Resolution

A piece written for a very,very special person to me. This is to honor her, and show you, the audience what I feel. The first bit of the piece is the initial falling in love, but when I realize that Katherine lives states away, I became upset. Thus, the piece becomes minor. Then, the piece portrays the anticipation of never knowing what will happen next, and having a sense of hope through the darkest times. Eventually, towards the end of the piece, I am re-united with Katherine, and I am at last happy again. I feel resolved when I am with her, hence the name. Also, at the end of the audio file, its skips and gets faster, I can assure you, that is not suppose to happen.

Resolution

Well, now that we have the music up, I'd be happy to review it for you!

First of all, I'd like to start off by commending you for this work. I can tell you put a lot of emotion into it. I also think this is a good example of concert band writing, and I am just stepping into the lake that is concert band music....

A couple discrepancies, I think. Number one, I question your use of dedicating an entire staff to the cymbal, which comes in a number of (I counted) five times. I would recommend calling that staff "percussion" and maybe adding a couple more auxiliary instruments instead. You rarely see a concert band that is not a school band, and therefore there are lots of pot head percussionists. 1) This keeps them (the percussionists) interested. 2) This adds another element of variation that keeps the audience interested. A tambourine or woodblock would fit nicely, imho.

Also, I was looking at the tuba part at G. I'm not sure that low Eb is in the tuba's range. I'm not 100% certain, but as an occasional tubist myself, I think that the E natural a half step higher is the lowest note on a three-valve tuba, which is standard in most concert bands.

I don't know if baritones can play 16ths like those at I. I've never played a baritone, but from my understanding they're quite a bit like the tuba, and a tuba's valves are quite long, so it takes a longer period of time for them to return to the open position. I'm not sure if this applies to the baritone as much, but you might want to ask a baritone player if you ever get this performed.

One slight note you should be aware of: Be careful of intervals in the higher register of a french horn, mainly above a written middle-line B. Not saying that this was a big problem, but I noticed a couple places where things were looking a bit tricky. Because the intervals on the horn are so close together that high, it's not a guarantee that those notes are going to come out as crisply as you want them to.

Those were the only problems I could find here. I really enjoyed your piece, and I found myself learning a lot about concert band writing. The different themes really told a story, and I enjoyed the melodies very much. It was interesting and fresh throughout the whole piece, and, while you repeated different themes a couple of times, there was always some variation, which is always nice.

Thanks for sharing! Really great work!

Good job my friend. Really emotional sound. I enjoyed listening. Well-done!

-Minoxor.

Well, now that we have the music up, I'd be happy to review it for you!

First of all, I'd like to start off by commending you for this work. I can tell you put a lot of emotion into it. I also think this is a good example of concert band writing, and I am just stepping into the lake that is concert band music....

A couple discrepancies, I think. Number one, I question your use of dedicating an entire staff to the cymbal, which comes in a number of (I counted) five times. I would recommend calling that staff "percussion" and maybe adding a couple more auxiliary instruments instead. You rarely see a concert band that is not a school band, and therefore there are lots of pot head percussionists. 1) This keeps them (the percussionists) interested. 2) This adds another element of variation that keeps the audience interested. A tambourine or woodblock would fit nicely, imho.

Also, I was looking at the tuba part at G. I'm not sure that low Eb is in the tuba's range. I'm not 100% certain, but as an occasional tubist myself, I think that the E natural a half step higher is the lowest note on a three-valve tuba, which is standard in most concert bands.

I don't know if baritones can play 16ths like those at I. I've never played a baritone, but from my understanding they're quite a bit like the tuba, and a tuba's valves are quite long, so it takes a longer period of time for them to return to the open position. I'm not sure if this applies to the baritone as much, but you might want to ask a baritone player if you ever get this performed.

One slight note you should be aware of: Be careful of intervals in the higher register of a french horn, mainly above a written middle-line B. Not saying that this was a big problem, but I noticed a couple places where things were looking a bit tricky. Because the intervals on the horn are so close together that high, it's not a guarantee that those notes are going to come out as crisply as you want them to.

Those were the only problems I could find here. I really enjoyed your piece, and I found myself learning a lot about concert band writing. The different themes really told a story, and I enjoyed the melodies very much. It was interesting and fresh throughout the whole piece, and, while you repeated different themes a couple of times, there was always some variation, which is always nice.

Thanks for sharing! Really great work!

Thank you sir.

1) In finale, I have noticed that there is not a suspended cymbal, so the cymbal you see should be suspended. I have seen multiple pieces where the suspended cymbal is used 3 or 4 times. That being said, after going a back, a woodblock or tambourine part would fit great! Maybe I'll even add in a vibe part for the first lyrical section. I myself am a percussionist, but I cannot seem to write for it?

2)I have taken the tuba up an octave, along with the other instruments that go that low. I did not notice this before. I believe it was more a copy error. I play tube a bit myself, but never reached the lowest note. Thank you.

3) My best friend plays baritone, and while "It (the run) would be difficult, it could be done." I questioned that myself, but he was sure it can be done.

4) I apologize to all french horn players if that range is too high. Another friend of mine is going to Governor's Honors this summer in french horn, and according to him, that is a comfortable range.

Thank you so much for reviewing my piece. I will take all of these things into consideration.

Thank you sir.

1) In finale, I have noticed that there is not a suspended cymbal, so the cymbal you see should be suspended. I have seen multiple pieces where the suspended cymbal is used 3 or 4 times. That being said, after going a back, a woodblock or tambourine part would fit great! Maybe I'll even add in a vibe part for the first lyrical section. I myself am a percussionist, but I cannot seem to write for it?

2)I have taken the tuba up an octave, along with the other instruments that go that low. I did not notice this before. I believe it was more a copy error. I play tube a bit myself, but never reached the lowest note. Thank you.

3) My best friend plays baritone, and while "It (the run) would be difficult, it could be done." I questioned that myself, but he was sure it can be done.

4) I apologize to all french horn players if that range is too high. Another friend of mine is going to Governor's Honors this summer in french horn, and according to him, that is a comfortable range.

Thank you so much for reviewing my piece. I will take all of these things into consideration.

No, the range is fine. But it was just something I wanted you to remember when writing for horns in the future: Avoid large intervals in this higher register. ;) That is all.

WAIT. Around the second or so measure of page 2... That is seeeeeriously pushing the range. To go from that Eb to an Ab is not going to come out well. It's going to sound like a dying goose even if they get the note right. And then that Bb... XP

Like before, because this is going to be a high school band, most likely, the horn players aren't going to be virtuosi. As a rule, avoid going above the top-line written F, concert Bb. If you have really good horn players they might be able to pull that off, but I wouldn't count on it.

No, the range is fine. But it was just something I wanted you to remember when writing for horns in the future: Avoid large intervals in this higher register. ;) That is all.

WAIT. Around the second or so measure of page 2... That is seeeeeriously pushing the range. To go from that Eb to an Ab is not going to come out well. It's going to sound like a dying goose even if they get the note right. And then that Bb... XP

Like before, because this is going to be a high school band, most likely, the horn players aren't going to be virtuosi. As a rule, avoid going above the top-line written F, concert Bb. If you have really good horn players they might be able to pull that off, but I wouldn't count on it.

90% of the horn players at our school can pull this off no problem. I'm a euphonium player myself, and those runs in there are possible for all 3 in our band.

I really like the piece. Your writing has really opened up since you have started, and your voicings have improved.

90% of the horn players at our school can pull this off no problem. I'm a euphonium player myself, and those runs in there are possible for all 3 in our band.

I really like the piece. Your writing has really opened up since you have started, and your voicings have improved.

Huh, :\ Maybe I'm wrong then. Or maybe my band just sucks.

Huh, :\ Maybe I'm wrong then. Or maybe my band just sucks.

Heh, probably not. I don't know what our horn players eat.

I don't know much about technical stuff but I agree the emotion comments. You can definately feel it on slower parts.

As others said before, I wanted to hear percussion instruments variations on faster sections.

Just commenting on the music first, it sounded very good! I found at time you had some counter-melodies that might take away from the melody, like the clarinets from the oboe and alto sax at the beginning (although alto sax is more powerful so probably not) but the melodies were beautiful and the fast sections riveting. I especially liked how there was always more than one thing going on in the piece, you'd have the bass end playing quarters when the high end held and vise-versa with different instruments all through the piece.

About the horns, the horn itself is very hard to play so hitting the notes is hard - but definitely not impossible. It depends what type of highschool you go to. A well funded one with enthusiastic players could play lots, but a non-well funded one has horns in all sorts of ranges. That's why I dislike writing for it for my concert band - it loses so many chances at melodies because of it's tiny melodic range which is basically cut from a to f on the top line. Not much to work with. Anyways, if your horns say they can play it have no doubt in them because they most likely can.

I really like this. The blend between romantic music and popular styles is very striking and I think well done here. I'm not exactly sure what to say that hasn't already said. Any chances on a live performance?

Yes actually. I might be having it played by a high school in the next couple of months. Again, thank you sir.

I like your contrasting styles. The piece never gets boring. I also like your little snippet of "Virgil" in the end. I think it's a very fitting conclusion. It's definitely the most mature of all your pieces. 10/10!

90% of the horn players at our school can pull this off no problem. I'm a euphonium player myself, and those runs in there are possible for all 3 in our band.

I think I'm going to have to side with MusicFiend on this one. The run in the horns toward the end of the piece...IMO it wouldn't matter how good your horns are, it would sound like mud, especially with the other instruments TWW scored to play the same thing. The horns in the midst of the clarinets, saxes, trumpets and euphonium would only muddy up the run. My strong suggestion is to take them off of it.

Also, TWW, you are staying within the range of the French horn, but at the beginning you really are being quite mean to them by making them live up there for so long. Do you know how high and brilliant a horn playing a high Bb sounds?

I enjoyed basically all of that. I'd've liked more articulation markings throughout the piece and a tad more variation of the melodies in the beginning.

I think I'm going to have to side with MusicFiend on this one. The run in the horns toward the end of the piece...IMO it wouldn't matter how good your horns are, it would sound like mud, especially with the other instruments TWW scored to play the same thing. The horns in the midst of the clarinets, saxes, trumpets and euphonium would only muddy up the run. My strong suggestion is to take them off of it.

Also, TWW, you are staying within the range of the French horn, but at the beginning you really are being quite mean to them by making them live up there for so long. Do you know how high and brilliant a horn playing a high Bb sounds?

I enjoyed basically all of that. I'd've liked more articulation markings throughout the piece and a tad more variation of the melodies in the beginning.

To be honest, I don't think that many instruments should be orchestrated in that run. I think you should give the ensemble a downbeat after the run as a contrast.

I'll go down the score.

Flutes 1/2: You should take that up an octave. In-staff flute is going to get eaten with all those other instruments you have playing.

Clarinets 1/2: This can be left as it is. But if it were me I would take away second clarinet off the run, 1sts can handle it.

Saxes are fine.

I don't think trumpets should play the run at all, but if you like it that way, I would suggest taking the seconds off of it. Trumpets aren't good in that low register, and I recommend not going lower than a written B flat.

I disagree with Peter about the horn parts making it muddy. haha. two words. Samuel Hazo. Listen to some of his fast pieces. I certainly don't think his horn runs sound muddy, and I'm sure he thinks the same.

I really think the euphonium part should be up an octave, if you really want notes that low, give it to the tuba. :rolleyes:

Like I said, the brass shouldn't have that run in the first place, but if you like the sound keep it. just take it up an octave. If anything, the low register baritone/trumpet would muddy it up more than horn!

As for the rest of the piece, good job, i like it!

I disagree with Peter about the horn parts making it muddy. haha. two words. Samuel Hazo. Listen to some of his fast pieces. I certainly don't think his horn runs sound muddy, and I'm sure he thinks the same.

I am not familiar with Hazo. I'm listening to some of his stuff now, and I do hear a few horn runs, but they function the same as horn rips: they're always alone and do everything a rip does.

1:20. I'm fairly certain that's written out.

2:50 I'm VERY certain that's written out and not a rip. However, you don't hear the notes, you only hear the color of the scale and the object note, like a rip.

The run in question is not a rip, it's a flourish joined with the high, crisp instruments (euph is an exception, but a good one). The horn's point of execution on slurred notes is simply too slow to use as a flourish, which is why trumpets and euphoniums tend to play those sorts of things while horns typically do not. I'd be saying the same thing if he had scored one of the tubas to join the run. It only takes away from the clarity of the line.

I do agree that'd it'd be better to have the run a bit higher if the trumpets were to do it. It's not unreasonable to ask for a clean run from the low register, though.

This is a lovely piece, and very intense in the way you've express your emotions through it. I'm happy to have been able to hear it and give my thoughts on it! Thanks for allowing us to have that pleasure!

I feel that the opening six measures may work better with the Clarinets taking the parts that the Flutes have, obviously dropping the parts an octave. First off, they'll match up better with the Horns and won't be as hidden as the Flutes would be.

I also believe that as you have three fermatas on the first page, you might be doing more harm than good. Perhaps you might switch these three out for a different technique, where you ritardando into the following measure and then go back to a tempo at the start of that next measure. The fermatas almost seemed out of place, and between the three times I listened to this piece, seemed to almost destroy the delicate buildup into reheasal letter [C]. The only I might leave in would be the one in the measure just before , as this will give your performers a better chance of a controlled crescendo, since many are heading towards piano or mezzo-piano. I find it's harder to control a crescendo to a soft dynamic level for many performers.

The Horns have been mentioned as a problem. The main reason I find the measures on the first page to be a problem for the Horns is those amazingly high notes at such a soft dynamic level. You have them playing a high Ab at pianissimo. I'm not certain that's possible without it sounding horrible or squeaky. What I'd suggest, and it's certainly a viable option, is to have them start playing piano at [A], and two measures before , have them switch parts. Drop the new second part down an octave, so that high D resolves to the C which is currently in the second part. The low D resolves up to the Eb just above it, and each part continues in that fashion. Now, I understand these are the same parts are the Trumpets, and at the same pitch, but you have to be mindful of the different ranges of each instrument. Not just the highs and lows of them, but also how each instrument plays and sounds in each register. Certainly take a look around at other works in this genre, and ask for some suggestions on these. Many of us would be more than happy to suggest alternative orchestrations in sections that seem a bit unbalanced. But don't worry, this is more a cosmetic thing, as your melody, harmony, and other structural lines are great. It's just a matter of rebalancing, and this happens to a lot of pieces (even some of mine are continually undergoing rebalancing).

One issue which deals with rebalancing is your dynamics. It isn't until rehearsal [J] on the last page that we reach forte. Perhaps you might look at widening your dynamic range throughout the piece. This can help even out some of the shaky parts (a high Gb for Trombone is worrisome at low dynamic levels, for example).

Urgh, I hate making this next comment on every post I see. It's more for those who have reviewed this before I get to it, but it's regarding your score setup. I understand that it's easier for us to write percussion on separate staves and then pool them together, especially when most of us don't have the music pre-written out (I'm a crazy one that handwrites scores and then places them onto my computer). Be mindful that many people seem to have the expectation that a product put up for review is 100% finished. Yes, eventually you will need to truncate the score to standard format (anything with two parts onto one stave, and all the percussion onto one stave since you don't have many instruments written). For now, keep it in mind down the road, because you'll have to make decisions on what to put on what staves. I would certainly add an auxiliary percussion part, but as to what instruments to include as auxiliary, that'll be up to you.

In the lower parts that continue after the first two measures of [G], you should put cautionary/reminder accidentals on the concert Bb. Either that, or make the B natural a Cb, which would probably be the wiser option from a theory standpoint (though most performers might prefer the B natural followed by a Bb with a cautionary flat in front of it). Same thing for when you harmonize in thirds on the Db-D-Db. Cautionary accidental especially then, as it would be really ugly (though once again wiser theoretically) to write the Ebb.

In closing, I love this piece, and you should probably add some Chimes to it. I say Chimes over adding Bells, because you have these evocative flowing lines that are almost like hills; since Bells cannot "flow" in the sense of slurring, it would probably damage those lines. A good number of well-placed Chime notes would help immensly.

I am not familiar with Hazo. I'm listening to some of his stuff now, and I do hear a few horn runs, but they function the same as horn rips: they're always alone and do everything a rip does.

1:20. I'm fairly certain that's written out.

2:50 I'm VERY certain that's written out and not a rip. However, you don't hear the notes, you only hear the color of the scale and the object note, like a rip.

The run in question is not a rip, it's a flourish joined with the high, crisp instruments (euph is an exception, but a good one). The horn's point of execution on slurred notes is simply too slow to use as a flourish, which is why trumpets and euphoniums tend to play those sorts of things while horns typically do not. I'd be saying the same thing if he had scored one of the tubas to join the run. It only takes away from the clarity of the line.

I do agree that'd it'd be better to have the run a bit higher if the trumpets were to do it. It's not unreasonable to ask for a clean run from the low register, though.

Did you enjoy those pieces? I really enjoy Hazo's work! Mainly his slow pieces, however!

I do agree with you on the horn thing though. Although I've unfortunately performed both of those pieces, all of the low brass runs are doubled on horn, as well as some of the alto/clarinet/trumpet ones. I do agree with you however, I don't think the brass should play the run at all. Perhaps some harmonizing it would add a more flourishing, less direct feel.

Did you enjoy those pieces? I really enjoy Hazo's work! Mainly his slow pieces, however!

As a matter of fact, I liked those pieces a lot. :lol:

Number one, I question your use of dedicating an entire staff to the cymbal, which comes in a number of (I counted) five times. I would recommend calling that staff "percussion" and maybe adding a couple more auxiliary instruments instead. You rarely see a concert band that is not a school band, and therefore there are lots of pot head percussionists. 1) This keeps them (the percussionists) interested. 2) This adds another element of variation that keeps the audience interested. A tambourine or woodblock would fit nicely, imho.

While this is a fine option, the problem isn't that you've dedicated one staff to cymbals - percussion writing is almost totally nonstandard anyway, beyond having "timpani" on its own part, and even then there's some wiggle room. You can feel free to give cymbals their own staff especially if the other staves are very involved and wouldn't have time to play the cymbal part anyway.

No, the PROBLEM with your part is that it is called "cymbals" and then the player is simply given a notehead...WHAT cymbal? DO WHAT to it? WITH WHAT beater/stick/etc? You MUST specify things that are not obvious (and as a percussionist shame shame shame). While I admit the fact that the note is rolled suggests suspended, PLEASE be very specific in future pieces - a bass drum is hit with a bass beater, that does not need to be specified, same with snare drum being hit with sticks, etc. But anytime you write percussion be sure to label: DO WHAT -- TO WHAT INSTRUMENT -- WITH WHAT

While this is a fine option, the problem isn't that you've dedicated one staff to cymbals - percussion writing is almost totally nonstandard anyway, beyond having "timpani" on its own part, and even then there's some wiggle room. You can feel free to give cymbals their own staff especially if the other staves are very involved and wouldn't have time to play the cymbal part anyway.

No, the PROBLEM with your part is that it is called "cymbals" and then the player is simply given a notehead...WHAT cymbal? DO WHAT to it? WITH WHAT beater/stick/etc? You MUST specify things that are not obvious (and as a percussionist shame shame shame). While I admit the fact that the note is rolled suggests suspended, PLEASE be very specific in future pieces - a bass drum is hit with a bass beater, that does not need to be specified, same with snare drum being hit with sticks, etc. But anytime you write percussion be sure to label: DO WHAT -- TO WHAT INSTRUMENT -- WITH WHAT

Don't "shame shame" me. I'm not stupid. In finale 09 there is no suspended cymbal, otherwise I would have chosen that. I also know the rules of writing percussion; however, I did what I could with the program to get the sound I wanted. If the composer does not specify otherwise on what to hit an instrument with then it is common knowledge that the player would use the "default" beater.

Take a look at a Frank Ticheli score's percussion parts to see what can be done with Finale... :shifty:

Don't "shame shame" me. I'm not stupid. In finale 09 there is no suspended cymbal, otherwise I would have chosen that. I also know the rules of writing percussion; however, I did what I could with the program to get the sound I wanted. If the composer does not specify otherwise on what to hit an instrument with then it is common knowledge that the player would use the "default" beater.

Yeah, you know how there's a "text" tool? Use that!

Yeah, you know how there's a "text" tool? Use that!

Dude, the only reason I responded in such a way is because you were being an donkey. It seemed like you were talking down to me, like you assumed I knew nothing.Maybe you were trying to help, but it seemed like you were trying more to insult me then help me. This isn't my first time writing something. Oh, and I would critique your works, but you have none.

Please do not start an argument which has the inherent flaws of Finale's programming as its basis. Finale 2009 has a very steep learning curve to get it to do any sort of fine-tuning, and the Percussion set-up is the most evident. Percussion isn't as easy to input into Finale to both playback correctly and look correctly. It takes a lot of time to learn how to get what you want out of it, so let's take a breather before this gets out of hand.

Yes, a score/parts should always notate what type of Cymbals you are using, whether it be on the part itself, or if you intend to use multiple cymbals, at every change in cymbal usage throughout the part. However, it should be remembered that most people who upload their scores for critique can forget that while they've managed to write Percussion so it plays back correctly, they still need to provide this information. It's not uncommon, and there's no reason to fight about it. You make a mistake, somebody lets you know, and you fix it for next time. Live and learn.

Now, Finale does have a suspended cymbal, it's just buried in the midi mapping. The problem with Finale's percussion set up is that it treats the midi mapping of percussion as a normal instrument, which it should. So, most people know that a D2 is a snare drum, if you are familiar with midi mapping. However, here's the catch: the D2 is a snare drum only in C major. There's most of the problem. Say the key signature changes to F major. Non-pitched percussion does not utilize key signatures, but Finale stores the data just like it would for any other instrument. So the D2 for C major now becomes a G2 in F major. So you can't just hit a note anymore and have it input correctly. If you want, I'll look up the suspended cymbal and let you know what note it would be.