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Instead of arranging a piece for a full band, I tried doing a slightly different style. Inspired by Adrian Quince, I had high woodwinds (oboe), low woodwinds (bassoon), saxophone, high brass (trumpet) and low brass (tuba). The ending still isn't completely final because I still am not sure what to do with it. Any feedback/suggestions?

 

https://musescore.com/user/15379306/scores/3341871

small band piece.mid

Edited by bassoongirl123
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You have a lot of faith in your band having a lot of oboes :blush: especially since you'd need quite a few to get that "choir" sound. In my experience, such an occurrence is rare, but it's not my area of expertise, so I'll differ to you.
A lot of your counterpoint near the end is really quite good. I'd say you should brush up on it in the beginning. Here are a few places:
m. 19: Bassoon resolves up to a note a step away from the held note.
m. 23: D vs. C# resolves incorrectly. 
m. 31: i chord classes with V chord.
Things like that should be looked out for more.
In addition, perhaps using such a quick dotted half note tempo marker is a bit much. It works fine, yes. But you might as well go into compound meter, maybe from the beginning even, if it's going to be that fast.
I think it needs to be fuller. Counterpoint is always nice (and you have some good monophony too (with chromatics too :) )) but richen the sound a little more... denser orchestration using a larger range than what you have.

You have a good start. I want to see this succeed!

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Hi @bassoongirl123,

The writing in this is already much cleaner. Great job! Once you're feeling good about this condensed format, break it out for full band.

Some notes:

Counterpoint

Rhythmically, the quarter notes become pretty repetitive and make it hard to track the voices. Look for more rhythmic variations between the voices.

Orchestration

The clarinet is the "choir" instrument of the wind band. Oboes tend to make a very "thick" sound when grouped in a choir, so they really are not suitable for it. Treat the Oboe as a solo voice or as a color to highlight a line.

Your bassoon writing is really high! While it's possible, I think it may be unnecessary. Those high lines would sit really well in the Alto Sax, though.

Contrary to what you might hear elsewhere, treat the euphonium as a tenor voice, not a bass voice. Its sweet spot is from F on the bass clef to the G above the bass clef. The notes above and below are usable, but it's a waste to treat the euphonium as a small tuba. Speaking of, you need a tuba, which is the bass voice for the entire band.

Finally, concert D is a really spotty key for most bands. It creates awkward fingerings for the Trumpet, Euphonium, and Tuba and some awkward position changes for the trombone. It also puts the saxes and clarinets in a bunch of sharps. Depending on range considerations, E-flat, D-flat, or C would be a better key.

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