Jubbliful

Thanks all, this has been helpful, as i have finally finished my composition portfolio!

Ok, so i have uploaded the PDF files, I'm a bit wary of sending the midi file, as , as i said before, it sounds nothing like it should, with alot of bars of silence as i have got to add techniques in pen.

Thanks! See this is what i thought, but my university lecturer told me that this is wrong, and it should be done like i said above. I thought she'd know her stuff, but it does seem to go against what i learnt!

Hi all This is a piece that i have written as part of my Final degree year composition portfolio. It uses some speaking techniques that i couldn't input properly on Sibelius, so when you listen to the mid. file remember that this will sound entirely different! Also, there are a few notation problems, again due to me now knowing how to input the technique into Sib. For example, the 'silence' and 'shh' at the beginning will be notated differently with pen. Anways, let me know what you think! If you see any notational problems, please feel free to let me know! vocal composition2p.sib complete.pdf

Ok, so this may seem like a really simple question to most people, but here goes! Example: I am in 3/4, and i have a quaver note at the beginning of the bar. This is all i want in the bar. So, do i group my rests: quaver rest, then two crotchet rests OR quaver rest then a minim rest OR a dotted crotchet rest? I was always under the impression that you do rests by beats, so that the first option would be correct. However, someone told me the third option is right, making the rest as large as possible. I thought this would make the music harder to count, especially as i am writing for school kids. Also, say i am in 6/8 and i want a note to last the entire bar. Do I: use a dotted minim OR a dotted crotchet tied to another dotted crotchet? I usually go for the first option, but then i was told not to group notes across the beat. Can anyone help me out here? Thanks!

I can't take credit for the use of "less nice instruments" as i had to use these! You are right about the score. I haven't sat and gone through it as yet, this is just as it was as a wrote it. I will need to spend alot of time on this, as apparently the external examiner is very keen on perfect scores, as he should be! The mix of sharps and flats were for my own use really, as i used a mix of scales, such as whole tone and Neapolitan minor, hungarian minor etc etc, and i had these on another sibelius document, as was following the sharps and flats on there as a point of reference. I will take a look at those later and make the score more coherent. I was asked to push the players abilities, so yeah the sax register should be fine! That said, all the players have seen sections of this piece, and are moaning at the "difficult" rhythms they have to play. I say 'tough' , i was told to push you, haha! I will have to give in a write up along with the submission, so i will be able to sell the piece there!! Thanks so much for your helpful comments, i will take them on board and tidy up my messy score! I am happy that the music itself is well received.

Thanks Mike, I'm really happy with how you described the piece: "I like what you've done here. You've responded to the awkward ensemble constraints with music that gives the impression of being slightly uncomfortable with itself, but I like that!" < Thats pretty much what i was going for!! I haven't as yet tidied up the score, this is very much as it was as i went along. Sibelius is awkward with dynamics, using different fonts for everything! I'll change them all later on. I see your point with the cluster chords, i will have a look into this. Thanks for your helpful comments

Ok, so now your questions really are worrying me. The subject is going well, i have done composition at uni for the last 2 years and have got two A's and an A-. This years work hasn't been marked as it is a portfolio, however my lecturer has seen the first two sections of this piece, and said it is going well. I have to submit a write up with all my compositions, and may be picked to do a short presentation on them too. Marking wise, the whole years mark is based on a three piece portfolio. The first piece was a contemporary piece for 4 vocalists at uni, this one is for the three non vocalists on the performance course, and the final is a piece i have chosen to write with a local secondary school. It is obvious that you are going to slaughter this piece, so please just get to it!

That doesn't sound promising haha! No i haven't submitted it, i have till the end of April.

Come on people, please let me know what you think! I worked so hard on this awkward combination of instruments, it would be great to get a bit of feedback!

Some of you may remember a little while ago i posted a frantic thread asking for ideas for composing for an Accordion, Euphonium and a Saxophone. Well, thankfully, i have finally finished my composition and am ready to show it to the world! This is part of my composition portfolio for my final year Composition module on my music degree. It had to be in a contemporary style, and believe me, this is more contemporary than anything i have ever written (i tend to stick to baroque-esque pieces! Please let me know what you think! Trio.mid comp4.sib

I have just stumbled across this thread whilst looking for some ideas for a minimalist piece i have to write for a secondary school. and i think its such a shame that no one has commented! So i know this was posted a long while ago, but i wanted to comment! You are right that it seems many people on this forum have some dislike for minimalism, if any of the other posts are anything to go by! I think this piece is great! It is one of the few minimalist pieces on this forum, that i have seen, that has really tried hard to employ key minimalist techniques, with the static tonal centre, repeated, slightly varied rhythms etc etc. It sounds very Steve Reich actually. I hope you don't mind, but i'll be using your sib files as a starting point for my own composition, so thanks for the inspiration! My favorite section of your piece is Fantasia, you have managed to add a Baroque like sound into a minimalist piece, which is great, especially as i love baroque music! I really must get started on my own composition, however if you are still on this forum, i'd love to discuss what techniques you used etc. Good Stuff!

As you have said, the music isn't on the page, so i can't give you advice on which one i like best! The fact that you have some melodies is a good start, you just need to experiment with these, try them on different instruments, add harmony, see what you can do by inverting, retrograding etc the melody, perhaps play short fragments of the melody on a few of the interments, until it leads into the full melody played by the full orchestra, have solo and full orchestra sections etc etc Its hard to give you direct advice, as i have no idea what your melodies sound like, what instruments you are writing for, or what style etc etc. Just experiment with what you have and try to develop this into a bigger piece.

I find titles quite difficult too, unless i have a specific theme or topic in mind before composing. I tend to listen to my piece and try to discover its mood, then i use a thesaurus to make the title a little more jazzed up! My recent one was 'Contrariety' which i thought was a lovely word!

There's a nice, but quite short, piano piece from The Corpse Bride, 'Victors Solo', but it is quite simple to play, so i don't know if thats what you are looking for. The piano duet is also nice, it is quite easy to tweak it a little so you can play both parts, but again its quite short! They are written by Danny Elfman.