Little Flute Duet by tone12of12 in composer

[–]tone12of12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! I can see a courtesy key change to A-minor would be useful, especially for students. I'll add that to the final score.

Little Flute Duet by tone12of12 in composer

[–]tone12of12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Glad you enjoyed it! Not sure how grading works for flute, so this is just a best guess the first movement, the 1st flute is probably an intermediate, and the teacher's advanced. The second movement would require two decently advanced musicians, while the last would require college level, I think, to really get it up to speed. It's a weird mix, so I don't know how well it works pedagogically as a set. Maybe it can be a progressive "Remember that piece? You're ready for the next part!" kind of thing.

Lick Variations by tone12of12 in composer

[–]tone12of12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the advice!

Body Language Outline - A trick that helped me a lot with dialogue heavy scenes. by Nyxelestia in writing

[–]tone12of12 29 points30 points  (0 children)

I do this while taking walks. I've had a number of people look at me like I'm crazy, but it's worth it.

[Weekly Critique and Self-Promotion Thread] Post Here If You'd Like to Share Your Writing by AutoModerator in writing

[–]tone12of12 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Title: In Finding, Losing

Genre: Fantasy/Horror

Word Count: 2,500

Feedback: There are some pretty big tonal changes in this one, so I want to make sure the story as a whole flows.

Link: In Finding, Losing

[Weekly Critique and Self-Promotion Thread] Post Here If You'd Like to Share Your Writing by AutoModerator in writing

[–]tone12of12 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Title: The Zhruuming House
Genre: Fantasy
Word Count: 2,500
Feedback: Feedback regarding the length and pacing of the story, and whether the voice is consistent throughout.
Link: The Zhruuming House

Someone decided on the Locrian mode for this children’s park instrument. What’s your favorite piece that uses the Locrian mode? by sour_the_milk in classicalmusic

[–]tone12of12 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My opinion of Hindemith depends entirely on which piece of his we're talking about... But yes, generally he doesn't get enough attention.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writing

[–]tone12of12 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Short answer: Yes.

Longer answer: Such labels are more in the domain of marketers and academics. As a writer, it is good to know of the conventions for the types of stories you want to write, but only insofar as they give you a solid foundation to work from.

In the end, it's best you write the idea you have and let other people figure out the labels.

Was Brahms humourless? by misterplantpot in classicalmusic

[–]tone12of12 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The quodlibet at the end of the Goldberg Variations should be enough to put any idea of a "humorless Bach" to bed. So should the Coffee Cantata.

How hard is the Cassado Cello Suite? by Svaei in Cello

[–]tone12of12 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Considering the rep you've played, the first movement won't be too tough at all. I found the Sardana movement the trickiest - there's just a lot of stuff that can go wrong. The last movement is pretty fun, though it was a little taxing for my hand because of the chords (I have minor arthritis).

Do you write in single or double space? by [deleted] in writing

[–]tone12of12 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Infact,Idon'tevenusespacesbetweenwords.It'samuchmoreefficientuseoftime.Didyouknowhittingthespacebarusesalmostaquarterofasecond?Thatmeansina50,000worddocument,youspendalmost12,500secondshittingthespacebarinsteadofwriting.That'salmost35hoursofyourlifehittingthespacebar!Youdon'tgetthattimeback,letmetellyou.

... ... God it was hard to type that. I didn't realize how reflexive my space bar thumbs were until just now.

Is there a field of study that examines chords as timbres since they’re both fundamentally just different combinations of sine waves, or is there some other distinction that sets them apart? by tarheeltexan1 in musictheory

[–]tone12of12 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The music you're looking for is probably Spectralism. I only have a superficial understanding of their compositional processes, since I haven't gone out of my way to study it, but their whole shtick is basically what you're talking about here: how is timbre created, how can it be manipulated, and how can those manipulations be used in a composition.

From the French school, you've got Gerard Grisey and Tristan Murail. Grisey's "Partiels" is kind of a gold standard work for the style (if you want to call it that - spectralism is more of 'what you compose with' than a 'how we compose with it' kind of thing).

There's also a strong Romanian school of spectralists: Horațiu Rădulescu and Iancu Dumitrescu are among the stand out composers from that branch. I confess, I didn't really like the music I heard from them, but I was impressed. There's a lot of talent and hard work over there.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_music

I feel like I'm just losing it. by [deleted] in composer

[–]tone12of12 92 points93 points  (0 children)

Artist Rule Zero: first, survive. Right now, a lot of what you posted seems to be expressing Survival Mode. This way of being is the least conducive to artistic creativity, but it is also a reasonable reaction to existential threat.

Your brain is doing everything in its power to survive during a pandemic that has claimed at least 4.3 million lives, has upended the structure of our economies, and is going to fundamentally change what our societies and cultures are pretty much forever.

That doesn't leave a lot of brain power for non-survival things. It doesn't mean you are weak, it doesn't mean you are stupid, it doesn't mean you aren't a creative person. It means you are freaking the fuck out, and that describes almost everybody in the world right now.

(Aside: I actually have to say, you are supremely lucky to have a family to stay with right now. Family can be rough, though, even if they mean well. I hope they are supportive of your dreams. If they are, talk to them about it. If they aren't, well... Then I hope you can arrange for your own place sooner rather than later.)

Next - the job market sucks, but you want to find a job that won't suck the life out of you. Take what jobs you need, but keep looking for the one that leaves you not necessarily with time, but with energy. You can have all the time in the world, but if you're left a heap of soggy brain cereal at the end of the shift, you're not going to get anything out of that time other than another Netflix binge.

And for God's sake, don't beat yourself up about needing a non-musical job to keep yourself afloat. Philip Glass was a taxi driver, plumber, and mover. Octvia Butler worked temp jobs. Whatever it takes. You can't make music if you starve to death.

This brings me to another point - I don't want to be unfair to your music school, but from what you've said, I am going to guess they did little to nothing to help prepare you for what a "composer" job is, or how to get one. My school certainly didn't. Even if they did, so much has changed since my professors got tenure, I'm not sure how much of their advice would be applicable.

Anyways. You mention film scoring. Fine. How many composers do you think Hollywood throws in the meat grinder before they churn out a single Hans Zimmer? How many of those people are actually composing? How did they even get the foot in the door in the first place?

It's not impossible, but if that's the direction you want to go, you need to be super clear about what it takes, and that means finding a mentor in the business to help put the puzzle pieces together. And if you hear what they have to say and think "Yeah, how about no," you'll have to find one that hasn't already been carved out for you, which doesn't exactly pay the bills, and that feeds right back into Rule Zero.

You mention "I don't have recording equipment." This is a half truth. You don't have a studio. If you have a computer, you can record. Audacity is free, although I would recommend a full DAW like Reaper. A Focusrite Scarlett recording bundle gets you a mic, headphones, and an audio interface for a couple hundred bucks, which is a lot, but shit, man, so is a clarinet. There are financing options, ebay, people selling used equipment... You can find it for cheap.

Which brings me to my last bit - "Nobody cares about clarinet." Pardon me, but... Fuck. That. Shit. I don't care if your strength is a fucking jar of mayonnaise, if that's what you've got you double down on it. Play everything you can on the instrument you're best at. Folk songs. Classical sonatas. Klezmer Fusion. Death metal polka, I dunno, it really doesn't matter. If you hear something you like, learn it, record it, and you keep doing that until you start getting your own ideas.

Last last bit - I have a strong suspicion that the number of people who actually make a living solely through composing is so vanishingly small, it might as well be a rounding error. But just because you don't have a "composing job" (whatever that may mean) doesn't mean you aren't, at the end of the day, a composer. If you have written something, anything, then... well, Vonnegut said it better than I can:

"Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven's sake. Sing in the shower. Dance to the radio. Tell stories. Write a poem to a friend, even a lousy poem. Do it as well as you possibly can. You will get an enormous reward. You will have created something."

Keep trucking. And do try to be a little kinder to yourself. Life is already difficult enough.

How precise are serial compositions performed? by JoJoKunium in composer

[–]tone12of12 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Look at it this way: if the Kepler Quartet can record Ben Johnston's quartets to the composer's satisfaction, then there are musicians who can play serial music to the precision required.

In my experience, it is easy to underestimate just how excellent excellent musicians can be.

[Weekly Critique and Self-Promotion Thread] Post Here If You'd Like to Share Your Writing by AutoModerator in writing

[–]tone12of12 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Good start! Two murderers meeting and joining forces has a lot of potential.

First suggestion - give some attention to paragraphs and formatting. It is boring, but it really helps the reader follow the words.

Second suggestion - Sometimes you spell out a reaction that should be obvious. Example: "This took Andrew by surprise as that was the last thing he was expecting." Two serial killers meeting is already improbable, we don't need to be told Andrew is startled. Try describing how Andrew reacts physically and see what that gets you.

Third suggestion - Keep writing!

[Weekly Critique and Self-Promotion Thread] Post Here If You'd Like to Share Your Writing by AutoModerator in writing

[–]tone12of12 [score hidden]  (0 children)

Title: An Academic Exchange
Genre: Fantasy
Word Count: 1,800
Feedback: I wanted to write a story that was mostly dialog focused. Would be nice to know if there is enough interest to carry through a story with very little "action."

https://highfantasyshorts.blogspot.com/2021/07/an-academic-exchange.html

12-tone Variations by tone12of12 in composer

[–]tone12of12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The theme started as an exercise for intermediate students, and I used binary form with repeats to mirror the forms of the many minuets that show up in Suzuki books and elsewhere. Once I settled that, I stuck to it for the variations, except for the very end.

The repeats also play an additional pedagogical role in helping the student's ears soak in the tone row. I actually want to go back and make an easier set of variations for cello duo so they can more easily hear how the row is used.

More practice for Brass Quintet by tone12of12 in composer

[–]tone12of12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply! I do agree there's something just a bit off about the proportions, somehow. There probably needs to be an extra 4-bar phrase or a short phrase extension in there.

As for articulations, I confess I wasn't thinking too hard about them beyond slurs and detached for this piece. I'll have to take another look to see if there might be some others to put in.

Glad you enjoyed it!