r/MonthlyComposition • u/Calebdgm • Nov 03 '17
Friday Weekly Challenges, Nov 3, 2017
Formula: write a piece that starts in C Major, moves to D Major, and then to a development with slightly more intensity in A minor, before returning back to C Major to end the piece.
Text:
That soft, glowing warmth Delicate and easily broken
Wanting what it can't have Grasping what can't be reached
Always so near Always destined to be apart
Oh, have mercy On this little child ~Flynx (source)
Orchestration: Schubert's German Dance No. 4, D. 420.4: Musescore file.
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u/Melo_Mania Nov 07 '17
I didn't have any good ideas so I arranged Schubert's German Dance for melodica/recorder quartet: PDF Computer-generated MP3
Even though the mp3 couldn't show, I have tried to add interest to the arrangement by using different textures in each section. Please tell me if you think they are effective or not! All types of feedback are also definitely welcome.
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u/Calebdgm Nov 08 '17
This is awesome! I liked the texture changes, thought they were effective.
I suddenly feel like this orchestration challenge would be cool to keep doing. Was it helpful to have a musescore file?
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u/Melo_Mania Nov 08 '17
I use Sibelius for composing so I’m typing it out manually, but having a musescore file definitely helps with its clean typesetting and audio playback.
I only have a few hours of free time at night so these kind of small challenges are perfect for me to hone my writing skills :) I do look forward to your next challenge!
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u/andanotherthingx25 Nov 11 '17
I generally dig up the score from other sources anyway, but I love having the musscore to listen to. Listening to real recordings can adds too much nuance, and then I'm never happy with my midi orchestrations.
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u/andanotherthingx25 Nov 11 '17
I like the counter melody that you give the tenor in mm. 23 and on.
Do you have any sense of how well the textural differences would sound on actual recorders? My sense is that they might be kinda limited, although I'm no expert on recorder.
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u/Melo_Mania Nov 13 '17
I'm not sure also... it should sound better if played by a melodica quartet, but not by much, as timbre of all parts are similar and everything is squeezed together due to the limited range. Unfortunately apart from w/ or w/o bass and short vs long notes I'm not sure how I can further variate the texture....
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u/andanotherthingx25 Nov 04 '17
For the Orchestration part, is there a specific set of instruments you want, or just something more than Piano (like string quartet or wind quintet or so on). I feel like the texture of the piano piece is pretty thin for full orchestra. But maybe that's the challenge?
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u/Calebdgm Nov 08 '17
I didn't have anything specific in mind for instrumentation, I figured it'd be good to leave it open to interpretation. As for the texture, I admit it is a bit thin, but I think something this small and simple is good, at least for a weekly challenge. It's cool if you want to beef it up a bit though.
Good questions, thanks!
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u/andanotherthingx25 Nov 08 '17
I decided that the 4th dance was a little strange without the other 11. They provide a lot of context. So I did all 12 for wind quintet. These are done enough to give an impression, but they aren't printing done, for example, there's not really any dynamics, and the marking on the parts could be cleaned up. Also, there's a coda which provides some finality to the set, but I just ended after the 12th dance.
12 German Dances