Applying for Composition Lessons With This New Work

Hello everyone, This is my new recent/short composition for the orchrestra. I posted this on the reddit page and received amazing feedback. I would like to have some more general opinions in case I could further synthesize and finalize my score. 

Score Video

Score (Pages 14 and 20 do cut out at the bottom)

Here are some general concerns:

Is the Orchrestration good and balanced?

Are the Harmonies functional/pleasant?(received some advice on this one)

Is the Melody Strong and Memorable?(Quite a few mixed opinions)

Thank you again and happy new year to all.

Hi, nice music.

I think you should write clearly how many flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, etc... are there in the orchestra.

The piccolo makes no sense, it is always playing in its low register and it could easily be taken by another flute.

This is a great feel-good intro!  It has a very welcoming, joyous atmosphere that is perfect for the title screen of a video game which is what I'm assuming this is for?  Thanks for sharing!  Where are you seeking composition lessons at?

The orchestration sound good for me. But I hope brass has its solo section as well. As @Luis Hernández noted, the piccolo really doesn't show its unique timbre here though.

The melody is memorable for me. I wish it will be played in low register by low strings, bassoon and horn though in some passages.

The harmony is functional and pleasant, maybe just too pleasant for me, since it's usually the same T-P-D-T progression all over the piece.

Bowings should be added for the strings. I think the piz. to arco in b.37 for viola too quick to change though. 3rd horn should mark its dynamic too at the beginning.

It's for sure a pleasant listening!

Henry

8 hours ago, Luis Hernández said:

Hi, nice music.

I think you should write clearly how many flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, etc... are there in the orchestra.

The piccolo makes no sense, it is always playing in its low register and it could easily be taken by another flute.

 

Hey Luis, Thank you for the reply. I will definitely add that specificity to the score. I set the piccolo at the middle tessitura because I didn't want it to sound too penetrating. But like Henry mentioned, the piccolo could sound really dull in this register. 

Very glad you enjoyed it, Luis. 

6 hours ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

This is a great feel-good intro!  It has a very welcoming, joyous atmosphere that is perfect for the title screen of a video game which is what I'm assuming this is for?  Thanks for sharing!  Where are you seeking composition lessons at?

 

Thank you so much, Peter. This means a lot. This was actually an orchrestration of another one of my previous piece(I know, a bit of a Ravel formula going on here). I actually two options for lessons: 1. An accomplished composer back in my native country(Thailand) 2. My current College of music in Florida. Come to think of it, these people have completely different aesthetic values from mine(they are mostly new music composers). 

I am a little embarrassed to share the original version but i could dm it to you if interested. 

4 minutes ago, Setthavat said:

I am a little embarrassed to share the original version but i could dm it to you if interested

Sure send it over!

4 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

The orchestration sound good for me. But I hope brass has its solo section as well. As @Luis Hernández noted, the piccolo really doesn't show its unique timbre here though.

The melody is memorable for me. I wish it will be played in low register by low strings, bassoon and horn though in some passages.

The harmony is functional and pleasant, maybe just too pleasant for me, since it's usually the same T-P-D-T progression all over the piece.

Bowings should be added for the strings. I think the piz. to arco in b.37 for viola too quick to change though. 3rd horn should mark its dynamic too at the beginning.

It's for sure a pleasant listening!

Henry

 

Happy to hear from you Henry, Thank you once again for commenting. I will look into the piccolo part. Your suggestion would actually be very fitting from bars 40 - 51; it will allow a good contrast for the tutti section. It's true, I have yet to grasp more about harmony. Still want to strike that balance between complex and pleasing harmonies, though. 

Hope I write something like this in the future.

3 hours ago, Setthavat said:

Hope I write something like this in the future.

i am sure you can if you have a clear goal of what to do next! 

3 hours ago, Setthavat said:

Still want to strike that balance between complex and pleasing harmonies, though. 

It's always hard to balance. Maybe finding your harmonic language is important too. But first just listen to different composers and compare them will definitely help, then you know what's your favourite harmonic language to use and at that time you can use them well.

13 hours ago, Henry Ng Tsz Kiu said:

I think the piz. to arco in b.37 for viola too quick to change though.

Looks like you might not be a string player. Don’t overestimate the amount of time it takes to go from pizz. to arco. It’s not like they set down their bow for pizz. or something. @Setthavat, I think the change from pizz. to arco on measure 37 is fine.

I quite enjoyed the fun nature of this piece. But I do have a few issues.

First, I heard a dissonance in measure 11. The first violins play an F and an Eb in the melody, which clashes with the winds which are playing an E natural and the Horns playing a G. Since the harmony works quite well, I would suggest just changing those two notes of the melody to sound consonant with the harmony. Like this:

Insert

Another thing I noticed is that the winds, especially the Clarinets and Bassoons, play for a very long time. Remember that they have lungs. Give them a nice break in there.

That's all I have to say in regard to the composition. Well done.

10 hours ago, ComposaBoi said:

I quite enjoyed the fun nature of this piece. But I do have a few issues.

First, I heard a dissonance in measure 11. The first violins play an F and an Eb in the melody, which clashes with the winds which are playing an E natural and the Horns playing a G. Since the harmony works quite well, I would suggest just changing those two notes of the melody to sound consonant with the harmony. Like this:

Insert

Another thing I noticed is that the winds, especially the Clarinets and Bassoons, play for a very long time. Remember that they have lungs. Give them a nice break in there.

 

That's all I have to say in regard to the composition. Well done.

 

Hey ComposaBoi, Sorry for the late reply. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. You are right to assume I am not a violinist!(and yes, I am a pianist). I was studying scores by rimsy-korsakov which featured a lot of cool orchrestral techniques. That must've subconciously influenced some of my writing, so I'll have to take playability into account more often. As for the woodwinds, I gave them a slight rest on every 4th measure, would that be enough? I wouldn't mind if they had to take a quick breath at the end of the every measure, but I can't really find a good checkpoint. 

I am happy you enjoyed it. 

5 hours ago, Setthavat said:

You are right to assume I am not a violinist!

I actually made that assumption about Henry, not you, because he suggested for you to put more space between the change from pizz to arco, even though it’s really easy.

5 hours ago, Setthavat said:

As for the woodwinds, I gave them a slight rest on every 4th measure, would that be enough? I wouldn't mind if they had to take a quick breath at the end of the every measure, but I can't really find a good checkpoint. 

The suggestion wasn’t really for breathing since they’ll take short breaths between notes when needed (unless you ads slurs); It was more for the lungs to relax since they get tired pretty quick. So yeah, might need a little more than an eighth-note rest.

Thank you for sharing this piece, and good luck to you in growing as a composer!

4 minutes ago, ComposaBoi said:

I actually made that assumption about Henry, not you, because he suggested for you to put more space between the change from pizz to arco, even though it’s really easy.

Actually I'm also just a pianist! So maybe my suggestion will not fit. My personal preference is to make it as easy as it can if it's not a must to use that pizz. to arco. But if @ComposaBoi regards it as easy, then I'm sure it will be fine!!

On 1/2/2023 at 11:32 AM, Setthavat said:

Hello everyone, This is my new recent/short composition for the orchrestra. I posted this on the reddit page and received amazing feedback. I would like to have some more general opinions in case I could further synthesize and finalize my score. 

Score Video

Score (Pages 14 and 20 do cut out at the bottom)

 

Here are some general concerns:

Is the Orchrestration good and balanced?

Are the Harmonies functional/pleasant?(received some advice on this one)

Is the Melody Strong and Memorable?(Quite a few mixed opinions)

 

Thank you again and happy new year to all.

 

First, I love that you're applying for composition lessons. That's definitely going to open your horizons in terms of language and development. 

That said, I think this is a decent piece -one that I'm sure will definitely get you in with a good teacher. 

I wouldn't fret over the orchestration or the harmonic function. What a teacher is going to want to see is that you can create and relate ideas -which you do well here. You don't want to come out of the gate into lessons with very little to learn. Otherwise, the teacher will feel that you're more capable than they can handle as an instructor. 

Good luck and let us know if you get it!

1 hour ago, ComposaBoi said:

I actually made that assumption about Henry, not you, because he suggested for you to put more space between the change from pizz to arco, even though it’s really easy.

The suggestion wasn’t really for breathing since they’ll take short breaths between notes when needed (unless you ads slurs); It was more for the lungs to relax since they get tired pretty quick. So yeah, might need a little more than an eighth-note rest.

Thank you for sharing this piece, and good luck to you in growing as a composer!

 

Hey man, sorry about that. My shoulders ache and I can’t really read or type straight sometimes. I’ll put that into my corrections, perhaps bar 19 would be a viable spot.

1 hour ago, jawoodruff said:

First, I love that you're applying for composition lessons. That's definitely going to open your horizons in terms of language and development. 

That said, I think this is a decent piece -one that I'm sure will definitely get you in with a good teacher. 

I wouldn't fret over the orchestration or the harmonic function. What a teacher is going to want to see is that you can create and relate ideas -which you do well here. You don't want to come out of the gate into lessons with very little to learn. Otherwise, the teacher will feel that you're more capable than they can handle as an instructor. 

Good luck and let us know if you get it!

 

Thank you for this, Jawooodruff. I do hope I get myself in with a good teacher. Although, I am still confused by how composition lessons work(a lot of things may come down to taste or what is considered “standard” practice?). Happy to know I am cooking up some good things. Of course, still need more understanding of form and harmony. 
We’ll see how it goes.

Hi ... a very pleasant work - with a good rhythmic pulse and accessible orchestration.  And yes ... there needs to be time to move from arco to pizz in the strings.  It brought a smile to my face. 😊

6 minutes ago, MJFOBOE said:

Hi ... a very pleasant work - with a good rhythmic pulse and accessible orchestration.  And yes ... there needs to be time to move from arco to pizz in the strings.  It brought a smile to my face. 😊

 

the time they need to do so though isn’t very long at all, so in his case, he’s fine.

1 hour ago, MJFOBOE said:

Hi ... a very pleasant work - with a good rhythmic pulse and accessible orchestration.  And yes ... there needs to be time to move from arco to pizz in the strings.  It brought a smile to my face. 😊

 

MJFOBOE, you brought me a smile as well😊, thank you truly for this. As Composaboi mentioned, It wouldn't be too hard for violinists to switch from arco to pizz; it happens a lot in Rimsy-Korsakov's scores (Check out his Spanish Capriccio). 

More coming soon. 

Final Version of this short orchrestral interlude: