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michael diemer
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  • United States
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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

Music

Paused...
  • 1.
    Irony
  • 2.
    Berceuse (Lullaby And Good Flight)
  • 3.
    Skating

michael diemer's Discussions

Posting Your Music On Your Home P:age

Started this discussion. Last reply by michael diemer Apr 9. 5 Replies

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

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

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

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

michael diemer replied to Ingo Lee's discussion How to use Vienna Symphonic Library free player
"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…"
7 hours ago
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"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…"
Jul 1
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"Optional Chordal Organisation: For keyboard music. The performer simply substitutes alternative chords/tonalities. Best done when sufficiently primed with favorite liquid refreshment. "
Jun 30
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"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."
Jun 28
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
""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…"
Jun 28
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"The notation or staff view in a DAW is meant as composing aid, and not actual notation. Once you stop expecting them to act like true notation programs, producing true notation scores, you can begin to appreciate their utility.  For now, the…"
Jun 20
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"GPO does include solo strings. In fact, GPO 5 (the one you want) has two complete string libraries. It has the traditional one that GPO has had for years, plus it added Garritan Orchestral Strings, their dedicated string library. both libraries have…"
May 25
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"Liz, there are no really good free, or even cheap, string libraries. I don't know what your budget is, but for about 150.00, maybe less, you can get Garritan Personal Orchestra, which is a full library and has acceptable strings for someone…"
May 24
michael diemer replied to Juan Rezzuto's discussion Women in Music: Composers
"Emma Lou Diemer. I believe she is still alive and living in California. An entire episode of "Pipe Dreams" was devoted to her a few years back. Has written much beautiful organ and choral music."
May 24
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"Oops, my bad, Liz. I overlooked that you have a Mac. In that case, Reaper is the most affordable DAW you could use. I have used it, but I found it very non-intuitive and difficult to set up. I would not recommend it for someone's first DAW,…"
May 24
michael diemer replied to Liz Atems's discussion Let's talk about DAWs
"I use Cakewalk, one of the first DAWS made, which used to cost 600.00, but is now free, thanks to the rights having been purchased by an independently wealthy guy from Malaysia who is just giving it away, because he can. It is a fully-fledged and…"
May 23
michael diemer replied to Francois Jenno's discussion Nocturne for Piano and Flute
"Gorgeous music, Francois, which I think Debussy himself would have been proud to have written. Impressionism at its best. I saw no problem at all with the "second part;" in fact, I the piece flowed so smoothly that I never even noticed it.…"
Apr 10
michael diemer replied to Ali Riza SARAL's discussion Piece for Brass and Strings - 3rd movement - Frames 3min
"Very interesting music, Ali. Well thought-out and well put-together. Some of the samples made it sound like an organ piece at times, but that actually made it more interesting for me.  I think you have made a very good start with Cakewalk. you…"
Apr 10
michael diemer replied to Victor Eijkhout's discussion A pensive piece
"Not many folks doing this kind of thing, Victor! Very unusual, and enjoyable. I once played a little recorder back in the day, and have always felt an affinity for this venerable instrument. There appeared to be almost microtonal elements in the…"
Apr 10
michael diemer replied to Bob Porter's discussion Something new
"Nice stuff, Bob. At times reflective, at times pensive; at times serene. But a consistent feel throughout, with effective dynamic contrasts. It left me feeling calm and refreshed! The only criticism I would note is that the ending seemed abrupt. I…"
Apr 9
michael diemer replied to michael diemer's discussion Posting Your Music On Your Home P:age
"No, I don't want it to play automatically, just have it accessible so anyone interested can have a quick listen, without having to go somewhere else.  I do have links on my page (way on the bottom). That is a way to do it. but a player is…"
Apr 9

Comment Wall (34 comments)

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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, Greg Monks said…

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, Pekka Vermasvuo said…

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

 

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Michael diemer's Blog

On "Skating"

Posted on January 28, 2015 at 10:30pm 9 Comments

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,…

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Solstice

Posted on September 19, 2014 at 11:00pm 3 Comments

"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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