The War of Fantasia

I would like some tips and suggestions for this piece. Just a little bit on this piece, it's been in the works for well over a year. I've been improving it and changing it constently. It first started out as a piano piece and has turned into a full score. It's a fantasy piece at which I am very happy with the melodic materal I have in it so far. I say so far because I know it still needs some more work and I will be changing it as needed.

I have entered this piece into 2 young composer competitions so far, and I am about to send it off again before the end of this month. I know the transitions between the different tempos need some work and maybe someone can give me some tips on that.

Sorry, I don't have a MP3 file. My dial-up internet will not let me upload it to one of my websites, but here is the Finale 2005 and Mid file:

War_of_Fantasia_Orchestra.MUS

War_of_Fantasia_Orchestra.MID

Well, to be honest.

I got bored really quickly. I think if you raised the tempo in some parts it would give them a flare.Also I disagree with some of your repeats of sections, at a faster tempo then repeats of them would work alot better. Some parts were really amazing(things you would hear in movie scores) but they happenned sooo slowly!

Also you fill the score way too much. It works don't get me wrong, but it works more for climaxes. Maybe you could make a section that will lead into the war of fantasia?(if so, the repeats wouldn't be necessary)

I'd be very interested to hear the piano piece.

Well, I wouldn't have done so much repeating if these competitions didn't require at least 8 minutes of music.

Yes, I suppose I do fill it up too much. My next orchestral score shouldn't have that however.

It is a good piece don't get me wrong. I just feel it has huge holes which can be fixed in a jiffy!:glare:

By curiousity what is your next orchestral work going to be??

(also could you please post the piano piece? I'd really like to hear that)

I can't post the piano pieces because all of those are hand-written on manuscript paper. I did put some of it on the computer, but it's a mess. I've got so many things written incorrectly. You see, the piano part has all of these triplet arpeggios running up and down the piano and I first wrote them as 32nd note triplets or groups of 32nd sixlets...I have a lot of work to do on them.

If you want to see the mess. Here it is. And yes, all of it is possible to play. I've played

all of it. I wish I could get you a real recording, but my dial-up internet will not upload mp3s

to the internet. Real life sounds better. When you get done looking at the piano part, tell me

so I can delete it off the board.

My next orchestral piece....you'll just have to see it when I'm finished.

Hey - finally managed to make my way onto the board! :) The piece is really starting to go somewhere now - it's a complete difference to what I saw a few months ago. Just a few niggly bits but apart from that I think it's got the bones of a good piece! Congrats!

Hey - finally managed to make my way onto the board! :) The piece is really starting to go somewhere now - it's a complete difference to what I saw a few months ago. Just a few niggly bits but apart from that I think it's got the bones of a good piece! Congrats!

Thank you very much and nice to see you on the forums!!! Yes, I used your 8 pages of notes...trust me. (It was my Bible to correcting this piece!) Took out a lot of arpeggios and added melodic material. THANKS SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP. This piece is coming right along. Is there something I can improve on in this version? Can you point out the niggly bits? lol :closedeyes: I've sent this to two other competitions so far since the first competition. I'm going to enter it into more until I finish my new orchestral score....which is going to be much better written.

Why don't you post something new of yours on the forum? If it's something little...put it in the forums below, but if it's major...put it here! lol :laugh:

This was a very enjoyable romp! I can think of no better way to describe it. This piece is one continuous romp. I did not find it repetitive as some have suggested, although the feel of the piece changes little during its course. I think that is one weakness, but it is not a severe one.

The biggest trouble I have with this piece is that I have a hard time identifying a particular form for it. It seems free form, moving form one idea to the next. If there is an underlying motif that binds them all together, I was unable to discern it.

That said, you have a firm grasp of your material, and you handle your instrumentation very well. This is a very enjoyable romp, and it ends quite satisfyingly!

Yes, I would agree. It is in a free form....thus the name fantasia.

More diversity would be nice, but my next orchestral score will have some diversity to it.

This piece does flow well together.

What in the heck is a romp? :)

piano_player18, i have enjoyed listening to part of your piece (i will listen to the rest later). I enjoyed the piece around 70-80 bars in. i agree matusleo, its hard to find your style in this piece, it sort of sounds to me like a mixture of church, classical and complete free form.

I will review more tomorrow!

Like Thomas, I though your updated piece was much improved than the first. I enjoyed it very much...and I almost had a tear come to my eye after reading the beginning of The Mayor of Casterbridge. No, but really it's good...I might even get around to reviewing it further.

As to what Benjamin Lines and Matusleo have said about no style in this piece, maybe you should tell them the first thing you did with the piece.(you know the movie thing) Even though I have not read the book, I have looked around for things about it and it seems to fit the it nicely. Because I have not read the book I can sometimes imagine a story around your piece. :happy:

Ok. I will do that.

Back last spring/summer I contacted Christopher Paolini, the author of Eragon and Eldest of the Inheritance Trilogy. I told him I would be honored to write the music for the Eragon movie that is due to release in December of 2006. I got a letter back from him and he gave me the address to the man in charge of the Eragon film project. That guy works for Fox 2000.

Well, the first version of this I mailed to the man in charge. I never got a reply, and they finally hired Patrick Doyle to compose the music for the upcoming film.

The reason I thought this piece was great for the movie is because it sounds like movie music and it does have a fantasia feel to it. The book Eragon is about a boy who discovers a dragon egg and becomes a dragon rider. (Which the riders have been destroyed for centuries.) The egg that the boy finds was stolen from the evil King Galbatorix by an elf. It's the last dragon egg left. So Eragon (which is the name of the boy) goes on the adventure to save the world of Alaegasia. Obviously, it is definately a fantasy, and I do think that the theme in the middle section (right after the Allegretto section) would be the perfect main movie theme.

That's the story of "The War of Fantasia" which really...could have become "The War of Alaegasia"!

The update was beautiful!

Now if I hear it live, then I'll know if all the orchestration works properly. :)

Style wise, hmm.. it is a mix of things.

Though I still don't like the repeats.

Good luck and have a profound day.

Well, I finally got the MP3 file loaded on the internet.

You can hear it on my website:

www.soundclick.com/johnprestondennis

I've got some great news on this piece! This piece just got me into the top 3 finalist for the Central Florida Young Composers Challenge. I'm having this piece performed on Feb. 12th by the Orlanda Philharmonic Young Symphony Orchestra. I'm getting a recording of the piece also!!! So hopefully I will get to put it on my website. After the concert they will announce the winner.

WISH ME LUCK!

Fantastic! good luck!

I've got some great news on this piece! This piece just got me into the top 3 finalist for the Central Florida Young Composers Challenge. I'm having this piece performed on Feb. 12th by the Orlanda Philharmonic Young Symphony Orchestra. I'm getting a recording of the piece also!!! So hopefully I will get to put it on my website. After the concert they will announce the winner.

WISH ME LUCK!

I sure will. What is a good website to host my songs other than soundclick.com? I want a site that I can just give you a link and you don't have to be a member of the site.

I liked this composition very much.

You seem to be a born romantic.

It felt slightly derivitive though starting at the "battle part."

The battle scene sounded "heroic" as I suppose that's what you were going for.

But you could have used a more interesting chord selection for a fairly monotonous melody.

It sounds as if you were inspired by other Hollywood battle music, particularly those fantasy battles involving dragons and falcons and orcs and man or whatever.

I don't know, it's just personal taste really. Nothing to groundbreaking of this piece, though it works for what it is.

Continue writing!

This is one of the beautifullist compositions I ever heard! :thumbsup:

I think it's suitable for every fantasy film ! :D

I'm amazed how people compose these things.

I'm trying to, but it won't succeed.

Does anyone have a tip ?

Just keep writing! You can only improve with experience and knowledge. That's the way it works. Don't kid yourself with crappy pieces - really work hard and only put things down if they're good, not because they add a few more minutes to the length of your piece or add a few to your opus number.

have you got any compositions that we can hear of? (post them in another topic, I've kinda wandered off the point here)

no I'm sorry,

I'm just 13 years old and trying to compose a little bit music. I really love all the music on this site and I also love movie music, classic and jazz. I'm trying to compose something on my piano, but I can't get on with it.

I really was inspired by the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini. Beautiful books !

at your War of Fantasia, Mov. 1, there's a moment where I think the right hand should be a little bit louder than the left. Left is a bit too loud.

no I'm sorry,

I'm just 13 years old and trying to compose a little bit music. I really love all the music on this site and I also love movie music, classic and jazz. I'm trying to compose something on my piano, but I can't get on with it.

I really was inspired by the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini. Beautiful books !

I was definately inspired my the Inheritance Trilogy. I'm still in the process of reading Eldest.

I attempted to send this piece in for the Eragon movie which is coming to theaters in Dec. 2006.

at your War of Fantasia, Mov. 1, there's a moment where I think the right hand should be a little bit louder than the left. Left is a bit too loud.

Oh, that's just scrap stuff. I took that off the board a while back. I have so many things written wrong with the piano part and I'm not worried about it. It's truely an orchestral piece and is not really for piano. I just started writing the melodies and such on the piano.

I was definately inspired my the Inheritance Trilogy. I'm still in the process of reading Eldest.

I attempted to send this piece in for the Eragon movie which is coming to theaters in Dec. 2006.[/b]

I've read them both and they are beautiful! And War of Fantasia is indeed very good for Orchestral. I really think you should send it again. It's really good for a movie like Eragon. And I really don't like that Doyle.

I'm trying to write my first piece for piano. It's quite simple, but I'm going to extend it later. When I have something I'll post it.