"Edit to above post. I meant C# actual sound, not C# written. "
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Charles Holt's Discussions
Cello high range limitations
Started this discussion. Last reply by michael diemer Sep 24. 8 Replies 0 Likes
A discussion on this topic at http://composersforum.ning.com/forum/topics/sonata-for-duo-cello was recently curtailed so…Continue
Charles Holt - pleased to meet you!
Started this discussion. Last reply by Bob Morabito Jun 19, 2018. 2 Replies 1 Like
I've been reading through some older posts before saying anything and from what I've found I think I'm going to be very happy here!I'm privileged to have had a successful career in what might still…Continue
Charles Holt's Page
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"Great idea. I once wrote a cello sonata and gave it to a member of the Portland Symphony. He said it contained some very high notes. I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure I had an F in there. I have been careful ever since with…"
"I think I'll have to sit out for a while. This is a one-sided continuation of exchanges between Charles and Ali, thinly veiled as a discussion about how much a composer should know about an instrument before writing for it. Were I Ali, I have…"
"Whenever I compose for an unfamiliar instrument, I go on Wikipedia and look up the top and bottom note of the instrument and try to avoid the extreme notes on either end for the most part. Incidentally, Finale has a nifty feature called "out of…"
"It is worth mentioning Greg that Ali edited at least one comment after I replied to it. This gies the impression I was ignoring his intent when in fact he only explained it after I voiced my concerns. Intonation is exactly the problem along with…"
"Psh. The main risk of writing so high is that the performers will simply fail to hit the correct pitches. But the very high fragments in Ali's piece aren't a sublime melody that requires precise intonation, they're an ugly shred at a…"
"I mentioned to Ali in his Duo for Cello thread that it seemed that there would be playability issues and he didn't seem concerned and why should he be? If we are writing in a baroque style everyone would expect the parts to be…"
"My feelings are that a new(ish) composer would soon find out what's playable and not if it came to performance. The work about which you're talking would need "quartet" standard of performers for at least some of it. Were I in…"
Cello high range limitations
A discussion on this topic at http://composersforum.ning.com/forum/topics/sonata-for-duo-cello was recently curtailed so I thought I shold clarify myself for anyone else writing for cello.The highest note that is reasonable to writw for is E6. This is the highest possible fingered note on most cellos ignoring extended techniques which would still render Alis piece unplayable. Cellos vary of course so a slightly…See More
"My pension could survive some inroads but my concern is what happens if the target is not met. Does the money go back to the doners before the site closes down or is it held in a virtual pot? How is the financial side of things managed is my…"
"My point was simply that it is not a prerequisite to good music. Of course one should study if one wants to but a common stage with developing composers is to prioritise mastery of theoretical forms to the exclusion of their own voice. Absorb…"
"Perhaps a useful idea is whether the composer themselves was thinking in your terms and consciously constructing from theoretical concepts or just writing music to sound a bit errie and strange. I would say it is the latter. Theory after all exists…"
"Some extraordinarily powerful music is written with little to no counterpoint. It is not a requirement for good composing!"
"You had stated "rules are only ever used to teach someone, not for creating art" and that is simply untrue. I merely wanted to make that point. There are rules or trends or traditions in music that are absolutely followed when creating new…"
"Obviously but if the OP thinks a sample library is expensive he's in for a shock concerning the cost of musicians. Samples are there to substitute and sometimes very convincingly."
"The cost of a good sample library is not that great when considered as an investment by a professional. It's not a case of wealth it's a case of persistence and getting yourself to the point where you can afford what you need."
Profile Information
- What have you composed for? Or what medium do you work around?
- Multimedia, Choir, Songs
- What is your favorite genre or style of music?
- Choral
- Is music your main income source?
- No - Not at all.
- Where do you live?
- UK
- About Me (Must include at least one paragraph of biographical information about you as a composer) - blank or minimal answers on this line will cause your request to be rejected. Include a link to your website if you have one.
- I am a choral and sacred composer with four decades of experience, now beginning to move away from the rigorous strictures surrounding such work into a more harmonically unbound future. I'm hoping to meet fellow practitioners and get some meat on the skeleton of my output! Talk to you soon, Charles
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 3:22pm on June 17, 2018,
Gav Brown said…
Welcome Charles!
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