Orchestration Project with Redbanned members (Update 1.st post)

Haha, I love that sound that you've used! I might give it a go when I get some free time

 

All right so here's my quick take on it. I changed the rhythm a little bit, but for the most part, I tried to stick to the piano version - I played this straight into my template so there's probably loads of voice leading mistakes etc...

 

@Alexander Schiborr Thanks for your feedback! I had a listen to your version and I have to say it's really good - I really like the texture you have at the beginning and it's really interesting to hear that there are some similarities between our two versions, even though I did not listen to yours before doing mine

Yea, I also felt that emptiness in the middle of my version and I'll try to work on that and fill it a bit more. For this exercise, I tried to work with a "french school" approach and tried to have as little elements as possible (only what I needed) but listening back to it, I'm realizing that I failed miserably at some places...

 

Cool version! Like the room sound.

 

I said I was going to join in last time (and I did make a start on that one, but never got round' to finishing it)... but now I thought I'd do this one instead!

First, let me comment on what others have posted so far:

@Alexander Schiborr I actually kind of like your metal version! And that's coming from someone who generally speaking doesn't really like metal... so there's that! Your Spitfire orchestra version is pretty neat too. I especially like the shimmering texture that you open with. You choose to keep the main melody (if you want to call it that) on just the horns. Personally, I shifted things around a bit more, but I think either solution works fine. I can't argue with the sound, really That said, things fall apart at around 0:21 for me. It suddenly sounds a bit fake-ish... I think it's because your strings sound much, much further away than everything else (the timpani roll is super close in comparison). There's something off about the transitions between notes in 0:21-0:23 too, but I can't pinpoint which section it is exactly (I think strings).

For my personal taste, the ending is a bit overstated (0:23 on out) which is also why I cut the ending a bit shorted in my own rendition. This is really a matter of personal taste so yeah... doesn't really matter. I did notice however that in the end, the timp roll sounds too present to my ears at least... it doesn't really swell in dynamics either, so that might be something you might want to change?

Orchestrationally speaking, the only real remark I have is that the hits at 0:02, 0:06, 0:09, and 0:12 all sound about the same, there's no real build. I think you could start with much quieter hits on the snare, and only go full out on the last one, but that's just my two cents!

@Claude Ruelle I agree with Alexander that 0:25 sounds a little empty and understated. The way I interpertreted Alexander's sketch is that the whole thing is essentially a big buildup toward the ending crescendo, so it feels a bit off to me that you're getting quieter and less busy in the middle of the piece. I do like what you're doing at 0:31 where the trombones (I think it's trombones + timp?) do a fast repetition/embellishment. Orchestrationally... I find it hard to really find anything wrong with what you've done. The only nitpick I have is that I am not entirely sold on the high strings sustaining above the whole thing. It feels a little too static to me, though I have to be honest: I don't really notice it that much. Maybe switch it out for a sustained tremolo instead? Tremolos just have a bit more movement in them. You can maybe also try and anticipate the hits a bit more, with a quick harp gliss, or something like that. Just like Alexander, I think you could also start with quieter snare hits, but then I am starting to get into the sound aspect of things instead of orchestration.

Now, here's my own rendition. As mentioned before, I shortened the end a bit as I felt the end would get overstated otherwise. Not that there's anything wrong with the original midi rendition, but I just liked this shorter ending better. As you can hear I also put a few more rests in. I ended up going for a question & answer kind of thing between horns and trumpets.

Here's my rendition (All EW Orchestra except for the woodwinds):

 

Sorry to double post, but I took a little break, listened to my thing again and... well, it sounded weird. Voice leading wasn't exactly clear or something. Imma leave the old version up there for comparison purposes, but here's my updated version (slower tempo and using 2 French Horns on the opening statement instead of 6 (6FH are used later)).



Strange how things can sound completely different if you go do something else for a while, isn't it?

 

Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. I've listened a few more times myself and I think that the start (with the mark tree and sus cymbal) is problematic because there isn't a clear ONE. I think if I remove the cymbals at the start and just start with the horns, that problem will likely be solved. Thanks for your feedback!

 

Sounds really nice already, you must be having some kind of magic beer