Alpha Spartan A

Good afternoon, everyone. I have recently begun composing a work for full orchestra, and am moderately versed in orchestration with regards to the capabilities of each instrument and their players. However, there are some things that even an orchestration book can't tell me. The work is in D minor, and I like very bass-y things, so I'm using the basses and cellos in parallel octaves for an introduction, and as a home base (get it?) when things get quiet but I need to keep it moving. However, I am scoring it with the assumption that whatever orchestra in my area may consider playing it (don't worry about that part) will have bassists who own C-string extensions so as to tune their E-string to a low D. Is this a fair assumption, or will I need to reorchestrate? Thank you for your time, and I wish you all a fantastic day! - Alpha Spartan A

Can you expand on that last point a little bit? Perhaps a few examples for me to look at may be beneficial. Thanks!

It's the late baroque/classical sound that I end up writing, and I'm looking for anything that, quite frankly, isn't that. I really like how unique (but similar in style) Beethoven's sonatas are. My personal favorites (in major keys, that is) are 16, 24, 28 and 29, if that helps give some kind of direction. I really like structure: having a motif, and playing around with it, but my problem lies mainly in that fact that the melodies I end up writing sound very 'generic' (see above definition). What can I do to give them a more late classical/romantic feel without turning into Debussy (I mean no disrespect to the guy and obviously people loved what he wrote, but it seems too arbitrary to me)? I want to have something 'Grand' and 'Energetic', or 'Cheerful' (Scherzo), or 'Bold', or generally not 'Sad/Depressing/Angry/Dramatic/Solemn/Minor'. Are there books I need to read? Is there some piece of information I just missed out on that everybody else got? Thanks!

Hello, there! I'm a pianist of about 2 years, and have been composing music for solo piano and small ensemble for just as long. I'm very proficient at writing in minor, but have a really difficult time writing anything in major that doesn't sound like it's from the Baroque or early Classical period. I listen to all the recognized composers: Chopin (who I recognize wrote mostly in minor), Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and even some Shostakovich here and there, but I still can't pick out what it is that they're doing in any particular piece in major that makes it now sound generic. I really like the way Beethoven does his pieces in major, so if anyone has advice that goes in that direction, that would be much appreciated. I tried to keep the question vague so as to keep the array of potential answers very broad. Thanks! - Thomas