War Cry of the Rebels

This is the best piece I've composed so far (in my opinion). I wrote this piece after hearing the "Horn in F" sound on Finale. The title is the first thing that came to mind after listening to the finished piece. This is a new version, it's just about 30 seconds longer than the previous one.

Please comment, I love to be critiqued by people who know something about composing (my school music program is no good). Positive/negative feedback is welcome and encouraged.:)

Mp3 file here: 4shared.com - online file sharing and storage - download War Cry of the Rebels.mp3

War Cry of the Rebels.MID

War Cry of the Rebels.MUS

It was a little short and I could have used the main theme (which I liked) coming back a little more. Other than that everything was pretty enjoyable. I liked what was going on at the start of the piece.

On another subject, I need some critique as well, so comment back on one of my pieces please :)!

Thanks,

Dylan

I think the title really suits this piece. Well done! Sorry I can't give any more useful feedback. Is it possible that we could see a pdf? I can't open .MUS files. :(

I listened to it again just now, and I like it the more I hear it! Like I said before, it totally brings up images of a battle or something similar. Very cool!

I love the introduction. It was very ominous, exactly like a battle scene. I like the theme a lot, but there was some sort of siren thing in the beginning... I'm not sure what it is. It was a little weird. I think that you could work on harmonic variety, as these seems to stick to I and V.

Good Job.

I think the siren was a glissando that the oboe, clarinet, and flute have from concert G to the G an octave higher, which sounds horrible on the midi. Thanks for the advice!:)

Now thats some battle music, great emotion in it. It looks like the good ones didnt won the battle, judging by the end of this piece :)

Sounds pretty cool man! Once I get finale I'll take a look at the score to figure out what notes the timpani are playing (which I can't hear on my MIDI out). Based on what I hear you going for in this, I do think you may want to be more discreet with the timpani than you have been so far. Timpani implies a lot of drama, so in a dramatic piece like this you'll want it to be prominent. However, you don't want to spoil the mood and make the drama sound "normal" by having the timpani going on throughout the entire thing.

I also think you may want to experiment with fleshing out your material a little more. Go through the score, look for motives that you've used, and disperse them a bit more evenly throughout the piece. This will not only strengthen the continuity of your arrangement, but also lengthen your piece! One that you're using very well right now is the descending "G F Eb D C" motif, i've heard that quite a few times. However, what about the trumpet opening? For something like that to introduce a piece, it would be a shame if it just disappears forever. In doing this, try assigning motifs, instruments, etc personalities and characters--make them interact with each other! The result will be a longer, tighter composition.

Great job so far though man, you should definitely be proud of this. The texture and tonality definitely gives a clear message, and the title reinforces that. Good luck with composing!!

Thank you for your comments. I think I will definetly try to make it longer.:) All of your advice is appreciated.

I really like the percussion. Yay timpani. But when you extend it, I would follow the previous advice on not having it play the whole time. It sounds really cool. You might want to get a second theme to go along with it. Either a contrasting one, or one that almost follows the pattern. It would be cool.

I love it, would have loved it more if the drum line had gone a little longer, and I think you went beyond most normal flute's register (not too sure) but otherwise, AWESOME!

I like some of the ideas you have. I especially enjoyed when you changed the sixteenth note motif to eighth notes at 1:16. I like the general idea you have for the timpani, although a little less of it and more variety would be good. Also, a greater dynamic contrast would be nice too (in all parts.) You definitely need to check instrument ranges though... I noticed the concert A-flat in the french horn at 1:28- that's out of it's range for sure. There are also quite a few concert G's and F's in the horn, which are too high as well.

I agree with the range issue, and I'm also craving for repeats of the opening theme.

I find this piece describes very well the mood of a battle, or a preparation for it, and the orchestration seems perfectly balanced (except for the range issues).

If you do extend it, try to do what has already been told: Not so much timpani. Low pizzicato on strings does create a good percussion effect.

Great job!

New version is up, I have updated all of the files and added an mp3 link. ;)

The Finale file sounds the best, though...

it is a good music , i like it

dark

Listening to it while commenting.

I like the melody you have the horn and trumpet carrying in the beginning.

My only concern is are those notes within the flutes range?

Maybe add more variation to the timpini?

My only concern is are those notes within the flutes range?

Just to clear thing up, I looked up the range of a flute. The highest flute pitch in the piece is a C twice above the bar line. I just checked, and that's the highest note on normal flutes. So I'm just barely in the range.

Thanks guys for all your comments!!