Infinity - Marching Band Show

Hello this is my new marching show I'm working on, its meant to be a musical representation of the concept of infinity. The first bits before the hit are muffled because the winds are facing towards side 2 so it should sound more like an echo. Im posting to ask for opinions on this idea and concept

Hi @NicholasG!

The brass passage in 0:39 is way too loud and it scares me lol! I think you should definitely tone down the dynamics there! I would say it would make a good trailer music. Thx for sharing.

Henry

Hey Nicholas!

I can’t remember if I posted on one of your pieces before, but I also compose marching/pep band pieces and I want to support that as much as I can since there are so few on this forum.

Anyway, I think you have some great ideas. Wanting to start with a mellow intro, using different ostinatos and layering them in, entering percussion, then building to a big hit. I think all those ideas are nice. I also like that you had a cohesive vibe throughout the piece. It felt very Tron -esque, robotic and repetitive, and the synth helped that atmosphere.

I hesitate to say this, because I think most often this isn’t the highest quality option, but here’s my opinion and taste and you can definitely disagree with me. I think you would write a higher quality piece if you delved into your theme a little more and started from scratch. I say this because sometimes the minimalist, repeated short bits actually come off as boring. My MB did a show that was “minimalist” my Senior year, and it also felt boring and repetitive to me. 

With your theme of infinity, I think you could easily delve into the idea of moving through time & space endlessly, but in a way there’s still change. Like not an infinity of just repetition (ex. carrying an ostinato throughout the whole piece), but an infinity where a motif is consistently repeated but differently, a canon. You may be able to keep the intro in an ethereal light still, because I think that kind of weightlessness also conveys infinity.

Also, something that I hear even DCI writers struggling with is creating a piece that feels like a cohesive whole, including the big hits. The hits often feel not led up to properly, not exited in a fitting way, or they don’t match the overall style of the piece. See what you can do so the hits feel anticipated in some respect, and that they match the style, including tension and resolution.

Cheers, and happy composing