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Brass Sketch

Discussion in 'Critique & Feedback' started by Francesco Bortolussi, Aug 9, 2017.

  1. #1 Francesco Bortolussi, Aug 9, 2017
    After listening to Mike's adventure brass demo one too many times, yesterday I decided to write a brass ensemble piece myself! I think I spent twice the time trying to perform the piece than composing it, because I'm not really used to do orchestral mockups (I'm more of a synth type of guy). And still, the result could be a lot better.

    I'm using close mics on all the instruments but the trombones, for which I used mixed mics because I couldn't make the close mics work on them. I struggled a lot with the mixing, so if you have any suggestion, feel free to type it out!

    I hope you enjoy the piece, I'll wait for your criticism :)

     
    Paul T McGraw, Max Fabian Juras and Noam Levy like this.
  2. #2 Noam Levy, Aug 10, 2017
    I really enjoyed the creativity of the harmonies you use. The ending is interesting and creative too. You clearly have a good command of your musical language.

    Main criticism, just my opinion - is that you're not using enough variation in the textures and orchestrations. I hear the trombones playing a lot - 90%+ of the piece?
     
  3. #3 Francesco Bortolussi, Aug 10, 2017
    Hey thanks a lot for the compliments! :)

    I think you're right about the orchestration issue, the trombones almost always play as you said because I was afraid I would lose power or motion if I had dropped them at any point. Especially motion, as I wanted it to be as intense throughout the full piece (maybe to the point of having overwritten parts). And also it lacks variety, as you pointed out, which I didn't fully realize before you told me.

    But that's also the beauty of practicing composing for ensemble with limited amount of colors! It teaches you a lot about efficiency, and it's harder than usual to keep it interesting.

    Thanks for listening to my piece and for your help!
     
  4. #4 Jeff Laity, Aug 15, 2017
    I like the piece, nice work. The horn sample (starting around 0:24) is a bit weird, it starts in the left speaker and moves to the right speaker on every note. The trumpet after that also does this to a lesser extent. You might want to pan those so they don't move around like that.

    And the ending could have a bit more of a statement, it just kind of fizzles away. It can be bold or mysterious or whatever you want but it feels like it cuts out in the middle of a line.

    Otherwise a fun piece.
     
  5. #5 Francesco Bortolussi, Aug 15, 2017
    You're absolutely right and it's my fuckup, I didn't route the tracks properly.

    Thanks for the feedback on the end, I usually run out of steam for the finale. Thank you! :)
     
  6. #6 Jeff Laity, Aug 15, 2017
    I think Mike said that you should come up with as many variations on your theme as you can think of, then save the coolest one for the ending. Like ET, the theme resolves down at the end of every phrase, except at the end of the movie where it resolves up.

    I need to follow this advice myself, it's a good idea. :)
     
    Noam Levy and Francesco Bortolussi like this.
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