On Wed the concert band read through my piece. It was a great experience and I am very grateful that so many people would come together to play my music. It really was intimidating at first...I knew everyone was going to play and hear something that I had written.... and end up judging it on one hearing. At least I was.
some observations,
- The piece sounded completely different than Sibelius! The balance was completely different. One thing I have learned from this composition project is that I should concentrate less on the sound of the midi file and think ahead to the sound of the real band. Far too often during this composition process I was slaving over dynamics that made the computer file sound exactly as I imagined. All of this changed when the piece was translated into the live setting.
- I realized that this piece is more difficult to play than I had initially thought. If it were to be preformed then it would need alot of ensemble work in small sections. This piece could end up being a challenge for the gower band which could both work to my advantage and disadvantage....
- Articulations and details!!! I really tried to give as much detail as I could in the score for this reading but I still feel like I came up short. It ended up sounding very choppy and staccato. This had forced me (which is a good thing) to go back and articulate every phrase differently.
- The tempo I had in my head and that which the band played my piece at was a little slow. I think it could be pushed a bit more for the ideal sound.
- I felt that the ending I had really fell flat. I have since gone back and re-written the end. This new conclusion allows all the players in the band to participate.
Writing music for such a large group of musicians is something I will be exploring in the future. I have put more work into this composition than all my other combined. Its great to hear something finally come together after months of working one note at a time.
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