# Orchestral Music + An Introduction



## Casey Edwards (Jan 28, 2011)

First off I want to say this forum is really cool. I learned about this place through the East West forums and I can't believe the amount of talent in this place, just great stuff. I'm a 23 year old who plays electric guitar and I study piano at my university. Graduating soon with a degree in Theory and Composition. I enjoy writing both concert and music for media (film, TV, games, etc.) 

Secondly, I wanted to post a link to my Soundcloud in hope that I could get some critique on some of the works I've done. The tracks up are all short 1-3min pieces composed for demo purposes, so don't expect much thematic development, but I do hope you enjoy the music itself. Thanks guys.

http://SoundCloud.com/CaseyEdwards


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## Frederick Russ (Jan 28, 2011)

Welcome to VI Casey. Glad you found us; enjoy the forum!


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## Casey Edwards (Feb 2, 2011)

Hey thanks for listening, and I will definitely always strive to be better. Always plenty of room to grow!


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Feb 13, 2011)

Hi Casey,

Americana is great. I like the joy in the brass lines. The transition to the softer/slower section is too abrupt, but the ending works well.

Into the Deep starts incredibly cliched, but when the choir comes in, it works for me. The bass is a bit overwhelming, but I am listening on earbuds, so... The solo voice is a bit strange, sounding like a wind instrument or something. But the energy is there and it ends so well.

Magic and Fantasy works as well. I like the modulations in the intro. The writing is free. The brass is a bit much compared to the rest, feeling like it's always at FF or something. Good string writing, phrasing, Williams-like. I really found the ending lazy though.

Flying High is Elfman-like? Humourous, good counterpoint, my favourite of the bunch. Great writing for the flute and glock, man! Lovely timbral variation. Stravinsky-esque muted trumpet is a gas. Excellent variety of rhythm, and the sweeping ending is beautiful. This should be your first piece that anyone hears, your calling card. 

If you play your cards right, you will have a great career. Seriously.


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## Alex Temple (Feb 13, 2011)

I can't listen to every track right now, but here are my thoughts:

Overall I like your constant use of solid melodic lines but I think you need to build your voicings in a way that bring out the supporting harmonies more. In many cases this is just a volume thing - your principal melody sounds like its playing at a much higher dynamic than the harmonies. In a lot of places this is because you use a lot of effective doubling on the melody, but it sounds like there's just a touch of viola playing the third and fifth of the chord. This can be used well to give contrast to fuller, weightier sections, but by itself it sounds a bit top-heavy. If you want I can point out some specific spots where I noticed this.

I agree with Ned that Flying High is your strongest piece and I would put it at the top if you get one of the other versions of soundcloud that lets you do this. I liked it a lot through the first half but then you took it to another level with the soaring melodies on the second half. Really well done and it never loses its energy.


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## pavol podhorec (Feb 14, 2011)

Amazing melody lines and harmonies. Love your work mate...p


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## Tanuj Tiku (Feb 14, 2011)

Good stuff Casey!

Flying High is the best out of the ones I heard. My guess is - this is your recent piece of music compared to others - it sounds significantly better in terms of programming as well. 

Keep up the good work and keep those melodies coming!



Best,

Tanuj.


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## Casey Edwards (Feb 15, 2011)

Wow, thanks guys for the input. I actually feel almost ashamed to admit that "Flying High" is actually the oldest of all those tracks. It started out as a general midi file then just recently acquired new samples and such so I found some old files I liked and played them live in Cubase. 

Just as a side note, Americana is still in demo format. I'm not quite sure about the contrasting section as it is at the moment.

I can agree with the lazy ending in 'Magic and Fantasy'. I had an ending sketched out on paper but thought it was a bit too flashy so I just decided to end it at the end of the phrase...This has been brought up before so I will probably revisit that ending with my sketch I had in mind.

And as for the voicing, please go ahead and give all the critique you want! Most of my music to me looks like it works better in score format than it does with my programming (I'm terrible at MIDI mick ups, but I'm trying to improve!). 

Thanks again for listening guys.


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