JacksonLast

Hey everyone, I`m currently writing a wind trio and have recently purchased finale 2010 so I can finally really use my East West libraries. Anyway, I wrote some low fluttertonguing with the low B and a Db. They played fine through GPO but the east west library will not recognize these notes, so now I`m wondering if they`re impossible in real life. Your help is appreciated. Thanks! Jackson

Thanks for your replies so far, I've found them very helpful. I feel I can write a decent short piece and that there's nothing really wrong with that, it's just that when I listen to someone like Beethoven I'm struck with deep admiration of how he just keeps elaborating; long after most composers would have ended their piece he goes the extra mile, and I think that's what makes his music so special. His music is just so epic, and takes me to a whole other world, something which is really hard to do in only two or three minutes. Anyway, I think I'll try planning ahead a little more, I usually just start writing without giving too much thought to the structure until I'm a quarter of the way into it, perhaps that's my problem. Thanks again, Jackson

Hi everyone, :) I'm finding that I currently can only write short compositions, around 2-3 minutes, and anything over that begins to sort of lose the plot, if you know what I mean. So I was wondering if any of you have any tips for writing a longer movement to a piece, say 5-7 minutes, or even more perhaps. Thanks! Jackson

Hi everyone, :) I'm currently reading "The study of Orchestration" and have come to a part where an excerpt from a work of Tchaikovsky is broken down and analyzed. I found this to be immensely helpful and was wondering if there are any books out there specifically geared towards the analysis of pieces because frankly I just don't know what I should be looking for when I view a score. Thanks! Jackson

Hi Darkangel, I think you have some good ideas with this piece, for example I liked how sparse it was in the beginning, and you chose an interesting combination of instruments, but I also felt that the piece lacked direction. It seemed like it was going somewhere around the halfway mark but it never really gathered momentum and it ended up having the same feeling through the entirety of the piece. I think a bit of contrast by increasing the tempo, or perhaps some more harmonic variation would have been nice. Anyway, that's just my opinion, if you're happy with your piece as it is then don't change a thing! Jackson

Yes, I consider it a complete work. Jackson

Hi everyone, :) This is my latest piece, it's three short movements for flute and the phrasing is based upon three poems which I wrote. I made use of Messiaen's modes of limited transposition for this project. I'd appreciate any feedback you can give, positive or negative, and will do my best to return the favour and listen to your pieces. I'm sorry the score is divided into three seperate files but Finale kept messing up the score every time I tried to merge them. Anyway, thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy it. Jackson Jackson Last on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads The Boy Who Never Came Home - I.pdf The Boy Who Never Came Home - II.pdf The Boy Who Never Came Home - III.pdf

That was a very interesting listen! I too would like to see a score. Your music reminded me a little of Debussy, with a few modern twists, . I also like how it felt fresh pretty much all the way through, you covered alot of territory in five minutes and my mind didn't begin to wander at all, which is rare for me. If I have one complaint it's that the repeating bassline that started around the 3:00 mark was a little much after a while and didn't really fit with the wandering feel of the rest of the piece, but overall I'd say good job!

Wow, thanks for the reply! I'd pretty much given up hope on getting a comment on this piece, it's much appreciated and I'm glad you like it! Jackson

Okay, thanks a lot guys, you've been helpful. :) Jackson

Hi everyone, I'm currently am writing a piece for choir and piano in Finale 2008, and it's going well, except I've noticed that the soprano parts are dramatically quieter than the alto parts, for instance if I were to write the same part in both clefs I'd have to write a mf for soprano and a p for alto in order to get the same volume level. Now I'm wondering if there is a reason for this, or if the soprano part was recorded too quiet or something. I've been compensating for it but would hate to find out that my dynamic markings were way off if I ever tried to get it performed. Thanks for your help! :) Jackson

Hey, I think you might get more feedback if you posted a recording of your piece. I for one can't sight read a score without the music, and I'm sure there are others in my situation as well. Jackson

Hey, I found this very interesting to listen to, great use of dynamics and I'd love to hear a live version of this, it's very dramatic. I wish I had some critiques to offer you, but I'm not too familiar with string quartet writing... All I know is I like what you've written! Jackson

Hey, I loved your string quartet, I've listened to it a few times now and I'd say it sounds perfect to me, although I must admit that I too wished it was longer the first time I heard it. I'd love to know how you got that sound in the fourth movement, it's quite beautiful. Actually if you could say a little more about your composition methods for this piece I'd appreciate it. Great stuff! Jackson

Thanks for your replies, as to why I used the same theme in birth and death, I feel they're quite linked and wanted to tie them together in a sort of a sense of rebirth. Also I've frequently heard mention about life getting faster and faster as you grow older so I wanted to portray the hastening towards the end. I really don't know the limitations of a flute player so was perhaps overly conservative in regards to leaving breathing space, so I can understand why you'd fault me on that. Anyway, thanks again, I appreciate getting any feedback, negative or positive, and you've given me a few things to ponder over. Jackson