"Dane, I agree about that clarinet in VSL. I almost never use it. I prefer Garritan's (also like their flute and oboe). Although in general, VSL is the best. Converting my Special Edition 1 to the Synchron Edition allowed me to solve the pan…"
Music Composers Unite!
Michael Diemer's Page
Profile Information
- What have you composed for? Or what medium do you work around?
- Orchestra, Small Ensemble
- What is your favorite genre or style of music?
- Romantic-Impressionist; Classical; Baroque
- Is music your main income source?
- No - Not at all.
- Where do you live?
- Maine, USA
- 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 basically self-taught, which means I learned how to compose in non-traditional ways. Some of my favorite composers are J. S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Sibelius, Debussy, Ravel, Rimsky-Korsakov, Vaughan Williams, Faure and Durufle. Some favorite pieces: Mozart's 40th, Sibelius' 7th, NRK's Scheherazade, the Requiems by Faure and Durufle; Ravel's Tombeau Du Couperin; Copeland's Appalachian Spring, and pretty much everything by Debussy. I began composing in the mid 70's, strictly on amateur basis. Necessity of earning a living has limited me to 5 completed symphonic works to date, but I hope to expand this when I retire. (Note: now retired). I use a very basic setup: small midi keyboard, Cakewalk By Bandlab (what used to be Sonar), Garritan, East West and Vienna sound libraries, and recently I added Cinematic Strings. And even more recently, Appasionata Strings.
- Website:
- https://mdiemer0.wixsite.com/mysite
michael diemer's Discussions
Posting Your Music On Your Home P:age
Started this discussion. Last reply by Gav Brown Jul 17. 6 Replies 0 Likes
Does anyone know of a way to post one's music on their home page, other than using the Flash Player? Flash is one of the worst security risks out there, and is either no longer supported even by…Continue
Esoteric Question: Detache vs. Mezzo-Staccato
Started this discussion. Last reply by michael diemer Oct 21, 2019. 15 Replies 0 Likes
Something that has puzzled me a long time: How to notate a wind passage say, for horns, when you want to show the grouping and phrasing with slurs, but want the notes separate from each other. Mezzo…Continue
Non- Jazz Use Of Saxophones
Started this discussion. Last reply by michael diemer Sep 7, 2019. 2 Replies 0 Likes
Does anyone have an idea of how likely it is to get a non-jazzy rendition of a saxophone part in orchestral music these days? I occasionally use them in my music because of their unique sound,…Continue
Berceuse (Lullaby And Good Flight)
Started this discussion. Last reply by michael diemer Apr 13, 2019. 13 Replies 0 Likes
This is on my home page here, but because there is a brief pause between the second and third sections, someone could easily think it was over when the pause occurs. So I wanted to make sure people…Continue
Latest Activity
"Tim, I appreciate very much the effort you have gone to in helping us all find new sounds. It's exactly the kind of thing this forum exists for, and I'm sure we all appreciate it. Please, no need to apologize.
As I said,I have found an…"
"Tim, on my setup the reverb knob is at zero by default. And there is still a ton of reverb. and that is with no other reverb applied, just the pure sound samples. If I turn up the reverb knob, there will be more reverb. Now, other libraries have…"
"I also got the Discover version. I am using only the trombones in a few places in my current project, where their power cuts through the mix better than my solo trombones (I tend to favor the solo versions of winds). Two observations:
There is so…"
"I say ditch the videos. This is a music forum, not a picture or video sharing platform. Why are they here? "
"Personally, I wonder if it's time to look at a different hosting platform. I stated I was against this in the past, but with Flash Player soon to be discontinued, and replacement with another (safer), player necessitating an increase in the…"
"Hi Michael,
I checked with Ning about the upgrade option. It appears that they have changed their whole pricing structure upwards. In order to continue with our current cost ($599 a year), I would have to go down in storage. We currently have 500GB…"
"Actually, I did the questionnaire too, so I have to wait two weeks. But for a retiree, two weeks goes by so fast you wonder where the heck it went. Funny how it took forever when I was working. Relativity at work, I guess.
Believe it or not, I am in…"
"Well, Tim, i'm retired, but do I have more time? Not so much. since we live in a house which is essentially in a forest, which is continually asserting itself in the form of the constant debris it rains down on us; not to mention the damage…"
"And then of course you have East West's Composers Cloud ("It's not an instrument, it's all of them"). I can't imagine trying to work while having to choose among many thousands of sounds. I would think a lifetime might…"
"I think what happens for a lot of users, is that they start out with something easy and basic, like Garritan. Then add another better library. and another, always buying entry-level collections, to save money. In the long run, it would be better to…"
"As far as switching articulations, you use keyswitches. If you don't know yet, they are simply notes outside of the playable range of the instrument. They produce no sound, but they cause a change in the artic. Like between legato and…"
"The condition progresses in its final form to Fernyhough Syndrome. A frightful malady that fortunately appears to be exceedingly rare. See the following thread for more on…"
"Optional Chordal Organisation: For keyboard music. The performer simply substitutes alternative chords/tonalities. Best done when sufficiently primed with favorite liquid refreshment. "
"The whole worlds needs to take a step back and have a good long laugh. We've all been under way too much stress lately."
""On velocity: thanks for the explanation, that's pretty much what I figured the origin of the term was. I realize it's important to have a word that corresponds to force of attack, which affects timbre i.e. the overtone structure as…"
Comment Wall (34 comments)
- At 1:24pm on February 23, 2019,
David Carovillano said…
Michael,
Just as honoured to share some great conversations with you. We're all lucky that music is part of our lives, to whatever extent we pursue it. Thanks for your kind words and much continued success with your work :)
- At 11:12pm on January 23, 2019,
Gav Brown said…
Welcome back, Michael!
- At 10:57am on July 26, 2016,
Art Lowell said…
Thank you for the welcome, Michael. I have actually been a member here for a couple of years, and I have posted all of my tunes. I'm not sure what location on this website they appeared in, but people did respond, so I know they got heard. I posted them in Music Analysis And Critique. I have enjoyed the input from the members here.
- At 3:26pm on January 8, 2015,
Tim swanger said…
- Thank you! I'm hoping to post more soon. I'm enjoying listening to others work, though I'm traveling at the moment and I can't access many audio files from my phone.
- At 11:09pm on January 3, 2015,
Greg Monks said…
Skating is a fabulous little piece, reminiscent (to my ear) of some of Jongen's works. It would make for an excellent National Film Board score.
- At 10:03pm on January 3, 2015,
Thanks, Michael, I'll post there once I have the equipment/software for making PDF's of my music.
I can see now that I'll have to learn how to use Finale or Sibelius or both. I've had both for years, but have taken only a cursory look at them.
- At 11:47am on December 25, 2014,
Simon Hamel said…
Can't wait to trade fours on feedback man, I'll post some music soon.
- At 3:05am on November 8, 2014,
René Torenstra said…
Thank you for welcoming me to the site and getting me started, Michael. I'm sure I'll see you around in the comment threads! Cheers, René
- At 2:28pm on November 7, 2014,
Pekka Vermasvuo said…
Thank you for your encouraging words Michael!
- At 4:39pm on October 26, 2014,
Thank you Michael!
I have already taken my time to read a number of interesting threads and blogs and get used to this forum. I will be posting some music at some stage - whenever I'm ready.
I'm currently working on a very short virtual piano+strings+choir thingy which I hope to get to a stage when I can call it ready (not finished as they never are). I am still learning the ropes of "virtual orchestration" and proper production practices. At the same time I'm trying to learn how to properly structure the music and develop my usually shortish ideas to a longer pieces of music. I find it extremely challenging to get the musical balance right, especially with strings. Well, I think like with real instruments, it just takes a lot of time and requires practice and more practice to get it right.
Pekka
Michael diemer's Blog
On "Skating"
Posted on January 28, 2015 at 10:30pm 9 Comments 0 Likes
Revised as of 1/28/15, Skating is my most finished piece to date. It's from a three-movement work called Three Winter Scenes. It's an impressionistic piece, intended to depict skaters on a frozen pond or river, and attempts to capture the exhilaration of being outside on a cold but beautiful winter day, as well as the elements of snow, sun, clouds, etc. Sounds are Garritan, Vienna, Cinematic Strings2 and EWSO Gold, as well as some sounds from Sonar. While I strive for transparency,…
ContinueSolstice
Posted on September 19, 2014 at 11:00pm 3 Comments 0 Likes
"Solstice" is the first movement of "Three Winter Scenes." It was written after a poem I wrote in my twenties called "Winter Sunset." The poem was about watching a beautiful sunset on a very cold day, and wondering where my life was going. The last lines were "Where were the clouds hurrying to? Their motion in that dark sky was all I saw." The music tries to capture the cold beauty of a winter sunset, and also the slow ticking of time down to the moment of the Solstice, the first…
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