Not too bad I would say for going to a music school. Although you probably want to join a specialized film music program and I have no idea what they expect.
Concerning your production two main things: There´s much too less reverb and it sounds terribly quantized. Is that the output of a notation program? Work on phrasing and introduce some tempo changes, there´s room for that. Especially when it gets softer.
And compose an end. If I would sit in the commitée this piece would have made a quite negative impression because you didn´t bring it to an end. Getting out of a piece is one the most crucial and often difficult parts. You have to show that you´re able to bring a piece to the end. Just fading out is completely unacceptable.

Take care,
- Mathis

Oh, well that wasnt the whole piece, it was just a minute demo in the middle of it. The whole piece is 6 mins long, I just dont want to post the whole thing online for various reasons. Along with tempo changes, there are some in the song, just not the demo, heh [:)]. But I cant' add anymore reverb without getting audio break up.

@Another User said:

...and it sounds terribly quantized.

What would you suggest to fix that?

I used 4 different *.gig files (strings, brass, winds, and percussion), recorded all of them, then lined up the audio and recorded again (yeah, it was a pain, but that's what you have to do when you have a computer with extreme low specs). Thanks a lot for the help mathis.

Do you think Bernard Herrmann would have had a problem posting the full audio clip of one of his own compositions? I hate it when artists get so guarded of their works. It shows that the focus is on the wrong thing. That's why my website is of the X-Ray theme. I have nothing to hide. The people at VSL know that about me too.

The world would be a better place if we all stopped be so damned protective.

NOW ... let's hear the whole thing! [;)]

Evan Evans

Way to be blunt evan! lol [:)]. But I do see your point. However now I am having trouble posting the song onto angelfire (I guess this is what I get for going with a free website). I'll let you know when it's up.

I didn't listen because of past experience with angelfire cookies, ads, and popups. Consider starting an account at www.soundclick.com (still has ads, cookies, and popups, but less objectionable to me than angelfire) -- then you can post your mp3s in full.

Or better yet, add your licenseable music that you own to my huge library music business and you may get it placed in movies!

http://www.cuepop.com

Enjoy!

Evan Evans
President & Programmer
CuePop™
Open Music Library

Well, it says registering CuePop is for pros only. I'm definetly no pro at this, only a student as of now. Does that mean I can't register?

Plus, I also tried soundclick, and everything started to work. But it will not load my song. It gets to around 50% before it just crashes and gives me a "page expired" site. Why couldnt the internet be easy to use lol.

CuePop is for anyone who has music that someone might want. If you think that's you, than you are welcome to sign up.

Evan Evans

Alright. I finally finished posting it, after registering for 3 different things, and none of them working [:)]. Here's the link, and this time, it's the full song. It's pretty big, so give it some time.


www.angelfire.com/music6/sm-music/TheBattle.mp3

Let me know what you think, and keep in mind. I've had no classes on composition, just theory and performing with multiple instruments.

Hey omega... It's very good that you have a theme in the song. It's rare that people have that in their songs. Just a bunch of noisy loud orchestrations. Were you inspired by klaus badelt and his style on pirates of the carribean?

This is better than just good, and going to music school doesn't improve your talent. But it certainly speeds up things you normally would have learned by own studying instead of a person telling you this and that.
Why do you get audio brakeup?

This song is suberb! My favourite part starts at 01:46.
Talk about nice orchestration, the reverb is dry though here and there but that's your comuter's "fault"

Keep it up

What did you use for midi? A notation program? Well, anyway, for sounding more natural you have to play in your parts by hand and be more flexible with different articulations.
I like the variety in your composition. There are quite some unexpected things happening which give that piece a journey-like character. Good, I think you have a talent for bigger form. In the end things are a bit repeating and redundant. Maybe it´s wise to put in some more work after 4:25. For me it looses content there. The recapitulation of the theme is just a bit too much held back, the tension is stressed over. Maybe for a quick fix just delete 4:20 to 5:20 and let the theme from 4:46 come after the triumphe part as the real end.
I also like your orchestral variety with clear contrasts. The only thing I really would like you to correct is the overuse of the bassdrum. It still works till 1:32 or even 1: 45 but then it´s done, especially after 2:10 it´s just muddying and droning, especially when the proper reverb is applied. I think you could change then to timpani and even get a much more dramatic effect out of it. It has sharper attacks and a clearer rhythm.
Around 3:30 remember that wind players have to breathe. Other than that it´s the most beautiful part, I think.

@Another User said:

Around 3:30 remember that wind players have to breathe.

Nah..........hehe, I'll change that too.

Ok. As of now, I am working on a revision. Thanks a lot for the help so far! I'll let you know when its up! [[:)]]

Ok, it's updated. I stripped some parts, and played around with the reverb a bit.

Let me know if it's better.

www.angelfire.com/music6/sm-music/TheBattle.mp3

It´s very good, Omega. It´s a proof of your musicality and your ear. And the form really works now, too. And you listen to comments. Congrats! You shouldn´t have a problem getting accepted at a music school. If they don´t accept you you know that wasn´t the right school. Choose your school with care, talk with the teachers first and visit their lectures. If you find the right school your music will improve dramatically. And of course your production, too. (there´s a lot of room for improvement actually, but don´t care for now. In your stage it´s not important. It will just distract you.) It is important for you to work with musicians of flesh and blood, to visit orchestral rehearsels, to study music history etc. A place at a good music school is the right place for you.
Good luck and take care!
Bests,
- Mathis

(And keep us updated!)

Successfully downloaded it without angelfire problems, and enjoyed listening to the newer version. Best of luck in music school. It is certainly a strong, musical recording -- but remember that people evaluating you at the best music schools will be trying to move through many applicants quickly, and looking at paper is much faster than listening to complete works. So take some care with the score preparation, too!

What mathis says is very, very true, that having living musicians around you is important, so a school where there are good instrumentalists, and lots of them, is worth finding.

Gugliemo made a very relevant point. The score is *extremely* important for music schools. They will want to know exactly why you wrote this in that way and why you chose this for that and so on. I think this is correct. There is so much music written down so bad. And as a composer it is your job to be very precise in what you determine as the desired result.

Thanks a lot guys! Your comments really help. I was just wondering, I was looking at Berklee School of Music in downtown Boston. What do you guys think of that school?

If you're in the eastern USA, you might also look at Eastman (if you can manage to get in). Others great options would certainly include New England Conservatory, Curtis and in NYC, Julliard and maybe Manhattan School of Music. If you're looking for a "film scoring" school, bear in mind that, with most of the industry in Los Angeles, USC and UCLA are solid on craft but also offer contemporary resources like Berklee with the added bonus of industry contacts (and better weather).

hey, do you know that the real orchestra mic are all on different position ? your recording seems pretty machine because it is seems recording at equal distance, especially on string and woodwind section, becareful on the reverb that you are putting on, EACH INSTRUMENT HAVE IT'S OWN REVERB!!!
brass also have a problem on reverb, it seems 2cm close to me, which is not a good mixing by the way, try to take a look on orchestration book to determine how much reverb to putting on each instrument, see you ...

Yeah, I've looked at Eastman. I like it there, however it seems to be more focused on performance than anything.

@Another User said:

EACH INSTRUMENT HAVE IT'S OWN REVERB!!!

Yeah, each instrument should have its own reverb. But when you add multiple reverbs on a 1.3 ghz and 512 mb, your computer will shut down automatically from the CPU usage lol. So I didnt have a choice in that song. As for mics, I dont have gigapulse. Yes, it does sound "machine" like, but that's my computers fault. I'm limited as of now until I can upgrade. Where would I be able to find an orchestration book, Ikthomas? Thanks for the help.