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FunkyEntropy

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Everything posted by FunkyEntropy

  1. Update: Does not translate well, especially at tempo. Also, nuances were not brought to the fore. SIgh. We gave it a try at a slower tempo, but that just exacerbates the issue of repetitiveness. On the other hand, on our second read-through we had mike doing improv over the ostinato and that was much more fun.
  2. Yeah, I'm not looking forward to it. Not sure if I should write in breaths or not, but I already have planned out where they'll go when I need to take them.
  3. Thanks for the feedback. The repetitive nature of the first two minutes has been a concern of mine. I was going for a sort of minimalist-style buildup where small alterations build up over time until they demand change, and when that happens its a bit of a musical/emotional relief. The piece as a whole is sort of one big crescendo (sort of like Bolero, which is something we can mention as an educational tie-in, now that I think of it) but there's surprisingly little repetition in how the phrases are written. Hopefully live performance will highlight the nuances so it doesn't sound so repetitive in the aggregate.
  4. After a long hiatus, I decided to take another crank at one of the first arrangements I ever did, the Brinstar theme from the original Metroid. Definitely a lot more sonorous than the last time around, and I was even able to sneak in places for the trumpets to rest. Improvement! The ostinato in the tuba is going to be a pain to play, but I don't think it's going to be too rough. Anyway, this'll go in front of the group the next time we rehearse. See how it goes then. If it translates as well as I hope it does, it might even make it onto the program that we're developing as part of a kiddie show for a non-profit outreach project (school performances where we play music from video games to get kids interested in music). Fingers crossed.
  5. Bump with update. Using the Sibelius 7 orchestra sounds, should be a much better idea of what I'm after. Made some minor changes, such as muted trumpets for the slower A' section, as well as more articulation markings so players will have a better understanding of how it should go. Final section remains an "oh shit" moment for all involved. I'll be flying to Chicago tomorrow, so I might not get an opportunity to respond to folks right away.
  6. Been a while since I posted something. I finally got a new computer and, to go along with it, Sibelius 7. Fancy. So no longer will I be stuck using crappy MIDI samples, now I get to complain about how the guys they recorded didn't properly articulate the tenuto slurs. This hews pretty close to the source aside from some minor time signature alterations and rhythmic aids at the transitions for ease of performance, as well as a modulation at the end with a repeat of the Liber Fatali theme. Not quite sure how I feel about the end - I couldn't think of a way to climatically finish the piece and having it fade down to a minor chord (I guess the bad guys won) does kinda work. Anyway, I'll flying out to Chicago tomorrow so I might not be able to respond to everyone quickly.
  7. Update with the C theme that serves as a transition to the calmer 2nd half of the source.
  8. Update with the A' section finished. Notes: Nearly finished with the first half of the piece. Opening, A theme, B theme, A' are pretty much done (note to self - go back and add slurs + more dynamics). Transition to the 2nd half is next. Hopefully I'll have more later today. Note on instruments: it's kind of hard to hear the tuba at the bottom of the track, and there's not a whole lot I can do about it. Kontact Player sucks, and at least this time it's keeping a fairly steady rhythm.
  9. Don't go selling yourself short. Your 'incidental' comment is actually quite helpful, because it tells me that: - Sections exist as separate entities rather than a more coherent whole. - Meaning transitions need to be less abrupt - I need to go back and figure out how sections fit within the whole piece, rather than just how they work by themselves. This is really useful. Not that I'm sure how or if I'll be able address all of this, but this is a good place to start. Thanks!
  10. Are there any particular sections that you would apply the 'incidental' label to? If I were to use that particular critique I'd apply it to 1:32, which I've always felt was a little lacking. Part of it is that we just need to practice that section a little more (particularly the transition into it, as it always starts way too slow). I'll try straight eights in the tuba the next time we play it, maybe that'll help add some energy and drive to that section. Kefka section at 6:00? You mean the quartal chord? If you're not convinced that brass (in general, or just for this piece?) is your cup of tea, that means we're not doing a good enough job selling it. The chorale at the very end with the trombone solo was MADE for brass. Thanks for the feedback!
  11. Bump with a new version. I changed some of the parts a bit, see the OP for more details.
  12. Latest version: 7-13-11 Notes: The parts are pretty much finalized. The 7/8 +4/4 section issues have been pretty much ironed out by removing the horn from the mix. While this unfortunately removes some color and variance, it is so much easier to coordinate that that's an acceptable loss. Our regular trombonist, Lee, is out of town for the month so we're using a sub for this recording. He's sightreading, so be nice. He also plays a lot less aggressively than Lee so it might be kind of hard to pick his solo out at the end. Hopefully we'll get another crack at this with Lee, who'll be back in town for a brief period, on Monday.
  13. Just so we're all on the same page, here's the portion of the score for the B section plus the opening of "Aveh". http://www.mediafire.com/?1qdxl4k62b47k23 I really, really like what you did for the moving line. I think part of my problem is that I get stuck on "this is how the piece goes" and that prevents me from doing anything that would deviate from that cherished ideal. So using the B section as an example, we can see the trumpets trading off on the melody, the horn in the harmonic movement, and the trombone doing the base line (adding tuba at the end for that extra oomph).
  14. Bump with a few things: - Added a fireslash link. - Issue #2 has been resolved. I use them so rarely that I forgot I could just use duples. DERP. - "Aveh, the ancient dance" is going to be fun. I'm seriously considering adding some clapping segments to the parts, hopefully this won't come across as cliche. [edit] @docnano - Yes, that's french horn. I couldn't figure out a way to break up the harp part from the source without severely impacting the overall flow of that section. Some of the stuff is too low for trumpets (giving them breaks is also important) and it's too fast to be elegant for a trombone, sooo....horn it is. And yes, like 95% of my own arrangements, it's closer to a cover than a remix. Hopefully the second segment will differ enough to take it out of basic transcription territory (minor editing of arpeggios doesn't cut it), but I'm not completely worried. OCR standards for live instruments (for non-guitar stuff, anyway) seems to be that you can get away with either (a) halfassed performance or ( halfassed arrangement, but not both. As long as you do a good job in one of those things, it seems like you're given a bit of discretion. Since I've got your attention, two things - do you think the part just before the transition (2:12~2:14) works? I'm not completely happy with it - it strikes me as being a little awkward and abrupt. Second, my offer for a collab still stands. Since you mentioned that you couldn't think of any pieces to do, I've got some suggestions that might spark your imagination: Radical Dreamers - Distant Promise, Chrono Cross - Star Stealing Girl. I did fairly strict transposition for both and I can see the potential in both of them but, as previously noted, writing new material can give me fits. [/edit]
  15. It's been a while since I've felt like I had anything worth presenting to the WIP forum, but I'm back and with a tune from Xenogears that I cranked out in about 2~2.5hrs. I think I set a personal record for speed vs quality. A couple of things - 1) The ending is actually a transition for going into "Aveh, the ancient dance". 2) How to elegantly notate "Aveh..." is giving me fits since the drum rhythms work best in cut time but the melody is definitely in a quick 3/4 (in 1, about 2x as fast as the 3/4 of "Leftover dreams..."). [edit: solution found. I could always just use duples. DERP] 3) Hopefully the french horn player won't violently murder me when I put the part in front of her. 4) I need a good name for the piece. "Sand, whips, and giant robots" seems a little silly. My standard WIP disclaimer applies, obviously. http://www.mediafire.com/?tc73g74e55r53rf ------------------------------ Latest version: Notes: Lee was out of town, so we had a different trombone player with us this time around. Docnano's critism was prescient. Not only is the harp part so difficult as to be unworkable in the horn, but it's really inelegant means of conveying the harmony as well. This piece needs some work.
  16. I'm a huge fan of Uematsu. Final Fantasy VI will always hold a special place in my heart for having a #^@%ing OPERA (and a good one, at that!) in the middle of the game. And I'd love to meet him personally, just so that I could talk shop with him, one musician to another. So yes, I'm in it to win it.
  17. Bump with a link to mp3s of the concert. http://www.mediafire.com/?a5dw9izi7r99oq8
  18. Are you referring specifically to the first couple of seconds? If so, yes, that first bar is a total bitch. Joe keeps on saying he's gonna rewrite it, but I'm not quite sure I believe him.
  19. Taken straight from the recording of our May 15th concert, no editing, EQ, or anything fancy like that. Joe (who did the arrangement) thought this piece wasn't ready for performance. I think we proved him wrong. I'm marking this as a wip/semi-finished because while this is a good run of the piece we can do better. Hopefully in a month this'll be one of the things we record for our demo CD, meaning we get another bite at the apple. In the meantime, however, enjoy.
  20. Bump with version of it being played by the quintet. See OP for more info.
  21. Shameless bump. No worries for those who can't be there in person - we will be recording (or at least, I'm 99% certain that we will be) so even if it takes a couple of weeks you'll be able to hear it via our youtube channel. But if at all possible you should hear it live - brass in general and low brass in particular just plain sound better live.
  22. Bump with a link to an mp3 of the full suite. http://www.mediafire.com/?0vkj7p76vvjbqw4 I figure this'd also be a decent place to point out the fact that if you like this piece, you can here it LIVE this Sunday. Details: When: Sunday, May 15th at 6:30 pm. Concert is following a performance by the church choir + organ at 5ish (I think) Where: Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel 535 West Roses Road San Gabriel, CA 91775-2205 Admission: FREE [edit: just noticed that the reverb is causing the pitch to curl whenever there's break in the playing. I have no idea what's causing it, but hopefully I'll be able to get it fixed.]
  23. Hopefully this is the right place to post this. So...anyway. My brass quintet, the Oakwood Brass Conspiracy, is giving concert/recital/whathaveyou this Sunday, and the second half of the program will feature arrangements done by various members of the group of video game music (some of which can be found in the WIP section of OCR). Namely, the Hylian Suite No. 1, Highwind Anthem, and Another Voyage, along with a kickass rendition of the Gerudo Valley theme (not uploaded to the WIP section yet). First half of the program is more "classical" repertoire like Contrapunctus IX (J.S. Bach), Just a Closer Walk with Thee, and a f#&%ing fabulous arrangement of the Polka from The Golden Age (Shostakovich). Anyway, the details: When: Sunday, May 15th at 6:30 pm. Concert is following a performance by the church choir + organ at 5ish (I think) Where: Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel 535 West Roses Road San Gabriel, CA 91775-2205 Admission: FREE ---------------------------- Here's a link to a zip with the mp3s for the full concert. No EQ or anything fancy like that, just some balancing of the mics to hopefully capture the same balance we had in the performance. http://www.mediafire.com/?a5dw9izi7r99oq8 Unfortunately due to human error the first couple of seconds of "Closer Walk" didn't get recorded which is a shame because it was a pretty solid runthrough. Aside from that, we're still twidling with mic placement (I think we need a separate mic behind the french horn and the mic for the tuba/room needs to be closer to my bell so that the articulation isn't as woofy and non-distinct.)
  24. So my brass quintet, the Oakwood Brass Conspiracy, is giving a free concert next Sunday (May 15th) and I wanted to make a general announcement of it here at OCR since there'll be a couple arrangements of Video Game music that the group has done on the program. The announcements subform seems like the logical choice, but judging the content of the subforum it should be used only for stuff that's strictly OCR-related. Any suggestions? Oh, and for those reading this and are interested, the details of the concert: Sunday May 15th at 6:30pm (following a performance by the church choir + organist) Church of Our Saviour, San Gabriel 535 West Roses Road San Gabriel, CA 91775-2205 Admission is free
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