Fanfare (for orchestral brass section)

This is a short fanfare that I wrote yesterday in about two hours. It is very American sounding and is interspersed with a few very dissonant, even atonal, parts, but tonality always returns.

Enjoy!

score: fanfare 2.pdf - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

mp3: Fanfare 2.mp3 - File Shared from Box.net - Free Online File Storage

Hmmm...well.

What do you mean orchestral brass section? Would it not just be a brass ensemble? Which by the way is scored wrong if it was and the instrument order is incorrect.

I don't see what sounds very patriotic on this piece. I don't recall any patriotic piece being as dissonant as this piece.

Starting around measure 18 and goes until around 21, there is a part in there that sounds like the melody in the "Jaws" Theme. (15 seconds into this video)

Jaws Theme

My music is dissonant, but too much honestly, is not good. For 2 hours of working, it a lot what you did. You write fast. Try going back and changing some stuff in there, take more time to work on it. Two hours is not a lot you spent on it and it sounds like you did it quickly....I think it can be a great piece, but needs some work on it.

I know my comments are not helpful, but just an idea, go back and fix some stuff.

My music is dissonant, but too much honestly, is not good.

Are you implying that this piece is too dissonant? I really don't think it is. I enjoyed it a lot. In fact, what I enjoyed the most was the dissonance.

If this was thrown together in two hours, then I think it could be so much better if you worked some more on it. Make it a fanfare for a full orchestra or band, maybe, or extend the piece. Or leave it - it's your call. I still think it's great.

Are you implying that this piece is too dissonant? I really don't think it is. I enjoyed it a lot. In fact, what I enjoyed the most was the dissonance.

If this was thrown together in two hours, then I think it could be so much better if you worked some more on it. Make it a fanfare for a full orchestra or band, maybe, or extend the piece. Or leave it - it's your call. I still think it's great.

Thanks for the comments omar and mitchell. I am currently in the process of extending the piece and making it for full orchestra. This "2 hour copy" is sort of a rough draft or a sketch for maybe the ending of the extended orchestral fanfare that I am writing now.

Omar, When I stated that the piece was "american" sounding it did not imply patriotism. By saying that I was basically stating that the piece was influenced by copland and has that sort of feel to it. Also, many fanfares are quite dissonant. John Adams "short ride in a fast machine" has many dissonant parts and I'm sure more knowledgeable musicians will know much more dissonant fanfares.

Again thanks for listening.

Composing is a process that takes time. Beethoven once thought about one note for 3 months before he decided which one he would use. This piece sounds like it is at the very rough stage of composing and that is where it should be for 2 hours of work.

You have some good ideas here that with some work could be transposed into a very fine piece. The piece is crying for some variations and some more work on it will get it going in the right direction.

My guess is that you are still fairly new to composing and are rushing thru things a bit too quick. Cut and paste is a nice tool, but it can be overdone.

I used to do a composition just as fast as you have done here and it was needing a lot of work also, so don't think I am trying to pick on you. The best way to learn all of this is by doing. I would suggest you let this one go and start a new one, but decide right off that it will take longer to do.

I have noticed that the more I learn about composing, the longer it takes to get a finished piece.

Keep at it. :thumbsup:

Ron

Very nice beginning. I didn't mind the early dissonances, but quite honestly got tired of them fast. Perhaps 20-30 seconds of dissonance, and then break out into a huge chord. Listen to the beginning of Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band's Cut n' Run. It starts out a bit chaotic, almost sounding like an orchestra pit before a concert. Then *WHAM!* A big nice chord and the piece moves on. I was expecting that at some point throughout the beginning, and it would fit in many spots. That is what I would do, personally. Naturally, it's up to you based on how you envisioned this piece.

I enjoyed this. I won't harp on what everyone else said. But one thing I'll add is that the repeating triplets begin to pound in my ears and eventually that's all I could hear. I even found it difficult to follow, because I literally couldn't hear the other parts, even while reading their music, because my mind was only processing the triplets. So either lessen them somewhat and replace those with something else, just for variety, or if they must be consistent throughout, then work on the dynamic levels so that the triplet pattern flows in and out of the foreground. Currently, it seems to stay at the same dynamic level and only gets softer when the pattern is moved to the horns, and since horns are naturally less audible than trumpets, this could be a wise choice to have the horns play it more often and give the trumpets all or most of the melody. Other than that, I appreciate your work, and you can definitely expand this and make it even better with a lot more time investment.

I also greatly appreciate your reference to John Adams' 'Short Ride in a Fast Machine' in your reply. We played that in band a few years ago and I loved it, and it came on the classical radio station while I was driving a couple days ago, and I was so excited, and 'singing along'. It's times like that I wish the ride wasn't so short.