tenorman008

Thanks for the comment. So much has changed since I was last here. Its great to see some of the new composers online. I had trouble finding my piece since it was moved. Haha...

*Bump* hey I'm back...

Both ways of notating a roll are correct. I, myself, prefer trill notation because its easy to visualize. In most pieces I've played the notation has been trill. I would say about 55% use trill and 45% use tremolo. However, if you are writing for an inexperienced performer I would use tremolo because younger player are more used to tremolo like most snare rolls are notated with. As to the length question, it may be better to carry the end to the downbeat. When you roll on a timpani,it's all about fast, steady hands. (I try to move about 32nd notes if it's not too fast) It's very hard to stop on the last 32nd note of a roll, (it can be done, but it's hard). Hope that helped.

I really enjoy this piece. I know a little something about timpani. If the timpanist is half-decent (like high-school level) Changing pitches should be an effortless task. (Unless timpani have no pedals as previously stated.) At the average tempo of the piece, I would say a good timpanist could change the pitch of one drum in an eighth note span. If the orchestra has four or even three timpani the pitch changes should be no problem. I'm surprised they don't have five timpani. When I play, I almost always use five drums (32",29",26",23",20" piccolo timpani.)

Actually, Leonhard Euler, a Swiss Mathematician, wrote a very complex piece of music using complex mathematics. However, mathematicians said it was too musical and musicians said it was too mathical.

Can the timpanist also play other percussion? Can I have the timpanist play timpani and then move to play triangle or something else if I have the other percussionist already playing?

He must mean the g on the staff. I use a set of 5 timpani (including piccolo) and I carefully tuned them and I can only get the highest notes on the piccolo to be Bb above the staff. After that, it just sounds like a high pitch tom drum that isn't a timpani.

Add Me. Can't pass up this. I'll just have to make time.

Unfortunatley due to intense marching band practices beginning, school, work, and other unforeseen complications, I must withdraw myself from this competition, unless it doesn't end until December. I don't want to hold the competition back so I do not believe I can participate. Sorry for any problems this may cause. I had five themes done already, but five more would take some time and I don't have time to committ. Sorry once again. :whistling: -Matt

Hi there Enromatic! and welcome to Young Composers! :glare: I too am a percussionist and write for my percussion ensemble. When I listen to your piece I like the sound, its very cool and smooth. You have some nice four-mallet chords in the first marimba along with a nice little groove on a drum set. These sound nice and are perfectly fine, but I would get bored playing the same thing over and over again. When you bring the second marimba in, it sounds very nice and fits the feel perfectly. However, all of your notes are parallel octaves. You play two As then two Cs then two Gs and so-forth. While this sounds alright, but a basic rule of music theory is to avoid parallel movements. Parallel fourths, fifths, and octaves are simple and loose... If you know what I mean. Finally, I love the steel drum and toms. They add a different texture to the piece. A very bohemian feel. Overall a nice sounding and feeling piece. While not a masterpiece it is a great beginners piece and with a few more riffs and such it would be a fun piece to play. Keep up the good work! I hope to hear more of your pieces in the future. P.S. Check out my percussion piece "A Cold Shower" in the experimental section.

Count me in on this. I should be able to come up with 10 melodies from that. Doesn't mean they'll be good, but I'll try.

Okay, that makes sense. I should have read your other post. Lol.

You've got a nice little piece here. Some of the bass lines and the syncopated things didn't do anything for me but it's still a very nice piece. How long have you been composing?

I like the actual music, if that is a way to describe a feeling; however, there may be a problem with the performablity of the piece. You have lots of low Ds and while D is well with in the range of the flute, it often sounds muddy and very soft. Those notes may draw back from the piece. However, it is good to listen to through a computer speakers. If you intend to perform the piece something may not fit. Is the mp3 you postes an actual recording? If it is you know some good fluatists(sp?).

GIGA.MIDOkay, so I've been working on this small piece lately and I realized what chords I do have are kind of just random, so I threw in a bunch of chords. Now all the chords I have are random. I have no progression and I don't know what to put in for the crappy progression I have now. This piece is supposed to be about a person on the edge. On the edge of what? I don't know, but something pushes them over the edge and so they will break. Any help would be great. :D Turmoil.mid