i am on break from composing, so i decided to remix one of my favorite games, ffiv (4!). so I made a song tributing this game. i hope you like and please tell me everything wrong about it. honestly! http://www.rpgsource.net/longebane/SecretMasterpiece.mp3 [Edited by - LongeBane on October 16, 2005 3:33:12 PM]

btw, its not very finished. but i am very doubtful of my own abilities. so i will need critiqueing first before continueing.

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Original post by LongeBane i am on break from composing, so i decided to remix one of my favorite games, ffiV. so I made a song tributing this game. i hope you like and please tell me everything wrong about it. honestly! http://www.rpgsource.net/longebane/SecretMasterpiece.mp3

You got really good taste. :) Final Fantasy VI holds a lot of fine lasting memories for me as well. I really want to make a Final Fantasy VI medley at some point...for orchestra!

I listened to your piece. I think its actually Final Fantasy IV. I will be honest with you LongeBane... I think its really cool! :) The electronic treatment sounds good for Nobuo Uematsu's orchestrations. The opening in my opinion is very strong. The oboe sounds absolutely gorgeous in this opening phrase! (:11 seconds into the song) (What program are you using for music creation?) Anyways, I am absolutely infuriated that this theme isn't elaborated on little more thoroughly. The oboe sounds perfect and could probably be loudened a little bit as it seems to be partially drowned out by what could be either a barking tuba or a trumpet of some kind (:16 seconds in the song) It sounds that a good majority of the piece (mainly the middle) contains a number of unresolved dissonances that truly distracts from the beauty of the preceding element, know what i mean? It's a little bumpy in that middle section but a little work could really polish it out. Then you proceed to go back into a few final fantasy IV themes. I LOVE the Chocobo theme at the end. Very nice timbres on the sound.

Anyways, I would keep that oboe (:11) in there as long as possible. It's very enchanted sounding and could be a foundation on which to focus on future orchestrations. I believe your piece could be much more effective if you focused more of your efforts upon using the oboe as the main instrument and then to let the rest of the instruments serve as a softer backdrop. For the middle part, think about resolving harmonies and move slowly if you have to. I would like to see how this piece might flesh out.

Nice work LongeBane, keep at it.

Ryan

Harmonically, this piece is fine, I think--your weakness lies in the orchestraton. If you're going to write parts for orchestral instruments, even if they're sampled, you have to write something that would sound good for that instrument to play. Consequently, your trombones in the first section that they enter sound pretty funny, because that's both an awkward range and an awkward articulation for them to play. I would change the brass part to a string sound--strings are better at playing short repeated articulations, and it will sound a little smoother.

Harmonically, you can do whatever you want as long as you can orchestrate it correctly--just look at Schoenberg or other twelve-tone composers; the music itself is utterly useless, but since they knew how to orchestrate it, it lends it credibility.

I'm not implying that this sounds like twelve-tone; quite the contrary, I think you have plenty of harmonic ideas to work with--but listen to Rain7, he's good with thematic stuff. Just ask yourself if the line you're writing sounds like something the instrument could play, and you should be fine. Take an instrumentation/orchestration class if you can--it's invaluable.

Thank you, this is great. I will work hard to address these issues, and you'll hear from me in a bit.

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Original post by Blaise Douros Just ask yourself if the line you're writing sounds like something the instrument could play, and you should be fine. Take an instrumentation/orchestration class if you can--it's invaluable.

This is a wonderful way to start devising a method to putting things together instrumentally. Longebane, maybe try not to think of the entire orchestra when writing this piece, but break it down for individual instruments. Sometimes it helps me to think about the orchestra in sections and not as the giant mountain that it truly is. (eX) 2 flutes and a piano; 2 oboe's and a bassoon. 3 violins and a cello, with a martini...etc. etc. lol

This book explains what I am saying a little more throroughly, and then some...and then some...and then...some more.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0393097404/104-7360843-9228715?v=glance

Jeremy Soule recommended this book to me and I can tell you despite the hefty price, its a keeper and a lunker at that.
This book is beefier and more macho than any orchestration book I have seen before and I promise it will help you better understand the workings and potentials of the orchestra, from every imaginable angle.

Anyways, as far as other practical musical advice goes, your orchestration at times is very good but when it changes direction, it sometimes feels a little unwieldy. Too much movement and not enough control. That is why I say, move slowly if you have to. Don't feel forced to put anything down on paper but just go with the flow and let the music take care of itself.

take care.

Ryan

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Original post by Rain 7 Longebane, maybe try not to think of the entire orchestra when writing this piece, but break it down for individual instruments.

Yup, that's definitely good advice... it's too overwhelming to think about an orchestral piece in its entirety... break it down.

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Original post by Rain 7 Jeremy Soule recommended this book to me

Whoa! Jeremy Soule recommended you something? As in, you know him?

:O

That's awesome! And I'm really jealous, Soule's a favorite of mine.

Actually, Im reading through that book right now, though its a much earlier print. Very easy to follow.

I'm also picking up a copy of Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestration book.

Another good book on orchestration (just orchestration, not theory) is "The Technique of Orchestration" by Kent Kennan and Donald Grantham. It's pricy, but on half.com you could get it for cheaper. I recommend studying up on theory before orchestration though, and once you're solid on basic methods of part-writing (that comes along with theory) you'll be ready to delve into serious orchestration. Plus, if you get those skills solidified, it's valuable for the future if you ever get the chance to work with live performers rather than having to learn the hard way after you wrote the piece.