Jeffrey L Chambers

Thank you, this is very helpful. I will get right on this. Thanks!!! Jeff

Hi all, Okay, I've got a completed concert band piece that was a commission by a middle school in Washington state. It has been edited, proofread, re-edited, and re-proofread 3-4 times. I have done all of the copying etc. Basically, this piece is ready to be published according to the director it was written for and according to both my composition professors at school. The problem is, I don't know what the next step is. Can anyone help me? Where do I go? Which publishing company do I contact? Can I even do the cold call thing? And before anyone suggests it, I am not setup/prepared to do the self-publishing thing yet. I'd love to but with this piece, I think I'm just going to try and find a publisher to accept it and publish it that way. Thank you for any help you can offer. Jeff

Thanks to both of you! :)

Ahh very interesting point, thanks!

Hi all, Every spring at the university I attend, we put on a production that is a collaboration between the school of music and the dance department. The big feature of this production is that dancers write up descriptions of music that they want music students to compose, the music students write it, then give it back to the dancers and the dancers then choreograph dances. The end result is an entire show of 10-12 student choreographed dances with live music composed by students. So that's the setting of this. The choreographer I'm working with said that she wanted her piece to start with "classical sound music" that would go with a typical ballet dance. Then she wants it to transition into something that is more "edgy" that would go with choreography that is "powerful and all about strength and agility". The dance style for this part would be classified still as ballet but "more edgy". She wants the music to be what fuels the dancer's movement. So anyway, this is what I've come up with. I've shared some of it with her including the first slower part which she said she loved. She hasn't heard much of the second half which is the faster part. I am wondering if anyone has any thoughts and opinions on the second half such as if you like the way it flows. Do things seem out of place? Do you like the ending? Really, I would appreciate any feedback! Keep in mind that the purpose of this piece in this setting is not to necessarily satisfy any compositional rules or be a breakthrough in music theory but rather, to sound good and be good music for a dance. It needs to be enjoyable to listen to. (So I apologize for the almost "poppy" sound with the repetitive chord progression in the second half) I apologize but I don't have a score at this time. Thank You, Jeff Edit: I should clarify that this piece is written for string quartet plus piano, drum set, bass guitar and additional percussion. DDD Piece No. 1 (Becca) 12.30.10.mp3

Two summers ago, my friend asked me to write him a chorale for the brass section of his marching band to use as a warm-up. And not so much a warm up to get the blood flowing and to practice any real technical fundamentals but rather a piece that they could use to practice blend, intonation, breath support, getting that big "marching band sound" etc. He gave me a very specific instrumentation- 4 trumpets, 1 mellophone, 3 baritones and 2 tubas. He also wanted reasonably conservative ranges with the exception of a few key players. The thing is, I wrote it and they played it some, but I never got any feedback on it so I would greatly appreciate any that you can offer! Thank You. Brass Chorale No. 1 (For Marching Band Brass Section)

Nice work on this. A quick note, from a copying/type-setting standpoint the score looks great! What program do you use? From a compositional standpoint I did enjoy it. Do you listen to Frank Ticheli a lot? I thought it had some of his sound in it (not a bad thing!) I have to say that I got a little impatient, I really wanted the piece to go somewhere and it finally reached that climax on page 18 and for me it was like "oh finally!" I'm not saying it needed to happen sooner but just so you are aware, from a first-listener stand point, that is what I wanted and it finally happened 232 measures into the piece. Everything before that was nice and I really liked the chords you were building and I really liked some of the colors you were using with the instrumental combinations and use of things like the percussion effects and the mutes in the trumpets. I think it's a nice piece! Pretty long. Also, just a thought. With a title like "Rain" and the use of finger snaps, you are competing against Eric Whitacre's "Cloudburst". I'm not saying you can't write a piece with a similar concept and I actually think you are trying to tell a different story. It's just an observation and something to think about. Nice work though, enjoyed it! If anyone has 10 minutes, I'd recommend giving this one a listen and seeing what you think. Jeff

lol thats a great point good word

One of my composition professors told me that to him, there is something different about sitting down at a piano and figuring out melodies etc. when writing a piece. I was skeptical because I have always just written straight from my head, but I tried it and have never gone back to the old way!!! So, I prefer to sit at a piano (or whatever instrument I'm writing for) and write, and I do have a very strong ear as well so its tempting not to sometimes...

bump heh sry

Thank You! i appreciate that feedback. Good word on the doted quarter etc. Oh i have attached the full first score for the opener (current as of yesterday) if anyone is still reading this thread lol PDF as of 12.29.08.pdf

hey just thought I'd bump this thread up from like 3 months ago because I just read it and found it fairly interesting. I do have perfect pitch, and as far as I know, I was born with it because one day, rather than realizing that I could tell any pitch out of thin air, I realized that no one else around me could do this. It definitely has its advantages and such in a lot of areas musically. It also has some disadvantages however in the end I don't consider myself any more or less special than another musician. This is a cool thread, hope it keeps going

The keys appeal to me the most are always the flat keys, mainly the black note keys, D flat, E flat, G flat, A flat, and B flat. They just sound different to me compared to white note keys.

Oh oops! my bad, I misread that. I am thinking of the Spring theme I believe. Its the big C major chord, right before the tempo picks up again at the very end. Thats kinda the moment I was envisioning being a little bigger. But yea, just a suggestion

That helped me! Thanks!