/comp/ Composition General

Le saved face

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https://clyp.it/uu3ewwcv

thoughts on this canon?

someone tell me what this is!!!!

https://onlinesequencer.net/361107

>>69449024
It's pretty fun senpai but it could use some extension and perhaps a clearer canon. It did not feel like a canon and more like a short SATB arrangement.

got my viola partita recorded properly the other day:

https://clyp.it/wkmbpqmn

Score:
https://www.scribd.com/document/326921161/Viola-Partita

>>69449076
Can't help you here senpai. Did you put this together? What else can we use to try and know what it is that you're looking for.

>>69449440
Its from some string quartet and yes I sequenced it. the playback can be laggy though. Its a shitty site.

How's this guys - http://onlinesequencer.net/361135

Hey /comp/, done with my piano sonata, anybody remember my post

>>69450138
post it, loved the first mvmt. You're the A minor sonata guy right?

>>69450330
yup, gonna post a clyp then

https://clyp.it/z5bbsbeo

Here it is, my complete sonata in A minor

Hope you like it, feedback would be much appreciated

>>69449815
bad.

Although a lot of it is the laggy media

>>69450474
Can you play this? The sonata is pretty well composed and put together. Well done my friend.

>>69450656
I can't. I can imagine that it would be very challenging and not very ''practical'' on the fingers.

Thank you, it means a lot anon

>>69450684
Well that's great, and always make sure you express yourself, but remember that the #1 job of the working composer is the feasibility of their music. If it's impossible to play or reproduce - no one will do it.

>>69450805
I disagree. By now with increasingly sophisticated methods we can render something more or less fully acoustic sounding with technology and no need for human players. For mere hobbyists this is a godsend that past composition enthusiasts who never had inroads into the system could only dream of. ergonomics of performance are a relic from the past desu.

>>69451006
That's not what I mean. Compositions are still being performed. This is the primary way in which a composition survives and which a composer seeks (to have his music listened to). Recordings do exist and allow an exact replication of the music every time, but I do think that at the heart of it all lies the performance. This is still the main blood of classical music. No one listens to recorded music live more than once.

>>69451090
This anon does have a point. Very few musicians, especially composers, get noticed by releasing recordings. Small time gigs and shows are how most bands start out, and university performances and the like are how composers start out nowadays.

>>69451090
I am saying that most people who will take an interest in composition will never see their music performed anyway and moreover they should be okay with it because the real reward is in the thrill of the hunt in rendering an external simulacrum.

>>69451146
Actually I would argue otherwise. I think most composers /do/ have their pieces performed, or they perform them themselves. If you seek it, it will come. I don't disagree that one should compose for the sake of it, but you must understand that when the will is strong enough, performance is the next logical step. Besides, it's incredibly fun.

>>69451225
yeah most "composers" do. Not most hobbyists or casual enthusiasts. I dont become designated as an artist if I start drawing mangos.

>>69451571
There are communities online you can ask, and fellow hobbyist instrumentalists do like new shit to play.

>>69450684
>I can imagine that it would be very challenging and not very ''practical'' on the fingers.
Of course, you choose the hardest key to play in and the easiest to compose in. Sasuga, /mu/.
...but, I guess it's pretty nice; good job following through and finishing it.

>>69452193
>hardest key to play
How is A minor hard to play on the piano? It's probably the easiest key together with C major, having no black keys.

Am I missing something?

>Stuck figuring out how to move into the next part of my piece
The hard part is that I wasn't following any particular rules so I'm going by very loose guidelines. And now I can't figure out how to continue the fucking piece.

>>69450474
Can you post the full score? A link to musescore or whatever.

>>69452624
The black keys make for much much much easier targets -- it's not even a contest; C major/a minor is the hardest key to play high level pieces in by far.

>>69452732
> play high level pieces in by far.
That may be why I don't see it. I'm intermediate at best, and C/a are the easiest for me.

>>69450474

Well done, this is very good. I was in a cynical mood and hoped it'd be shit to make myself feel better, but I enjoyed the piece a lot. Keep up the good work. Do you have formal training? What program do you use to compose?

>>69452624
>>69452764
Basically, when you're playing runs so quick they must be done by muscle memory, your hands can more easily tell where they are subconsciously if they have memorable shapes like the black keys to tell them where to go.

Bumping one last time before bed.

Does anyone else use Finale Songwriter? I've been using it for years. Anyway I tried discussing Finale in /prod/ and was told to go here.

Redpill me on Finale. I've been using soundfonts but I don't know if Ableton is a good next step to make more professional sounds, or what?

>>69454217
Finale is fucking buggy as shit, and the latest one inexplicably auto-deletes its autosaves seven seconds after crashing.

That said, so long as you make sure to save very often, it's very good at creating quality scores, it's quicker than jotting down ideas on paper once you've mastered speedy entry, and the Human Playback, once you've learned what little details make it tick, is just out of this world. I mean it has options like Baroque, Romantic, Jazz, Latin etc. Of course, it's no substitute for actual instruments, no scorewriting program is.

has anyone used masterclass before?

i just saw this today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCX1Ze3OcKo

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some improvs. if someone could tell me where i'm at or what i should work on that would be good. i'm kind of in a vacuum regarding where i'm currently at or if i should continue this. i thought about pursuing some kind of musical education but i have no idea where to start.

https://clyp.it/doirsjjb

>>69449424
wouldn't be out of place in a god speed you black emperor track with some old recording of some guy talking about dying crops playing over it.

>>69454756
>https://clyp.it/doirsjjb
Your ideas are all over the place.
>french impressionism
>americana with a touch of jazz
>reminds me of chopin/early scriabin
>almost a continuous of the above but with more french influence
>anime/video game sound track
>anime soundtrack with a touch of jazz
>jazzy -- weird
>slow jam
>classical
>scriabin (late)
>boring idea
>nice light french influence
>cheesy soundtrack
>playful

I could see you working on soundtracks if you really wanted to. What are you looking for -- do you have anything in mind?

Also, do you have any pieces that you would call complete, or are they just little ideas like what you posted?

Either way, I hope you at least keep playing; it sounds like you know what you're doing

>>69455137
Fuck you man I'd you're going to call my work cheesy then don't respond

>>69455196
Dude, don't post it if you get this upset at light criticism. He even threw in a "Either way, I hope you at least keep playing; it sounds like you know what you're doing" there.

>>69455196
...that's what you took away from my post?

>>69455282
I feel like the guy above has to be trolling and wasn't the one who posted the tracks -- note the lack of capitalization in the original post.

>>69455282

I've dealt with people like him all my life they think insulting you baselessly and then putting a cherry on the turd they smeared in your face makes it ok

>>69455137

this guy

>>69455196

isn't me. not sure who he was responding to. anyway i have no idea what i want to do. i've never finished a piece because i usually lose interest in the progression of it. i need to connect with it in some way to finish it. for now i'm just stock piling these types of micro pieces until eventually i feel like finishing one. i cant read music so notation isn't really possible. currently im frustrated that im having difficulty with baroque style keyboard music because that's something i've always wanted to create.

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>>69455319
im not sure why someone would put any effort into impersonating someone in a thread like this. but yea that wasn't me.

>>69455346

Don't try to back out of what you wrote -- if you can't take criticism, don't post.

>ywn be as good as J.S. Bach

>>69455346
>baroque style keyboard music
In that case, reading about music theory and taking classes will definitely help you. It's been a long time since I've played Baroque music, but I remember it be extremely formulaic. Once you understand the general foundation, you'll be able to crank out the pieces you've been dreaming of.

Finishing a piece is another thing that will require practice. Short rough ideas are pretty easy, but tying everything together makes things so much harder -- I can't finish anything either.

Good luck.

>>69455339
>>69455196
>>69455416
samefag

>>69455416
why even put effort into being this unconstructive. are you really that bored?

>>69451006
>ergonomics of performance are a relic from the past desu.
only if you never want to have anything played by a real performer, or if you only ever work as a producer - with the finished product being a recording instead of a score.

Classical is all about the written score and the performer. If you're not taking advantage of the nuances and fresh perspectives you get from working with a real performer, you're closer to a producer than a composer.

There are of course guys like Ferneyhough who make things very difficult to play, but they understand what's possible to play extremely well, they know their shit and how to push players to get very interesting performances.

If you dont know your shit and are just writing whatever sounds good to you without care for playability or ever working with a real performer, you're missing out some of the joys of classical music - creating something that performers enjoy playing and want to play again.

>>69454570
how can someone without a music degree give a masterclass on film scoring? He knows how to score films averagely - nothing special, but I wouldn't consider him a "master"
If John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith (rip) was giving a masterclass, I'd be very interested. Even Bear McCreary would be interesting to have a masterclass with. At least Bear knows his shit, and almost exclusively works with real instruments.

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>>69455438
Bach can be learned. Learn how he creates his melodies, learn how he creates his counterpoint, learn his harmonies. You can get very close with careful study and lots of practice.

>>69455449
from what i can hear the basics of barque music almost seems mathematical. as for finishing anything i have a dread of something becoming boring. almost like if i can't keep an audience invested in an idea past its initial phase it would invalidate the entire piece so i'm too scared to do anything further in case i "ruin" the idea. i seem to be completely dependent on the mood i'm in so i can't just play whatever whenever which is pretty frustrating.

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>>69456963
i foresee an early death for this thread

>>69455137
time marker on the Scriabin thingy? I like Scriabin

>>69450474
Dude that is WAY too fast, plus you don't give any time for any emotion to really set in. You can't even get a real good sense of tonality because it's so fast. Slow it down, by a lot. That would really contribute to the piece's beauty.

>>69457440
Late Scriabin? Around 5:50 at the lowest point before the largest peak.

>>69455582
I never said I would be writing merely "whatever sounds good". I'm more interested in composition as a curative process. I am not that autistic about music, I definitely have an emotional connection but ultimtely what draws me to composition is sort of the concept of solving a puzzle by plugging in the right notes, rhythms, timbres and other sonic elements. In fact only when I began to understand the harmonic series did composing seem viable for me because prior to that I was intimidated by the vision of the composer as the virtuoso artist waving his brush around and producing beauty by mere accident. Now, even insofar as that conception may have a strain of truth, I realize there is another approach that can allow someone like myself to make music desspite having no solid background. Ultimately I suppose "ease of play" could be another parameter to "curate" around but it just doesn't interest me, particularly as someone who has no pretentions of having anything performed.

>>69454756
personally I would regard inability to flesh out melodic ideas into full pieces as a rather severe shortfall I would be working on big league if I were you. I only mention this because I keep seeing you post this collection and you seem to be complacent. But dicking around on a keyboard in not composition ultimately, even if it sounds nice. There's hard work too.

>>69457624
If you're not interested in someone performing your stuff, why bother with all of the typical constraints of composing for an instrumentalist? Why not take the plunge into weirder shit?
http://xenharmonic.wikispaces.com/

>>69458224
Actually I want to get into microtonality but I am still learning to crawl so I think the good ol' chromatic scale will suffice for the time being.

>>69452193
Thanks anon, i just like A minor
>>69452709
i can try
>>69452947
I have been trained a little by a professional composer. Mostly i use my ear to compose.
>>69457441
I will try this, thanks

Can you use any two melodies in conterpoint?

>>69460643
hell no. The intervals between the notes have to be consonant or carefully handled dissonance.

Read Fux or check out the "art of counterpoint" channel on youtube.

>>69455438
Bach literally told everyone how he did it. He literally never stopped working or making music. If you can do that - congrats, you're the next Bach.

The man was one of those prime working Austrians - all they know how to do is work.

I have been thinking about it.. did pianist like Barry Harris, Bill Evans, Bub Powell.. basically any of the greats, before recording a solo piano rendition of a jazz standard, do they plan before hand what they are going to play, or at least practices the song multiple times before hand or did they literally just press record and go?

Because if it's the latter than.. woah man. How can one be so well versed in harmony? I have to practice a tune multiple times, get the harmony right, the changes.. before I actually think about recording myself.

reminder that jazz theory is the only kind of theory that's actually useful

Have a good upcoming Christmas /comp/!

https://clyp.it/afi4wt1z

>>69462126
that's because you're not a genius

>>69462126
>>69463443
they didn't "plan" what they were doing; they knew they were going to play a basic chord progression and maybe a central melody. Most jazz standards are characterized by one chorus,, with it's progression and melody. Beyond that, it's improvisation. At the simplest level, extending chords and varying the melody is fine.

>>69463799
yeah? since you have it all figured out why aren't you a world famous jazz musician?

>>69463817
But anon, I am a world famous jazz musician.

>>69455582
>Hans Zimmer
>average

have you never seen Rain Man or any of the Nolans Batman movies?

>>69464028
Opinions are subjective. Moreover, I'm not really fond of the "how can someone without a music degree give a masterclass" part either.

holy crap it's still alive.

>wrote a piece for the sonatina challenge in the summer
>play it from memory periodically
>look at its score
>dynamics completely different from how I've been playing it
Should I rewrite the dynamics? Or should I respect the composer's intent?

>>69457710
honestly i haven't touched my keyboard in about 6 months and i forgot i may have posted this here. i think it caught me off guard that people seemed to enjoy anything i made and that was enough for me. i'm at a point in my life where i don't enjoy anything and i can't even remember what i did this year. time is just passing in bulk and i don't care to even bother anymore. i know i'm wasting a lot of time but i feel like regardless of what i do the outcome will be the same.

>>69467205
You wrote it right? Rewrite it, call it 2nd edition. Then if you become a big deal people will kill for your first version.

>>69467571
I'm not really sure which one I prefer, though.

If I posted it here without markings, do you think I could get someone more experienced on piano to tell me their opinion of it? It's fairly simplistic of a piece.

>>69468202
always post your work

also, is it in the Drive folder of all the submissions?

>>69468699
Ah, yes it is. It's got some errata though

I think I might rerecord and post a better unmarked score once I'm done eating

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How do I stop my fingers from tripping over themselves in fast piano pieces?

I mean at the point where you already learned the piece and you play it by muscle memory, but your fingers simply aren't dexterous enough and fuck up at parts.

It doesn't feel like restudying the piece helps. I'm talking about intermediate level, like say Mozart's Rondo alla Turca from his Piano Sonata 11.
At 1:10.
https://youtu.be/geER3iQDO5k?t=71
Though in this video the speed is at the limit where I can still play it, but if I go even a bit faster that's when I fuck up. It tends to happen when the speed is continuous, like that fragment where it's full of 16ths, while if I only have to deal with 4-8 16ths I can handle it.

Is grinding technique with Hanon and similar shit the only way?

>>69463418
Y-you too.

>>69469959
Pretty much. Fingering is key my friend. Try to never touch black keys with your thumb, that's rule no.1.

>>69449024
>>69449424
>>69450474
>>69454756
>>69463418
These are the works posted ITT. Good job /comp/

[spoiler]*sforzandos*[/spoiler]

>>69470418
I was hoping against logic that there would be another way. It's boring as fuck but it's such a big limitation, very early on, that I can't find a way around it.

Time to dust off that old book. I only got as far as exercise 16.

>>69457710
>personally I would regard inability to flesh out melodic ideas into full pieces as a rather severe shortfall I would be working on big league if I were you.
Not him but any tips other than practice (which I'm already working on, though I'm slow as fuck)?

before I go on reading into it do any of you have any tips on writing counterpoint?

>>69470609
>boring as fuck

that's your problem. love your piano, respect it. treat it as you would want someone to treat you. i'm not joking.

>>69467205
I dont get it if you wrote it why does it matter

>>69470803
Practice it. Always. Make arrangements and write counterpoint every day. It's the only way.

>>69470875
I guess. I just tend to avoid it because it always sounds conflicting

>>69470822
I like it, I love the feeling of the weight of the keys under my fingers and the different sound that different velocity generates.

But practicing technique is not exactly a fun thing to do, anon.

I'll try to do something about my state of mind regarding technique practice, and see if I can make it more rewarding. Maybe make it a game where my fingers should not touch anything else by accident, other than the key it means to touch.

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>>69468699
https://clyp.it/fnvokcbt
Here we go, I rerecorded it. Still has mistakes, pretty big ones, but fewer this time.
So yeah, could someone with more experience on the piano tell me how they'd play this? Like with what dynamics or expressions where and such.

>>69470838
I'm an indecisive fuck who'll spend hours agonizing over a single forte.

>>69471050
Just a heads up - practically your tempo marking of QN=85, then QN=70 does not need to be this exact. Most people will not find that big of a difference in between, say 82 and 85. I only say this due to the fact that when you present this to a player, the most practical tempos matter the most.

>>69471050
>I'm an indecisive fuck who'll spend hours agonizing over a single forte.

Stop it.

>>69471173
There's a much bigger difference between QN=85 vs QN=70 when the primary note value is a sixteenth note, though.
But yeah, I think I'll probably omit the metronome markings and only write "Moderato" and "Adagio" in the final. Those are mostly there to persuade Finale's Human Playback to do what I want it to do.

And yeah, I know.

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I'm writing this piece for a school assignment. I have a group of people and we're gonna have to play whatever I write. I'm playing trombone.

Kinda have some idea of what I'm doing, but I also don't really know where I'm going.

Any general thoughts would be cool.

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>>69471976

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>>69471997

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>>69472023

This is some cool shit in 16TET
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odTIoRzbDhA

>>69472380
whoa fuck
this is even better
in 18TET.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZstR-IsHO6w

>>69461697
>Austrians
Bach is German. Born in Eisenach, lived in Germany for the majority of his life.

>>69463392
Reminder that Jazz theory is based on classical theory, and has been incorporated into classical theory.

>>69464028
Never heard a zimmer score that I ever thought was "great" he's mediocre at best.

>>69465319
My point is I dont consider him a master, so I wouldn't attend his "masterclass"

>>69472380
nice n sour! I like it.

>>69472503
>Reminder that Jazz theory is based on classical theory, and has been incorporated into classical theory.

yeah, so leave the haughty technical tomfoolery to the clueless wannabes, and extract the useful bits (jazz theory)

>>69463392
How so?

>>69472431
gorgeous desu

>>69446831
wheres #/comp/ on irc?

>>69473225

>>69474100

>>69472431
So 18TET is a (12TET) whole step for every three semitones, right? So that's why a lot of the melodic intervals seem almost perfectly normal.

We had a good run, at 110 posts. Last bump for tonight.

>>69471976
plz respond :(

>>69475295

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is this the right place to aski something as well?
pls explain the middle (top) or left (bottom) bar. I leads to a doubled dominant chord, but I dont know how to call the preceeding "triple" dominant chord. Anyone knows something?
Source:http://songsthebandhasdone.com/sheet/664.pdf

>>69478620
could be a secondary dominant? I haven't had a close look but they often do that before dominants and if you analyze something without knowing about secondary dominants they can throw you off

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secondary_dominant

also called "applied chords" or "tonicization"

>>69478837
good idea, but I already tested it and it is hard for me to relate to secondary dominants. It is a dominant function still, I believe.
I'm about to leave for the library in order to check books for it, I'll post again later and tell what I found out

>tfw no classical guitar transcription of BWV1058

>>69479411
get to work, son

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Is the Yamaha P-115 a good first piano? Trying to stay under $1000.

Is art of counterpoint a good channel

>>69482197
yes. he knows his shit

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>>69478620
The main tonic is F# and the sequence in bar three is the "normal" III-VI-II-V-I way to get there and is initiated by the a#minor chord.

The marked chord and its following chords are both the same dominant function which leads to the a#minor chord. The first one has the diminished fifth, the second one the augmented fifth.

I'm sorry now, that I can't say more to it.

>>69471976
you suck and you always will. kys.

>>69483995
I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to think that i could compose

>>69484115
Shut the fuck up, did I say you could respond to me? Apology rejected. Never even THINK about composing again, kid.

>>69461697

>He told everyone how he did it

WHERE? Tell me please I wanna know!

>>69484251
“I was obliged to be industrious. Whoever is equally industrious will succeed . . . equally well.”

Someone write me something for guitar

https://clyp.it/a5201awt
https://clyp.it/jb0lvfvh

Roast me. I know these are pretty boring and simplistic but I am curious if anyone has any advice. I'm the Finale user btw.

>>69485079
Like what?

>>69484282
Literally the same thing as an attractive guy saying to an ugly one "Just go up to her and be yourself." Sorry Bach, there is a such thing as natural genius, you had it and we don't. I could work twice as hard as you and never achieve what you did.

>>69473287
>Substitute dominants
>Sharp 11, 9, 13, tensions
>Super locrian scales
>Symmetrical diminished scales
>ALL OF THESE CHORD SCALES
Yeah, Jazz doesn't have any technical tomfoolery, you're right

>>69478620
I dont understand your question but will analyze it. Seems to be in A sharp phrygian.
I-, IV-, IIdim V, III augmented/3, I-, IV-, bVII-, III7sus, IIIdim, VI7b5 with 11, VI (i think), and then it modulates to either E phrygian, or A aeolian.
This analysis is half assed so idk. the score doesn't seem to match up well with what the notation says

>>69485599

http://vocaroo.com/i/s08tKhn2XpWO
Anything really. And by the way I like your "style." With the 549 I just recommend you try a bit higher an octave or pitch.

Also, if you worry about music production, start thinking about things like timbre, maybe adding more instruments, working with Logic or whatever, etc., transforming the piano part into more, richer soundscapes...

>>69485634
What makes you think you understand what it takes to be a great composer better than Bach?

>>69478342

>>69486576

Good point

>>69486224
>transforming the piano part into more, richer soundscapes...

Perhaps like this?

https://clyp.it/z2pip5nb

Perhaps not a good example of more instruments.. maybe this one would be better:

https://clyp.it/sfjuj4t5

Maybe I'll try sticking Midis into the Ableton Live 9 trial. If I can do my composing in Finale then put better sounds to it in Ableton, that might suffice.

I'm at an impasse. I want to write Bvdub-type ambient music, that stuff just makes feel empty and sad in an amazing way, especially looking out a city at night with it playing. But my sounds are just so pathetic in comparison. Guess this is more of a /prod/ comment

https://www.reverbnation.com/jesseshaw/song/14248939-pbd
I can never seem finish compositions or come up with original ideas. Here is one of my only compositions that I'm semi proud of. I only really like the first half too. I hate the second part. Wrote this about 3 years ago.
https://www.reverbnation.com/jesseshaw/song/14248939-pbd

>>69488711
I come up with cool 30 second melodies or riffs and never find a way to connect them with anything. Arranging is pretty easy but I never know where to go next with a composition.

trying to song structure. does it sound alright with the basic structure as is?
i honestly just looked up a chord progression for an old song and went with it.
https://clyp.it/xjeccqt4

>>69485634
>Literally the same thing as an attractive guy saying to an ugly one "Just go up to her and be yourself."
totally the opposite.

More like an average looking guy with a shitload of money saying to a poor guy "just go study economics, get a dayjob, earn money, invest in things, get mentors, make connections and learn from people"

Bach can be learned because everything he does conforms to what we now consider tonal music theory.

>>69484251
>WHERE? Tell me please I wanna know
You start with species counterpoint, then learn about chord function, then voice leading, modal writing, form and you're pretty much good to go.
Essentially just learn basic music theory, study Bach scores and you will be able to emulate his style easily.

What are some techniques for developing ideas. I'm writing romantic style pieces for orchestra but I find it very hard to develop my ideas and have each one lead smoothly into the other. My pieces become more like quilts when I'm trying to make a tapestry.

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Would this be a good piece for a film score?

https://soundcloud.com/nub-scrub/disconnection-ii

Inspired by the visuals of Roger Dean and the mellotron parts on Fragile

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>>69490539
I would reccomend wearing headphones

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I have been playing and composing for 4 years and can't sight read or audiate. Does this come with time or am I autistic?

>>69491374

>composing
>not hearing things in your mind and realizing the figured bass

wut

>>69491242

This isn't a composition question per se, but scordatura is bad for my cello's strings, right? The xenharmonic wiki is suggesting to use the technique to remove familiar resonances, but that wears down the strings.

>>69481200

I got one and it I am very pleased with it so far. Weighted keys feel really nice and has a variety of sounds. All seem good quality but I am a newbie too so what would I know.

How'd you start on learning to compose, /comp/?

>>69492208

>>69491374
playing and composing for 4 years? I'd be playing since I was 9, composing since 14, and it took me until 19 to audiate. Sight reading depends on the instrument though, if its monophonic I'm fine, if its piano I'm fucked

>>69494960

I started out when I was 14, making trance music. It was pretty easy on the theory side, since you pretty much had a static bassline and you just needed to come up with a catchy hook. It also helps that most chord progressions used back then were pretty much recycled and hence there wasn't any theory to do.

Then afterwards I came to metal music, and I think the culture behind it was basically play random notes that sounded good to my ear, heck some guitarists can't even read notes. And distortion really covered up lots of badly written notes.

Afterwards I went to post-rock, and even that didn't require a lot of theory since it was recycled chord progressions and more about textures rather than actual melody.

Finally I came to jazz music, and this one actually required me to read theory books and shit. Prior to that I had already know some thing or two about improvisation, but jazz really opened my eyes up and convinced me that "playing by ear" can only get you so far, you need to be adventurous and in order to do that, you need to understand the underlying concepts of the established music theory, or you risk sounding like a hack.

>>69493217
orchestral players are scared of scordatura but that's probably just because they're dickheads and can't play modern music, most student cellists / new music cellists I've worked with seem to think its fine

How do I compose for concert band?

>>69497608
B flat. Lots of suspended chords. lot of parallel harmonies

>>69497608
Study Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy and Paul Hindemith's Symphony in Bb for direct "concert band" repertoire, Stravinsky's Symphonies of Wind Instruments and Messiaen's Et Exspecto are the best pieces in the "wind ensemble" repertoire and should also be studied, but their lack of saxophones should be noted.

We've had nearly a century now of Concert Band composers trying to write like the orchestra, but with the clarinets taking the bulk of the weight as the violins would. I would strongly urge against that - this creates a concert band sound which is now extremely cliched and regardless of your musical material people will instantly assume your music is shit because of its dull orchestration. Same goes for doubling, try to limit that as much as possible, a concert band with one player per part will ALWAYS sound better than one with 6 flutes all on the same part.

The first step to writing for concert band properly is realising that it is a mixed palette, and each individual instrument must be treated individually, even when building chords. It's very easy to make a muddy dense sound, which can be used effectively, but shouldn't be used all the time, you've gotta have some clarity as well.

>>69494960
wrote songs on piano, acoustic guitar, and computer programs at around age 13 / 14. Went pretty hard on music programs during high school, as well as playing in and writing for bands. Pretty much just kept writing for bands and DAWs for 4 or 5 years then decided to go study music at university. Thats when I really learnt to compose.

What does a slur mean for a string player? Does it mean all the notes are played on one string (if possible), does it mean that all the notes are played in one bow or does it just mean smoothly like with other instruments?

>>69498936
it means they play them with a single bow stroke, if possible. When you do slurs for string parts you have to think about how much bow they have and how many notes they will be able to fit into that bow stroke.
Playing louder gives you less bow, and playing quieter lets you get more notes out of a single bow stroke. These things can take some time, and even seasoned composers dont nail string parts and bowing perfectly - often string players end up sorting out their own bowing indications based on what actually works in practice.

Essentially you want to use slurs to indicate smooth phrases, but dont have really long slurs. At loud dynamics only use slurs for 1 or 2 seconds worth of music at a time. at quieter dynamics you can probably play up to 8 seconds or more in a single bow stroke.