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They are college musicians (most are music majors), but some key players like the oboist and some of the strings are people taking the class as an elective. And this was a sight-reading session our orchestration class does in collaboration with the orchestra. Our final project is to orchestrate a piano piece and then we do (2) reading sessions with the orchestra. One with the rough draft (what I've posted), and then the final session (this coming Wednesday), with our revisions.

Hi there ..... I just listened to the rehearsal. Unfortunately, part of the problem might be the skill level of the players ... in the rehearsal posted .... the are problems with rhythms and entrances etc .... What levels are the players: community orchestra, high school, college? I understand this might also be the first rehearsal of the work. Good luck with the progress of the work. I myself had a community orchestra perform one of my works ... no comment! Mark

This is a good attempt! Some thoughts: Probably just omit the piccolo and have a 2nd flute player double 29-32 with the 1st flute...or just omit the 2nd flute/piccolo all together Same thing with the 2nd clarinet. I would have 2 players, with the 2nd doubling on Bb and bass clarinet. Quirky (mostly unusual) thing I noticed is that you have the 2nd instrument plays higher range/melodic material than the first. For example Trumpet 2 plays the melody (with the higher range) in measure 14-20. Same thing in clarinets and bassoons around measure 33. Nothing wrong with it...just unusual. Brass scoring a little awkward. I personally would take out trombones and tuba, and maybe the 2nd trumpet away as well. I would've had both horns play the parts you have for Horn 2 and Trumpet 1, with the melody solely with 1 trumpet player in measure 14 onward Not a fan of the glockenspiel in bar 14. I think that counter-line can be played better with the harp and oboe combination instead of the harp doubling the trumpet Nit-picky, but I would also have the basses do a pizzicato in 11 and 13. I would also have the cellos do pizzicato in measure 14 until the pickup to 18. I personally would also double the cello line octave lower in the bass to broaden the depth of sound (this is probably not written in the original score, but would be a nice orchestration effect). The material reoccurring in 21 can be scored differently than what came before in 10. I would have the melody in maybe oboe or English horn...or maybe French horn, with the harmony in clarinet, bassoon and/or horns. The bassoon doubling at bar 30 seems a bit much, maybe divide in octaves? I would not have bass clarinet playing there. I would also have the harp strum out the chords (or arpeggiate them somehow) the last couple of bars Scoring in general from 28-31 is a bit awkward In general, I think more care to the dynamic markings might also be good. I think I know why you did them (probably because of the audio mockup)...but just looks odd when there randomly fff in the passage where I think its suppose to be just f or mf. I also disagree about the use of "extended techniques" in this piece. The most I would do is maybe have the strings muted.

I'm not minding being spammed! I didn't have time to participate in the thread, but it's still informative. You obviously know what you are doing! Maybe I'll talk with you if I ever get away from the piano and chamber music and get to some orchestration...

I did say I thought I wrote this in a doctor's office waiting room; maybe measure 5 was where they stuck in the needle...🫣

Thanks for checking, but everything looks normal on my end. If anyone else is experiencing issues with this forum though, let me know.

something seriously wrong with the forum..............Globally

Your passion is very evident - and yes, I agree, I think DMs will keep from spamming the thread lol I will definitely try and post the final reading here though...I really hope I can polish this up into something Price worthy

lol, trust me when I say I am still learning every day. I am not that good compared to career composers or even some dedicated composition majors. Point is, it doesn’t matter. You are at a pivotal point in your journey and whether or not you think you’re good now, those thoughts won’t matter when you see your works on the big stage in a few years. For me, I am hungry for knowledge and consume information like a computer. I love music with my whole being and will only put my best in when exercising it. To add, maybe a DM would be better so we stop spamming the notifications of other users on this thread lol

Brooooo how are you so good at this?? All of your notes make perfect sense 😭 An issue I'm running into is that since the notes are moving basically the whole time, I have trouble deciding which pitch should be held for that sustained chord sounds. There are a lot of inverted i triads (E minor), so in those spots, I obviously have lower strings and low brass hold chord tones. But for other parts where the chord may change each beat or the LH just has a chromatic line, I don't know which note should be held to make the part as effective as possible.

Okay I'm done!!! With the input at least..still need to refine things and beef it up a little more Thank you @MK_Piano for your guidance...that sustain pedal point you mentioned made it all click for me...I think I have something that is 1000% better than my original arrangement. Fantasie Nègre - ORCHESTRATION FINAL(Computer).mp3

@BlackkBeethoven Decided to look at it more in-depth: B. Beethoven - Fantaise Orchestration (ANNOTATED).pdf

Several months ago, I posted a piece which was at the time an exercise in sonata allegro form, which I decided to make the third movement of a sonata in d minor. I've had this theme in my head for a while, so I decided it would be the perfect time to use it. I went down a big rabbit hole of nonfunctional modal harmony, which was quite fun but really challenging to work out (though I wrote the secondary theme in five minutes during a chemistry lecture). sonata in d minor movement 1 audio.mp3 sonata in d minor movement 1 score.pdf

I will post probably tomorrow morning of more progress

My Finale playback is terrible lol so no

Do you have an audio render for the score? (Edit: I see what you meant now by the G-natural lol)

So we have progress!! Fantasie Negre - ORCHESTRATION FINAL.pdf -- score starts at 0:25 in the video In the above screenshot from the score video, in that last measure, there is a V7 (6-5 sus.)...on the copy I was using, there is an error (G is held), and I kind of liked that sound for the orchestration, so I'm going to keep it as is. In my original orchestration, I liked some of the sounds/fullness I was getting at around 0:32, 0:48-1:02, 2:17-2:23, which I tried to maintain, but I also did a look at my score and saw where I had really clean drop-offs between players/parts, so that is my main concern. That and keeping the fullness going between parts, and that sustained pedal sound. I'm at 0:48 in the video so far in my edits. Let me know how I did! Thanks again for all the feedback!

Hello! This piece was one of my favourites to compose, sadly the software that i use to render the lyrics (Cantamus) didnt work nicely for the words: Cricket, Leap'd, Jump'd, Alive, Pass'd and Tra la la. So sorry for that! I hope one day they can update the software and its able to render it correctly! (If you guys have suggestions for free realistic vocal synthesizers i would be pleased to check them!) The story is about a woman and her beloved singer cricket, who sadly has passed. Alternative title (Detto lo) "lament for the death of a singer cricket." Lyrics: I once had a cricket green and strong and he went: tra la la la He leap'd and jump'd and sang, He did not use the common slang tra la la la Then one dark day he pass'd my cricket went away No more music no more dance, goodbye my cricket. tra la la la. I once had a friend that sang for me and he went: tra la la la But now he's not alive, And i still sing in the wildlife tra la la la No money in this world can buy my cricket back No gold coins nor golden rings can buy my cricket tra la la la. Poem written by: MYSELF! mixdown-_1_.mp3

The next piece from my Preludes and Fugues project is the Prelude in D major: Since I can only use a particular key once, I first had to think carefully about what kind of prelude I wanted to compose when using the festive key of D major. Who doesn’t think of Handel’s “Hallelujah,” Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” or the “Gloria” from Bach’s Mass in B minor when considering what composers have done with this special key? To avoid imitating „trumpets and timpani“ on the piano, I came up with the idea to use a main theme which is very close to the theme of the „Gloria“ – or, more precisely, is literally derived from it. However, to make the prelude unique, I decided to face the challenge of setting it in the odd meter of 11/16. I really like such odd time signatures and try to use not only all keys but also every possible and impossible meters throughout my project. Because of this decision, the mood of the piece is not only festive but also humorous, so I needed a more serious form to round it out: sonata form. Exposition, first theme (mm. 1 – 8a). The „Gloria“-like first theme (highlighted in blue) is accompanied by runs of staccato 32th notes, which recur throughout the entire piece. It is introduced in the home key of D-major, but also appears shortened in C-sharp minor (mm. 5, tenor) and inverted in E major (mm. 6, soprano), thus giving the exposition a kind of a three part invention. Exposition, second theme (mm. 8B – 12a). The second theme (highlighted in plum-color) is characterized by staccato leaps and grace notes, which are contrasted by arpeggios serving as calming elements. The accompaniment, consisting of shortened 32nd notes, remains throughout, thereby emphasizing the humorous, bouncy character. Exposition, codetta (mm. 12b – 12). The thematic material of the codetta (the „third“ theme, highlighted in green) is more chordal and syncopated, leading the exposition to its end in the dominant key of A major. Development (mm. 17 – 28). In the development section, all three themes appear in various segments, starting in the dominant key of A major, but also modulating to the parallel F-sharp minor/major. Recapitulation (mm. 29 – 44a). The recapitulation is structurally and in length identical to the exposition, although having a different harmonic progression: The first theme starts in D-major, but appears shortened in B minor (mm. 33, tenor) and inverted in D major (mm. 34, soprano), thereby initially stabilizing the home key, while the third theme, with an appearance in C minor finally leads to the coda. Coda (mm. 44b - 48). In the coda, the second theme appears for the last time, accompanied by material from the third theme, leading to the ultimate entry of the first theme, here in G major, resulting in a deceptive cadence that resolves in B minor. After a rest, the piece ends abruptly with a surprising C minor – G minor – A7 – D major progression. Praeludium-V-D-major.mp3 Praeludium-V-D-major-with-coversheet.pdf

Hallo @Thatguy v2.0, this prelude is a piece I very loved and I wish I had composed it! 😀 It opens with a subject that – at the first glance – seems to be Baroque-like but introduces strong chromaticism in its second half, so that in mm. 5, when the second voice enters, it reminds me of Bach’s B minor fugue from the WTC I (BWV 869b). But now, in mm. 9, comes the surprise. The mood changes to a more „romantic“ feeling with the arpeggios. And that unexpected change now reminds me at numerous preludes (or fugues) from Shostakovich’s op. 87. I didn’t make an in-depth analysis, but I can see how you have constantly took benefit from using the initial thematic material, which for me emphasizes the effectiveness of counterpuntal technique. Even if I did not recognize more complete entries of the initial subject, I have the feeling that motifs from it recur, even sometimes in augmentation. I enjoyed your effort on articulation, including the pedalling and the rubato, and also the key signature change to Bb minor (or is it Db major?). All in all, a piece very much to my taste. Full of counterpoint, but not in the “Neo-Baroque” style, rather with contemporary harmonies and dissonances and a slight touch of Romanticism! By the way, I’m very curious to know how you’re organizing your preludes (since this is No. 16). Is it a complete cycle based on 16 of the 24 keys? I’m really looking forward to hearing more of them—and have I perhaps already missed one?

I have used all these extended techniques in other works; but I'm not sure they'd be appropriate here? Is there anywhere in particular I might use them? I did consider using harp glissandi. Think they would work in this piece; but I'm not sure they'd be an improvement? More likely they would make the music worse rather than better.

This makes sense, I hadn't thought about it, but it makes sense considering the pieces spiritual inspiration. Great minds think alike - last night when I was working on it, that's exactly where I decided the piece would end. Thank you so much @MK_Piano!! I'll be working on it non-stop this weekend, so I will post updates as I work through the piece.

Hi! I'm Harry Wood. I'm new to this forum and all things music honestly. I'm 30 years old, discovered piano a year ago and fell in love. I have no musical background, I've never played an instrument prior to this and I'm still learning how to read sheet music. I'm going for my grade 1 in piano later this year I hope. Started writing my own music 3 months ago as a way to express myself and my emotions, I'm very into neo classical artists such as Ludovico. I am struggling to know what to actually do with the pieces I have written. I think it sounds okay but I struggle to find people to show to see what others think of it. Below you can find 2 audio clips of my latest piano compositions, neither are finished and I will continue to work on them but I would love some feedback and opinions no matter how harsh it may be. I have fallen in love with writing music and I want to get better and that will only happen through honest feedback so please feel free to express your opinions and I will take it all on board. Kind Regards Harry. Far From Everything Far From Everything.mp3 As I am As I am.mp3

In my opinion, when the main theme starts, it should be in the trumpet. That spiritual style longs for a trumpet lead and if I were to continue the arrangement, I’d start in the trumpet versus woodwinds. Sort of, in a sultry way. With picking a spot to end, why try to tackle the whole piece? You experienced how the first reading session went. It’ll probably be under tempo, so pick a spot where the phrase feels conclusive. In my opinion, about one-minute, thirty seven seconds in (1:37 from the beginning) of the video, Price does a deceptive cadence in the third measure of the system. Instead, make it a PAC and resolve the piece before it goes into the developmental section. This is one suggestion and you can find more spots like this later in the work as more alternatives. So, you have options to pick from.

My original thought was to keep it in the flutes and oboes Again, super helpful!! Now unto my final dilemma - a cadence...I like the point I reached in my arrangement (time wise), but I need a "Price-esque" ending lol. My Orchestration professor suggested doing a simple V7-i, but that's too simple imo. And I think the piece is too active to abruptly end like that.