Adagio for Strings

Hi all

I have been viewing postings on this forum and really enjoy it. I'm amazed by the quality of the compositions shared here and the depth of the reviews.

It's my first posting. I know the norm is that one should first contribute by giving comments before submitting his own work for review, and I have not posted any comment so far (mostly because I don't feel I'm qualified to make any comment with substance).

I hope you don't mind I'm still requesting for a review despite not following the rule. I really need your help here as I do not have much access to other channels for getting review or advice.

Here is a work I just completed, an Adagio for Strings. Below is the link to the audio as well as the score. I would appreciate if you can spend a few minutes to listen to it and give me some advice on where it can be improved.

YouTube - adagio

adagio.pdf

Thanks

Derek

I'd really consider giving it a title- as far as I'm concerned, there's only one "Adagio for Strings"!

Sounds good, though...

A few comments:

1. Where are your articulations?

2. Consider your rhythmic movement. This piece moves mostly through flowing 8th notes. That having been said, I'd STRONGLY recommend reconsidering some of your measures that use only half notes; it really feels like any forward motion stops, and while being introspective is good, you need forward motion. Try staggering entrances to simulate the motion you've already created (for example, the section set up at mm 30).

3. mm 46 - people go against me on this, but I really recommend staying within the traditional range for the contrabass unless writing for a group that HAS 5-string basses. That having been said, don't go below an E unless you have instructions in the score and parts to downtune the bass. When you do this, make sure to write the bass part in written, and not concert pitch (concert pitch is okay for the score, though).

4. Good use of counterpoint. I like that all instruments have melodic interests and moving parts. This is very wise, and helps bring out the color of the string ensemble.

5. That having been said, a lot of the lower 2nd violin parts may get washed out. Though the violin has a beautiful low register, it's going to be overpowered by high violins, or other instruments in THEIR prime registers. I'd only use the low violin register for color purposes, but that's just me.

Thanks MattGSX for your super quick response. Your advice is very valuable and I will work on these areas of improvement. I know Rhythm is one more my weak spot.

As for articulation. Do you mean the lack of articulation marking in the score, or do you also mean that you don't hear any articulation in the audio? The deficiency in the score is partly (I can't blame it completely) is that I edited the piece direct into the sequencer and the score is generated. I am running into a bit of trouble touching up the score afterward, for that I don't have software like Finale/Sibelius.

Derek

First off welcome to YC.

I use Sonar and completely understand about the score. Sequencers are just not made to be a Notation program.

I hear the dynamics in the audio, but think you might do a bit more. Since strings all have similar timbre, dynamics become more important in bringing out each of the instruments.

It is a nice piece.

Ron

Thanks Ron for the understanding.

As for dynamic. Again, some oddity with Cubase. In the original multitrack system it sounds more dynamic. Somehow after mix-down to stereo the sound is compressed. I haven't figured out how to solve the problem yet. Any advice will be appreciated.

I meant actual articulations. There are no bowings, slurs, etc, etc.

Got it. I will add slur, accent, etc. after figuring out how to do it in Cubase. To be honest I don't know much about bowing because I'm not a string player. Is the composer always expected to specify bowing, or is it sometimes up to the principle violinst

If you read any books on composing, one of the first things they all say is for the composer to add slurs to all of his compositions. Without them, the piece can be interpreted so many different ways that your idea about the composition can be radically changed. Every score that you look at will have the slurs in them.

Iknow money can be tight nowadays, but if you want good scores, you will always be fighting them in a sequencer. You are much better off getting a decent notation program. In the long run, it will save you a ton of time.

Sometimes you need to overdo the dynamics so that the final outcome will sound the way you want it too.

I get everything right using cc data and then on the final mix, do a volume envelope to get it right for the mp3.

Ron

Thanks Ron for your advice, and the tips on volume envelop.

I know I'll need a better notion software, I'm just trying to make the most use of what I already have, particularly that my volume of composition is low (actually this piece is only my second piece of complete music); my day job has nothing to do with music.

You want to use more bow markings the less skilled the performing group is. In addition, markings can be helpful in difficult passages, or used periodically to remind the orchestra what's right if they happen to miss a bowing. You should definitely use them when you want to give a part a certain articulation which depends on the bow, and which would sound good either way. For example,

could be articulated differently from

It could possibly be done the same, but if it was done with your standard down-up-down-up bowing, it would sound different. Also, triple and quadruple stops sound different when done up-bow or down-bow. Feel free to notate this to your heart's content, but also keep in mind that most orchestra directors/players are smart, and go with what sounds the best.

Take this with a grain of salt, as I'm no expert in notating violin music. I just play the stuff.

I thought this piece was really beautiful! I agree with the need for my dynamics, but sometimes it's actually nice to listen to something at one dynamic intensity... I didn't relaly think about it until I read some of the other posts.

I just love strings being orchestrated like this... so I enjoyed it thoroughly :D

Welcome to YC btw, everyone's awful helpful, it's great ;)

Thank you dark_dragon, I'm glad that you enjoy this piece.

I tried to keep this piece simple and restrain myself from using gimmicks (I fell into the beginner trap of in the past that the piece became scattered when I jumped between different "techniques" that I hadn't mastered)

The counterpoint in this piece keeps it interesting throughout - it gives the impression of being a "well-crafted" piece to me. As Matt said, the 2nd violin part may not be as audible as you might like in a performance, but things like that can be fixed pretty easily if you write out exactly how you want it to sound. Overall I thought it was very nice.

3. mm 46 - people go against me on this, but I really recommend staying within the traditional range for the contrabass unless writing for a group that HAS 5-string basses. That having been said, don't go below an E unless you have instructions in the score and parts to downtune the bass. When you do this, make sure to write the bass part in written, and not concert pitch (concert pitch is okay for the score, though).

The "under-bass" range is actually becoming pretty accessible. 5 strings are pretty rare, however alot of players have low-c extensions put on their bass, and there's a growing number of bassists tuning in fifths now (one octave below the cello). It wouldn't be too hard to have this piece played at proper pitch.

Sounds very nice, a little stagnant at times, but some nice counterpoint and melodic work.

Joshua

Thanks jbullen.

I agree that there are places that it feels stagnant, for that I will try some modification later.

When I first wrote it, my original idea was that I would insert some break to the polyphonic texture (more homophonic second theme). Apparently it was not as successful as I would like.

Hi Derek, you have uploaded your piece and arranged everything very nice, but you need to have a clear melody that captures the attention of the listener.

Listen to

Fredrik