First Piece. Orchestral Freehand.

Here is my first piece.

it is for a small orchestra (with guitar, but not solo guitar).

I wanted to write this for so long but could never get the melody on paper. I always thought it would be a great first composition. (This next part sounds impulsive) So, I went out and bought Finale 2006. 350 dollars down the drain. 350 dollars that I have to repay my parents by Christmas or I don't get any presents form them.

But anyway... that was ranting... this is poetry (I hope)...

Orchestral_Freehand.MUS

Orchestral_Freehand.MID

first off: 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 3 oboes, 4 clarinets, 4 horns, 7 implied percussionists, strings harp and timpani... is NOT a "small orchestra".

secondly, $350 is only down the drain if you are not serious about music. If you get one of the most complete music programs on the market, then you should start by learning how to use it properly. There are tutorials that come with Finale. (the instrument layout in your score is FAR from standard... Finale normally places instruments in the proper order for you, a nice feature that you don't get from lesser programs).

I'd highly recommend another expenditure of your christmas money: a book on orchestration. You can get Piston's great little tome for around $30.

I don't mind reviewing a new work, however, when the submission includes pointless jabs at a tool I have been using for many years in my work (Finale), then it is considerably less tempting to be impartial.

first off: 2 piccolos, 2 flutes, 3 oboes, 4 clarinets, 4 horns, 7 implied percussionists, strings harp and timpani... is NOT a "small orchestra".

secondly, $350 is only down the drain if you are not serious about music. If you get one of the most complete music programs on the market, then you should start by learning how to use it properly. There are tutorials that come with Finale. (the instrument layout in your score is FAR from standard... Finale normally places instruments in the proper order for you, a nice feature that you don't get from lesser programs).

I'd highly recommend another expenditure of your christmas money: a book on orchestration. You can get Piston's great little tome for around $30.

I don't mind reviewing a new work, however, when the submission includes pointless jabs at a tool I have been using for many years in my work (Finale), then it is considerably less tempting to be impartial.

First off: 2 piccolo 'performers', 2 Flute 'performers', 3 Oboe 'perofrmers', 4 Clarinet 'performers', 4 horn 'performers', 1 percussionist, 7 String 'performers', and 1 Timpani 'performers' is only 24 players... therefore in my mind a small orchestra. My school orchestra is 89 piece. They are a big orchestra!

Secondly, $350 is down the drain even if you are serious about music because I don't have the money to pay for it therefore I have to earn the money outside of writing music which is taking time away from me being able to learn the system. The instrument layout is FINALE if you must know. The reason is didn't work out well was because I transfered it to Finale from MIDI which I wrote it on originally to experiment before I tried a huge program like Finale. When Finale moved it from MIDI to .MUS I must have forgot to change the instrument layout.

I don't think you understand. My parents bought me Finale for my birthday, I have to pay them back before Christmas (because it was so much money) or I don't get any Christmas presents.

after all the hype about this piece in the shoutbox, i had to check it

out for myself but im not going to try to be harsh, just more construstive.

okay, it was a little musically incoherent and some of your harmonies

are rather dissonant but if thats what you were aiming for...

it sounds dreamy, kind of like floating on a cloud. i think you should

have had a little more of a melody... and stuck to it as well as developped

the end more but for a first try, it was pretty good. :P

keep at it :o

Not exactly a present if you have to pay back, is it? (Unless you mean like pay back half or something, seeing that it IS $350...)

As for your piece, it DOES sound very "freehand". It sounds very empty, and I think its because you have a melody, but very little support from the other instruments. It also seems that you have no clear direction; and yes, this is hard to do. Anyway, keep on working! You don't want to have just wasted $350!

Oh, my friend.. the software is 600 $...

I just have to pay back 350 of it.

after all the hype about this piece in the shoutbox, i had to check it

out for myself but im not going to try to be harsh, just more construstive.

okay, it was a little musically incoherent and some of your harmonies

are rather dissonant but if thats what you were aiming for...

it sounds dreamy, kind of like floating on a cloud. i think you should

have had a little more of a melody... and stuck to it as well as developped

the end more but for a first try, it was pretty good. :happy:

keep at it :P

That is exactly what I was going for... Harmonies are supposed to be dissonant. (I am in love with dissonance)

Dreamy was one aspect in which I was going for.

There wasn't a melody.

The end was supposed to end abruptly.

And it was supposed to be good as a first try.

Thank you very much. :thumbsup:

hes so cute :P

merci.

Damn... you know maybe if i compose random stuff like you maybe i'll get more coments :P

So far I only have one and I'm pretty sure my compositions are just a bit better... Sorry.

Ok look to be honest I can see that even in your experimentation you have a sense of motivic progression. You just need to back it up with some solid orchestration and a reasonable melodic line. Start off with an ostinato pattern and proceed from there. My first attempts at orchestration were a bit off as well. At the momment i'm working on a movement for a piano concerto... its not bad for a first shot i guess.

Cheers Rob.

And for the rest of you come check out my piano scores in piano music...

Roberto... plzzzzzzzzz i'm begging you.... i feel like the odd one out... and i'm really not such a bad composer...

I can't review it in any depth because as you've explained it's a personal statement that you want to make and you seem to like it as it is. It is close enough to diatonicism though to justify your gaining a little more knowledge of the basics of what makes music tick so that you have more control over your composing. It sounds like something just recorded at an electronic keyboard until it was got in the shape you want - there's nothing wrong with that as long as you don't mind it sounding like that. I appreciate there was a little more to it and that's just my view, though.

Oh, my friend.. the software is 600 $...

I just have to pay back 350 of it.

mmm, if you had been more careful, and asked around, you could have saved $250 on that.

the special price for students is $350....

I'm presuming since you're talking about parents and christmas presents that you're a student.

I'd suggest you try calling MakeMusic and finding out if there's any way of getting reimbursed the difference between full pricing and student pricing. There's no real reason for you to pay the full-blown price is there?

It's just a form that you have your school fax to them with their department of education number or something.

You don't have to be going to a music school for the rebate, just be IN school.

Thanks a lot, I'll look into that.

I, personally, would like to see the score when it's "prettied up" a bit. The way you have it right now isn't so inviting!

As for the piece itself, it's a good first attempt. You obviously need work on your orchestration, but this will come with time. I suggest checking this out - http://www.garritan.com/forum.html. Very enlightening! One thing that I like to tell those who haven't yet gotten a grasp on orchestration is that they must remember that every instrument is around for a reason. They are all unique, and one must use the instrument in a way that is unique to that instrument. This will help you develop ideas about how to write convincing lines.

Your harmonies are interesting, somewhat impressionistic. The dissonance isn't unsettling - in this instance, it's quite soothing. You have potential to write very interesting music if you continue with what you're doing. Just remember to keep trying new things!

As for Finale, you certainly didn't waste any money!

I, personally, would like to see the score when it's "prettied up" a bit. The way you have it right now isn't so inviting!

As for the piece itself, it's a good first attempt. You obviously need work on your orchestration, but this will come with time. I suggest checking this out - http://www.garritan.com/forum.html. Very enlightening! One thing that I like to tell those who haven't yet gotten a grasp on orchestration is that they must remember that every instrument is around for a reason. They are all unique, and one must use the instrument in a way that is unique to that instrument. This will help you develop ideas about how to write convincing lines.

Your harmonies are interesting, somewhat impressionistic. The dissonance isn't unsettling - in this instance, it's quite soothing. You have potential to write very interesting music if you continue with what you're doing. Just remember to keep trying new things!

As for Finale, you certainly didn't waste any money!

Thanks much. I have a book called "Instrtumentation and Orchestration", I am starting it today. I hope it will help.