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I'm working on a science fiction themed project called "Four Visions of the Future".  I now have a complete rough draft of the first movement, "Space Opera".  It still needs a lot of polishing to fine tune the expression, but it should give a reasonable idea of how it's meant to sound.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9vl1mqf6q0ihir...a.mp3?dl=0
Sounds great! I recognize many of those samples, VPO? ;D

I particularly enjoy the middle section, it's very serene and the orchestration is very pleasant. It would be fun to tweak this up and stick it in front of a real orchestra some day. Smile
Sounds awesome! And the synth elements really fit in and don't sound forced . Please do share the completed version as well as the other movements when you have them ready!
Quote: Sounds great! I recognize many of those samples, VPO? ;D

You have a good ear!  The strings and brass are VPO.  The winds and percussion are SSO.  The synths are from Logic Pro.

Quote:It would be fun to tweak this up and stick it in front of a real orchestra some day. [Image: smile.png]

If you happen to have an orchestra handy... Smile
(01-29-2017, 05:16 AM)peastman Wrote: [ -> ]If you happen to have an orchestra handy... Smile

Unfortunately not, although I do regularly have soloists on call from trying to organize sampling sessions if you ever have a violin, horn, trumpet, or trombone or something you want recorded.

I'd also be happy to run any percussion (or other) MIDI's through VSCO 2 Pro or something like that if you want or pass stems through any number of old crummy samplers if you wanted to mix in some "classic" elements. You might be able to get Mattias to pass stuff through his "tower of soundcards" too, haha.
Nice to hear more music from you! Smile

I love the composition and orchestration. It jumps effortlessly from chaotic to orderly, and from minimal to massive. The analog synth fits the arrangement nicely. Smile

If there's anything at all to comment on orchestration-wise, the low end of the orchestration does feel a bit sparse at times, especially during the more grandiose moments. One idea is to develop some kind of rhythmic accompaniment by low instruments like contrabass, tuba, (contra)bassoon, or timpani.

Like you said, the expression needs work, although I wouldn't so much fine tune it as get completely wild with it. Exaggerate the volume swells, exaggerate the phrasing (i.e. make staccatos and detaches really snappy, make legatos really molten together, and so on). Finding the sweet spot is sometimes easier if you get completely wild and dial it back as needed. Smile

My two cents. As always, you be the judge. Smile
(01-30-2017, 11:58 AM)Otto Halmén Wrote: [ -> ]Like you said, the expression needs work, although I wouldn't so much fine tune it as get completely wild with it. Exaggerate the volume swells, exaggerate the phrasing (i.e. make staccatos and detaches really snappy, make legatos really molten together, and so on). Finding the sweet spot is sometimes easier if you get completely wild and dial it back as needed. Smile

So true!! I have a teacher with whom I study early trombone- because the instruments from that time are more limited and finicky than ones today, her advice is always to do dynamics and phrasing to the point you think it's garish, because chances are to everyone else, you actually just sound good. Often what separates a "great" player from a "good" one is the willingness to phrase everything as dynamically and emotively as possible without fear of doing too much. When working with virtual instruments with limits, you always want to exaggerate at first. Then you can pull back if you need to, just like Otto says. Big Grin
Thanks, that's all really good advice!
I definitely like the arrangement and blending of synth and orchestra. I look forward to hearing it again once you've had a chance " to fine tune the expression". Right now it still sounds static, which is to be expected and what I hear from my own work during the development phase before I've had a chance to add articulation variations and volume automation. I think you are off to a good start with your rough draft.
This is awesome! Sounds like Rush teamed up with Vangelis to write a symphony. Definitely interested in hearing more from this project Smile
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