Lekker Boos, for bigband

Hi,

I am playing the flute in an amateur bigband, and it's not easy to get heard with all those saxophone's around me. To compensate for this, I now and then write a composition for the band. One of these is called "Lekker Boos", and it sounds like this:

http://members.chello.nl/w.boeke/bigband/l-boos.mp3

The sound comes from a program called BigBand, running under Linux.

Therefore, I have an additional question: are there other Linux users here, or is everybody using Finale?

Regards,

Wouter

I use finale 2009, with GPO without problems under linux (ubuntu 9.04). I see the title is dutch...

Do you know how to harmonize a line for bigband horns and reeds? Like a E7#5#9 chord? I would look into some info on how to write sounds (chords) like this. Also the study of harmonic progressions. Start with a blues. Play with those chords a little bit. Add a 13th somewhere and see what it does.

Is there a way to make an MP3 of this song so I can get a better idea of what it's supposed to sound like? My computer uses its internal Windows synth to play MIDI files. Through no fault of your own, your song sounds terrible when I play it because of the cheezy sounds.

Is there a way to make an MP3 of this song so I can get a better idea of what it's supposed to sound like? My computer uses its internal Windows synth to play MIDI files. Through no fault of your own, your song sounds terrible when I play it because of the cheezy sounds.

I'm afraid I don't understand you, as the only file that I supplied was an MP3. The instruments were not created by MIDI equipment, the sounds were generated directly (by means of extended FM synthesis), so they did not sound natural at all. Maybe that was not the best option for this forum, so I replaced the MP3 with a file generated via MIDI. However, you should believe that the piece is sounding far better when my bigband plays it!

Wouter

Do you know how to harmonize a line for bigband horns and reeds? Like a E7#5#9 chord? I would look into some info on how to write sounds (chords) like this. Also the study of harmonic progressions. Start with a blues. Play with those chords a little bit. Add a 13th somewhere and see what it does.

Ai ai, this sounds like a reprimand. As a matter of fact, I know how to harmonize, be it with much hesitation. The piece that I submitted is a stripped-down version, several instruments have been left out, because it is easier to listen to it this way. The main harmonizing instrument was a guitar playing a very boring part (always 4 quarters in a bar) because our guitarist refuses to play something different.

I have to admit that "Lekker Boos" has hardly any harmonic progression. Later on I will submit a more interesting piece.

Wouter

WOUTER JOU STOUTE KABOUTER! Dit klink baie oulik! Welkom op YC!

Kyk my "Drink Lied" onder "Forum -> Choral". Jy sal dit geniet!

PS :D

What I think TickTock was trying to say is that your harmonic language is ... wrong.

Do you listen to much jazz? Do you have a good working knowledge of jazz/modal theory?

Your choices for harmonization and chord voicings are really odd, and often sound wrong. Without seeing a score, it's impossible to say for sure what's going on, but suffice it to say you need to immerse yourself a little more in the jazz vocabulary - for voicings/harmony as well as rhythm.

That said, this is a good effort - the groove is cool, and could work nicely with a bit of refinement. The intent is there, I see where you're aiming, you just don't yet have the tools necessary to accomplish it.

Listen more.

Actually, the harmonies have an interesting, Middle Eastern feel. Clearly not traditional jazz harmonies, but somewhat catchy nonetheless. For a Westerner like me, it takes a little getting used to. Can you post a score in PDF format?

Sorry about the MIDI/MP3 mistake. I thought it was my computer's internal synthesizer that was creating those sounds, and I didn't check the file extension. I didn't mean to badmouth your piece. And I'm sure that you are right that rel instruments would sound a lot better.

Actually, the harmonies have an interesting, Middle Eastern feel. Clearly not traditional jazz harmonies, but somewhat catchy nonetheless. For a Westerner like me, it takes a little getting used to. Can you post a score in PDF format?

As Ticktockfool pointed out, the piece would need proper harmonization to become a good jazz composition. However, it was not meant to be jazz at all! You can hear this from the feel, which is not swing but as straight like an old steam locomotive. As a matter of fact I once tried to introduce swing and also blues-like harmony, however then the piece lost its character and it did not work.

You heard a Middle Eastern feel? This must origine from the many dissonants that I used. Most passages sound as intended ("Lekker Boos" means: angry and I like it). I tried to find some system underlying the choosen pitches, using the theory books that I posess, but I could not find it. By the way, I also tried to find the system used by someone like Shostakowitch. I know that he used his own scales, but apparently he didn't adhere to them. Why? I dunno, I only hear that it is sounding perfect.

Maybe I talk like the self-taught amateur that I am indeed. However once I will create a piece where the chords float from one to another in perfect harmony.

A score file is here: http://members.chello.nl/w.boeke/bigband/l-boos.pdf

Wouter

Synthesizing sax sounds - the bane of my existence... Are you into using VSTis?

DSK Brass and DSK SaxophoneZ (both free) do a pretty decent job of approximating horns, without you having to constantly mess about with mod wheels and such. I forget where I got them from, but a Google search should find them.

I liked it. One question: when you play it, is there any scope for improvised solos? It might be interesting to take sections of the composition and construct artificial or compound scales for a soloist to work off. Or even give different horns different scale resources to solo on together, for a kind of loosely improvised counterpoint.

Best, J