robtheman5824

It is required at my university for MM Composition.

You learn a lot of things. Scales, intervals, chords, form.... that type of stuff. I don't know how hard it'll be for you. That really depends on how much knowledge of theory you have. If you don't even know what the notes in a C scale are then the speed might be hard for you. A lot of people enjoy the class though.

I liked it. The piece was very concise. There was a good sense of motion. It was also very easy to descern your implied chord progression. Good stuff.

Sorry I was talking about the time signature when I said four four. Also it's very unusual that you have baritones, but in general for the future bands almost exclusively use euphoniums. Your band is one of the exceptions.

There's some good stuff here but there's also some stuff to be touched up. 1. What type of skill level are you intending for this piece. Most band scores include 2 or clarinet parts, bass clarinets, baritone saxes, 2 or 3 trumpet parts, 2 to 4 horn parts, and 2 to 3 trombone parts. Now pieces for younger groups usually don't split the parts as much as the upper level things. If it's a lower level ensemble then I would look at some things in the range of the horn and trumpet. 2. Do you really want a baritone or do you want a euphonium? Unless you want baritone for some sort of solo passage you need to go with euphonium. No one plays baritones (except for marching band maybe). Switch it unless you actually want the baritone sound and you know the ensemble you intend it for actually has baritones. Nothing is more annoying for a euphonium player than getting a new piece of music that has a baritone part when they really mean euphonium. They are not the same thing. 3. I'm assuming you mean orchestra bells on bells part. I'm pretty positive they can do trills but probably not as excessively as you'd want. Also the have a decay that you have to watch out for. Be aware that passages with a lot of notes will blur. If you don't want that sound than switch to another mallet instrument. 4. Generally you group four four bars into one beat groupings, rather than the two beat grouping you have. Also connecting eighth notes over rests is confusing to the performer. 5. Besides all of the above clean up your score some.

I don't know if you can really say there is a best school for composition. I selected a school based off of everything but it's composition reputation. If you don't like the school you won't enjoy your time there no matter what it's reputation is. It's been a while since I had my interview but they basicly ask the simple questions like what your career goals are. You definately will need a portfolio and depending on the school you will need to audition on your instrument.

The first obvious comment I'm going to make is to transpose the score when you're done, but you probably know that. Overall I actually enjoyed the piece a lot. The trumpet part is pretty low in most of the piece. I don't know if you intentionally doing that for a more closed voice of the chords or if it was unintentional. I maybe would raise the trumpet part in a few places to get a more open spacing. You don't have that very much in the piece. I liked the section starting at m. 23 with the sixteenth notes. I would look into the tie in the horn part in m. 32 it kind of breaks down the flow of the part. Also look at the end. It wasn't very convincing. If you spend sometime on it I'm sure you can find something more convincing.

I've transcribed piano scores in my orchestration class and enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll do it that much on my own. No time.

I liked it. My main comment would be that fermatas seem to take away from the motion of the piece. Maybe look at that. It's minor but it might add something if that was tweaked. I liked a lot of the sounds in the piece.

Ok. Why are bands lacking in talent? Are you saying that they attract less talented players than the ones in orchestras? I'm not saying band is better than orchestra but I certainly think it is on par. Don't give reasons like that nothing in the band can match the strings. There are plenty of people in the world who prefer a rock band over an orchestra because nothing can match the power of an electric guitar.

I don't understand why he gets so much criticism for having a developed style that is all his own. I don't think there is more merit in seeking great variety in your musical output as a whole in detriment to developing a style that is yours and using your own preferred compositional techniques. Why does he need to try every compositional technique under the sun for everyone to be happy? Also not all audiences want to be treated to overly intellectual music. Maybe he doesn't want to write that. I'd rather have people enjoy my music for it's beauty than for complexity or ability to stimulate someone intellectually. What is this stuff about concert band doesn't count? Is a symphonic or concert band inferior to an orchestra? If so please inform me to why it is.

I enjoyed it very much. My only comment would be on the crescendos you have at near the beginning of the piece that are above the staff. Is there any reason for this?

I approve. Good use of motivic material.

Ternary always.

I liked it.