[New Recording 9/22/13]"Aquatic Symphony" for trumpet and piano

[ConVito]

(EDIT 9/22/13)HERE IS THE MOST RECENT (AND POSSIBLY FINAL) VERSION. COULDN'T FIND A PIANO PLAYER, SO I DID THE NEXT BEST THING AND JUST RECORDED MYSELF OVER THE MIDI. AT THE TIME OF RECORDING, THIS WAS MY FIRST TIME PLAYING MY TRUMPET IN ALMOST A YEAR, AND I DID IT WITHOUT A WARMUP. IT'S MORE OF A FUN PROJECT THAN ANYTHING SERIOUS, BUT I FIGURED I'D POST IT HERE FOR THE SAKE OF CLOSURE. ENJOY (OR DON'T, I DON'T TELL YOU HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE)

ORIGINAL POST: Hey everyone. I'm a long time lurker here at OCR (got a 6 hour OCR playlist to prove it), and there's actually no guarantee I'll even submit this. But I could use some help.

Before I get ahead of myself: https://www.box.com/s/vaesjxq004t3scviu8oz

EDIT: Here's a revised version: https://www.box.com/s/sp1ek0g8ub8juo9rsih2

In the new intro, I decided to make it sort of a tribute to all the solo and ensemble contests and recitals I used to do as a kid, so it's kind of simple but I tried to make it sound like something you'd hear at a recital. The rest is more or less the same, with the ending also simplified.

Arrangement of Aquatic Ambiance and Stickerbrush Symphony from Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2 respectively. Arranged for piano and trumpet. Pretty heavily inspired by nintendodude794's "Depth of the Deep" (http://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02427/). I plan to perform this sometime this semester at my college before I graduate.

I arranged a medley of game tunes for brass quintet last semester, so I figured I'd crank out one more before I get out of here. First, a few things:

The trumpet is supposed to be muted, at least at first. (not much of a problem since this is just a crappy little midi)

I'm using Finale Songwriter for this arrangement, and can provide the .mus file if needed.

While I'd like some advice and feedback, I also don't want to change much. I want this to be my own arrangement, with little to no outside help. That being said, if something sounds truly awful, and I get a suggestion I like on how to "fix" it, I'll probably take that advice. On that note:

I HATE the ending. It sucks and I hate it. I couldn't figure out a good way to conclude the piece, so I just tacked this crap on the end. I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to fix that.

Finally, even though I play the trumpet and do a little arranging, I'm first and foremost a voice actor, as it says in my sig. So this isn't really my strong suit.

If I can get this recorded and it sounds decent enough, I may end up submitting it here. I don't expect it to be accepted, but I at least want to say I've submitted something.

Thanks in advance.

Edited September 25, 2013 by ConVito

[Servbot#36]

I liked it! Especially the part where Stickerbrush came in. The energy in that whole section and the end where the two tunes intermix were really cool. The intro did seem maybe a little long and isn't really very different from the original or a lot of remixes of it. Maybe a little more left hand? Also, I didn't think the ending was that bad, but if you're not happy with it, keep looking. But anyways, I think this would sound really cool played live.

[ConVito]

I liked it! Especially the part where Stickerbrush came in. The energy in that whole section and the end where the two tunes intermix were really cool. The intro did seem maybe a little long and isn't really very different from the original or a lot of remixes of it. Maybe a little more left hand? Also, I didn't think the ending was that bad, but if you're not happy with it, keep looking. But anyways, I think this would sound really cool played live.

Thanks for the feedback. I'm wondering now if I could get away with simply drawing out the ending a little more. Might make a load of difference. I'll also experiment with a little more left hand in the intro.

Edited September 13, 2012 by ConVito

[jnWake]

Wow, tackling two super classics at once!

I agree with Servbot that the intro (pre-trumpet) felt a bit too long. Add more ornaments, specially to the left hand.

Did I hear a Prelude cameo near the middle? Cool!

The switch to Stickerbrush is interesting. The MIDI doesn't help it much though lol.

My main criticism for the whole piece is that feels more like a "Piano solo with a little trumpet" than a "Piano and trumpet" song. I don't know if you're limited to only one trumpet, but I encourage you to experiment more with it.

The ending is quite bad, as you say. The build-up that the piano makes at 4:18 could just lead to a ending chord, instead of the Aquatic Ambiance trumpet thing.

[ConVito]

Wow, tackling two super classics at once!

I agree with Servbot that the intro (pre-trumpet) felt a bit too long. Add more ornaments, specially to the left hand.

Did I hear a Prelude cameo near the middle? Cool!

The switch to Stickerbrush is interesting. The MIDI doesn't help it much though lol.

My main criticism for the whole piece is that feels more like a "Piano solo with a little trumpet" than a "Piano and trumpet" song. I don't know if you're limited to only one trumpet, but I encourage you to experiment more with it.

The ending is quite bad, as you say. The build-up that the piano makes at 4:18 could just lead to a ending chord, instead of the Aquatic Ambiance trumpet thing.

I'm working on the intro. I'm not exactly limited to one trumpet, but there's no guarantee I can get another. I had a rough time getting a group of brass players together for a similar situation last semester, so sticking with just myself and a piano player is my best bet. I'd actually have loved to put a violin in there, but I doubt I could get anyone for it.

[ConVito]

Here's a slightly revised version: https://www.box.com/s/sp1ek0g8ub8juo9rsih2

In the intro, I decided to make it sort of a tribute to all the solo and ensemble contests and recitals I used to do as a kid, so it's kind of simple but I tried to make it sound like something you'd hear at a recital. The rest is more or less the same, with the ending also simplified.

[ConVito]

Newest (and possibly final) version is finished. Couldn't find a piano player, so I did the next best thing (if you can call it that) and recorded myself over the Finale midi. Almost identical to edited version, with a slight tweak at the end of the intro. I should mention that I hadn't even touched my horn for over half a year at the time of this recording. It was more of a fun little project than anything serious, but I'm posting it here just for the sake of closure. I will say I'm actually proud of how it turned out given the circumstances and what I had to work with. So without further ado, enjoy: