This is my final composition. I created it on Sibelius, which you can see the PDFs of above. Then I used Logic to Sync it to the video. However I had a couple of issues with this. The first issue is that my score was too long for the movie. So the end part of my B section and my outro aren’t heard due to that. If I had more time, I would’ve made my A or B section shorter, so then the outro could be heard. However to make this less noticeable, I added a fade for the last few bars using logic, so not having an outro wasn’t that bad. Another issue I had with this when I uploaded the video to YouTube, it didn’t have any audio on it. However the file did. So how I fixed this, is when bouncing it, I didn’t click the box that enables audio, and then somehow the video gained audio. It was quite a strange issue, however I fixed it in the end. The last issue I have, is that the final score PDF is different to what is played in the video. As in the PDF there is a melody on violin 2 in the B section, however I decided to remove that as I thought it sounded sloppy. I put it back to what it was before where it plays a semibreve and a note of the chord. However I didn’t update my PDF and it says I haven’t changed it.
I am quite happy with my composition. I completed all the changes and improvements I wanted to complete by my last evaluation. Such as finding a new melody for my B section. I did do the same thing as with my A section, where I alternated between 2 of the notes in the chord. I chose to do this again so the A section and B section sound similar yet different enough to be a different part. I also wanted to spend my time completing a melody for the violin. I wanted to have the violin melody be the main part of the B section, so having the same melody as before would make the violin melody stand out. Also I am very happy with my violin melody. I think it is a very catchy melody, it sounds really nice and fits with the rest of the score. It also fits with the video. I also worked on my dynamics and articulation. The composition is played in Legato, which means all the notes are played smoothly and there isn’t much of a break between the notes. I chose this because it is the sound that would best fit my composition, as a stacatto feel wouldn’t sound as nice. For string articulation I chose to go with arco, as I wanted the sound of bow playing and not playing with fingers. For dynamics, in my A section and starting with my intro, I chose to start off with piano, until the end of my intro there is a crescendo on the piano where it ends up as mezzo piano. Then when an instrument comes in, the piece goes up a dynamic marking, and there is a crescendo on the piano everytime. Also when an instrument comes in, the instrument starts off playing piano and goes up a dynamic marking until it gets to the same one as the rest off the piece. Then when the violins drop out, the piece goes to mezzo piano, and when it gets to just the cello and left hand of the piano, it goes to piano. Finally for my A section, the last bar is in mezzo forte to lead into the B section. My B section plays in the dynamic mezzo forte for the first bar, then after 8 bars when the violin melody comes in it changes to forte. Then at bar 81, it goes down to mezzo forte, then at bar 93 it goes to mezzo piano. Finally, the outro is played at the dynamic piano. I am happy with the dynamic, as in my A section it is a nice build up, then it decreases nicely. In my B section I also think it sounds good, and it is loud and is the middle part of the piece so it should be, then it slowly gets quieter which I like. The last thing I changed was the structure of my B section. Which is that after 8 bars, the violin melody comes in. Then after that, I made some string instruments drop out for 4 bars. I personally like this structure and think it is a more subtle way of having a structure and removing instruments than in the A section.
In general I am happy with my composition. I think that most of it sounds good. In terms of my intro, I think it is a nice start to the song. Even though it isn’t anything too different and complicated, as it is just the same parts as my A section, just structured differently. I think it is a nice start to the song and is a good build up of instruments into the A section. My A section is also a part of the song I am happy with. I think the dynamics and instruments coming in work really well together. Then I think it leads really well into the B section and the transition doesn’t feel forced. Also it sounds nice when the instruments start dropping out. I think my A section sounds nice, even if it is a bit basic. My B section is something I am very proud of. It transitions really nicely from the A section to the B section. As the melodies are the same, however I think it sounds good. Then the violin melody I am very happy with. I wanted to do a melody on the strings, however I thought I wouldn’t be able to do it as I am new to writing piano and strings music. However when I tried it, it worked really well and I finished up with a really nice and catchy melody. The dynamics work really well in the B section, as it starts off loud and slowly goes down, which works with the video as that is what is going on with the video as well.
Even though I am happy with my composition, there are still improvements to make. Such as when the instruments start dropping out in the A section, it doesn’t work very well with the video. As the piece is getting quieter, the video is getting bigger and more is happening. If I had more time, I would’ve made this part fit with the video more. Another improvement I have is in my B section, the structure could be worked on. As my structure sounds kind of random as instruments seem to drop out randomly. To improve this I could make a structure that sounds better. If I had more time I would’ve fixed this. Even though I like the subtlety of the structure, it doesn’t sound the best. Also articulation as a whole in the piece is an issue. As it just plays legato and arco throughout the whole piece, there isn’t any change. If I had more time, I would’ve added more articulation in different parts of the song to make it sound better. If I had time, I would also want to make my piece shorter so that my outro would be playing as it just fades out during the end of my B section.
All in all, I am happy with the final composition I have made, and I think it fits well with the video. There are a few improvements to make, however for a first attempt at composing I think it sounds very good.