winknotes

AAAAH!! It ended abruptly. Steve Winkler

Have you looked to see if something is already published? Steve Winkler

If I think back to my musical influences, especially in college, Sondheim probably had a bigger influence on my harmonic language than I realize. "A Little Night Music" especially resonates with me. It's still hard for me NOT to write a waltz as a variation to thematic material. Steve Winkler

Matt, These are very clever pieces. Fine examples of linear writing ;) Seriously I enjoyed them very much. The material is very tight and true to the motivic material. They are well orchestrated too. My only observation with regard to orchestration is the trumpet part. Sometimes it goes a bit high and might overwhelm the rest of the texture DEPENDING on the player. A confident and sensitive player could pull it off but anything less it will probably be loud just to speak and might ruin the effect your after. One example is the last movment where you have just the brass playing. A confident player won't have a problem with it, but because the voices are spread out quite a bit a less confident player might not feel "supported" and shy away from it. Just a thought. Take it for what it's worth. Steve Winkler

Thanks to all for your time and comments. It's greatly appreciated. Michael - thank you for your comments on development. This is probably my biggest struggle and a topic of continued study. dark-ice - thanks for the listen and positive feedback. jimmiew - I'll take a look at the balance again. Technology is great to get an idea of what you're piece will sound like, but it still requires a degree of imagination IMO. And if you add to that the experience of playing in an orchestra, so much the better. Thanks again everyone. Steve Winkler

Duly noted and thanks for the suggestions. I should have mentioned the score is still a mess. Some of the instruments are placeholders while I was orchestrating and don't play a single note. So it's now a transposed score and optimized albeit a little haphazzardly until I can really 'engrave' it. Thanks again, Steve Winkler

This is my first post on YC forum. This is one of 4 orchestral sketches (for lack of a better name). All four are connected via their motivic material. At any rate, I would sincerely appreciate feedback on this piece in whatever terms strike you. Orchestra Sketch #2 mp3 Thank you, Steve Winkler sketch2_optimized.pdf

I'm a little late to reply to this but this is a brilliant piece. Composition and orchestration are top notch. The read-through is very good as well. I bet the horn players just love you ;) Isn't the Renaissance a convention center in downtown Detroit? Very clever. Steve Winkler

Very nice flint-wwrr. I like this piece very much. The length of the cadenza doesn't bother me. As someone suggested it might be nice for some sort of interaction with the orchestra. In my opinion I heard something (e.g. pizzicato strings) during the "Impish" portion. Then maybe the cadenza continuing w/o accompaniment. Even if you leave it the way it is it's a great piece. Steve Winkler

I think Stravinsky does this at the beginning of The Firebird. That is to say he divides the basses having half play pizz and half arco. Of course they are playing the same notes/rhythms but the effect is nice. This isn't quite the same application your proposing, but the general idea has precedent. Steve Winkler

I think this is a great point. The thought occured to me today that an instructor probably takes on a different meaning or role as one progresses. I'm certainly not at that point, but I'm thinking of the various schools that we read about in music history. The Mighty 5, Les Six, etc. These and other relationships through history were undoubtedly people who could keep each other focused and on track so to speak. I think time with and without an instructor is valuable. As I noted earlier I'm without an instructor and am somewhat at a standstill creatively; I feel like I've lost my way in a manner of speaking. That's what motivates me to search out someone who can be instructively critical. Steve Winkler

I wonder if it's both or maybe cyclical. I think at a high school and certainly college level it's critical to have a teacher. You're learning about the tools of the trade so to speak. I think there's a period after school that one can make great strides if left on his/her own. It's a chance to assimilate these tools and make them your own. Years later, I'm at a point where I'd really value the input of a teacher. I still study and listen on my own and certainly pick up things, but I'm at a point that I need some guidance to further my progress. This has been my experience. Steve Winkler

I think Nikolas answered your question. I appears that the kompakt player behaves like the old kontakt 1 player used to.

Absolutely agree. Nothing at all wrong with the mockup. I can't tell for sure what samples you're using, but I'm a GPO person myself. From my limited experience so far I have to use my imagination for things that get dense and complex. I suppose it's the nature of samples. What I was saying was I can easily hear this with real players and I think it would sound great. One thing I did note though is the really high trumpet at the beginning. You probably know this, but I think a trumpet player would probably use a D or Eb trumpet on a part like that which would change the timbre somewhat but achieve the affect you're after. Just something I noticed as I glanced at the score occasionaly. Steve Winkler

Great piece. I agree that a real orchestra would be best, but I still enjoyed your mock-up. This is not usually my cup of tea for listening, but I thought it was very interesting and kept my attention the entire time. Very nice work Nikolas. Steve Winkler