We Can Fly

Hello fellow composers!

Having made a research among the community, I realized there are tons of really good and pro composer here, so posting my music is kind of intimidating! ...But here we go: My aime is to be a film/video game composer, as many other people, among other dreams and goals as well. My style of music is not only "Epic Movie" music, I also like to compose relaxing, kind of world and New Age music. Among my favorite composers I love: Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Antonin Dvorak, Edvard Grieg and JS Bach. My non academic favorite composers and artists are: Enya, Vangelis, Kitaro, early Works by Sarah Brightman, Loreena Mckennitt, early Works by Yanni. And my favorite film composers are: James Horner (may he rest in peace), James Newton Howard, Joe Hisaishi, John Williams, Hans Zimmer, just to mention a few because there are a lot... So I tell you this for you to have an idea where my infuelnces come from, as that´s the music I hear the most.

So here we go: (Any feedback would be highly appretiated, both regarding composition and mix):

0:10 - Tonic, pedal A minor chord with the mediant of the dominant chord (E/am). Really threw me off guard.
0:19 - Same thing here. You should probably leave the tonic chord if you want to do that. 
Basically for the first two points, I hear you setting up a chord progression, but it feels stilted because you only use the minor i chord and therefore unpowerful. It doesn't draw anything from me because there's no motion, really. This happens all the time in this piece beyond just these two cases. Be careful.
1:09 - Opposite problem, bass chord in major dominant, melody in minor dominant.
1:00, on - horns have the capability of really lush sounds because of the partial timbre they use; having them stay in unison for an intro section is a little bit limiting. 
2:00 - V vs. v
At this point I'm feeling kind of oversaturated by your main melody and chord progression. It's a pseudo rondo format that needs a little more in each development section.
3:11 - No violinist is going to appreciate that run.
At the ending section, having the strings in unison is a mistake. Listen to the 1st movement of Gershwin's piano section, around the middle, there's this really wonderful part where the mood dies down into this passionate section, the strings split off into extended chord harmony, while rooted in what sounds like unison because the cello and top violin are playing the main melody. Also, it should just be louder, more intense, more percussion, etc. It's the ending! Not just another section. 
You end on the same V vs. v chord problem! It's just really distracting.

Hello Monarcheon!

Thanks, that was a lot of good advice. I will take it into consideration for the next piece, as there are "musical composition habits" in which one falls after a while of doing the things the same way. There are some points and terms, however, I don´t have clear, as I am not an academic trained composer, and more of a self-trained one.

For example:

4 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

3:11 - No violinist is going to appreciate that run.

Why? Please explain.

4 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

2:00 - V vs. v

What is that, exactly? You mean the dominant chord?

4 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

0:10 - Tonic, pedal A minor chord with the mediant of the dominant chord (E/am). Really threw me off guard.
0:19 - Same thing here. You should probably leave the tonic chord if you want to do that. 

Why? Is that a subjective opinion?

4 hours ago, Monarcheon said:

sounds like unison because the cello and top violin are playing the main melody.

I heard the piece and you are right! That´s really good advice! I will definitely experiment with that. 

Again, thanks so much for taking the time to review my piece. Will be posting more soon.

1. It's really fast and doesn't only go in one direction.

2. It's the major dominant chord vs. the minor dominant chord, so I'm basically saying the 3rds of each of them are clashing. Normally this is the one chord you shouldn't used layered mixed borrowed chords.

3. Technically yes, but with the m7 (G) mixed with G# in the dominant chord it isn't as fluid as the rest of the progression.

4. :)

My job isn't to tell you what to do but to give you another perspective on how people will listen to your music, as it may be different than what you're used to. IF you're really convicted in your choice, then fine, but there are standard classical practices that a lot of epic scores use.

This piece has a lot going for it. nice work. I'll only address the mix, which is good, with good balance and separation of instruments, both in panning and depth. I guess there are a couple of ways to address dynamics. One is the terraced approach where you add more instruments to a section when you want it louder, as opposed to just adding volume to what's already there. And you've done this well too. I think it's necessary to be obvious with this because subtleties don't always come through in MIDI mockups. However, that doesn't mean that you don't need the subtleties. I'm referring to volume swells within each line with CC11. Do this a lot! It will make a big difference in enjoyment. Are you familiar with Wendy Carlos' music? an early pioneer of electronic music. She said, regarding expression in synthesizers, "Everything that can be controlled, must be controlled."

Wow this is fantastic! As someone incredibly new to composition, I can't offer any advice on the technical stuff, but I thought that the musical elements were spot on. You had an idea and used the entire piece to express its parts. I liked it a lot. The intro and 1:17 are my absolute favourite parts.

Thanks for sharing!

I don't have a lot to say about the composition itself. it has been done enough above me.

you maybe want to invest some money in some good sound libraries or sample actual players. the overall composition is good but the sounds don't comply.

maybe take a course in sound design and/or digital composition. also mixing and mastering is very important. when to use reverb and what amount. and equalizing the strings so they sound more realistic. as was said before dynamics are also really important to get right. also, the panning of the sections is important. the brass section is more to the right with the basses and the violas. the 1st and 2nd violins are more to the left together with the woodwind section. the drums can stay in the middle.

tips:

- at 2:00 the flute is way too loud considering the brass section is playing in forté. in a real orchestra that wouldn't be possible. there are exceptions where this is necessary but that is not this case.

- the bass frequency of the brass section is interfering with the bass frequency of the string section making them harder to differentiate. try to equalize them. search for frequencies that you don't need in the string section and turn them down a bit, or do that for the brass section. completely up to you.

- the strings die out too fast. if you make the attack shorter and the release a bit longer the strings will flow into the other notes more naturally. and it will make it sound more realistic. same goes for the brass.

examples:

- DAW 's that works well with orchestral tracks are Ableton and Cubase but you can use any DAW that works well for you.

- Kontakt 5 from Native-Instruments is a sample engine where you can get a various set of professional orchestral sample packs. these can be used to simulate real orchestra's and maybe even tweak them so orchestra's sound more organic or synthetic. this is also used by the composer Daniël James.

- cinesamples might be a good starting point for sample packs. if you google it you'll find a few good sample packs. unfortunately, these packs are HUGE and take a lot of memory (RAM and Disk space).

- use synthesizers to give it a more modern sound or boost the thickness of the sound. example: use a light/ vocal-like pad to lighten up the sound. layer a sub-bass with the organic basses to make the sound fatter and make the bass come out more.

of course using sample packs is not necessary to make your sound better. but the right amount of mixing and mastering can make it sound much more whole and real.

good luck!

best of regards

On 6/30/2017 at 11:09 AM, Monarcheon said:

1:09 - Opposite problem, bass chord in major dominant, melody in minor dominant.

 

 

What do you mean? From what I heard, the bass chord and the treble's chord played the same chord.

Also, 4:30 sounded really, really clashy and dissonant enough to arouse (awaken) my brain in a "slightly dizzy" way.

23 minutes ago, Arthur1124 said:

What do you mean? From what I heard, the bass chord and the treble's chord played the same chord.

 

I was a couple seconds late.