J Dunlap

I am entering one of my pieces for orchestra into an international composer's competition, and everything has gone well except one--the music program I have puts the key signtures on the wrong staff lines!! :cool: Is this a real problem or not? Will they go by the lines the parts of the key signature are on, or by the number of sharps or flats? (If I were judging a competition I would go by the number of flats instead of judging the guy as a nut who has Db and Gb for a two-flat signature, heh.) Please someone who knows reply right away so that I can get this off!

Which one is more common (especially for soloists)and what are the differences between them (other than the slightly different range)? What transposition is best for a solo part?

With the cellos, violas, and horns each playing their own harmony part mf, is two horns or four better for balance? (I gave the violas the part that I want to carry almost, but still not quite as loud as the other two.) The horns are playing upper middle register if that makes a difference, and the violas and cellos, pretty much their respective middle registers. All three are playing mostly quarter notes at allegro tempo

I can't give anything in percent, because there is so many different areas involved. :P In counterpoint, Handel is my main influence; Beethoven for structure, timpani, etc.; Tchaikovsky and Dvorak for melody and orchestration (Tchaikovsky for percussion and tone color especially); folk, pop, and country for chords/harmony (other than counterpoint); folk and modern music was also an influence for melody.

Thanks for the information about harp amplification. :P I might try that sometime, though since this is written for a normal acoustic orchestra, I decided to just use the celesta. It is quite a bit louder, right?

I could post the score (I know the MIDI version must be frustrating!), but I use Magic Score and I don't know how many people have it. I don't have Finale or Sibelius.

Here is the first movement--the other two will follow shortly. I particularly would like the solo parts critiqued as to playability, etc. (Sadly the MIDI format doesn't seem to have many of my instructions, and it isn't quantized.) The work is about 17 minutes total; the first movement is just under 7 minutes. Edit: I removed the file to make some important changes, and maybe quantize it. I will put it up sometime later (admin can delete the thread for now and I will make a new one, if he wants).

This is about flute/trumpet dynamics, but it is for the same concerto so I might as well use the same thread. :ninja: Which one is louder (if both were marked f): 1) a flute playing sixteenth notes (legato--which breathwise would be like half notes I guess) entirely above the treble clef, like A to A, or 2) a trumpet in its lower register, like A below the treble clef to A near the middle of the treble clef, playing eighth to half notes Would either drown the other out, or would they be fairly matched? I know the flute is louder than the violin, but I am not sure how it compares to LOW register trumpet.

I surely must have made you guys sick of me by now :) :P, but I have another question: can a solo violin do pizzicato loud enough in the lower three strings (mainly the D string) to properly accompany a middle register solo flute playing f (with violas divisi holding chords p in their lower register)?

Thanks for the helpful advice. :) I decreased the size of the orchestra in that passage to flutes (ripieno), clarinets, horns, tuba, timpani, 2nd violin, violas, cellos, basses, and only the flutes and the solo violin and trumpet are playing above the low or middle treble clef. And I will have the trumpet play f like the rest of the orchestra. Think it will work now? :D

Thanks for your help! I tried it an octave higher and it is just fine, so I will have it up an octave. I heard that a soloist can go up to G or G# near the top of the piano or piccolo range, is that true? This part still only goes up to the E below that, though. I think my trumpet might be drowned out, even though it is in high register (C in the treble clef to D above it)--maybe that should go to fff also, or would that drown out the violin? Wow, dynamics are the hardest part of concerto writing!

I have this section in my concerto where the entire orchestra is playing f, with the solo trumpet playing ff in the high register, and I want to put the violin in fff, playing the attached passage. I think this passage (attached) is practical fff, but I want to make sure, and would it be heard above the whole orchestra that is playing f? violin_part.mid

*Laughs* More to the point I have three weeks to write it in and don't want to deal with those extra flutes and trumpets. ;)

I am writing a concerto for violin, flute, and trumpet together, and I am wondering, should I leave out the regular orchestra flutes and trumpets, or is it typical to leave them in anyway? I suppose it is a matter of taste, but I am curious about how it is usually done.

I am a very emotional person, and easily moved, especially by music (my own and others'). :cool: Just the other day I was sitting listening to the climax of my newest orchestral work and crying. (Yes, I am that wierd!) I sometimes compose themes while feeling emotional, but develop them later. But I am also critical of my ideas. In a way I relate to Dvorak who was said to use his compositions as winter fuel because he had so many he didn't like :lol:, except for me they usually don't get down on paper unless I really like them--I only have time to write what I am satisfied with, hehe. :P