Carlly Clabby

Thanks so much, guys! I was a little worried it wasn't all that playable. Glad to know it is. Now, if only I could get a performance sometime soon. Hmmm....

Greetings, I'm trying to figure out the harp pedal tuning for my newest concert band piece. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Peace, C.L. Winston Nibiru - Harp.pdf

Greetings This is a very poignant work, Michael! Of course, that is no surprise to me. Your writing is pretty much the opposite of my own. I tend to write works that are fast and in minor keys. I love your writing very much. You have a website, right? At any rate, there's not much I can criticize here. The piece does remind me of John Mackey's "happier" compositions, but you really do add your own style to the more beautiful works. I don't think I could write anything close to beautiful/poignant. I really liked the mallet percussion stuff starting at measure 9. All-in-all, this work is exceptional. You never disappoint me with your works and I can't wait to hear any new works that your currently writing! Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, Great job with this composition. I wish there was a score available, but I can just go by the video on the StateFarm contest website. First, the march: I very much liked this movement. The opening Horn solo was very nice and introduced us to the main thematic material. It was fast and bold; definitely my style. Again, I can't really say much unless I view a score. The Ballad: Not much to say about this movement as the same thematic material was used a lot throughout with not too much variation. This movement was also a bit short. I feel you could have developed its material just a bit more. Finally, the Finale: fast and vibrant, this movement really kept my attention. There was some great material in this movement and I enjoyed a lot of the orchestration. I know I keep harping on the missing score, but it does help with looking at the orchestration. I didn't really like the ending to this movement. I was hoping for something grand, but instead it was violin notes over the crescendo of a chord; with some percussion. It could have been a lot bigger for a Finale, especially with how the movement started. All in all, this is a nice composition. You tend to use the same thematic material without any development; I've been guilty of this. Try adding some counter melodies to the material or even altering it a bit in your orchestration. I would love to hear more wind band compositions from you because I feel you have great potential. Many other members may not review your work because it lacks a score, so I would try to upload one. Please, continue to compose music and I hope to hear more from you as time passes. Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, My review will be a little short considering MichaelAlex pretty much touched on a lot of the things I was going to say. This is a nice first piece that demonstrates your abilities as a composer. Do you compose mostly for wind band? After listening to this piece, I got a marching band feel from it. My only real problem with this composition is that the thematic material wasn't really developed. You kept using the same material to progress the piece. I could understand if you were going for a minimalistic approach to this composition, but this doesn't seem to be the case. Granted, there was some material that was different than your main material, but it wasn't developed fully. I would working on trying to develop material and even coming up with counter melodies to this other material. I like your use of percussion in the piece. That's all I have for now. Please continue to compose music and you can guarantee I will continue to review your works. Like MichaelAlex said, give a listen to the works by other composers on this forum. You'd be surprised by the talent...Especially MichaelAlex's. ;) Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, This was a very poignant work. I did enjoy it and I'm sure you have much improved since this piece was first composed. At measure 11, when you restated the main thematic material, I was hoping for a counter melody to be introduced, but you settled with further harmonizing the material. Throughout the piece, I could hear some counter melodies being played, but not enough for me to truly distinguish it from the other musical material presented. I really enjoyed the "Yankee Doodle" melody played in the Clarinet under the Piccolo and Flute. The much faster section starting at measure 69 could have gone a little longer for me. I was hoping for more development with the melodies present in that section, but that could have just been intentional on your part. Of course, this is your composition, so it really is up to you whether or not you will change something. The ending really seemed to work with this piece, but I the transition into the latter part of this piece was a little disheartening for me. Maybe you could have had references to the past section to truly signify the ending of the battle which I didn't really get a clear sense of its end. By the way, did you know you are missing the Oboe in the piece? All-in-all, I would say this is very enjoyable piece and I could see bands playing this at a state contest or just for a patriotic themed concert. Good job! Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, Your compositions never cease to amaze me, Gixander! The piece is exceptional and it really shows off your talent. The opening immediately screamed James Swearingen to me; due to his piece "And the Angels Called". I remember you saying you are somewhat influenced by his music. Are you thinking about getting your music published by a well-known publisher or publishing it yourself? Now to your music: It did seem to get a little repetitive towards the end of the opening section around measure 46, but you changed it up enough to make the transition into the faster section smoother. My only suggestion for this section is where you have Piccolo and Flutes playing that sixteenth note figure (measures 55-56) and then the Clarinets answer it (measure 57). You could probably have them accelerate those rhythms with 32nd notes or even a trill. It's totally up to you. The faster section was a little short for my taste. I was hoping for a little more development of the melodies in that section. Perhaps you could work on that section just a bit more. This middle section also reminded me of the middle section of your piece "The Hunt" which was also in 2/4. Interesting. I absolutely love the melody that the Vibes play in order to officially start the material for the second fast section. It gives me chills. The entrance of the first flute melody is beautiful. How are you able to formulate such luscious melodies? I'm not going to lie, that restatement of the opening melody absolutely scared me! I was awesome how you put it in a key that sounded somewhat terrifying. I bet if a band played that with much force, the audience would probably jump a bit. Haha. You could probably add to the intensity by having both the suspended cymbal and the timpani roll loudly into measure 183. The ending suited this piece very well. The dissonant chord was very jarring (I'm sure that's what you were going for). All-in-all, this was another one of you more fantastic pieces. Please get a live recording of this piece if your band plays it. I'm still waiting on the live recording of "Soaring Against the Sky". Please, please, please continue composing music! I love hearing your works! Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, First, I would like to welcome you to the forums. Now to your composition: I loved virtually every moment of this piece. For me the only thing I would really say just a tiny thing about is that some of the repeats seemed a little long, but you kept the motion going and it was really nice hearing the different melodies heard a second time. I really enjoyed the slower section and the great use of the Alto Saxophone during that section. That is all I really have for now. Haha. Please continue writing wonderful music and I would be more than willing to hear/review your other works. ;) Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, I don't really have much to say. This is quite the work. It is very moving and poignant. I do have to admit that I immediately thought of Eric Whitacre's "Cloudburst" after the section with the "finger snaps". That section seemed a little long to me, but it worked. I'm not too familiar with Frank Ticheli to recognize the "quotes" so I can't really comment on that. My biggest gripe is the score. At times it was hard to follow along with the music. You should really fix that! All-in-all, this was a very excellent piece. Please continue to compose music! Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, This is a very interesting work. In my opinion (I'm sure others will disagree with me), there seemed to be too much thematic material. A lot of your ideas seemed to start and stop too soon. I began to lose interest as soon as the piece began to slow down; I do apologize for this statement, I hope it doesn't offend or discourage you. The slow section just seemed to cluttered to my ears. I wasn't really sure what instruments were playing the main thematic material until the Alto Saxophone solo began. The slower section was just too short for me and I had wish you explored more instrumental colors. As the final fast section begins, you indicate the with the tempo marking "Happy" and yet the musical material that begins this section sounds very minor to me. Again, this fast section stops way too soon. You really need to explore your ideas a bit more. In the final slow section, you need to add a bit more accompaniment instead of having the lower sounding instruments play some stagnant material. This section also ends just as it is beginning. Throughout the piece, you tend to harmonize the main melody and not really add much of anything else. I would have really enjoyed more colors throughout this piece instead of having most of the instruments play the same thing...only harmonized. All-in-all, I think you could really work on orchestration and adding more color to your compositions. You have some interesting material throughout this composition, but nothing really seems to jump out to me specifically. I strongly encourage you to continue your music education and compose more music, you display much promise. :) Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, I know you mentioned you are new here so I would like to send my humblest greetings to you. This is quite the work. I don't usually listen to many lyrical pieces, but I've been really getting into them lately (Peter_W has some good compositions on this forum). The underlying mallet percussion accompaniment was a little static/repetitive, but it really does set the mood of the piece. I'm not sure if I agree with Ferkungamabooboo on the piece being moody, but it did seem to hold onto a somewhat somber feeling to it. I guess I was actually expecting it to be a bit more happy (sunrise gives this happy feeling). The midi does give me a good idea as to how the piece sounds and it sounds like you've really put some time into it. I would work on getting better sounds like Garritan if you have the money. Being a concert band composer myself, I can see this being played by some high bands or even some middle school bands for a concert or contest. The piece doesn't really sound difficult. Try shopping this piece around to different band conductors if you know any. It would've been a lot better if you provided a score for the piece, but I understand it is in the editing stages. Please continue to compose music and you'll be reading more reviews from me. Peace, C.L. Winston

Greetings, I work with Finale 2009 and I was just wondering, how do I go about changing the font for the entire score (document) so that it is clearer to read. I tried to tamper with it before, but it just screws the whole document up. Thank you so much for your help in advance. Peace, C.L. Winston

Will do, Mitchell. It would be really nice hearing this piece performed by an actual band. Peace, C.L. Winston

Siwi, Your comment is very much appreciated. The reasoning behind the modulating is more so to depict a sense of change from the Maenads just being with themselves to finally being Dionysus. Thank you very much for the note on the trombone glissandi at the bars you specified. I was a little weary on writing it initially and now I see why. I will change that immediately when I come back to this piece in December as it had taken up most of my life as it was being composed. Also, I'd like to tell you guys that a band in New York known as the SUNY Orange Symphonic Band may give a reading of this work in January. Let's hope all goes well until then. Thanks to those of you that have reviewed this work and I strongly encourage others to follow suit. Peace, C.L. Winston

So, I finally updated the score of "Dionysian Mysteries" finished. I would like you guys to have a look at it and give me some notes on what can be taken away and what can be added to make the piece better. Of course, you don't have to give me notes and you could just tell me your opinion on the work. I thank you all in advance for your compliments and critiques. Be sure to read the program notes, notes to the conductor and have a look at the placement chart! Thanks again, guys!Peace,C.L. WinstonDionysian Mysteries Dionysian Mysteries