jtay

So I had an idea recently that I want to run by everyone here. If I, or any composer for that matter, were to post time-lapse videos of them doing their composing on Youtube, do you think they attract much attention or get many views? Allow me to explain my idea further. Basically the composer would use a screen recording program, like Fraps, to record him writing a piece in his DAW (or Finale/Sibelius, or whatever else you might compose in) from start to finish. Then the footage would be sped up and the audio removed. After that, he would record a commentary track in which he might talk about the piece, music in general, play clips or ideas that he had along the way, or he could even just treat the commentary like a vlog. And of course at the end of the video the completed piece would played. The idea stems from a few different types of videos that I've watched on Youtube. There are "Let's Play" videos where people record themselves playing a video/computer game while commentating; and there are speed-painting videos where artists record themselves drawing something into Photoshop and speed up the footage. I enjoy both of these types of videos, and I thought it might be cool if I could turn composing into more of a visual art by drawing inspiration from them. I'm sure we would all agree that there is something visually appealing about seeing a finished score in Finale or a finished piece in a DAW window with all of its colorful tracks. Also, this was the cheapest way I could think of to make anything resembling a "music video." It's still not free, though. I'd like to get your opinions on the feasibility of this idea before I start considering spending the ~$200 I expect it will cost me to get the materials I need to give this a shot.

I'm finding it hard to word this topic in paragraph form, so here are my questions in list form. -I hear some of composer X's work somewhere and really like it. -I want to draw from that style for my own compositions. -In particular I want to apply these styles in a cinematic way. (In the near future, I may get to score some student films.) -What is the best way to go about this? -Should I buy some scores and analyze them? -Are there particular analysis techniques that I should use for cinematic applications? -Should I write "practice compositions" where I attempt to duplicate the styles I want? -Am I over-thinking this? Thanks in advance for your answers.

I graduated this past May with a B. A. in Music with a certificate in music composition, so I fall between categories as well. (I also double majored with Mechanical Engineering, so that way I can pay the bills. :toothygrin: ) I'm still deciding what styles of composition I'm going to focus on. Now that I'm out of school, getting performers is going to be a bit tougher. I'll still try to use my connections to the university to get my stuff performed. Since I play French horn, it will probably be easiest for me to get in with the horn and other brass professors. I'll probably try writing some (more) horn choir or brass ensemble stuff. I've also had a good idea for a percussion ensemble piece for a while, but finding percussionists can be a huge pain, at least at my school. I don't know if that piece will ever happen or not. Since I got Cubase 6 a few weeks ago, I'll probably use that for composing things using sample libraries and such just for posting them on the internet; maybe some webseries maker or something will find it and use it, we'll see. It will also be handy for when I want to make better sounding MIDI mockups of whatever concert music I've composed.

I can buy that. So my next question then is how do gimmicky compositions make it out there? I know that there are far more gimmicky than my idea that have gained some notoriety (though they may not be performed very often).

You're no fun. Let's say there's a hypothetical band director looking at different pieces to play. He sees a piece that says "for wind ensemble and vocalists," and he thinks, "I don't want to have to track down vocalists to do this piece." Then he sees a piece that says "for wind ensemble and pterodactyls," and he says, "What the heck is this?" Then he reads a little more about the piece. Maybe he likes it, maybe he doesn't, maybe he decides it's too much of a hassle to do, but I succeeded in at least getting him to read more about it. If it sticks in his memory well enough, maybe he'll mention it in the next "strange pieces I've heard of" conversation he has. The usage of "pterodactyls" instead of "vocalists" in the subtitle acts simultaneously as a source of intrigue for the audience, a source of comedy for the conductor and performers, and a marketing technique.

You guessed it with number two. I think it is safe to assume that not everyone in your average audience is aware of the vocal technique known as the "pterodactyl screech." To the best of my knowledge it's most common in hardcore music and its various sub-genres, though I'm not sure I've ever heard it done in a song; maybe it's more of a live show thing. The idea was to use the title and program notes to pique the audience's interest, then introduce the screech midway into the piece to solidify the atmosphere. There would probably be at least two offstage vocalists, more if the technique is used a lot in close succession; it can be rather tiring. Depending on the volume of the sounds they were making, they might be miked and speakers would be used to bring their sound into the concert hall; then you could mix it all into a stereo or quadraphonic field. There couldn't be just one screech either; after the first one there would need to be others that continued to depict the scene: baby pterodactyls, various animalic emotions, etc. The concept came from a vague idea I presented to my composition professor before the end of the semester (before I graduated); I thought it would be cool to mix hardcore vocals in with a concert piece. I couldn't think of a way to make standard growls or screams work in a concert setting, and pig squeals only serve to be either creepy on simply imitative of pigs. I'm not going to write a piece about a farm; that sounds boring. The pterodactyl screech, though, seemed exotic enough to actually work well; it might be comparable to using a Mahler hammer, shotgun, cannon, or train whistle in a piece.

Depends on what you're writing. Under most circumstances, I would say just start with typing it a notation program. Maybe if you're just noodling around with what you're going to do next at the piano, then sure, writing is okay there. Or if what you're writing has REALLY weird notation (several pieces by George Crumb come to mind), then hand writing it would probably be best. Afterwards you can use a combination of a notation program and photoshop to clean it up before you give it to the performers.

Maybe I should clarify. The title wouldn't be a joke. If you open the score you will find parts for Pterodactyls 1 and 2 (and maybe 3) right above the percussion line.

If you saw the cover of the score for a piece that looked like this, would you want to play it? Or at least hear it? "Pterodactyl's Nest" for Wind Ensemble and Pterodactyls As of this moment, I'm thinking about writing said piece. Personally, I think it's rather intriguing and hilarious at the same time.

I updated the post with the description. The game we play is VERY loosely based on DnD. It's pretty much just an exercise in role-playing with only a few rules and a fairly subjective D20 system. We each come up with balanced balanced characters (no rolling for abilities, which I like) and inject them into this universe that our GM has come up with. This music wouldn't fit an actual game so much as it would a cutscene from the game. Maybe a flashback or something. Usually one vs. many doesn't play out well in real time.

I got my copy of Cubase 6 in the mail a few weeks ago, and this is the first complete composition I've done with it. I still don't have any awesome new sample libraries, so this was all done with the light version of Garritan Personal Orchestra that ships with Finale, a few free VST instruments and effects that I like, and built-in Cubase stuff. I composed this for a friend of mine who plays a kind of DnD-esque roleplaying game with me. His character is a Lich with a strong affinity for Black Fire and spells relating to it. I had my friend describe a scene for me that demonstrates all the awesome qualities of his character, and I used that description as a compositional guideline. I've actually got a whole list of exactly what is happening when (right down to potential cinematography), but it's way too late for me to bother typing all of that right now. Let me know if you have any suggestions on how I can make the piece better. I hope to debut this piece for my friend and the rest of us who play the RPG tonight. EDIT: Okay, I've got more time to write now. Here's the breakdown of what is happening when. Also, our game time got pushed back to Tuesday, so I have more time to edit the piece if need be. 0:00 - It's twilight. The lich is cloaked and hooded, so none of the remaining daylight reaches his body. He's waiting just outside a town where there is a distinct military presence. His motives are yet unknown. 0:42 - The camera moves to the sky and we watch as twilight turns to night. 0:53 - Cut to an overhead shot of the town. The lich is already inside! 0:56 - The lich is preparing himself for battle. He takes his hood off and black fire slowly consumes his body, starting at his bony hands and progressing around his perimeter. The camera spirals around the lich in a close up position beginning at hand height and moving upwards to his face. 1:25 - The lich puts up a flame barrier and begins attacking! Fireball here, eruption of flame there, etc. All engaging enemies are of a grunt status, so they are easily defeated. The lich is making his way through the town without being hindered. 2:22 - The lich moves out of the main battlefield is moving toward his objective through back alleys, up staircases, and maybe across rooftops. Meanwhile, cut to brief scenes of important officials being evacuated from their buildings. No one really knows what this lich's target is. 2:34 - The lich makes short work of a guy he runs into in a back alley. The spell used is similar to the Sectumsempra spell from Harry Potter with multiple cut wounds suddenly appearing on the victim. 3:06 - The lich is now pressing to his target. He's in the hallway outside where his target is at and there's several enemies waiting for him. He takes more hits than he would like, and even resorts to using his knife in close combat (which is not the way that liches prefer to fight). 3:34 - The enemies are defeated, and he enters a room, quickly closing the door behind him. He confronts the man he was after in the room. The conversation would go something like this: - "You!? What are you doing here?" - "You killed my comrade. I'm here for my revenge." - "You came all this way for me? I'm touched." He slowly moves toward a hidden weapon in his desk, hoping the lich doesn't notice. 3:56 - "It's time to die." 4:01 The man quickly jerks the weapon up to attack, but the lich disarms him. 4:15 The lich deals the final blow. His mission is complete. Enter, The Lich

Overall a great sounding piece! That hero is REALLY riding; I don't think his horse will last long at that pace. I just have a couple of minor gripes. Though you said it was made with libraries, it sounds like your crash cymbals player is really timid. Maybe pick a beefier cymbal sound. Unless your hero is some kind of small creature, like a mouse, then that sound TOTALLY makes sense. Also, at 0:41, there's some insanely fast bowed triplets in the violins. Now I'm no string player, but that sounds verging on impossible (to do cleanly) for an actual player. If you slur each triplet rhythm then that part will sound a lot more natural. Now that I've said it, is your hero a mouse? In my mind, the image of a small mouse scampering across the countryside seems to fit the piece, no offense intended. Maybe he's the hero of some animated film and he's hurrying to tell some other group of people (animals, whatever) some important plot-relevant news.

I have to admire any piece that implements electronic sounds so well with orchestral. I'm terrible at sound design and can't create a good electronic sound for the life of me. I think that the percussion in the last minute or so could be brought out more and maybe made a bit more complex to sort of drive the piece forward more. I hope you add more to this piece in the future!

I like it. Honestly, I think you could repeat every motive MANY more times, stretch the piece out to like 8 minutes, and I would still be listening to the whole thing. The melody, drum pattern, and other effects are all awesome in their own unique ways. I could probably listen to that drum loop all day. Great sounds!

That's a great piece you've got there. I love how it stays so captivating while being repetitive. You certainly accomplished your goal there. Plus it could fit so many different kinds of scenes (like Nimrodia said). Very enjoyable to listen to.