Leaderboard

@Noah Brode Thanks for listening and commenting, Noah! I really appreciate it! I'm very glad to hear this. Holding attention with this kind of material is a challenge, and smooth modulations can be tricky, but I think I was able to pull some good ones off. My favourite is the one from C to E-flat near the beginning. I'm so glad you enjoyed all that fluff I threw in! I had fun with that, and learnt a lot. I had never written for glockenspiel before, and it was an interesting experience. I tried hard to make this piece sound as fun and festive as possible. I think you're right, I could have done more of this. Viennese-style waltzes do indeed tend to be somewhat violin-centric affairs; but the masters in this style do toss the tune around more than perhaps I did. I used the 'cello a lot in this, actually, but for some reason, no matter how high I put the volume on them, the 'cellos never really come through. Neither do the double basses, and they really should, because traditionally the bass line is in the double bass throughout, and it needs to be strong. Something I'll need to work on with my software. I believe those places are where Finale threw in an error and screwed me over...I mentioned it in my opening comments. I can't seem to delete these aberrant time signatures, so I'll probably have to redo the entire score (I probably should anyway). I'm sorry they were confusing. Yes, Finale has its challenges and it's not perfect, but a few of the things it does well, it does very well indeed, and "human playback" is one of those things I've been very happy with more often than not. The "Viennese Waltz" setting is particularly effective. Let's say that it's not without precedent. A very famous example of one with an extended introduction in duple metre (cut time) is Johann Strauss II's "Kaiser-Waltzer" (Emperor Waltz) Op. 437 (1889), which opens with a slow march. Similarly, Franz Lehár's "Gold und Silber" (Gold and Silver), Op. 79 (1902) begins with a short march section in common time. It was these examples that gave me to believe that I could get away with one myself. Not all Viennese waltzes begin with an introduction, but many do; I believe they served as time intervals during which dancers could catch their breath, check their dance cards to see who had the next dance with them, and so forth. Again, I really appreciate you listening and commenting to such extent. I had begun to make peace with the idea that nobody would, which makes your review an especially pleasant surprise. Thanks again!

Hi Gustav - thanx.. This was all done in Logic Pro in my living room studio. . . I have a rather extensive Kontakt library, and own almost all of UVI's libraries, played thru the Falcon virtual instrument. On the acoustic sounds, yes they are samples of 'real instruments' also a couple of hardware synths.. I also have a fair amount of virtual instruments. Lately. I compose a piece, and then spend a fair amount of time, 're-voicing' it. That is I search thru libraries, and patches, and find sounds that 'fit better'. It often means re-recording parts, in a round robin manner. That is I pick a new bass sound, (go from electric bass to an acoustic bass). Then I re-record the piano part, then the guitar etc. The new bass, piano, guitar, then suggest to me to re-do the drums, etc. I had read years ago, Prince would do this. Eventually recording a fair amount of the instruments in a piece several times. The end result is the piece, sometimes has little to do with how the piece originally sounded, So I've been doing the same.. The good thing about DAWs, of course, is you can save all the takes, Sometimes I add a few parts, then a couple of days later, I decide, I took a wrong turn, so I go back to the earlier version, and go in a different direction.. I feel pieces, especially 'sound paintings' as you call them, have a personality of their own, and just as it takes some time getting to know someone. It can sometimes take time for the personality of a song, or piece, show it's face. I spent my whole life, playing music, most of the time, doing what paid the rent, sometimes composing, and working with people, that wouldn't be my natural choice. (not that I ever worked on music I hated).. Now in my senior age, I want to explore 'musical landscapes'.. Not too concerned with all the formal music rules I have learnt and abided by. (of course a lot of that is still there).