MaestroUGC's Compositions *In Progress - Symphony No. 2 in D minor - Mvt. I-IV*

[JDMEK5]

These are epic, let me say. But they don't sound... Midi-ish. They are live recordings aren't they? If they are, how did you do it? That's pretty sweet.

[MaestroUGC]

Haha, thanks, but no these aren't recordings. I used Garritan Personal Orchestra to simulate the sounds you heard. It's the closest thing I found to a real orchestra, and since I don't have the luxory of a real orchestra to perform/record my music, this is the best I can do. I used this program for two years now, so I've figured out the right levels for everything involved, or nearly enough, to make sound as close to a real orchestra as possible. The only thing I can't duplicate is the voice, but it is much easier to find a couple of vocalists that it is to gather an orchestra.

[JDMEK5]

Wow. That is AWESOME!! I can't believe I've been around and haven't even heard about something like that! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

[MaestroUGC]

Sure thing, I should let you know that the program costs around $150 or so for the current package. I bought it mainly for the soundfonts and you can use the with Finale and such. I'm not quite sure how to connect them, but when I installed Finale on my laptop, Garritan was already installed and the soundfonts were ready to go. I know that the full Finale products have some of these instruments, but it is really watered down.

[JDMEK5]

Thanks for the info. I can't afford anything like that now, but it's helpful to know details. Because I have a feeling that I'm going to get it in the future. Again, thanks.

[MaestroUGC]

So here is a piece I wrote last summer, I had been meaning to get it out there, but it got buried under my larger projects/arrangements. The Fantasy

MUS
YouTube Be sure to listen to this, it sounds much better than Finale's stock organ sound.

Also, does anyone here speak Russian?

[MaestroUGC]

Happy New Year everyone! Here is a piece I wrote to celebrate New Year's Eve tomorrow. I would've waited until tomorro to release this, but I doubt I'll be even near a computer tomorrow. This piece has influences from a few Russian Composers, bonus points if you can name them. I suggest you give the YouTube video a listen for a higher quality audio. Enjoy!

New Year's Festival Overture
MUS
YouTube

[MaestroUGC]

Oh hey, I have something new...ish. You might've seen this in my Arrangements thread, but I'll post it here for consistency's sake.

Symphony No. 1 in F minor
Playlist

Comments would be much appreciated.

[Ricky]

If I may ask, how long have you been composing and how did you get into it?

[MaestroUGC]

I've been writing since...freshman year of high school, so about 6 years now. I mainly got into it because I thought it was something I could do; a "why not?" kind of thing.

[Ricky]

I see. Do you study music now?

[MaestroUGC]

Yes I do.

[Ricky]

How do you normally do when composing? Do you work with ideas in your head and write them down? Do you improvise at the piano or another instrument?

[MaestroUGC]

A mix of both, sometimes I will improvise on the piano, or I'd just have something come to me. But I usually do most of the refinement on paper.

[Ricky]

Same for me, I sometimes get lots of ideas out of nowhere (especially when trying to fall asleep which makes lots of sense as there aren't many distractions plus you are more creative when lying down (the amount of nonadrenaline produced is lower compared to when standing up which seems to be the scientific reason)). I also improvise at the piano when I feel for the need. Most often I play around with different modes (dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian and aeolian mainly) and different chord progressions (often based on the mode). Sometimes I find musical ideas that sound good or even really good. It seems like the better I play piano and the more I practice improvising the better the ideas get.

The thing is that I need a better ear to really be able to keep the ideas and work with them. In the case of improvised ideas on piano it's possible for me to record them as I've got a digital piano and I can record midis which I can work with. I should try that out as the ideas can be easily be forgotten and I also have difficulties finding the correct rhythm to notate. In the case of ideas from the head it's more difficult as they come quickly and disappear quickly so a good ear is a must (especially as these ideas are more complex and varied). Anyways, time for some ear training.