My first music post here:
Except for a little childhood piano and string playing I don’t have serious musical training. I just create what I like to hear. So forgive what to some ears might not sound “right?”.
Genre/Style:
A short cinematic work in an American Western Style.
Creative Vision for the Track:
Early morning in small, out of the way western town of the 1880’s. The air is cool. The warmth of the sun is yet to come. The streets are quiet. Hardly a soul around, yet something is stirring. This day will bring something new. We can sense it but don’t yet know what it is. Slowly it begins. This is a calm not before a storm, but to something important that will change everything.
Composition Details: Time Sig: 4/4 Key: A sharp Tempo: 80 bpm
Strings play variations of main flowing main theme which dovetail with the flute that at times plays dance like over it. Backed by a constant percussive ostinato.
Main Instruments used:
• Albion One Strings - Long & Spiccato,
• Flute Legato
• EastWest Platinum Symphonic Orchestra, Timpani & Wood Block.
Hey Charles! The was a good piece. Very nice harmonies that kept it interesting and progressing along. Although you had a Western theme in mind, I actually got the feeling of a fantasy world where a battle was about to begin!
First thing I notice is the spiccatos; since they’re quite central to this piece, I believe it would help a lot to use a sample library with plenty of round-robins, or (of course) real instruments, but that is of course a matter of budget. You might improve the situation a bit by adding some randomness/“feel” to the timing and note velocities. Flanger, chorus, randomly automated transient processing and whatnot might also help, but there’s only so much you can do before that starts to sound weird.
Anyway, you’re pretty much nailing “anticipation” feel here - though perhaps not with an obviously Western flavor? I suppose the main reference for that would be Morricone’s scores, where he brings various instruments and effects to the orchestra, essentially defining that “Spaghetti Western” sound. Plenty of interesting ideas to find in his work!
Someone else said that this worked well for him in a different setting. We all bring our personal filters and experience to music which of course is wonderful.
Thanks Matt.
Varying the spiccatos with round robins and occasional randomness is something worth trying. The western flavor for me is there, but as I mentioned to Matt I’m perfectly fine if it isn’t that obvious to others. In fact I often enjoy scoring not so on the nose elements into a film that can bring a fresh feel to the scene. And Morricone was an amazing composer, just amazing. Good suggestions David and thanks for the kind words.
Cheers
