my first composition

[H-bird]

hello here is my first compostition using opus 1 and kontakt.

I found this guitar idea while i was deleting some old projects that were like notes on the back of an envelope. It is just two chords only! it is not even an idea, just two chords on and on. And so i started putting vsl instruments on it and kept putting more and more!

What i mean is I didn't mean to write it! this is the first piece written with orchestral instruments (apart from adding sometimes a violin or a trumpet) and I can't read music or anything and i don't know what i am doing ... so be gentle with me! [[;)]]

Ha ha! - no please say what you want, this is just an enjoyable experiment for me!!

Also i never used myspace.com before - when I tried it it did not play , then i refreshed and it played fine.

here is the link:

http://www.myspace.com/colubris

the piece is called 'The Landing'

thanks! [:D]

[hetoreyn]

Okay well first off .. I think the inclusion of a soft beat would perhaps give the right kind of background. You could certainly make a nice chilled piece out of it. Without being too harsh it's quite raw ... but that's okay, you wanted to comments to know how to make it sound better afterall.

Nice use of strings and I believe your using either a flute or a high register horn in the background as a chord. Rather like the transposition about 1 min 30 in. It's good to keep the chords moving around. It may be nice to put a touch more verb on the whole thing to make sure that the ending of each note isn't too abrupt. (saying that you've not too bad, but the right amount of reveb can usually be the difference between nice and soft, and way too upfront).

As a first effort not bad at all. Keep on working on it. If you've only just started doing writing, don't worry .. it does unfortunately take a while before composers write their better pieces .. I myself I have been composing for 10 years .. and only feel now that I'm starting to get somewhere.

The other thing to keep in mind is that when you ask someones opinion you should feel free to disagree with it, as we'll probably all tell you something different. But since no one else has replied to your post I thought I'd start us off.

So I would seriously look at maybe putting a soft beat in this piece. Perhaps re-recording the guitar part to be a little more clearer.

Nice going .. keep on writing.

Hetoreyn

[H-bird]

Thanks for replying Hetoryen,

All the reverb disappeared after exporting to MP3 I do not usually export to mp3 maybe that always happens. Also all the instruments were a lot clearer before exporting it. But other people make their music sound clear in mp3 so I know something is wrong before that. I guess I need to learn to EQ differently for these type of instruments.

I wanted the guitar to be textural but it does all sound quite murky doesn't it.

I thought about rerecording, adding percussion (I like it without any) and other things but really I would rather write a new piece with a proper idea to start with - this was just a test really.

[hetoreyn]

@H-bird said:

Thanks for replying Hetoryen,

All the reverb disappeared after exporting to MP3 I do not usually export to mp3 maybe that always happens. Also all the instruments were a lot clearer before exporting it. But other people make their music sound clear in mp3 so I know something is wrong before that. I guess I need to learn to EQ differently for these type of instruments.

I wanted the guitar to be textural but it does all sound quite murky doesn't it.

I thought about rerecording, adding percussion (I like it without any) and other things but really I would rather write a new piece with a proper idea to start with - this was just a test really.

Hmm, Not sure why that would happen. If I'm doing a quick bounce in logic it provides all the effects and all in the bounce. It depends on what sequencer your using, but I suspect there'll be a check box somewhere saying, "Include Effects in Bounce" or something similar. I think Pro-tools has such a check box, and Cubase.

As you say if this piece was just a test then that's fine. I recently did a test of Logics built in tone generators as well as using a few VSL instruments. It came out rather well and gave me the chance to experiment with new reverbs. Alway useful to do.

Best advice I can give you is .. establish a template to work from. I did one in Logic .. uses about 45 EXS instances all with different VSL instruments. Takes a while to load mind you but once it's up I don't have to fiddle too much to get the instruments that I want.

Hetoreyn