Greetings, Who wants to listen?

[Josh Rickard]

Im not new to Internet Forums but this is my first post here. Ive been looking for a good forum to discuss composing and I think Ive found it.

Anyways, I would like a little feedback to the attached piece. It is the Main theme for a series I am doing about Canada's Involvement in Italy in the second world war.

The specific area ive been having trouble deciding on is the use of timpani. This version of the piece uses it less sparringly than previous versions. Any feedback will be usefull however.

I look forward to being a valuable contributor to these forums....

[Ray Kemp]

First up Josh,

It's quite a large file in wav format. Everyone doesn't have fast internet connections. Although compressed, mp3 should be good enough for such a demo.

Please tell a little more about the samples you're using. The timpani isn't good and the orchestra chordal work very organ like.

But! I like the music.

Ray

[Josh Rickard]

Thanx for the response Ray. Right now all I have is Allegro 2007 and my computer's sound card to work with. I am not so technicaly or "gear" savvy, but I have a genious friend who has a recording studio with all that stuff. So at the moment, I am not so worried about the sonic aspects as I am with the actuallo orchestration. So having that in mind, could you please expand a bit on your earlier comments? Especially about the chording. Was it the orchestration or the actuall "sound" that was the issue?

Thank you so very much for your help!
P.S. I am having trouble uploading the mp3 version... hopefully I can figure it out..
I was able to uplaod it to my home page though....

Ray Kemp said:

First up Josh,

It's quite a large file in wav format. Everyone doesn't have fast internet connections. Although compressed, mp3 should be good enough for such a demo.

Please tell a little more about the samples you're using. The timpani isn't good and the orchestra chordal work very organ like.

But! I like the music.

Ray

[Anne Goodwin]

This is a very beautiful theme Josh. I initially commented that the music didn't last long enough but then noticed where you wrote that this is merely the main theme. Therefore, I look forward to hopefully listening to more expansion on it at some point because it really is very lovely.

[Ray Kemp]

Josh Rickard said:

So having that in mind, could you please expand a bit on your earlier comments? Especially about the chording. Was it the orchestration or the actuall "sound" that was the issue?

Josh,

In both timpani and chords my first thought was poor instrument samples and it's great you having a friend with the production skills and equipment for future collaboration. Many here on the forum would love to have access to that.

I tend not to critique orchestration or musical content of someone's compositions unless I just don't like them.
Comments I give on production and/or recording are given not as an expert but simply as someone perhaps a little further down the path towards producing better recordings. We are all learning something every day at different levels or in different directions.

Every author of every book I've read on orchestration seem to agree on one thing. If the note being played isn't necessary, don't play it. When orchestrating instruments and sections in sustained close harmony, it is difficult to keep definition of each note and therefore they blend into an (organ-like) chord.

Ray

[Josh Rickard]

Again, thanx for the comments. I think some times its just nice to have reassurance from other musicians / composers rather than friends if you know what I mean. And your last comment Ray, about everyone working at different levels and learning everyday is certainly true. I should be adding more pices to my home page later on if you vare to listen.... :)

Ray Kemp said:

Josh Rickard said:

So having that in mind, could you please expand a bit on your earlier comments? Especially about the chording. Was it the orchestration or the actuall "sound" that was the issue?

Josh,

In both timpani and chords my first thought was poor instrument samples and it's great you having a friend with the production skills and equipment for future collaboration. Many here on the forum would love to have access to that.

I tend not to critique orchestration or musical content of someone's compositions unless I just don't like them.
Comments I give on production and/or recording are given not as an expert but simply as someone perhaps a little further down the path towards producing better recordings. We are all learning something every day at different levels or in different directions.

Every author of every book I've read on orchestration seem to agree on one thing. If the note being played isn't necessary, don't play it. When orchestrating instruments and sections in sustained close harmony, it is difficult to keep definition of each note and therefore they blend into an (organ-like) chord.

Ray