<Original><Orchestral> Octavia's Cannon

[Waterheartt]

I tried messing with a few soundfonts for this one.
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsEJ1Zs1410
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/waterheartt/octavias-cannon
Feedback is greatly appreciated.

[Callenby]

Hello, and welcome to MLR!

We have an introduction thread where you could tell us a little about yourself.

Anyway, on to my critique.

In all honesty, this sounds like a rewrite of Pachelbel's Canon in D. The bass line is practically the same, though you do vary the accompaniment pattern some. Still, it repeats too much. Which is the same problem as Pachelbel's Canon itself. It has an alright melody, but the harmony is pretty notorious for being obnoxiously repetitive. If you're going to base your work off of something else, please aim a little higher. The world doesn't need more music like the Canon in D (/soapbox). Consider modulating to a new key at some point. I think that would help.

Another thing I would critique is the overall composition. I got the sense that there wasn't much flow to it, if that makes sense. What I mean is it seemed like it was doing one thing, then suddenly it changed a bit, and then it would just keep changing around without any rhyme or reason. For example, arpeggios are constantly starting and stopping. It's good that you're trying to vary it, but I would recommend doing so only when it feels natural.

Which soundfonts did you use? Because they're quite bad, I have to say. Also, what program made this? I know it's not always fair to expect people to be able to pay for good software, but if you want to keep pursuing orchestral music it would help to make the investment.

The ending was very jarring. For me it didn't feel like it fit in at all with the rest of the piece.

I'm not sure how you go about release your finished songs, but I don't feel that this is ready for prime time yet.

I feel like I'm being harsh here, especially for my first interaction with you, and I'm sorry for that but I'd rather be harsh and honest than tell you something that I don't believe.

[Alycs]

Like Callenby said, the entire thing sounds like almost exactly like Pachelbel's Kanon; I can't really blame you for doing this as it looks like you're fairly new, and when I was just starting out I did the same thing. But if you're looking into developing your own composition style, run as far away from that song in particular as you can. Yes, its very popular; yes, it sounds good; yes, everyone knows it; its a very very easy song to identify. Its chord progression is nearly as old as sheet music itself, and no matter what key or inversion its in, people can usually recognize it. [Its not that great of a song anyway, and its a terrible kanon (actually its fairly okay but its weird and there's a reason it stands out)]

Anyway, the song itself (getting away from what it came from) is really repetitive. Helpfully enough, there is currently a semi-active topic that is meant to go over how to fix all the problems with repetitiveness in orchestral music and making it more interesting for both the listener and the composer.

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=8691

Also, you really need to work on your song continuity. Like Callen said, the transitions were jarring. Here are a few ways to fix it:
1. Make sure you bar lines "loop": Kanons (and music in general) is composed in blocks, usually of two/four/eight sections of four closely related measures. To keep a flow, make sure the last measure and the first measure can flow into each-other AKA, make sure the last note of the section is a semi/whole tone away from the first note, or have it be a perfect interval that resolves. When this is done, you should be able to press "Play Loop" button on your DAW and hear no gap or awkward pause when the loops.

2. Rhythmic Changes: If you plan on going from a moderately sped section (A) to a rapid one (B), make sure that you either:
a) Gradually build into it by employing faster notes in the bass-line and melody; which creates a smoother change and is can go unnoticed, but don't do it more than one time in a row; it can get tedious.
b) Make a sudden change by writing longer notes in A than the rest of the section, which builds tension using differences in pacing. The franticness of B can release this (in most other genre's this would be called a drop), this type will be strongly noticed, and can be done multiple times, but you have to remember that if you drop, you have to get up again.

Overall, orchestral composition takes a lot of time to do well, but can be very useful; so try just listening to more classical music (of all time periods), look at the scores, analyse the chord progressions and voicing, and generally just practice more.

[Waterheartt]

At this point, I consider anything I "release" as pretty much an experiment. Don't worry about being harsh, because as long as the criticism is constructive, that's a good thing . I personally don't mind the canon progressions as much as some do, but I listen to significantly less classical music then some other genres. I think a large part of the choppiness came from my inexperience and relying on loops to heavily. A lot of the more interesting classical stuff is full of syncopation and off beats(Including carries over barlines) which I forgot to include. My actual composition plans include music of the rock(or harder) genre, which I have more experience with. My only classical experience is with dull basslines, so as I said, this was largely and experiment.
Thanks for the informative responses!