometimes I use three thirds, but never have more than three voices in the thirds since it would be too bright. It’s avoidable, even though it takes way more effort to avoid it than a four voice texture. I sometimes slip the details and have two voices in parallel octaves, but I never allow any voices to have parallel fifths since it’s sound is more disruptive than a parallel octave. Yeah you don’t need to overthink it, just write it and you will know! Basically SATB part writing is just one style of writing to ensure the voice leading is smooth and rich, but if you wanna have other effects, it’s up to you to choose the “rules” to have. Henry

Thank you for your feedback, @PeterthePapercomPoser. Soon I will post the audio score.

https://musescore.com/user/58321165/scores/19807804

Hello @Sonata_5 and welcome to the forum! I perused your score and it seems, on the surface, like a solid sonata form movement! There's a main theme which modulates from the tonic key of F major to C major. Then, for the second theme, you take the listener to A minor with a codetta that brings the piece back to C major in preparation for the repeat. There's a development which starts in C minor, uses liberal sequencing and modulation ending in C major in preparation for a return back to the main theme in F major. The second theme is in F major this time and modulates to D minor instead of A minor. Then, there's a codetta in C major bringing the piece to a conclusion in F major. I would really love to hear how this sounds! Like @Jqh73o mentioned, you could play it yourself or generate a rendition from your program, just to give us a general idea (although it's also fun to imagine). By the way, I think I noticed a mistake in your score - in measures 6 beat 3 you have this: I think the left hand should have a B natural as well since the right hand has one for a nice V/V G7 chord. Thanks for sharing!

The music of the Zelda series is some of the most memorable and influential in video games. And in some of the games it even has a prominent role, being incorporated into the gameplay and as part of a cohesive narrative. This is the reason why i wanted to see how it is made and the cultural and game design influences that go into it. This is why I was happy to learn that the actual music from the games made during the Nintendo 64 era (and even beyond!) lives inside the games' ROM files and code. After playing around a with some tools, I managed to get the original music files used. Everything is there, from the instruments used to the instructions on how they should be played, and the note sequences. Now we can get almost perfect reproductions of the music as standard music files. Thus, i decided to do a throughout analysis of the music and get as in-depth as possible into how it is made and what went into the compositions and sound design. For the moment, i just finished the analysis of the two games of the Nintendo 64 era; with the resources, it was easy to make music visualization videos where you can see the exact notes played and all the instrument that go into each of the tracks. you can also check out additional media that helps to point out some aspects of the music. Here is a full playlist with each entry and the analysis; my wish is also to get more contributions and comments about each piece in order to get a complete understanding of the music, along with your thoughts on the tracks: Playlist I hope this will be great to gain more appreciation for the music and a valuable resource for musicians and audio enthusiasts. An extensive investigation went into the music and I’m sure you will find lots of interesting info, specially of you are interested in media composition and how, with limited resources, the composers of the era managed to create the music in older system. I also want to continue with the project and perhaps start incorporating different games and consoles in order to create video game music encyclopedia that can become a good reference for music enthusiasts. There are other classic Nintendo games already in there so if you have other soundtracks where you would like a similar treatment please let me know. The original intention was to do the project in an even more interactive way, something where you can click on the particular set of instruments you want to hear at a time, but I have not found anything out there that can do that. If any of you know some way to do it I would be glad to know. Something like this: https://streamable.com/x73wbt In any case, a lot of care was put into the making of these games and it shows in the music. so i hope you find it interesting. Please tell me what you think and you can ask me any questions about the soundtracks or how video game music was made, I am going to try to dig a little more info. There are interesting tidbits like some of the equipment the composers used and even where they specifically got some of the sounds and inspirations” For example, for Goron City: https://youtu.be/9U2vpsgvdx0?t=103

Hello @dhslamas! I like this performance! I didn't hear much that I think could qualify as mistakes. The beginning starts so underwhelmingly making me expect something of lower quality. But that's just the statement of the theme which turns out to be great material for a theme and variations piece which you accomplished here! I wish you included a score, especially considering that this is a variations piece for 4 guitars. Did you include tablature? That is a great approach to lend your variations each a different degree of brightness/darkness and harmonic and melodic identity and contrast. The Mixolydian #4 mode is usually referred to as the Acoustic scale and is most famously used in the main theme from "The Simpsons" by Danny Elfman. Thanks for sharing!

Absolutely, it sounds like a smart investment in your growth as a composer! Working with musicians directly can provide invaluable insights and feedback that can really elevate your work.

Hello, thanks for listening! Yes, definitely influenced by The Smiths, I will admit. Here are the lyrics: Playing in a rock n' roll band, You want to be out on the road, on your throne, But instead you walk the cold streets, Grey around you, all you can see Take me to a new place the horizon, I'm looking out on a brand new day, Take me to a new place the horizon, I'm looking out on a brand new day, Disappointment goes down like, Drinking ale over many nights, Living upside down, turn it all around Take me to a new place the horizon, I'm looking out on a brand new day, Take me to a new place the horizon, I'm looking out on a brand new day

Hi, this is my composition "3 variações sobre "cego". The music is a theme with variations and was composed on the northeastern folklore theme "O cego", which is a melody that was already used by M. Camargo Guarnieri in his "Sonatina nº3 for solo piano". The variations are modal, the first being in the Lydian mode, the second in the Dorian mode and the third in the Mixolydian mode with the fourth degree elevated.

Hello, just stopping by, and I find what you have so far really well-written!(: Really dramatic all the way, reminiscent of Beethoven’s (and possibly other prolific classical ensemble composers’) symphonies. As for advice, which you specifically asked for, I’ll give you whatever I can suggest off my limited experience, me being a self-taught composer with very little formal training. You could experiment with brass (e.g. trumpets, tubas), as in my experience, they tend to have high dynamic range compared with the other instrument families, except probably percussion. The brass would surely add to the already dramatic feeling evoked, and will most likely make the listening experience more intense. Speaking of percussion, maybe you can also try using a triangle at select parts or the song to add contrasting timbre. If I remember right, triangle sounds are a bit playful and gentle. Each of the strings has some interesting rhythms. Maybe you can streamline and combine those rhythms, so each string doesn’t seem to be off in its separate planet. The contrabasses can be given a more elaborate part too. I believe you shouldn’t worry too much about the woodwinds. They don’t have to play for most of your symphony. In fact, having them play at unexpected times can grab the listeners’ attention. Now for the non-orchestration thoughts: Sonata-allegro form (I assume you’re familiar with it since you’re writing a symphony, but I’ll mention it anyway) is your friend. You can get a lot going if you experiment with multiple themes, transitions, and momentary changes in keys. Then again, it doesn’t have to be that complex. The 4 single contrabass notes in the end of your excerpt could already spark some inspiration leading to something ear-catching, like slowly adding more instruments in for stacking harmonies. And lastly, maybe you can come up with a more tangible melody, since during my listening and sheet music studying, I find it to be mostly chords and arpeggios. I’m not trying to say your current material is lacking (it actually sounds pretty good), just suggesting ways to make your symphony more memorable. Hope this helps, and hope my explanations are not confusing, ~Frank

Thanks @Jqh73o for your thorough lesson on chromatic mediants, and sorry for taking lots of your time. Either way, you’re really helpful, and I’m awed by your sheer knowledge on music theory. I’ll take some time to digest this information, and hopefully use it to improve my compositional skills in the near future. Thank you again! ~Frank

So this is the introduction and the PDF score is linked on the description. I just want to know if in this small excerpt I could have orchestrated something in a better way, that would help me a lot already (I'm also specially confused a bit about the woodwinds). Also, any other tips are welcome, even if they are not about the orchestration

Hi, These are the last pieces I wrote without key changes. They are fairly short so I bundled them together and pretended that this was equivalent. As always, comments are welcome. I am not a keyboard player, so pointers in this direction would be appreciated.

Hi, I have made some changes. The first part has been changed to make it a little more even and consistent. The second part has been transposed to C because there were very many accidentals and I thought it would simplify things. It has also been significantly updated. The third part remains essentially the same. I also updated the copyright from the default. As always, comments are welcome as I am working in a vacuum.

I think I don't have the patience to examine every single interval for the sake of avoiding parallel octaves, fifths, and tritones. That's the biggest problem... 😄

Thanks ... I corrected the notation ... originally those were sextuplets and I wanted a different sound - so I just rested the notes to create triplets .... 😬 As always thanks for the review ... sorry you experienced my composition very differently then I intended. I said, that if someone posted on this thread again - I would post an update. This update has very minor tweaks - with a very slightly reworked ending. All comments always appreciated. Mark PS: As you see this is the 8th revision and the last!

Be a genius. Probably the best thing. Short of that, listen to a TON of Mozart piano sonatas, and other classical composers. Work on creating a memorable antecedent/consequent theme. Mozart had a gift for strong, flowing, memorable melodic ideas--not too simple, not too complex. Lay out a road map for composition. The form: sonata form? Theme and variations? Aria/Ternary? Rondo (ABACA)?.... This assumes you understand classical forms, basic music theory, harmonic chord progressions, and have at least functional piano skills. Be prepared to revise. The first try will not work. The second will be a little better....etc...