Hungarian Dance (orchestral piece)

Please your feedback and opinion regarding this one. Thanks!

Great orchestration; especially the woodwinds are used fine. (And the string samples are better than many others, or so it seems.) The harmonies around 0:54-1:00 sound a bit strange to me. The rhythmic figure around:1:20-1:45 is used a bit too often for my taste; stronger dynamics or even more changes in instrumentation could probably improve this passage. The ending is very melancholic (fitting for a Hungarian dance!). You could even let it fade out more, if you like.

Hello Willibald, first of all, thanks for listening :). Regarding the 1:20 to 1:45 it is intended to be an ostinato (with some variations). The best change I could find is changing a bit the harmony, as it isn’t the same when the violin comes up 1 octave (and also of course some small variations at the melodic lines). But nevertheless, i do not have “the paranoia of the changes” (as several musicians have, I mean it is ok and fine but it is only taste to me), as most of the normal listeners don’t perceive this and also I am very influenced by popular music (I love it actually). The most important thing to me is that something sounds musical, with soul and creative, more than other details like how it “should be structured” or how it “should be”, or even “how it should sound”, so, even though I try to avoid monotony, sometimes I think it is fine to repeat some things, specially if you want to add tension or simply because you like the melody or the musical passage. On the other hand, I didn’t want to put more instruments as if I added more I had the impression the solo violin would not be heard as this part is the tutti (all what I had loaded/planned for the orchestra sounding at once). Also the levels were at the maximum I could afford (having it sounding good, otherwise the violin was not correctly perceived). I think here The result is given to the fact I wanted to privilege the melodic line of the solo violin. If I added more brass or louder brass, for example, it maybe would be not perceived (well maybe with libraries and mixing but I like to think in te possibility this is played by a real orchestra, even if it never happens, i think all of us do the same). And if I reduced the amount of instrument to change the colours, it wouldn’t sound “tutti enough”. I found all those obstacles so i kept what I thought to be the best possIbilties I found under my criteria regarding that passage.

I really wasn’t sure how much a solo violin would be on the battlefield until it is totally covered by the orchestra. 

Regarding the ending, I share your opinion, and actually I tried that, but the violin library has 1 problem:  it is like a loop, so 1 millisecond after it ends in my track, it get off and start again, so it didn’t sound good. I tried to sustain the note but it wasn’t possible :(

but I love that violin library nevertheless (Bohemian Violin). 

EDIT: now I am thinking that maybe the tempo track would do the trick here.

Cheers

On ‎27‎-‎02‎-‎2018 at 6:26 AM, Willibald said:

 The harmonies around 0:54-1:00 sound a bit strange to me. 

 

Hi Willibald, I already corrected that. It was a mistake, a wrong note, it was corrected simply moving it. Thanks for pointing out. :)

The problem I had here, is that the extension of the initial melody was took from a piece I did the last year, period in which I used to make some compositional errors I was used to and for me they were not mistakes at that moment (this is a mix of music from 2017 and 2018). Nevertheless, with the help of guys here and from other places, I was able to understand and correct them. Now it doesnt happen anymore, unless there were involuntary mistakes. :)

I have realized that music is always a cultural thing, if you are exposed to errors, they will be normal, if you are exposed to popular music, then some things will be normal for you that for other guys with classical music orientation/education may not be normal. So, the best is learn the most you can, and then, just pick what you consider is ok, and keep what you think is fine as it is. These errors to me sound like errors in the current period. Some things pointed as errors in the past, are still fine under my criteria. All depends.

cheers :)

Well, one person’s mistake in a score in another one’s clever musical trick ;-)

(And thank you for sharing your thoughts about orchestration. Very insightful.)

Sounds great. Awesome orchestration! What library sound did you use? Sibelius?

16 hours ago, Bukowsky said:

Sounds great. Awesome orchestration! What library sound did you use? Sibelius?

 

Thanks Bukowsky :)

I don’t use Sibelius, I work with Cubase and libraries. If I remember correctly, I used:

-Bohemian Violin

-Albion

-Berlin Woodwinds

-EWQL Hollywood Strings (for pizzicato)

Cheers!

use other types of rhythms. Melodic section-like not that you don't have one- because you do, but a slower section maintaining that drive?

Well, I have different types of pieces, with different structures. I decided to keep this without a slow part because thats the way i felt it, but I have others where I included that. Here there is one with a slow section if you want to listen.  Thanks!