Vissequ

http://www.soundsonline-forums.com/showthread.php?t=4053 YAY RA is now on Group Buy as of today. Incredible. If you do not know of this software listen to this demo: http://www.soundsonline.com/cd_mp3_demos/207744.mp3 If you compose for film, or have any interest in ethnic/world samples. Check this out, you could get it for 50% off.

It's whatever works in the piece. I don't think there's an "always practical" situation for composition. And if there is, there shouldn't be.

That's a good site, I use it sometimes, but it doesn't tell you how to develop PP. It only tests you. You need www.perfectpitch.com to learn how to develop PP.

I have both of these books, I think they are both excellent. I've never seen anything quite like Fux's Counterpoint Book before in my life. Yes it can be quite stressfull. This is what I use. I think it's reasonably well explained and covers topics very well. Thanks for the wide list of recommendations, Letehn, I'm probably going to pick up some of those.

Developing Perfect Pitch doesn't necessarily mean that you can compose in your head. However it is definitely a helpful skill. People here will tell you that you have to be born with Perfect Pitch, and that's not true. I've developed Perfect Pitch (not Relative Pitch, it's Perfect Pitch - yes I can wake up and randomly play a note and name it without any reference point). I used this series of lessons: http://www.perfectpitch.com It's been proven successful by 2 independnet university studies, and people thousands of people like me who have used it with success. With Perfect Pitch you'll be able to know what the notes are in your mind, and thus write them down "without an instrument", like Mozart. ;) Connor

Hello, I have a friend I know in Portugal who is writing a libretto (in English). He asked me to score it. I then played him a sample of my music, and he STILL wanted me to score his libretto, so either he has really bad taste, or I simply got lucky. :D Anyway, I have no experience with writing an opera, or even an aria, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm looking for advice, specifically websites, and maybe also books, on how to go about scoring his libretto. Note: I will be scoring at the same time that he writes the libretto (it isn't anywhere near finished). The most important things that I want to know are:

Mine http://www.tphs.net

Link's dead ):

I don't know if you still need this, but it may help another person. http://www.kunstderfuge.com/_/grosse_fuge_%28c%29unknown.mid That's a MIDI file of Op. 133 that I got from this website: http://www.kunstderfuge.com/beethoven/cham...m#Grosse%20Fuge NPR has a recording of Op. 134 (the Grosse Fugue Piano Four Hands) which is free: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4957646 (look on the left column) I looked for a few minutes but couldn't find a free recording of Op. 133, I'll post if I find one.

Hello, I am here to ask some advice about a news theme that I am going to write for my High School's Weekly Videocast. http://www.connorfabiano.com/misc/tphs_news_sample.mp3 Above is the CBS Football Theme which they gave me as an example. That theme is too forceful for a news intro, so I told them I'd tone it down a bit, however it can be a good basis for the type of sound they want. My trouble will be in making that kind of, well, "new computery sound". I have only done one news theme, and it was deeply orchestral. http://www.connorfabiano.com/music/Spanish...ews%20Theme.mp3 I have EWQL Symphonic Orchestra Gold, Sibelius 4 with GPO Edition, Logic Express 7, and an iMac G5 1.8Ghz. I guess I need advice on finding some free samples that are compatible with EXS24 or are in the soundfont format that will help me make that CBS sound. I need to try to bridge the gap between my theme (above) and CBS's. Thank You, Connor

Isn't the notation edition a smaller version that comes with Finale? I thought Sibelius GPO is the full version.

I'm only a student, but this is what I use: Tonal Harmony 5th Edition http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearc...n=9780072852608 (Vinz recommended this above) This is a college-level text that covers all sorts of theory topics that are useful for classical composition. It goes into modulation, voice leading, instrument ranges, transposition, chords, scales, etc (and it tells you what not to do). There is also a workbook for sale (but the textbook has exercises to do as well). It has an abundance of sheet music from which it draws examples, an audio CD is also available to listen to the examples. The Study of Counterpoint (Johann Joseph Fux, Alfred Mann) http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearc...393002772&itm=2 This is a book on Counterpoint (translated from its original language of Latin). It was written in 1725 and covers 17th and 18th century counterpoint. It was used by Leopold Mozart to teach his son, Wolfgang. Bach held it in high-esteem and Beethoven took the time to condense it into a pocket-size version for quick reference. Principles of Orchestration (Rimsky-Korsakov) http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearc...486212661&itm=1 I don't know of any other books on orchestration written by a famous composer. If you have not listened to Rimsky-Korsakov's pieces before, I think you will find his orchestrations brilliantly colorful and wonderful. He achieves amazing clarity in his pieces. He's viewed as a master orchestrator, so I can imagine that he has a lot to offer on the subject, he also has hundreds of pages of musical examples drawn from his own works. Who knows the orchestration of a piece better than the composer? Those are the 3 main books that I am using write now. Theory, counterpoint, and orchestration. I'm sure there are many other alternative to those books, but they would certainly be a good choice.

I'd recommend getting Garritan Personal Orchestra for your notation program. What program do you use to notate?

Maybe, but these are some of the most important questions that a composer can ask! I will give you my opinion on the matter. Your optimum situation will cost you several thousand dollars, and you most likely won't buy everything at one time. Notation Software The two best are Sibelius and Finale. As you can see above, people have different opinions on which is best. I use Sibelius, and so I'm partial to it, but you might want to try a free trial of both of them before you decide. http://www.sibelius.com/ http://www.finalemusic.com/ Another program that just came out recently is called Notion. For playback they use samples from the London Symphony Orchestra recorded at Abbey Roads studios. This is worth a look as well: http://www.notionmusic.com/ With any of these programs, you will be able to notate very advanced pieces and then create sheet music. However playing them back is another story. They will all allow you play back your pieces, but if you just use MIDI, the quality will be very bad. Notion comes with LSO Samples (which sound very nice) and Finale 2006 now comes with Garritan Personal Orchestra (which sounds nice as well). For extra money Sibelius 4 will come with Garritan Personal Orchestra as well. You can hear your sounds in good quality with just a little extra money. http://www.garritan.com/ Above is the link to Garritan Personal Orchestra (GPO) company. Listen to the samples (try to use good quality headphones or speakers if you can) and decide if you're happy with the quality. Also check out Notion's LSO samples. GPO Demo Songs: http://www.garritan.com/mp3.html Notion Demo Songs: http://www.notionmusic.com/downloads.cfm If you like what you hear, then buy one of them. I'd recommend Sibelius 4 with GPO Sibelius Edition, however you will find many others who would recommend Finale and Notion. So check them both out. NOTE: Do not buy GPO separately (unless you really want to). Buy the GPO version that comes with the notation software you decide to use. Keyboard There are billions of keyboards. You just want something simple, called a MIDI Controller. This is a keyboard that doesn't have any sounds on it (you won't need these because you'll use the sounds on your computer). As I'm sure you know, a (normal) piano has 88 keys. Keyboards come in the following main sizes: 49 keys, 61 keys, and 88 keys. I've seen some in the 70s as well. The keys will also be non-weighted, semi-weighted, or fully-weighted (like a real piano feels). Which one is right for you depends on a number of factors. An 88 key keyboard with waited keys will feel the most realistic, but it is also the most expensive. A 49 key keyboard without weighted keys won't feel anything like a piano, but will be very cheap. I think that a real piano is absolutely necessary when writing a piano piece. It is very, very hard to get inspired to write on a small MIDI keyboard. The best option would be to hook up a Roland Intelligent Grand to your computer, but that would cost around $11,000 to $28,000. Again, you want to find something that you can work with, but is not too expensive. Go to a local music store in order to try before you buy. I use the following keyboard: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Keys...n61es-main.html For more M-Audio keyboards click below: http://www.m-audio.com/index.php?do=produc...oardcontrollers I like the Keystation 61es (it is semi-weighted), however I have a very nice Grand Piano which inspires me to write piano pieces. I would not be able to compose without a real piano, because no keyboard under a few thousand dollars is realistic enough. All of the 3 notation programs I mentioned will notate automatically for you while you play something, however unless you play with very excellent rhythm, you will end up with weird notation that doesn't seem playable to a human. Once you learn how to notate note for note on a program, it really is very fast and efficient. Like I said above, if you go with Notion or Finale or purchase GPO for Sibelius, you'll be able to play back your piece in very good quality. You'll eventually want, however, to pick up a nice pair of speakers. I use the Tapco S5 monitoring speakers. I recommend checking out Sweetwater for pairs of speakers: http://www.sweetwater.com Additionally, while you can compose on even the slowest computer, you won't be able to play back your pieces in good quality unless you have a reasonably speedy machine. These are the system requirements from Sibelius in order to run it and play back your piece with GPO: System requirements Requires 2GB hard disk space (in addition to Sibelius 4); Windows XP (or some Windows 2000 configurations); Mac OS 10.3.9 or later; DVD drive; Sibelius 4. Additionally: Scores that use up to about 8 different sounds: Windows: 1.8Ghz processor or faster, 1Gb+ RAM (1.5Gb+ recommended), preferably ASIO compatible sound card Mac: G4/G5, 1GB+ RAM (1.5GB+ recommended) Scores that use up to about 20 different sounds: Windows: 2.5GHz processor or faster, 1.5Gb RAM. ASIO-compatible sound card strongly recommended (not sound chip on motherboard), preferably separate graphics card Mac: 1.8GHz processor or faster, 1.5GB+ RAM -------------------------------------------------------------- Yes, this is a lot of stuff, but you don't need to go out and buy everything today. I think this is a reasonably good guide to get you started, at least I hope it is. Good luck! If you have any more questions, PM me, email me, post here, IM me or whatever. Connor

Correct. I had the same question before I bought Sibelius 3. I called the company and they said that they allow one copy to be installed on 2 computers as long as they are not used at the same time. I have Sibelius on my laptop and desktop (same copy, same serial) and it works fine. I don't know about Finale though.