January 16, 201016 yr Interesting use of theme and variations. Can you tell us what kind of context we're talking about in this short film? Is this a happy film? A sad film? Anything else you could tell us about it, like the story? What is happening as I'm listening? I'm sure more people will have suggestions and comments. Be sure to listen to other members' works and leave them some comments. They'll be more likely to listen and comment on your work. Welcome to YC.
January 16, 201016 yr Hi G, Welcome to YC. Melodically, this is fairly pretty, but I found that your progression/transition from variation to variation was quite rough — I noticed it each time. It was like the music stopped, took a pee break, then resumed, and the effect was distracting. I would have also liked to hear a bit more in the way of diverse development...some different instrumental sections, different rhythms, etc. The piece is very static like this. Anyway, it was an enjoyable enough listen, so thanks for sharing. I hope to see you around as a contributing member of the community. :)
January 17, 201016 yr Welcome to YC There are some nice ideas in this. It's always nice to let everyone know what programs you are using to create your music. This sounds like it was done in a notation program which helps to give it that "pee break" feel to it. I also suggest that you nose around and listen/comment in other's posts here. It helps to hear what others are doing. Ron
January 17, 201016 yr welcome to YC , the music is good , but try to use some variation in the main theme or in the instrumentation , the song doesnt sound like its progressing or going anywhere . the melody is good . btw which sibelius edition are you using , im trying to open the score but iget an error
January 18, 201016 yr Author Sorry for not including enough information in my first post. Firstly this is not meant to be a start-to-finish piece, merely a collection of ideas to use in various settings. I haven't actually filmed anything yet which is why it is still relatively primitive. As for the mood I would say it is sad, ethereal and melancholy. The first variation is meant to be in the mixolydian mode so that is sort of off balance I guess. The second is minor going into major I think and then the final variation is meant to be major. I was intending to use each at appropriate moments in the film, possibly extended versions, along with incidental music for the rest. I used Sibelius 6 to compose and render with GPO. I don't have access to anything else in the way of sampling and samples. Also if any one could look at my score and give me some advice in terms of notation. I don't really know much about notation besides the basics, this is the first time I've notated dynamics in a composition. If it would help I can upload a score for earlier versions of Sibelius. I tried to export PDF but I couldn't work it out. Thanks to everyone for your comments and warm welcome. See you around.
January 18, 201016 yr Author Sorry about the formatting in my last post. I haven't used the editor before. I just wanted to add that I have updated the score and audio, but I cannot upload them immediately. Just got home. Turns out that I didn't save my revisions, which is frustrating. What I did was arange the part I wrote for ensemble strings for three cellos and a contrabass and refined my dynamic marks to what I should expect from a real orchestra rather than MIDI playback. The latter is something that I am have trouble getting my head around. Is there a better place to ask these questions? I'd like to thank everyone again, I'm really enjoying this forum. Edited January 18, 201016 yr by Gerardiebla
January 18, 201016 yr Hey! Welcome! I like the feel of the piece, although like Marius said, the breaks jared the experience a little. I reminded me of slow Celtic melody writing which his cool!
February 26, 201016 yr Very pretty piece, Gerard! ;) It's almost too evocative and powerful to just be a simple lullaby: why have you called it a "sleep theme"? :hmmm: If you replaced some of the strings (specifically the ones that sustain long chords together) with a deep piano instead, you may see the power in the piece that I see. Thanks for sharing, this was very nice! :D Also, Welcome to Young Composers, I hope you enjoy the site!
February 27, 201016 yr Definitely a nice start. Like others have mentioned, as you develop it further, make sure you expand the range of instruments you use. Other than that its pretty solid as far as the ideas go. Cant wait to here more. :)
February 28, 201016 yr I see you aren't looking for realism. HOwever, if you want relism, try LMMS and http://freesf2.com for free samples and DAW Anyway, this is a fairly decent composition, and a nice piece. THe 'pee break' feel has alredy been mentioned. Also, it got a little repettitive towards teh end. Still, good work, and hope to see you more often around!!
