Orchestral piece - constructive comments welcomed

[Mark Crozer]

Hi everyone

I've been attempting to write 'orchestral' pieces recently (using sampled instruments) and would very much appreciate some pointers from anyone. I write by ear and am not really all that familiar with the instruments of an orchestra so I have no idea whether this sounds authentic enough to be considered for any orchestral-style listings (should there ever be any!)

Please feel free to leave any constructive comments whether good or bad !

Thanks!

Mark

Oh - The piece is called 'Western Skies' and is on my Taxi page.

[sedge]

Hi Mark, you have been busy while the rains have poured here! These kind of tracks I imagine are tons of work.

My thoughts, Very Sci Fi, perhaps going retro Sci Fi , early Star Wars Movies. Scenes around organic/sandy dusty intergalactic planetary settlers. That might be the horns?

Musically it fit for me too, had a couple of listens whilst on a break here and each part flowed into each other and the different instruments sounded like they belong to the same family.

Never tried to attempt something like this, always felt it was something that 'proper' musicians make : D
So id be very proud if I had made this!

Hope you get some more technical comments from those in the know with instrumentals and such.

Sedge

[Mark Crozer]

Thanks Sedge! I actually wrote this as a homage to John Williams and the music of Star Wars so I'm glad that you picked up on that element.

Yeah, it was a lot of work and took quite some time to put it together but was a very enjoyable experience.

Thanks for listening.

Mark

[EmiliyanVladev]

Hi Mark,
I'm happy to "see" someone who makes "orchestral" here.Congrats from me ..i know it's a lot of work.
Thanks for sharing this.

You can hear here one of my scores if you wish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GgXb7gfyeY


Emiliyan

[Mark Crozer]

Thanks Emilyan. The hardest part is that I really can't play piano/keyboard very well at all. I'm more of a guitar/bass player so it takes a long time piecing it all together from the short bursts I'm able to play before hitting the wrong note!

That's a very nice piece of music. Thanks for sharing the link. Did you submit anything for the Hans Zimmer-esque listing recently?

Mark

[EmiliyanVladev]

Hi again , Mark

Thanks for your opinion!
I think you have a option just not to use piano so much.If you have good ideas about strings and brass sections, and drum hits
of course, that's pretty much enough.You can make a lot of beautiful pieces.

About submitting - no , i'm not.I'm not a TAXI member.I'm new here/in the forum/.Realy don't know how the whole industry works.And my English is not so perfect.There's a lot of things and terms i realy don't understand yet.

Thanks for your time!
Emiliyan

[georginasaint]

Hey Mark,
I took a listen to your track - it's really very well written - you must have a natural instinct for orchestration if this isn't what you normally do!
I'm mainly an orchestral composer, Taxi member for 3 years, haven't had time to be on these boards much lately because of writing so much.
Regarding your track - the thing that wouldn't work in the industry as it is at the moment is the midi sounds. The bar has moved ever higher in this area and now nothing less than EastWest sounds is acceptable, and the bar keeps on moving up and up.
If you wanted to write orchestral pieces with a view to getting them placed you would need to upgrade your sounds. You're right that it's a ton of work compared to some other types of song writing & it means the financial investment of good sounds. But it is a lot of fun and rewarding. If you wanted to go down that road, I would say you have what it takes. I would love to hear this piece recorded with top quality orchestral sounds - the difference would be incredible!
I'm a fellow UK citizen by the way. I'm down on the South Coast. How do you mean N Carolina and Oxford? Strange commute!

Georgie

[Mark Crozer]

Thanks for your feedback Georgie. Nice to meet another Brit on here. It seems there are a few now.

I had a feeling that these samples probably weren't going to cut it. After spending time listening to other people's compositions (including your own which is all top notch) I can hear that the Logic strings etc just don't have the same depth, realism etc. Hmm... at some point I'm going to have to find some cash from somewhere to get the necessary software. It seems the two big hitters are EastWest and LASS. Gonna have to do some more research.

Thanks for the very positive words about my writing. I guess years and years of being submersed in writing and listening to music have had some effect.

Yeah... Charlotte to Oxford is quite a commute... I'm from Oxford originally but am in the process of relocating to Charlotte, NC so have been going back and forth every few months.

Thanks again for listening.

Mark