Genesis

Thanks for your guy's help on this.

Now this sounds like you're really catching onto some solid film music technique!  I like how you don't ever repeat a section of music exactly the same way.  The recap you have at 2:27 sounds fresh but related enough to the original theme to hook the listener with some familiarity and also some novelty.  Then you manage to throw in some really cool variations of the main theme at 3:03 and 3:34.  The little celesta solo at the end sounds magical - almost like something straight out of Harry Potter! LoL

Nice job!

Thanks!

2 minutes ago, PaperComposer said:

Now this sounds like you're really catching onto some solid film music technique!  I like how you don't ever repeat a section of music exactly the same way.  The recap you have at 2:27 sounds fresh but related enough to the original theme to hook the listener with some familiarity and also some novelty.  Then you manage to throw in some really cool variations of the main theme at 3:03 and 3:34.  The little celesta solo at the end sounds magical - almost like something straight out of Harry Potter! LoL

Nice job!

I try to keep things diverse, although repetition is seeming better and better to me the deeper I get into composing. I'm currently expanding the celesta section!

You have a lot of talent! Well done, I love the additions you've made, you employ lots of color with the orchestra.

I'm curious what your goal is with this piece. Is it part of a suite or stand alone? Movie score scene? Even if it was to just experiment with your hand at an orchestral piece, I'm a fan of your music. Awesome!

Movie score, but I don't know how to do like scenes in a movie yet where the orchestra reacts to what's happening. I'm just hoping to be discovered by someone who can give me a chance at this. Maybe I should be more active in how I promote my music, send it to studios or something.

Thank you my friend!

I would check out some of the info about John Williams, I remember he would talk about using a stopwatch as he watched the music-less scenes he was given to figure out tempo. 

Yeah you can promote your music, but also check with aspiring filmmakers, they need music for cheap!

Ok thanks.

I just gotta find them

This is awesome! I definitely get a film score vibe from it. I'll echo some of the others in saying the organization suits the narrative of the piece quite well. There's a clear A-B-A form, and when the A theme returns is an exciting moment. It sounds like you intend to expand this project, but I think it stands pretty well as a piece on its own. Good job!

A few observations and constructive criticisms:

• I think in general the woodwind section is a little underutilized. Even with a few exceptions like the bassoon solo, it feels like a very brass- and string-centric piece. Some softer solos, or some tutti woodwind melodies here and there could add an extra dimension to the orchestration.
• At 1:24 it sounds like the English horn (and a few seconds later the oboe) has some kind of reverb effect that makes it sound kind of echo-y, almost like a delay effect, I'm not sure if this is intentional?
• This is going to sound a little odd, but it sounds too subtle to me. The are certainly some big moments, and some heavy ostinatos throughout, but I feel like they can be even bigger. And the quiet section starting around 1:53 could be even softer and more delicate. As it is, it feels like the dynamic range is from f to p, when it could be from fff to ppp. Maybe this is just me - a lot of modern film scores seem to go for the massive, high-octane feel, but I've always liked scores with a wider dynamic range.
• This is totally subjective, but I wouldn't slow down at the end. To me it kind of kills the momentum.
• Where's the score? 🙂 Since this is a complete work it would be good to have a score to provide a more detailed critique.

Overall really good job! It's great to see you posting some more complete works around here. I look forward to where you go with the rest of the piece.

50 minutes ago, gmm said:

Where's the score? 🙂 Since this is a complete work it would be good to have a score to provide a more detailed critique.

workin on it

50 minutes ago, gmm said:

I think in general the woodwind section is a little underutilized. Even with a few exceptions like the bassoon solo, it feels like a very brass- and string-centric piece. Some softer solos, or some tutti woodwind melodies here and there could add an extra dimension to the orchestration.

I agree, I don't really know how to harness its power (or perhaps its subtlety! Hmm 🤨). What does tutti mean?

52 minutes ago, gmm said:

This is going to sound a little odd, but it sounds too subtle to me. The are certainly some big moments, and some heavy ostinatos throughout, but I feel like they can be even bigger. And the quiet section starting around 1:53 could be even softer and more delicate. As it is, it feels like the dynamic range is from f to p, when it could be from fff to ppp. Maybe this is just me - a lot of modern film scores seem to go for the massive, high-octane feel, but I've always liked scores with a wider dynamic range.

Interesting, I thought I pushed it further this time and didn't want to overdo it

49 minutes ago, Left Unexplained said:

What does tutti mean?

All the woodwinds playing together in unison.

Very well done, I also like the non-exact-repetition of sections.

I'm curious about one thing... As a movie score composer (I think this has future) are you interested in contemporary systems that many famous composers are using? For example Bartók axis, cardinal points, etc...

Not really, mainly because I'm just now learning music theory and piano. But I'll come to a point where I can start grasping the bigger stuff soon, just not going to muddy things up trying to learn everything at once

I'm in the same boat as you, Left Unexplained. I need to learn theory as well. But you seem to have a grasp on notation. Your music sounds good. 

40 minutes ago, Esper said:

I'm in the same boat as you, Left Unexplained. I need to learn theory as well. But you seem to have a grasp on notation. Your music sounds good. 
 

Your piece 'Genesis' sounds akin to Danny Elfman's music at the height of his career. There is a film makers site that has a similar layout to this site; If you're aspiring to become a film composer. I am sure you will grab someone's attention if you post you will create music for film. 

 

do you know what the site is called? Thank you!

https://www.orchestraltools.com/

On 9/27/2020 at 11:37 PM, Left Unexplained said:

Movie score, but I don't know how to do like scenes in a movie yet where the orchestra reacts to what's happening

There are a couple of ways you can do it.

The first way is within a DAW, after deciding on a tempo, you place markers (find out what the hotkey is in your daw) and place them where you want the "sync points" to be. Then, you adjust your time signatures where necessary to make the sync points land close to or directly on a downbeat.

But the better way, and the old way, is that you compose the music in free-time. No metronome, and then adjust the tempo of the midi as needed after the fact.

If you use notation, you can set up the video file in the DAW first, place your sync points, but then just compose in notation as you watch the film. At this point, you don't have to worry about it being exactly the right tempo to what you're doing as you're scoring; just approximate. 

After you finish the cue, load the MIDI of that cue into your DAW. Then, you will be able to visually matchup where the syncpoints need to hit the midi, and you make the tempo adjustments so that it lines up. After you've figured that out, go back to the sheet music and put in matching tempo adjustments. Boom. Sync'd up, and far more organic.

In the olden days, how they used to do it, is that the sheet music said which markers a bar was supposed to hit. The syncpoints were also embedded into the copy of the film used during the recording session, so it would visually warn the conductor that the next hit point was coming.

So the conductor would just conduct the orchestra according to the timestamps.

On 10/20/2020 at 5:32 AM, Esper said:

https://cinematography.com/  

 

tried getting on there, the screener for entrants never cleared me lol :/ guess Im spam