Dense Forest

Hello Guys,

I participated on a competition. The participants got this task below. What do you think about my entry? Thank you for your comments!
 

Quote

- Create a music piece that expresses the feeling of being lost in a dense forest, surrounded by towering trees and the sounds of nature. The piece should have a sense of wonder, awe, and maybe a touch of uncertainty. The melody should be slow and melodic, with the use of soft strings and woodwinds to evoke the serene atmosphere of the forest. Percussive elements should be added to mimic the sounds of rustling leaves and the occasional bird call. The piece should build to a climax, reaching a state of peaceful acceptance before slowly fading away, leaving the listener with a sense of being one with nature.

Dear @olivercomposer,

You alternate between E minor and C minor throughout the piece to create the lost feeling. The transformation to G major and Eb major after 1'31 is a good contrast, and the use of glockenspiel(?) is a good use of the percussive element. I just don't know why it's not a wind instrument to express the bird call in the requirement.

The requirement is quite strange itself since your music has to be both afraid of being lost and wonder at the same time, and it's quite difficult to achieve but I think you handle it well! The hopeful section is quite good! If you can connect the opening section with the latter using motivic coherence and transformation it will be even better! I think you can have a gradual diminuendo at the end to show the "peaceful acceptance before slowly fading away", probably having the instruments reduced like the ending of Haydn's Farewell Symphony and have the glockenspiel as the last melodic instrument.

Thanks for sharing!

Henry

Thank you again for your comment, Henry. May you would consider, I used the piccolo and the flute for the wind, and the harp for the falling leaves. For example, you can hear it from 00:14 to 00:18. 🙂

Oh, and I used celesta not glockenspiel, but I also always confused the two instruments. 🙂 Their sound is very similar in the mix.

Hi Oliver.

Think you hit the brief really well!

I probably would've used a rainstick for the rustling leaves. That was the first instrument I thought of.

And piccolo for the birdsong.

Is the winning piece to be used in a movie or TV show?

4 hours ago, olivercomposer said:

Oh, and I used celesta not glockenspiel, but I also always confused the two instruments. 🙂 Their sound is very similar in the mix.

Haha because basically celesta is the upgraded version of a glockenspiel!

I think despite each of your pieces being different and unique, you have a very recognizable sound and it's almost as if you're recycling material from previous compositions each time you write a new piece.  This gives your music much consistency and recognizable musical habits.  Like a habit I've noticed is that you usually start your pieces by alternating between two chords, one of which is usually the tonic.  I guess you have a tried and tested way of writing music that really works for you so you reuse certain harmonic formulas because they work - nothing wrong with that.  BUT, if you ever feel like you want to break out of your shell and write in a way you've never written before, send me a message and I'd be glad to help you brainstorm ideas for how to go about doing that!  Thanks for sharing this marvelous music and I hope you win!