Glenn Simonelli

I tried combining the winds and horns in pairs and squashed the drums. Hopefully it will be easier to read now.

Nice. I like how you work all the dissonant intervals into what is essentially a calm, pleasant piece. It creates a lot of mini tension/resolution moments--almost like ripples--within the overall structure.

That's a great idea. Maybe I'll go back and try combining the different instruments on 1 or 2 tracks (and squashing the drums down to one track) to improve readability.

I've attached the score. Before all you trumpeters and trombonists start attacking me, allow me to explain something. I've tried for years, mostly unsuccessfully, to get people to perform my music. Eventually, I got tired of writing music that no one will ever hear. So a couple of years ago I gave up worrying about all the nuances of making a piece playable and decided to concentrate on just getting the best-sounding electronic example of the piece possible (using the fairly limited electronic resources that I had at my disposal). This way, I could at least post them to the internet. The synth solo, for example, was originally a trombone solo. I changed it to synth because the trombone sounds on Sibelius are not very good. And yes, I know that the trumpet and trombone parts would be pretty annoying to have to play, and I would never write parts like that if I thought anyone would ever have to perform them. But since I no longer worry about people having to play these parts, I just write what I think sounds good coming over the speakers and don't worry about the musicians. Lame, yes. But if no one has to play them then there's no harm done. I hope. Also, you'll notice that I write each element of the drum set separately. That's so that I can get a better balance during the mix down. All that said, here's a pdf of the score.

Thanks, markstyles. I'll try to post the score when I get home tonight.

I've just finished a new song for large jazz ensemble called "Fear No Fifth." After mucking about in the 1950s/early 60s for my last couple of songs, I think I've finally graduated into the mid-1970s with a Tower of Power-type big-band something-or-other. I guess it's basically a blues with an extended vamp during the solos, the type of song that Count Basie or Duke Ellington could have knocked off in about a day and a half; I've been working on it since March. Anyway, I hope you like it. I can post the score if anyone's interested.

I think Chopin's Prelude in e minor (Op.28 No.4) evokes feelings of shame. But maybe that's because I'm such a sloppy piano player.

Thanks for he tip. I just checked it out. Looks interesting. At $129, the price seems very reasonable if it improves my horn and string sounds. My composing computer isn't connected to the internet, so I've written to technical support to see if I can download the software to an external hard drive and then upload it from there. I know the 30 day free trail needs an internet connection, but I'm hoping that if I purchase it outright it will work without being connected.

Thank you for responding to my questions. I appreciate your advice, and someday I will look into booking a professional orchestra. I have to admit that I'm a little jealous that you can do this professionally, but the piece clearly shows your talents, so it's no surprise. Is this piece going to appear in a movie or video production soon? If so, I have two more questions. 1) What guidelines were you given; were you shown any part of the production or video clips before you started composing? 2) How long did it take from first receiving the assignment to completing the recording?

You might check out Pro Tools. It's designed to work with Sibelius, which you already own.

I use Sibelius 7. I noticed that there's a new version 8. Have any Sibelius 7 users upgraded to 8? Are you pleased with the upgrade? I'm satisfied with Sibelius 7 for composing. My only reason for wanting to upgrade is to get better sounds when I render the songs. In particular, I'd like to get more realistic-sounding strings and better solo trumpets and trombones (although brass sections as a whole seem okay). Also, the piano on Sibelius 7 sounds a little bit muddy to my ears. Does version 8 offer any improvements in these areas?

Thanks for the information. I'm not familiar with MixCraft 8. I'll have to look into it.

How do we add a video to this list? I have one I'd like to add:

One more piece of advice: Dedicate half your working time to composing, the other half to self-promotion. Sorry if this sounds cynical, but that's the way things are--you have to get people to hear your music.

Bandcamp probably pays the best royalties for recordings, Really Good Music for scores. Of course, the problem with these or any other sites is getting your music heard when you're competing with thousands of other composers for listeners' ears. Like you, I've also put videos of my music on Youtube, some of which have been viewed by literally dozens of people around the world. Hope to break 100 someday . . . Anyway, good luck with your piano pieces. Hope you can get some takers.

What software did you use to compose and realize this? I'm curious how you got the doits and rising hits in, for example, bar 56.

Okay, how did you get this performed by a live orchestra? Did you hire them, or are you a student in a music school? Was this just a reading? If so, it's even more impressive. When I write for orchestra (using Sibelius), I get to listen to the piece over and over as I compose, so that I can be sure that every note is correct. But that still doesn't mean that it will sound good with an actual orchestra. The balance can be off, some instruments may be in an uncomfortable range and sound strident, I may have chosen bad articulations, etc., etc.; the possibilities for being disappointed are boundless. I don't hear any of those problems here. Everything sounds very professional. So this brings up my last two questions. Is this recording the first time you heard it performed, or did you get a reading, make some adjustments, and then have it played again? How close is this recording to what you heard in your head as you composed it? Sorry to be pummeling you with these questions, but I don't have access to a orchestra, and I'm really curious about these issues.

What software did you use to compose/record this?

I was able to listen to the song by just clicking "Play." I didn't have to download anything. Nice song. You have some nice chord changes in places. Yes, the end reminds me of "Hello, Goodbye." And the beginning reminds me of "Fool on the Hill."

I've been using an old MIDI keyboard to compose in Sibelius 7. After I finish a piece, I export each individual instrument to a separate wave file, then insert each file into Reaper as a separate track and mix them down. When I export the file, Sibelius automatic uses the included Garritan orchestral sound library to voice the instrument. The finished mixes are adequate, but not professional sounding. Yesterday I finally replaced my old keyboard with a Carbon 61. It works fine. Included with the Carbon 61 was a Native Instrument software bundle, which I loaded onto my computer. The bundle contained Guitar Rig 5, Kontact 5, Reaktor 5, and Controller Editor. Apparently, somewhere among all this new software is a pretty extensive sound library. I don't know how to use any of this stuff. I don't even know how to tell Sibelius how to use an external sound library, but I have the manual and could probably figure it out. Included with all this new software are pdf manuals totally over 2,000 pages. Here's my question: Is it worth the time to try to figure out how to use all this fancy new software, and if so, where do I start? Is any of this stuff going to help me get a more professional sounding product than my current approach? Right now I can't even get any sounds out of anything, so I'm really starting from scratch. Out of all the new software, what would you recommend to be the first thing I try to learn, assuming that I take my time and work my way through the manuals? Or am I better off just spending my limited time composing and not worry about the new gear? Thanks for any suggestions that you can offer.

I've been away for a while because I've been consumed by a project. I've finished my second symphony and would like to upload the score and/or mp3 to get some feedback. How do I go about uploading my symphony to the "Major Works"? Glenn SimonelliI) Vivace (Ragtime).pdfII) - Andante (Longing).pdfIII) Adagio-Allegretto (Grace).pdfI) Vivace (Ragtime).mp3II) Andante (Longing).mp3III) Adagio-Allegretto (Grace).mp3

I appreciate this, and that's what I'm working toward. But I'm taking this one step at a time, and the first thing I need to do is get some good audio monitors so I can create a decent mix. It's just a starting point, but until I get some good monitors there's no point in investing in DAWs and VSTs and the like.

Do you mean anything in particular by this beyond the minimum listed requirements? It turns out that I need to buy a new computer, so now would be the time to make sure I have whatever I need. I write a lot for orchestra and large ensembles, and it often takes a loooooong time to load all the instruments. I'm thinking about getting two hard drives and loading the sound library onto the second hard drive to hopefully speed this process up a little. Is it possible to do this with Sibelius 7. I haven't tried this with Sibelius 6 because I didn't have a second hard drive on my old computer, (the one with the recently fried motherboard).

According to the Sibelius web site, one of the main improvements in Version 7 is the sound quality of the instrument samples. Yet the music samples that are posted on the Version 7 web page don't strike me as noticeably better than what I was getting with Version 6. One of my goals for this year is to create better-sounding mock-ups of my compositions. Has anyone had an opportunity to compare the quality of the instrument sounds of Versions 6 & 7? Does Version 7 sound better enough to justify the upgrade?

Hi. I use Sibelius to compose music. I'd like to improve the sound quality of my finished products. Eventually I'd like to have professional-sounding mixes, but I realize this is a long ways down the road and will probably take several years of learning, practice and experimentation, plus equipment upgrades. One of my first tasks is getting sound decent studio monitors. I'm not ready to invest in professional-quality monitors yet, but I'd like to get something with relatively flat frequency response and neutral sound for a price that I won't feel terrible about if I have to upgrade in a few years. After doing some research, I think I've narrowed my search to two possibilities, the M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 Powered Speakers, for around $150/pair, and the Yamaha HS50M 5" Monitor Speaker, at around $300/pair. Both are within my current price range, although the Yamahas are at the upper limit. Does anyone have experience with either of these monitors? Has anyone ever have an opportunity to compare them? I'd be grateful for any advice/comments that you might have about this. Thanks. Glenn Simonelli