Fanfare for Brass and Bagpipes

This is a Fanfare I composed for brass and bagpipes. It has a spot in the middle for announcing the festival or ceremony. The score and mp3 are here:

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I have one question. The Tuba is written one octave higher than it sounds right? For example after I compose in my sequencer and bring the midi into sibelius, I have to transpose the tuba up one octave right? I did this here as you can see in the score but you will hear in the mp3 the tuba is actually one octave lower.

Thanks,

Joe Poch

To quickly answer your question - no, the tuba should not transpose at all. Everything should be at concert pitch for the tuba.

Oh, and I'll check out your piece a little later. ;)

I have changed the .mp3 and the sheet music files to fix several issues with the orchestration. In the .mp3 I also added an announcement (so it was not just dead noise during the drum roll) and a delay to the instruments to make them sound more "live".

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Please feel free to make a comment. I am not very hard headed so if you say something needs to change... I will probably change it.

-Joe Poch

Beautiful! Bravo! Love it. Far too much reverb in the recording, though. Bagpipes are too quiet, too. Maybe that's how it will sound live, though. Can a bagpipe really cut through all of that blaring brass in real life?

Boy can the bagpipes cut through the brass!!! They are so loud and contrast so much with every other instrument that you hear everything from them. Sometimes it can just be too much and there is no way to cut it down... Thats why I only have 4 -5 bagpipes. I agree though, I will turn the bagpipes up a few notches in the demo.

Thanks for the great comments!!!!

-Joe Poch

ANyway, i liked the composition. Short, but had an effect on me...

I liked it, though it is not an easy piece to play.

Yeah, bagpipes are...ridiculously loud to say the least. Possibly the most annoying instrument in existence.

Yea!! There sound can be moving, but not when you are close to them! My understanding is they are an instrument that were made to be heard over the sounds of battle to give commands in the old days. They just really scream!

Ohh... I SOO love this!

Well played and written bagpipe parts are a joy for me. I love the sound of the bagpipes.

Hehe... nice announcement. How did you do that in the mp3? And where did you get those brass and bagpipe samples? They sound VERY nice. And yes, a touch less reverb, but not much, it needs to still sounds grand like it's held in a big place. And more bagpipe, yes. Four bagpipes are LOUD. Believe, I had a neighbor who played half mile from me on a hill on the side of the valley we lived in, and he brought over some piper friends every once in a while and BOY could I hear them. I caught him alone when day and played back everything he played on the clarinet and he came walking down the street wondering who the hell was mocking his Scotland the Brave. :laugh:

Hmm... in the pipes, shouldn't it be G natural? And do you happen to know why bagpipes always read in A and play in Bb? I never knew why.

I did notice your quote of Scotland the Brave at the end in trumpet I and horn. Make the horn louder at that part in the mp3, horn can get very loud and I think this is a place where it can really let loose. By the way, why only one horn?

By the way, there is a flat sign in front of all the cymbal crashes, you might want to get rid of those. :happy:

Come toe think of it, cresc. at measure 14 for cymbals might be more appealing as a hairpin crescendo. (the long "<")

This makes me want to write pieces for brass and bagpipes. :w00t: I think I might... I love pipe tunes.

To the comments on bagpipes being loud... not all bagpipes are loud, only the full Scottish highland pipes. Scottish smallpipes are quieter, and the Irish Uilleann pipes are not too piercing either.

Yay! I love it! The bagpipes sound really, really great! And at the end, is that Scotland the brave I hear?

Ohh... I SOO love this!

Well played and written bagpipe parts are a joy for me. I love the sound of the bagpipes.

Thanks for the Comments!!!

Hehe... nice announcement. How did you do that in the mp3? And where did you get those brass and bagpipe samples? They sound VERY nice. And yes, a touch less reverb, but not much, it needs to still sounds grand like it's held in a big place. And more bagpipe, yes.

The announcement is added in by recording me in and then adding delay and distortion to it to get it that cheap sound system sound.

The samples are from EastWest/Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra Gold XP Pro. I actually cannot change the reverb because the sounds are pre-recorded with the reverb, unlike Vienna instruments (Unless there is a cool secret I don't know!) The bagpipes are from a collection called Celtic Instruments by Big Fish Audio.

I am going to raise the level of the pipes in the music.

Hmm... in the pipes, shouldn't it be G natural? And do you happen to know why bagpipes always read in A and play in Bb? I never knew why.

You are completely right that the low G should be a natural! THANKS A TON... Thant has been changed also!!!!! Good Catch!!! My understanding is that the pipes were first made in the scale as they are notated, just out of tune (oops... gotta do what you gotta do on a budget) and it stuck as tradition. Ethnic instruments can be weird sometimes.

I did notice your quote of Scotland the Brave at the end in trumpet I and horn. Make the horn louder at that part in the mp3, horn can get very loud and I think this is a place where it can really let loose. By the way, why only one horn?

The horn can only be increased in volume by increasing the gain now. The samples are maxed out in velocity to give that effect of a fanfare. I can add a horn part, I just really don't know what I would do with it for the whole song. The song however, is written for 2 horns so there can be some volume added in that way because the .mp3 only has a solo horn patch.

By the way, there is a flat sign in front of all the cymbal crashes, you might want to get rid of those. :happy:

Come toe think of it, cresc. at measure 14 for cymbals might be more appealing as a hairpin crescendo. (the long "<")

I noticed the flat signs and have since taken them out. As to the hairpin, I will probably have it this way in the part that is published for the player, but I feel the conductor's score looks cleaner with just the word "cresc." but what do you think?

This makes me want to write pieces for brass and bagpipes. :w00t: I think I might... I love pipe tunes.

DO it!!! I will even help record it if you need some samples!!! I love their sounds and would like to see it combined with your ideas!!!

Thanks,

-Joe Poch

Yay! I love it! The bagpipes sound really, really great! And at the end, is that Scotland the brave I hear?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I am glad you liked it!!! It is indeed Scotland the Brave in the end! Good listening skills!!! Nothing like a familiar sound to bring it all together in the end. Thanks

-Joe Poch

Fantastic fanfare! I'm picturing this at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo with massed bands

I thought this was a very well constructed piece of music and very fitting for a highland festival!

To be frank, my initial thoughts were that it seemed somewhat unoriginal at first, but the entry of the bagpipes more than made up for that. I live across the road from a school with a bagpipe band and boy are they loud!

I reckon this piece would be really powerful and sound absolutely awesome played live.

:)