Big Band original composition

Well, hopefully this will be more sucessful than my recent sonata (1st movent) posted in piano works.

This is a 12 bar blue piece. The solos in the midi file are just samples, they are meant to be improvised.

The midi file generated by finale sounds horrible (balance and instrument sounds) so use your imagination....

No drums in this recording.

Hope you enjoy.

Penn_Blues.MUS

Penn_Ave_Blues.MID

Great song.

thank you.

Sou brasileiro tambem, mas estou nos EUA.

Great work! You have an excellent grasp of the idiom and its characteristics.

If there's one thing I'd change, I'd say don't repeat the downplay section. It's too much of the same.

I like it.

Of course it sounds more like a jam session than a big band tune.

Maybe like a big band warm up.

A good job there, nice riff! Great use of the 1-4-5 chords.

Although, the section where the big band 'shouts', the bass needs to be more noticeable in that section. Otherwise it feels a bit bland.

Really? Que Bom!!!

This is a very good work! I Liked it! You sure have the groove. The arrangement, the harmony, the riffs, its all there. What more one can say ?

Two things are wrong with this arrangement. The first is the Flute Lead in shout choruses. Although a flute lead works very nicely sometimes, it will never stand out over a full band, not even when miked. In a flute chorus, I will remove most of the band, and have the flute leading a much smaller ensemble (eg. harmon trumpet, trombone, alto, tenor). Second thing is written solos, although these particular ones are very tasteful, no-one likes to play a written solo, much preferring to make up their own. Other than that, good work, maybe add a 4th trombone part in somewhere, as some of the chords need the depth that this would provide.

Two things are wrong with this arrangement. The first is the Flute Lead in shout choruses. Although a flute lead works very nicely sometimes, it will never stand out over a full band, not even when miked. In a flute chorus, I will remove most of the band, and have the flute leading a much smaller ensemble (eg. harmon trumpet, trombone, alto, tenor). Second thing is written solos, although these particular ones are very tasteful, no-one likes to play a written solo, much preferring to make up their own. Other than that, good work, maybe add a 4th trombone part in somewhere, as some of the chords need the depth that this would provide.

Thank you for the comments. I'm a little confused about the writeen solos thing. There are no written solos. The ones in the midi file are samples and are not even on the score. Also this was written for a particular ensemble. There was no 4th bone. The flute was an addition to the ensemble, she was added on and played on a mic. The piece works with the flute part missing altogether. Wheneve the flute has lead, it's doubling a part, often 8va. The lead is in the 1st tpt/ 1st alto.

Glad you enjoyed. And yes, I wish I had that 4th bone player. Thanks for listening.

Sounds good - a nice, laid-back basie-ish blues...

Things I noticed:

For the development section (E), personally, I'd like to see more interaction throughout the band. The whole development is in rhythmic unison, which is interesting, for a little while. Some call and response would keep the listener's ear a whille longer....

At D, is that all the soloists blowing at the same time without the rhythm section? Make sure you specify that they keep strict time through that, or it will fall apart (when I get around to putting up some of my stuff, you'll see what can happen...).

And some little things:

- measure 11 sounds odd, ending the phrase on 1 sounds a bit square to me...

- m16, there's something odd in the trombone backgrounds. Possibly the F and E-naturals against the Eb in piano and the D in the bass. Be careful when using any substitutions for backgrounds, unless the rhythm section knows about them!

- The sax backgrounds (to me) seem a little busy. Probably easily fixed with apropriate dynamics though...

Overall, nice job - a blues is usually easy enough for a band to learn, always a great vehicle for opening up solos, and fun!

Thanks for the comments. I'll check those odd spots. At D, there's a lot that can be done. In any situation, it's supposed to be in strict time. I originally thought that section would work well with as a "stop time" drum solo. Provided that I have a drummer that can solo in time....

Thanks for listening.

In any situation, it's supposed to be in strict time. I originally thought that section would work well with as a "stop time" drum solo. Provided that I have a drummer that can solo in time....

I think it would work just as well with a drum solo...and may be easier to get through. 3 people soloing, 3 concepts of time, 3 more ways to lose control...

BUT, it can work VERY well - especially if you can thin the shots out even more (maybe every 4 bars)...you gotta have some serious players though...but sounds awesome.

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