Overture of Many Songs

Mp3

This piece starts on a C and is held for a measure. This one note gives the feeling for the first half of the piece. The violins being their play in a constant motion with the horns taking the lead line play soft and gently. I tried to create a warm fuzzy feeling. Kind of like love but more reassuring than love. Then the tremolo kicks in and the feeling turns creepy. The clarinet holds notes and covers the tremolo for the most part. The cello places a soft line under every thing.

The key changes to C minor. The music becomes more up beat but has an odd feeling to it. The strings doing most of the work at first. Then the explosion happens. This ends with a weird harmonic line. Then it quickly goes back to the explosion and this one ends with the violins going down the scale and the strings then raising up again.

The strings play tremolo with a sweet flute solo over them.

In contrast to the beauty a darkness lurks around ever note and every time something beautiful tries to appear a harmonic minor scale brings it back down.

Anyway, enough of that.

If you guys need the midi just tell me. I didn't feel like posting it.

You've got some dramatic material here. I liked your parallel dissonances a lot. The only criticism that I can really think of is that the shifts from material to material seem strained or sharp at some points. Your orchestration, too, is really good.

Nice work! As Chris said, the dissonace is very nice! This is an example of good dissonance :wacko: lol. I like it, very good. I especially like the flute part, I really love the flute and you write for it well. I love the ending! Very dramatic finish!

You probably should think about posting the midi because there are some people who may not be able to view soundclick.

Well done ;)

- Jen

Well, thank you for your kind words. I need to find a way to better shift from idea to idea. I suppose some bridging will be in effect.

Jen-I would help I could write for the flute well! It is my seconady instrument. I am starting to like the idea of writing tonal but with dissonance. I believe it is a nice balance between atonal and traditional music.

I should probably tell you all my instruments and post the score.

I used

flute, obeo, Clarinet in Bb, Basson, 2 horns in F, Trumpet in C, Alto, tenor bass trombone, timps, and strings.

untitled.sib

Just finished listening to it. Overall I enjoyed it.

I really loved some of the parts where you are building it up lots (I think a good example was around bar 81 - dissonance good here too!). I would have liked them milked a bit longer though (I think like the 1812...errr... well... maybe not that much...). Some of the dissonance was really effective imo (I got images of being on a motorway, where you have that horrible background hum that always seems to sound dissonant to the music you're listening to). However, in other places I felt the dissonance served no function and was dissonance for its own sake (e.g. bar 67).

I'd also say that some of the string parts sounded a little contrived and inorganic (this is only a minor point, I'm trying to find something useful to say). Btw, when you wack five lines through a note (a tremolo), do you mean "play semihemidemisemiquavers of that note"? I had always thought that was what it meant - tell me if I'm wrong. If that is your intention, I certainly wouldn't like to play strings for you... :rolleyes:

It'll be good to here some of those tunes in full context. Also, note that I am completely foreign to atonality and therefore my view should be taken as that of a general, a bit Romantically biased, orchestrophile. I hope my untrained views are useful anyway ;).

:P I've never been a fan of overmilking. I feel doing something close to the 1812 might kill the sound after a while. I also had planned to make it longer but never managed to do so. I'll have to look into my dissonace phrases. I would hope I didn't put dissoance for it's sake, but sometimes mistakes do slip in. Thank you for bring that to my attention. Did I write 5 three tremolo markings? I thought I only wrote 3. I should go back and check. Hehe, and yes a lot of string players do end up saying that to me. I cannot explain why.

:D

Don't worry about not being an atonalist. I didn't write this piece as one, I merely used dissonace as a way to flavor tradition music. You have been very helpful.

very small orchestra...therefore, i feel it sounds sorta...thin. Maybe you can try to double the woodwinds and the trumpets/low brass to stretch your chords. lots of dissonance...i like some resolutions, but really, i'm not a big fan of extended dissonance...but as for the beginning, it sounds very serene and quiet...lots of note doubling and not a lot of rich chords. that could be the mood you're going for though. kinda gets boring in the middle. Yeah..the big hit sounded weak and thin. Try filling up the chords more with more instruments. I like the melodic element of that section.

sorry if i come off as really critical...i'm just not a big fan of atonality. You did manage to infuse a sense of melody at certain points, and that made it a worthwhile listen for me :]. but yes. fill up some of the chords in certain sections.

I like writing for a small orchestra. Especially since the odds are higher that my work will be played at my uni if I do write small. Also, i'm not a fan of having things being as loud as they can be. I rather have a peaceful sound. My music does have a lot of dissonace because I want it. It is mixing tonality with atonal ideas. This ties into the lacking of rich chords aspect. I mainly doubled the note because it gave it a minimalstic feel to the beginning. Also, i'm not a fan of big rich chords. I rather have a simple idea go on and do its thing. Anyway, i'm not sure why people keep saying my music is atonal. I have yet to really post an atonal composition yet. I just mix dissonance into it.

Anyway, if you want to hear more traditional work of mine, I can link you.

Quite nice. Let me just say that I loved the fact that you restrained yourself with the dynamics. I think that abuse of dynamic changes is far to widespread in music, and sadly we are all guilty of it at times. This piece is one of the few that truly embrace a calm & serene approach to dynamic contrasts. I adds a wonderful touch to the piece's build up. This mixed with the dissonance, the trills, and the rising scales really helps create a nice build up throughout the piece. When it finally does erupt at 3:17, it was worth the wait. Very well done here!

Barely anyone notices my restraint in dynamics. I generally leave them out in my other pieces because it is such a waste of time if no one appericates them! However, I thank you for noticing my effort.

This copy is for Inv

untitled.sib

Mr Duck,

I'm beggining to think I'm the only one around here that doesn't neccesarily appreciate stylistic shifts. But it seems to be a working theme around here. See my recent post to Yqq...

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/index....st&p=32597

You've got some dramatic material here. I liked your parallel dissonances a lot. The only criticism that I can really think of is that the shifts from material to material seem strained or sharp at some points. Your orchestration, too, is really good.

I actually dissagree with Christopher in that I think your transitions are fine, even rather smoothly executed. (I can see that he and I are not in agreement on a number of issues, and I'm looking forward to a number of healthy and productive disscussions with him over time). Anyways, I'm more concerned with your destinations. To start with a theme that wouldn't raise an eyebrow 250 years ago, and take it into pan-chromatic powerchord land and back to, well... not where it started, but rather 5 more stylistic vignettes, is to deny the listener a reference point, a home base, a world in which to reside in order to understand. It's all rather schizophrenic and (in my mine at least) belies a composers inability to stick to a style and truly develop and explore within it.

BTW, I mention these thing to both you and Yqq, because you ARE able to write in different styles, and I feel a certain empathy for what I feel was a similar issue in my formative years as a composer.

..FWIW

All that can be refuted in one simple statement. It is an overture meaning to cover many different works within the set. It has to cover the different styles. Also, i'm not all for making traditionalist happy. In fact, I become happier every time someone like you finds no reference points.

It is probably a good thing I wasn't trying to raise en eyebrow back that. I would fail miserably but someone it works in its own way.

Edit:

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/Classi...trio-t1864.html

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/My-return-t1740.html

That should make you happy.

I can write strictly and force myself to follow all rules and stay in one style but what is the point? It isn't me and it is lame.

All that can be refuted in one simple statement. It is an overture meaning to cover many different works within the set. It has to cover the different styles. Also, i'm not all for making traditionalist happy. In fact, I become happier every time someone like you finds no reference points.[/b]

Refutation means you stand by your work and find errors in my perceptions, which is perfectly understandable. They are only meant to help and if they are off the mark, though they are somewhat wasted, they should at least serve to secure your positon. Also - It's not about what makes me happy, it's about what makes you happy. :)

As for reference points, Perhaps I used the wrong word. Tonaly, the music makes perfect sense most of the time. Your tonal centers are related and your execution is fine. I simply find that the artist that mixes pastels, oils, twigs, clay, and then pees on the canvass is saying too much. It's not that I can't understand what they are saying. It's simply a personal preference for the overall texture of a work, and I wish you the best with this one.

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/Classi...trio-t1864.html

http://www.youngcomposers.com/forum/My-return-t1740.html

That should make you happy.

I can write strictly and force myself to follow all rules and stay in one style but what is the point? It isn't me and it is lame.

:( I guess, if you have come to the conclusion that exploring a style is lame, then don't do it.

Well, of course. I never said exploring a style is lame. I merely said writing in your style is lame. I have done it and plan to never go back to it again.

I don't mind suggestions but i do mind suggestions from people like you. People who want thing sto be subtle and simple and like everything else. Your personal taste is okay but to say the reason i do something is due to my inability pisses me off.

I merely said writing in your style is lame. I have done it and plan to never go back to it again. [/b]

I didn't know you were aware of my style of writing - and BTW, many might take offense if you offered that thier style was lame - with no explanation, technical or otherwise.

I don't mind suggestions but i do mind suggestions from people like you. People who want thing sto be subtle and simple and like everything else. Your personal taste is okay but to say the reason i do something is due to my inability pisses me off.

Mr. Bitter, I admit I suggested that might be the case., as I found it to be with myself. I did not come out and directly say that it applied to you. I'm sorry that I offended you. And I will respect your request and not offer suggestions in the future. Best of luck with your work.

i'm not sure ifyou haven't notice, but i don't care if I offend someone or not. I hate everyone equally.

I find it hard to believe you'd hate your mother as much as George Bush. Anyway, is there a way to get by the registration to download the song? It asks me to register, which I really don't want to do due to a multitude of reasons. Perhaps some nice gentlemen here could put it a non-register uploader.

You'll all be pleased to know this piece has been performed. Of course from here to now, it's been edited and is 5 minutes longer lol.