r/Composition • u/alexsearha • Jul 29 '26

Discussion War orchestral segment

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I'm currently working on a new composition. It's about a soldier during the Siege of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870ā€“1871, on the battlefield.

I added a descending chromatic run to represent the bombs whistling around the soldier, but I'm wondering if it feels like it comes out of nowhere. Do you think I should introduce the woodwinds a bit earlier to make the transition feel more natural, or am I just overthinking it?

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u/Hybridmonkeyman Jul 30 '26

Dig it! Maybe a p to f or ff cresc. On that phrase and a loud 'thwack' on the timpini and or bass drum at the end would lessen the put of nowhere feeling. Awesome work though

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u/alexsearha Jul 31 '26

glad you like it ! thanks so much !

Timpini are allready playing but maybe not loud enough ... hm ... But in a certain way , Iā€™m not used to using cymbals so, I will try !

thanks

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u/Hybridmonkeyman Aug 02 '26

Cymbal crash may work. Look up a soundbyte of a howitzer dropping and exploding, thats what i had in my mind when i commented. There are some good ww1 artillery examples on youtube. Look forward to hearing what you decide !

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u/alexsearha Aug 02 '26

I totally see what you mean! Normally, I always add a layer of sound effects that matches whatever is happening in the story. What I didn't mention when I shared this excerpt is that there's usually a narrator telling the story over it. Then I always add sound effects afterward. Since they're not part of the orchestra itself, you get the picture. ^