Arrangement Contest No. 5 in E-sharp "Variable Mix"

[MaestroUGC]

MLF's Scores:

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Bloop: 45/50

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Here is Bloop's Score

1) Orchestration: 9/10. He does a very good job at keeping a dynamic Orchestration.

2) Preservation: 10/10. Excellent Preservation. He did a great job at keeping the original involved.

3) Creativity: 7/10.

4) Criteria: 9/10
- He has a perfect amount of variations.
- He has a mode change.
- A significant meter change is involved (4/4 to 12/8)

5) Formatting: 10/10
Perfect Formatting.

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Olimar: 49/50

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1. Orchestration: 10/10
He did an excellent job on the Orchestration. Very Dynamic!

2. Preservation: 9/10

3. Creativity: 10/10
Amazingly Creative!

4. Criteria: 10/10
He has the transription.
He has 5 Variations.
He changes modes....several times.
He significantly changes time signatures.
Double bar lines are there. And numbers.

5. Formatting: 10/10
A+ Formatting.

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Clanker: 42/50

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1. Orchestration: 7/10
Great! Tad.....just a tad repetitive.

2. Preservation: 8/10
Excellent!

3. Creativity: 8/10
Very Good!

4. Criteria: 10/10
Original Theme is transcribed.
5 Variations are present.
Mode change is present.
4/4 to 6/8....
Variations are numbered.
Double bar lines present.

5. Formatting: 9/10

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FireArrow: 37/50

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1. Orchestration: 10/10
He did a very sweet job at really mixing this orchestration very well!

2. Preservation: 9/10
Preservation of the original is excellent!

3. Creativity: 8/10
Pretty Basic here.

4. Criteria: 0/10
Transcription present.
About 6 variations present.
Major/Minor mode change present.
4/4 > 3/4 isn't very significant.
Variation aren't numbered.
Double Bar lines present.

5. Formatting: 10/10
Again....A+ fromatting

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FierceDiety: 36/50

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1. Orchestration: 8/10
Great Orchestration. A few copy/pastes...

2. Preservation: 10/10
Excellent. Amazing!

3. Creativity: 8/10
Pretty basic. Some are very creative though.

4. Criteria: 0/10
Only 4 variations.
Rest of criteria present.

5. Formatting: 10/10
Outstanding Format.

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them: 47/50

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1. Orchestration: 8/10
Pretty Standard.

2. Preservation: 10/10
Perfect!

3. Creativity: 9/10
Very Creative with every variation.

4. Criteria: 10/10
6 Variations.
Mode Change Present.
Significent Time change present.
Variations are numbered.
Double Bar Lines Present.

5. Formatting: 10/10
Perfect

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Maestro's Scores:

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Olimar: 43/50

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Orchestration:
A very eclectic group, but it works for how you utilized it. Of course it could've just as easily worked for a string quartet, but hey. 8/10

Preservation:
Thanks to the distinct chords progression of the piece you used, it was very easy to tell what was going on with each variation. 9/10

Creativity:
While this was well executed, I didn't think you really went beyond what was expected of you. This came across as more of a textbook example of variations, leaning on the more technical side of the Baroque style. That's a perfectly fine, but it can get a bit same-y if you're not careful.
Var. 1) This was a neat take on the theme, and I think a wise choice as your first variation. Those strong accents really went a long way to establishing it's musical identity. The ending felt like you pulled the E-brake which just killed the moment, though.
2) Your Passacaglia was well done, and a real highlight of the whole work.
3) This one was very Russian, I felt. It also felt like you were fighting against the material to get it to work, especially with those rapid meter changes at the end. Well done, but just not my cup of tea I suppose. The atonality was a nice change of pace, but far too academic for my tastes.
4) Those triplets really knock you off your feet. Not much else for me to comment on as that's really the only thing here.
5) The final variation came across as two, really. You had this long stretch of the material just kind of floating, before you returned to something more fitting of actual Pokemon music. The 2 against 3 ryhthms are always fun. 8/10

Criteria:
You met all of the requirements except for one: you didn't section off the transitional passages. Unless there were none and you just wrote half your variations to just lose themselves at the end. Other than that spot on. 9/10

Formatting:
I would certainly hope you got the formatting correct. But you got your copyright wrong by not crediting the original publisher.  9/10

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Clanker: 39/50

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Orchestration:
You chose to use a band, and I think you used it fairly well. Though there wasn't a lot of color utilized you varied the orchestration for each variation which was nice. Though the copy/paste was a bit overbearing. 7/10

Preservation:
The melody is very clear at all times, almost too much at times. 9/10

Creativity:
You basically just went through each variation like a check for all of the requirements, not to say you did them badly. Overall it felt like the original melody never went anywhere, it was just slightly filtered through these different requirements.
Var. 1) You implemented this sort of mordent figure to the theme, with the snare still going.
2) Super Banjo-Kazooie in feeling. Overall it just felt like you were cramming the theme into 6/8, though.
3) This one you introduced a counter melody, combined with the shift to minor was a nice change of pace.
4) This was hardly a variation, I felt. You just applied a trill at the end of each phrase.
5) You went with a swing take for the final variation, which was a fun finale. It did, however, just feel like the second variation again but with some more zest. 6/10

Criteria:
You met all of the necessary criteria, but your variations weren't properly labelled. You placed text on the page and didn't attach them to measures which resulted in them just floating above the music, not clrealy indicating the variations. Var. 4 was actually above the start of Var 5. 9/10

Formatting:
You've got all the necessary info. However this could've benefitted from hiding the excess staves to make it a bit more readable; and the issue with the varition markers above kind of hurt you. 8/10.

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Them: 43/50

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Orchestration:
You opted to use a solo piano, and for how you used it worked very well. 7/10

Preservation:
The melody was very clear at all times, and with as something as clear and distinct as the mordent in the melody, it really shines through. 9/10

Creativity:
Your choice of solo piano gave you a unique pallate of direction to choose from, and overall I think you did really well with it. You also had each variation lead into the next with no breaks or transitions, giving it an overall sense of cohesion. Your choice to keep the repeats actually worked to your favor, given how short the piece would otherwise be.
Var. 1) The first one put a bit of a spring in your step, feeling like a tango of sorts. The interplay between the melody and harmony create a nice rhythmic texture.
2) You shift to major and just break my heart with that beautiful take on the mordent figure but going into a dimished chord for it. Your B-section here actually moves in E-flat, which was very well done.
3) Ragtime. I mean I suppose every set of piano varitions made since 1905 should have at least one in ragtime, but yours was fairly textbook Joplin.
4) Your move into 12/8 was nice, but it felt more like an excerise in scales for the right hand.
5) Here you kind of tapped into a bit a Beethoven-esque fury. Those strong octaves created a nice countermelody for the runs in the right hand.
6) This seemed more like an alternate take on the original theme rather than a full variation, which is a shame seeing as how you ended with it rather than the one before. 8/10

Criteria:
You hit all the neccessary marks and went one variation further than required. 10/10

Formatting:
You got most of everything, except for the proper copyright. 9/10

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FierceDiety: 34/50

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Orchestration:
You opted to use a symphonic orehstra and demonstarted an excellent control and command of the beast. You knew what you were using and used it well, though the actual coloring of the work could been more varied, I feel. Db, however, is a nasty key for the orchestra at large, so a transpiotion would've served this piece far better. 9/10

Preservation:
One of the benfits of choosing such a lyrical theme is that it should always shine through no matter what you do to it. And shine on it did. 10/10

Creativity:
Overall the work felt like it developed organically and the variations came across more as thematic transformation, which is so much more sastifying in this context.
Var. 1) You shifted into minor at the start and remained there for most of the piece, which was an interesting direction. Here you largely just treated the mode change as the end-all for the variation, with an added countermelody for contrast.
2) The second finally has some playing with the melody, and it seems like you saved some of you creative energies from the first variation and put them all here.
3) A shift in 4/4, and it seems like your inner Beethoven wanted to creep out, heavily filtered through the temperament of Brahms, with a pit stop through Kirkhope. This is the real climax of the piece and leads rather well in to the finale.
4) Back into Major, and with a real nice overall grandioso section. It was a wonderful finale, it gave great closer that called back to the opening. Gives the work a very Liszt-ian kind of structure.
5) Inapplicable. 8/10

Criteria:
You missed a variation, and they weren't clearly marked and as such I can't give you anything but a zero. It's a shame too because this was rather well done, overall. 0/10

Formatting:
All the necessary components are there except for the copyright. Also, you've got text just strewn over the score on page 11. Some of those empty staves could've been optimized and your variations weren't clearly marked. 7/10

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Bloop: 45/50

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Orchestration:
You went with a full orchestra, but took it in a more modern direction but having each variation call for different forces within the orchestra. Overall it was an interesting approach and gave each variation its own flavor. 9/10

Preservation:
Your choice of such a short, yet distinct piece meant you had to take care to make sure it was recognizable in all of its guises. And it was, good work. 10/10

Creativity:
The nature of the piece and your orchestration direction gave it an overall Prokofiev-esque tone with each variation. However, given how short this piece is and you variations in turn are, you never really explored or expanded on the ideas within the theme. While changing the context of the theme is very appropriate for theme and variations, you also need to change the theme itself in some respect.
1) You introduced a percussion element that would remain throughout the piece, though you didn't really alter the piece, just added a harmony.
2) A fairly standard march variation, but you didn't real do much with the theme yet again, just removed the ornaments.
3) You shifted to 12/8 and created an unsettling backing to the theme, and it created an unearthly feel. The melody finally sees some real development as it kind of slides all over the place above this backing.
4) You shifted into major, 4/4, and while short saw some real interesting takes on the chord progression.
5) Return to minor and now in 5/4. This was your most inventive variation as this meter had you warping the melody into what could only be described as some sort of funeral dirge.
6) You tap into another element from the game and gave this one a more programatic feel.
7) You choose to end it all with what can only be considered a music semi-colon. It makes the work as a whole feel incomplete and it unfortunately takes away from it all. 6/10

Criteria:
You met all the necessary criteria and went beyond with 2 additional variations. 10/10

Formatting:
Your score is formatted well and even optimized for ease of reading. 10/10

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FireArrow: 32/50

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Orchestration:
You went with a perculiar chamber group, A sort of Violin and Wind Ouartet. A different choice, but one that worked for this rather lighthearted piece. However you need to watch some of those ranges, especially that low horn. You also include the violin for only one variation, but given how short it all is it's mostly forgivable. 9/10

Preservation:
The theme was present and clear at all times, and given the nature of how bouncy and bouyant the original it makes it hard to hide it. 9/10

Creativity:
Overall I feel the work comes across as "I'm trying to do alot of things, but I'm not show how or the best way to do them."
1) Your first hardly counts as a variation, you just reworked the rhythm of the bass line and gave the melody to the clarinet.
2) A fairly standard waltz, and introduces the violin. Kind of bland, overall, but competent.
3) Here you almost give us a canon/fugue, and while that would've been neat to see, you just settle on a melody and counterpoint and leave it at that.
4) You shift into G minor and you try again to tap into a Bach fugue, but again you just give up on it. Your coda seems to want to give it all a sense of closure, but it seems to just end mid-thought.
5) Inapplicable 6/10

Criteria:
Your variations were not labelled and you only had four variations. I'm sorry but I have to give you a zero. 0/10

Formatting:
No copyright on the score, but it is formatted well. 8/10

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Popular Vote:
Olimar: +8
FierceDiety: +8
Bloop: +6
them: +4
Clanker: +0
FireArrow: +0

Penalties:
FireArrow: Late - 5

Final Scores!
FireArrow: 64pts
FierceDiety: 78pts
Clanker: 81pts
them: 94pts
Bloop: 96pts

And the winner is....

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Olimar: 100pts

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As winner you've won $10 in fun bucks to the digital store of your choice! Contact me about what you want and I'll make it happen.

Once again congratulations to all who played. Now let's all talk about our favorites and why!

[mikey]

Fierce's was my favorite cause his was the best

[MaestroUGC]

My favorite is a tie between Fierce's and them's.

[Sebastian]

My favorite is a tie between Fierce's and them's.

My Favorites were Fierce's, Olimar's and them's.
Darn Fierce, you could of won if you would've had enough variations.....

Great Job to all!!!!! 

[FierceDeity]

Lol there were 5.

[Maelstrom]

Wow, them! What an incredible job for someone so new here!

[Bloop]

Nice job everyone, and congratulations Olimar! Too bad for some of the 0 points on some, but oh well. All should be proud!

let's see for fierce's
double barlines indicate;
1 - m. 46
2 - m. 91
3 - m. 131
4 - m. 179
5 - m. 231
i call for recounting fierce doesn't deserve this

My favorite has to be a tie between Fierce and Olimar. Again, good job!

[Olimar12345]

Yay, I won! :D Great job, everyone!


Couple of after thoughts:

@Maestro: I'm totally knit-picking here, but the point I was deducted for formatting was wrongfully so. The formatting section in the OP specifies NOTHING about copyright info. lol, I even made a post about it way before the judging took place, if you can remember:

I would like to remind our judges (particularly our newer ones) about the freedom of the formatting section. Since these arrangements are in no way going to be hosted on the main site, G-Han's formatting guidelines in the submission board don't apply here. Only grade for the fields specified in the quote above, which comes from the op. (Wouldn't want to repeat mistakes from the past d: )

Lol it's just like that time I got points taken off for not having the site url on my piece! History repeats itself!


@FierceDeity: Here comes that "perception" argument again! If measure 46 was meant to be a variation, I think it failed. I heard it more as a repeat of the theme, just orchestrated a little more, which is probably what the judges thought too.

[FierceDeity]

@FierceDeity: Here comes that "perception" argument again! If measure 46 was meant to be a variation, I think it failed. I heard it more as a repeat of the theme, just orchestrated a little more, which is probably what the judges thought too.

Lol I'm not even gonna bother responding to this, because from maestro himself, that's not what they're talking about, and even if it were, it's hardly enough to justify a 0 for criteria. Though I do agree with you on the formatting.

[Maelstrom]

- You must have a minimum of 5 variations. Anything less will result in a score of "0".

[FierceDeity]

rephrase:

it's hardly enough to justify a 0 for criteria argue that it's not a variation

Not that I particularly care at this point, I wouldn't win anyways, and I still had fun writing the piece. It's just hilarious that both maestro and MLF somehow came to the same conclusion that the third variation wasn't even labeled despite it being clearly labeled.

[Olimar12345]

^They wanted more than a double barline. They wanted each variation to be labeled "Var.1," "Variation 4" and such, as they usually are in theme and variation pieces.

[FierceDeity]

Lol so I take it you also haven't actually looked at it

Though come to think of it, from the judging itself you would think that variation I was the issue, but in PM maestro said something completely different
Rofl

[MaestroUGC]

I can't speak for how MLF come to his judging, but when reviewing and re-reviewing your entry, I can't say that your supposed "Variation 3" is even a variation in and of itself. Sure, you changed the orchestration, but as I explained to you it came across more as a continuation of the shift to minor rather than a full on change of the theme.

Basically I feel like you didn't do enough to call it different from your second variation.

[SlowPokemon]

Congrats everyone!! Enjoy your reward!!!