Arrangement Contest No. 7 in D-double-flat minor "Seasoning"

[fingerz]

I'm on it! I'll have my verdict ready in a couple of days.

[Olimar12345]

Really wish I had done this, but oh well. I'll still ms paint up either an avatar or sig image for the winner if they want one!

[Latios212]

Oh yeah, voting ended. Oops.

I'll still ms paint up either an avatar or sig image for the winner if they want one!

Yes we need this. d:

Results will be announced...

Spoiler

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[fingerz]

Fun fact: all four original recordings of the chosen works have the melody played by a high-pitched instrument; either flute or ocarina. I guess that's a requirement to be chosen for seasonification.

[MaestroUGC]

Probably because the flute has an inherent rustic feel that conjures up more pastoral imagery to mind for most listeners.

[Latios212]

At long last, here we go!

All the scores in the "Total" section" are averages of the scores from the four judges, with the exception of popular vote, which is 15, 12, 9, or 6 points for first through fourth place respectively.

Bloop

Yug Guy

Criteria - 15/15
You did a good job differentiating each of the seasons. Each season had its own unique "feel" to it, leaving no guesswork as to which season was which. My favorite section was probably the dormant and dreary Winter section, since I believed it best represented it's particular season via the lens of a tree.

Creativity - 13/15
I really like the nods to different songs from the Zelda series; it allows each season to have a counter-melody that gives them their each personal flair. Though, they could be a little overbearing at times. Also, props for the 5/4 section.

Preservation – 7/10
Even though I love your use of different songs creative-wise, it sometimes doesn't shine through when talking about preservation of the original song, Lost Woods from OoT. There are points where Lost Woods seems to get lost behind some of these other melodies; I'll point out LttP's Lost Wood's theme as a prime example of this. Nonetheless, you still did a good job preserving the original theme for (most of) the piece.

Orchestration – 9/10
The orchestration serves each season very well, though I feel like the ocarina and piano were used a tiny bit too much. Get creative with the instruments!

Presentation – 10/10
Not much to say here; the sheet looks clean and polished. Easy points.

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mastersuperfan

Criteria - 12/15
A lot of this is very well-done; I especially liked winter, with the slow and somber atmosphere. I think the main problem here is that your other three seasons sound very similar at some parts, especially measures 86-103 of spring, which sounds especially close to autumn. The slow part of summer also sounds quite similar to autumn. Regardless, there is something unique to each season that distinguishes for at least part of it.

Creativity - 13/15
This is very creative, overall! The seasons are connected together flawlessly, and I especially love parts like the 5/4 section you added. I think you could still do a little more with the main theme than what you did. Vary the original theme not just by pitch and rhythm, but also by structure. Make it repeat a certain part, add a certain extra section, or take something out. Do something more unexpected, perhaps! I also thought the countermelodies in summer were a bit odd, mainly because there were times where they sounded like they should have been in sync but were desynced, even though you deliberately intended the different rhythms.

Preservation – 10/10
I don't have much to say here; you preserved the theme very well, keeping it recognizable in all instances while varying it quite a bit. Like I said, I think you could do a little more with the original theme, but I already acknowledged that in Creativity.

Orchestration – 8/10
The orchestration is good, and you arranged for the instruments well, though there were some points when I felt it was a little heavy. In addition, that same heavy orchestration was reused a few times throughout, such as in autumn and spring, which made the seasons sound much more similar to each other.

Presentation – 10/10
Overall, the presentation is very nice and easily readable. There are tons of articulations and dynamics, making it very easy for players to understand how to perform the piece. The parts are perfectly playable (at least, I didn't find anything that isn't playable). One thing I will say is that measures 38-49, in the winter section, confused me a little bit, since the time signature sounded different than how it was written, but I think switching time signatures could also be rather inconvenient, so I'll be nice here.

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BrainyLucario

Criteria - 12/15
I felt like the seasons were represented fairly okay, but some of the seasons were not that distinguishable to me. Winter was very obvious, though.

Creativity - 13/15
It was a pretty creative piece in my opinion, but i felt it had a few areas that didn't really vary at all from the original song.

Preservation – 10/10
I can clearly hear the original song in the arrangement.

Orchestration - 9/10
Very nice instrument choices. I felt like the ocarina was a very nice choice for this sheet. It really gives the sheet a whimsical feel to it. The violins were also a very nice touch! They made the arrangement extremely pleasing to the ear.

Presentation - 10/10
Very easy to read and looks playable by a reasonable intermediate player.

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fingerz

Criteria - 13/15
Great work, Bloop! Each season is clearly distinguishable and has its own unique character and blend of melodies. The transitions between all seasons were smooth and effortless. Using the original melody as Autumn and transitioning into Winter was an excellent musical choice! Spring was such a lovely surprise as well; the image of curious little flowers budding came into mind. I feel like Summer didn't really match its seasonal representation as well as the others but it was still very effective.

Creativity - 12/15
Creativity galore with this one! I'm a huge fan of smart people who morph two tunes into one, so good job. It gave you a little more material than the original 30 seconds of Lost Woods! The integration of Forest Temple in Winter was very sensitive and perfect for the kind of atmosphere required. Combining both versions of Lost Woods from 'A Link to the Past' and 'Ocarina of Time' was simply beautiful. Nothing more to be said there! The Hyrule Field combination for Summer worked really well most of the time. Bars 130 to 137 weren't so great – those melodies are so different in tonality that it sounds incredibly dissonant. Other than that, it all sounded great!

Preservation – 9/10
The original melody was clearly distinguishable in all seasons and the combination of that with other melodies was an excellent idea. You've done a masterful job at that! I would like to point out that although you did a marvellous job at preserving the original theme, you were bordering on a bit too much repetition. The 5/4 section in Spring felt like an unnecessary repetition of the theme. If you'd done the whole movement in 5/4 or added something else to make it different, it wouldn't have seemed like that. Also, the very ending of Summer was a great way to lead back to Autumn, but if you're going to have the whole suite repeat (there ARE repeat signs at the very end of your piece), there's no real need to restate the theme again.* This is just my opinion, though. I liked it all, I just have to find something to judge...
*(Repeat signs were added in by accident. - Latios)

Orchestration – 8/10
The instruments chosen for your piece were complimentary and true to the original piece and allowed for a great range of diversity throughout all the different seasons. My eyes went fairly wide when I spotted an acoustic bass in there and even wider when I heard it playing during slow majestic parts. An interesting choice indeed... Anyway, the use of fuller and lighter sections in the works provided excellent contrast, e.g. just the piano and strings towards the end of Winter was very nice! Some of the parts where most of the ensemble is playing were bordering on the stodgy side of things but, if balanced correctly, would probably sound really good. For the type of performance this would be (probably an orchestral performance), your instrumentation throughout the different seasons was well thought-out. Well done!

Presentation – 7/10
Your piece meets all the formatting guidelines, so thanks for that. It means I don't have to remove points for silly errors. It's just a personal thing but making your score landscape instead of portrait will make it all look neater and far easier to read and follow. I was literally turning a page every few seconds at one point, so just a heads up! Your tempo, dynamic and articulation markings are well-placed and very clear to read. I would recommend writing what you did at the start of Winter in the strings (tremolo swell and simile) at bar 59 again just to make sure it's clear that they're meant to do that. Also, you should have a new tempo marking at bar 171 (end of Summer) so it's known what tempo to slow down to and if you want a consistent speed from then to the end. Oh, just a pro tip, never write 8va in woodwind parts; we don't mind reading ledger lines (sorry, I'm a clarinettist). All the parts across the orchestra look very playable, so well done for that too!

In conclusion, an excellent cycle of seasons, Bloop! I would most certainly put this in my listening playlist along with all the other Zelda songs I have, so excellent work on making it so catchy and interesting to listen to!

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Total

Criteria: 13/15
Creativity: 12.75/15
Preservation: 9/10
Orchestration: 8.5/10
Presentation: 9.25/10
Popular Vote: 9/15 (Tied for third place)

Total: 61.5/75

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InsigTurtle

Yug Guy

Criteria - 13/15
Each season is represented very well. It was interesting to see some of the choices you made with each season, such as the string orchestra for spring, or the calypso theme for summer. Overall, very well done.

Creativity - 13/15
Again, very well done. Each theme felt like a separate entity, and not the same theme droning on over and over again. Though, the piece does feel a little slow overall.

Preservation – 9/10
Each season gives its own variation of the main melody, changing it in subtle ways throughout the piece.

Orchestration – 10/10
I love the orchestration in this piece. Each instrument brings something new to the table, without overwhelming the rest of the theme as a whole. You also made some very surprising and interesting picks with your instrument choices, which I believe helped the piece more than harm it.

Presentation – 10/10
Easy points.

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mastersuperfan

Criteria - 14/15
Your seasons are each so distinct and memorable! You really portrayed a unique side to each season (the somberness and change in weather in fall, the holiday season of winter, the rebirth of life in spring, and the relaxation of the Animal Crossing-esque summer). I do think that perhaps your seasons could have a little bit more development and progression with themselves, but their atmosphere and uniqueness are near flawless.

Creativity - 10/15
The seasons are quite creative in that you don't draw from the main character of the season (e.g. the bleak and cold nature of winter), but instead a more unique and underrated aspect of the season (the holiday season of winter) that people don't tend to think of in portraying the season in music. As I mentioned in Criteria, I think you could progressed and fleshed out more from each of your seasons, because they didn't really go anywhere, but stayed almost the same for the whole time. I also think you could have done more with the original theme, since it kept a relatively similar rhythm throughout the entire piece.

Preservation – 8/10
While the theme is preserved and fit into the seasons nicely most of the time, there are quite a few locations where the theme dies out for a while and is forgotten. I think, even though your references to other PMD themes are great, those references hindered the emphasis on the original melody from Through the Sea of Time.

Orchestration – 9/10
The orchestration is amazing, especially with the unique way you portrayed each season. For example, the jazzy instruments and the percussion perfectly match winter and easily make it stand out, while still managing to make the season so distinguishable. I do think the string tremolos in spring don't quite fit, however.

Presentation – 8/10
Your header is vague and plain, with everything unlabeled. For example, it lists the composers, but you haven't marked that they are the composers. Same goes for your name as the arranger. For the most part the notation itself is clear, but the score lacked some articulations that I think would make it more easily interpretable. In addition, you use a lot of unnecessary ties. For example you tie together eighth notes on beats 1.5 and 2, and on beats 3.5 and 4, when it would take up less space and be easier to read as a quarter note instead. There are also a few parts where your measures are quite cramped, such as near the end. However, while it may not be the most visually appealing, those aspects don't hinder the readability by much, and the music is still quite clear and interpretable.

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BrainyLucario

Criteria - 15/15
The seasonal arrangements really felt and sounded like the season they were. The seasons were clearly distinguishable from each other, and on top of that, each season really felt unique. It was like a whole new song every season. Bravo!

Creativity - 14/15
The creativity was decent for your orchestration. I could clearly hear and distinguish your creative touch on the piece.

Preservation - 8/10
I felt like you left of some parts of the song that could have been used to your advantage, like the beginning of the original song. Other than that, great preservation!

Orchestration - 10/10
Your use of string instruments like violins and guitars really made the orchestration have pizzazz. The percussion and woodwind instruments really complimented each other, as well!

Presentation - 10/10
The presentation of this piece is perfectly fine. I can easily make out everything and nothing is over complicated. Well done.

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fingerz

Criteria - 14/15
Now THIS is a work of art! I absolutely adore the different personalities of each season and how contrasting they are as well. Autumn is just breath-taking; you can literally see the leaves cascading around you. Very sentimental and nicely done! Your interpretation of Winter is very different to what I imagined it would be, and I'm glad. I can see cosy little Pokémon tucked up in bed on a dark snowy night whilst Jazz music wafts around the streets. This is strangely reminiscent of Spinda's Café... Spring brings a completely different mood; a Classical touch that's warm, rich and every-so-slightly humerous! Summer takes me to the beach near town where there's talk of the adventures that were had nearly a year ago. It's beautiful, InsigTurtle! I'm supposed to be judging and instead I come out with a story for your pieces. I guess it deserves good marks for criteria then, doesn't it?

Creativity - 13/15
The creativity runs high in this one! You haven't stated the theme in its original form and I personally don't think you need to. Autumn displays enough of what this piece is about anyway. The order of your seasons makes complete sense and they complement each other very well. I do like how each of the seasons is a complete piece in itself; you could either listen to them as a whole or separately. The stylistic elements required of the specific genres you've written for are there and that makes the seasons sound so authentic. Your seasons aren't just variations on the melody, too, as you've intertwined a lot of extra material that works fabulously well!
I only have a couple of things to critique in terms of material. Winter is very snazzy and extremely catchy but at times you have three instruments playing the melody (clarinet, alto sax and violin). There's not really a problem with this but after hearing the melody played a couple of times, a countermelody would be much appreciated. It'll give your piece even more flare! Also, the flute and vibe melody in Summer becomes a little tedious before the reiteration of the theme. This may be due to too much new material, not enough variety or both. You've created a lovely sound there, but to keep things interesting you'll need to spice it up a little! Apart from those pointers, I think you've done a marvellous job!

Preservation - 10/10
The original theme is clearly recognisable in all four of your seasons and has been integrated masterfully into the different styles. You've created a fine balance of repetition and original material to keep the listener interested and entertained. Not that this is a huge thing but you always started your pieces from the beginning of the original theme. You should try starting from a different phrase and see where it takes you, just to be extra creative! Not everything has to start from the beginning, does it? That being said, I'm only suggesting. You've done a fantastic job, so I can't complain.

Orchestration - 9/10
Your choice of instruments for each season was sublime! The rich, warm colours of woodwinds and strings for both Autumn and Spring worked exceptionally well. The piano was quite a feature in the first two seasons so it was an excellent idea to have the last two without; everything doesn't have to revolve around the piano, does it? Your use of percussion was great; not too much but enough to add variety and interest. The alto sax gave Winter its Jazzy vibe, although I thought it was a little weird to have it in Autumn when you've got all those lovely timbres. Not to say Classical saxophonists can't play beautifully (I'm a saxophonist, so I can make fun) but I'd think maybe an English horn or bassoon would've suited much better. And, as I've said before, your small ensemble for Summer is very authentic but might've needed another player to keep the interest levels up near the end. I mean, you could've added a guitar solo, right? Guitarists ALWAYS take solos! (I'm joking, please don't add a guitar solo...)

Presentation - 7/10
You've got all the requirements for formatting, so all's good there. I reckon you'd benefit from having the score in landscape rather than portrait; you can fit a lot more on horizontally and it looks MUCH nicer. You've got a few pages that only have half the page utilised so landscape would be more suitable. It also means I won't end up skipping a whole lot of bars because there's another line crammed in down the bottom when I just thought it was more instruments! Your articulation and dynamics look fine; just keep in mind that if you've got countless bars of the same thing happening in the percussion section (parts of Winter and the whole of Summer), you can use slash notation to imply repetition of that material. A percussionist will ask for you to do that for that if they were going to play it. Be mindful of your calligraphy, too. The alto sax part in Winter isn't the most sight-readable thing purely due to two tied quavers that could just be a crotchet and beaming issues across beats. AND HOLY COW, GET RID OF THAT GUITAR TAB!! Only the musically illiterate use TAB, so wipe your score of that immediately! Otherwise, everything looks great! I'd totally play this piece!

In conclusion, well done on this fabulous cycle, InsigTurtle! You've put together quite a unique selection of styles to make such an entertaining collection of pieces to listen to! I'll be listening to it for a long time to come.

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Total

Criteria: 14/15
Creativity: 12.5/15
Preservation: 8.75/10
Orchestration: 9.5/10
Presentation: 8.75/10
Popular Vote: 9/15 (Tied for third place)

Total: 62.5/75

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[Latios212]

MaestroUGC

Yug Guy

Criteria - 12/15
While I love your Spring, Fall, and Winter melodies, I have to admit: your Summer piece just does not sound like a Summer song. Within the context of Banjo-Kazooie it might work But as a piece representative of summer as a whole? I don't think it quite hits the mark.

Creativity - 14/15
Why does it have to be so long? (Not that I'm docking you for it) Each movement is different from one another, and contains lots of variation, even within each movement. There are one or two sections that I think work that well, but it's balanced by all of the other amazing sections throughout the piece.

Preservation - 10/10
Yes.

Orchestration - 10/10
Yes.

Presentation - 10/10
Yes.

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mastersuperfan

Criteria - 12/15
Although they have their titles, the seasons aren't clearly labeled themselves, which was required in the guidelines, and this caused me quite a bit of confusion involving the summer theme, because when I heard "Night of the Witches," I thought it was your winter theme... While the other three seasons are quite recognizable, "Night of the Witches" is completely uncharacteristic for summer. I read the description of your YouTube video and understood why you wrote summer the way you did, but it's a rather obscure reference. Though I love your summer theme, it just doesn't fit summer at all, unless taken in the very specific context of the game's story.

Creativity - 15/15
I can tell that a huge amount of work went into this. Everything sounds amazing musically, and I really don't have any reason to give this lower than a perfect score in this category.

Preservation - 10/10
I think it's amazing how you've managed to preserve the theme without changing it too much, and without overusing it to a great degree. It always seems to be there, but there are often times where I don't even notice at first that what you've arranged is the original theme. Somehow, you manage to keep it fresh every time. I'd say a great deal of this comes from the variety of melodies from the original theme, which helps to switch up the arrangement without straying too far from the original theme.

Orchestration - 10/10
...Uh, I got nothing to say about this. It's excellent. Though, your choice of instruments doesn't really fit summer as a season, but I already addressed that in Criteria, so here I'm judging your instrumentation for the atmosphere that you've tried to create... and you've done it perfectly.

Presentation - 9/10
For the most part, it looks quite nice and isn't hard to interpret, but there could be a few more articulations. And, uh, I know musicians should be able to read ledger lines, but I think maybe you used too many at some parts... An 8va would've been more preferable in those situations. Apart from those, though, it's very easily readable and interpretable. (Your staff size is tiny, but there isn't really a workaround to that since you have so many instruments.)

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BrainyLucario

Criteria - 14/15
The variations represented each season well, and were clearly distinguishable from one another.

Creativity - 15/15
I think it's obvious here that you were really creative with this sheet. Even the names of each season showed just how creative you were.

Preservation - 9/10
You preserved this sheet really well. It sounded a lot like the original, but with a lot of creative touches.

Orchestration - 9/10
The orchestration was phenomenal. The only problem I have with it was that sometimes the instruments overwhelmed me at some points, but that's just me.

Presentation - 9/10
The arrangement is well organized and is clearly legible. The difficulty might be a bit up there but it's not too challenging.

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fingerz

Criteria - 15/15
You never fail to please, Maestro! I was VERY excited when I saw you were writing a piece for this, especially since you withdrew from the last one. I was looking forward to hearing 'Yoshi's Story' bossified... Anyway, utterly gobsmacking job! Thanks for the program notes, too; I was completely prepared for all the changes and what they implied. Each of your variations are extremely distinct and unique. They represent their seasons perfectly; Spring comes around and the village comes to life with beauty and intrigue; the endless heat of Summer casts a gloomy picture only to be worsened by the coming tragedy; Autumn is filled with games and merriment as the king himself comes to watch (victory, yay!); Winter brings a lovely conclusion to the end of a busy year and makes us wonder what will come the following year. Love it! Top marks!

Creativity - 15/15
There are 34 pages and 24 minutes-worth of creativity in this masterpiece! You most certainly go well beyond the criteria with this cycle. Each of your seasons has plenty of new material intertwined with the original melody to add plenty of variety. You made the right choice in terms of choosing this melody; it has a lot to offer and is extremely catchy. Anyway, you have so many gorgeous parts in your cycle! I love the ending for Spring and Winter with the interchanging triplets and then quaver lines between instruments. Summer is fantastic; the interlacing cello part makes the piece, I reckon. That whole movement is just beautiful! The majestic part in Autumn (where the king enters) is really something, too. It's all so good! Top marks again!

Preservation - 10/10
You've done a masterful job at preserving the melody too; it's been used quite a lot in your piece but because you've orchestrated and incorporated it different all the time, it never becomes stale. It worked seamlessly when you rhythmically altered the melody or put it into another time, too. The chord progression for this song is an interesting and not-so-stereotypical one so you've been able to play around with that a bit and I like it, like prolonging some of the changes to draw out passages in Summer and Winter. I've never played 'Banjo-Tooie' or heard any of the music before this, so I apologise if there were other references that I didn't pick up on, but excellent work there! Your transitions from melody to other material (or prolongation) and back again worked exceptionally well, too. Top marks again again!

Orchestration - 10/10
Excellent choice of instruments for your cycle; an orchestra always works! I could literally take this to the Monash Academy Orchestra and have them play this and it would sound sublime! You basically worked with the same pallet of instruments in every movement, but it was the frequency and combination of them that gave each season its unique sound. I'd say you're a natural at writing for the orchestra; excellent pairing of timbres for melody and to create a particular colour. The one that stood out the most for me was the strings with the oboe, English horn and bassoon in Summer. Just gorgeous! Your writing gave the movements pace and momentum when they needed it; reducing to a smaller group of instruments and then exploding to the full orchestra again. It was very entertaining to listen to all the different combinations of sound throughout your movements. I can't give you anything but top marks again, Maestro! Stop being so good!

Presentation - 9/10
Your cycle meets all the formatting requirements and you've included rehearsal markings as well, so thank you for being so thorough. Tempo markings, dynamics and articulation are accounted for in every part. It takes A LOT of work to ensure it's all there for every musician, especially when you're doing something as big as this! I reckon this wouldn't be terribly hard for an orchestra to play, actually. You could give it to a professional one and they'd probably play it near-perfect on the first attempt, given they have a good conductor. I reckon it ticks all the boxes for that too, so well done!
I have to find something to wrinkle my nose at, so here are just a couple of things I found that I don't particularly like. The names of your trumpet and French horn parts are correctly labelled but the numbering system wasn't turned off, so you've ended up with Hn. 1-2 1 and Hn. 3-4 2 instead of Hn. 1-2 and Hn. 3-4. Not a huge deal, but I should bring it up. I'm not a huge fan of the cross-beat beaming of quavers such as bar 4 in Spring in the double bass parts. Also, please check your grouping of quavers in the string section at letter B in Spring. People get brain tumours when they see that (or I do at least) and you've written it correctly from letter A in Summer, so just be wary of that. I'd make the smaller rests in the timpani part into dotted quaver rests in bar 88 of Spring and so on just to look neat. Damn, you had a dotted crotchet rest in there at one point and I can't find it now... You weren't in compound time, so don't use that. Thanks! I think your score looks perfectly fine in portrait orientation, actually. It might be nice if you put tram tracks between the different sections of the score if you have more than one line on a page, though. I ended up backtracking a number of times because I didn't see the next part further down the page. Most orchestral score books have those to make it easier to follow, so if I'm not making sense, just have a look in one of those.

Well, that's all from me! I have no musicality advice for you because yours is perfect! All I can say is absolutely stunning job, Maestro. Make sure you participate more often; it's a pleasure to be able to listen to your work.

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Total

Criteria: 13.25/15
Creativity: 14.75/15
Preservation: 9.75/10
Orchestration: 9.75/10
Presentation: 9.25/10
Popular Vote: 15/15 (First place)

Total: 71.75/75

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Oronoco

Yug Guy

Criteria - 12/15
Each movement represents its season well.

Creativity - 14/15
I certainly wasn't expecting a vocal section with lyrics in any of these pieces! Nor was I expecting a horn section either. Your creativity really shines in this piece.

Preservation - 9/10
I'll be honest: I listened to the original piece before listening to yours and it failed to make a significant impression on me melody-wise. Any trouble I had trying to identify the original melody I blame on the original piece and not you.

Orchestration - 10/10
The instrumentation of this piece helps to cement the identity of each movement, with few instruments from one movement carrying over to another. Despite the limited scope, each section still feels complete.

Presentation - 8/10
I understand the technical difficulties you encountered while making this piece. However, I still have one gripe: during certain sections, you have parts labelled either piano or pianissimo, which is fine for live performances. But, while listening to the MP3, I had to turn the volume way up to hear certain parts. Otherwise, the presentation is good.

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mastersuperfan

Criteria - 11/15
The variations are quite distinct from each other, which is good, but I'm having a difficult time hearing autumn and summer as their seasons. (I don't think we meant that kind of fall!) Spring and winter are well-characterized, though (winter especially).


Creativity - 14/15
This is... very creative, to say the least. Changing time signature, the use of varying rhythms, the tempo changes, the dramatic atmospheres... It's well-done!


Preservation - 7/10
You've varied the theme a lot, so much to the extent that I'm having trouble hearing out the original theme in quite a few places. The relative pitches and rhythms are still easily recognizable in a good amount of sections, even with your creative variations, so it's not bad. The level of originality you went to on this, though, does hinder the preservation in some spots.


Orchestration - 7/10
The instrumentation characterizes the seasons very well in the spring and winter arrangements; however, I think that trumpets may not be the most optimal choice for the summer arrangement. In addition, the instruments in the autumn arrangement don't really characterize the season at all (wrong "fall"?), especially since you've limited yourself so much on the amount of instruments. With the relatively small amount of instruments that you have, though, you've used them quite well.


Presentation - 8/10
The text descriptions are very clear, although I would suggest marking the list of composers as composers, and your name as the arranger, since they're left as unlabeled names. You have a very good amount of articulations, which are creatively used to demonstrate how you want it to be played, with accents clearly marking your intentions. I think that also may be a bit too many ledger lines for the violin part; an 8va might be better. One big thing that hinders the presentation is that on the spring arrangement, only three instruments are listed in the first system, with two more instruments being introduced in the second system; however, they're left completely unlabeled, and by simply glancing at the score I can't tell what they are. The same thing happens in the autumn arrangement, but that affects it less since it's only the vocal part, and it's pretty obvious it's singing.

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BrainyLucario

Criteria - 15/15
Each variation was both seasonally representative and distinguishable from one another.

Creativity - 13/15
The orchestration was littered with your own personal touch. I'm surprised to say that your orchestration is occasionally better than the original ever could be.

Preservation - 10/10
The original could and is clearly heard through the piece, you did a very nice job in preserving it!

Orchestration - 8/10
The piece was well orchestrated. Some points in the song, i felt like some of the instruments clashed, but this happened very rarely. I especially like the winter variation!

Presentation - 10/10
The sheet is clearly readable and is neat. The difficulty is also easy enough for an average player to easily play. Well done!

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fingerz

Criteria - 14/15
Wow, if you write like this all the time, Oronoco, I want to hear more of your stuff! This is seriously impressive and incredibly effective. It's light-hearted yet chilling to listen to as well (Autumn in particular). You've definitely captured the essence of each season; Spring is fragments of everything starting up again after the long Winter, Summer comes along in its harsh yet grand form, Autumn leads to the inevitable descent into the chilly clutches of Winter, which ends up being not such a bad Winter after all! I must say, I find Summer a bit hard to relate to (doesn't sound all that Summer-ish to me), but it's incredibly contrasting to the others and fits the bill, so no problems there! Outstanding work, indeed.

Creativity - 15/15
SO MUCH CREATIVITY! In fact, I'd say your piece is literally bursting with fantastic ideas! The original theme isn't incredibly pervasive in yours and I really like it! We get snippets of small sections of it all throughout. It only really comes to the centre of attention in Winter and parts of Autumn which are done tastefully. The interplay between instruments in all four of your movements is fantastic; at times they sing together, other times they sing to complement each other. The brass and string with flute quartets sound superb when you've got a number of those independent voices going at the same time! Just make sure you give it space to breath; there are a couple of times in those movements where it's a bit much. Autumn was chilling to the bone... By the end of it, I was speechless; definitely the climax of the cycle. You could almost get up and dance along until everything came crashing down. I loved the lyrics, too, especially now that I understand the concept behind the tilting planet. Your thematicism (I'm making that a word) is impeccable! Winter was an interesting turn of events; I thought we were in for another chilling piece and then it lightened up and sounded like a real Christmas jingle! What a fantastic way to conclude your masterpiece!

Preservation - 7/10
Now, although I said I liked the hints of original melody shining through, I have to be rather critical of it when I looking from a judging perspective. 'Celebration of Peace' is actually comprised of its main theme and bits from others in the game too, so you've had a lot to work with. I think you've done an impressive job at weaving the melody and other aspects of it into Autumn and Winter without making it too pervasive, but I think Spring and Summer are lacking slightly. It wouldn't be such a big deal if Spring had more of the original melody in it, but it doesn't... Well, I'll rephrase that; if you were having this played to a crowd of Pokémon Mystery dungeon fans, I don't think they'd be able to pinpoint the exact song this was based around until Autumn. You have parts in the flute that are reminiscent of it, but I don't think it's enough. If you'd announced the original theme once or twice in Spring, it might have solved this. Don't worry, I'm only suggesting such things. I personally think your suite is amazing and doesn't need any modifying at all (so please don't touch it!), but to fulfil the scoresheet completely, consider taking this up.

Orchestration - 10/10
Good golly, your selection of instruments for each season is absolutely amazing!! The string quartet and flute for Spring was perfect for capturing the feeling of a new arrival; lush sounds supporting the flute on top. The extended techniques were a great touch too, adding lots of character and interest. The opening literally makes me think of a flower bud opening to the first lights of Spring. A brass quintet has a lot of power and richness behind it, creating a great atmosphere for Summer. Finale has a habit of making the lower brass sound like giant farts (I laughed the first time), but even then, it didn't affect the feel of the piece. I'd love to hear it played by an actual brass quintet to hear how majestic it sounds! The piano and voice for Autumn was just perfect; a lovely contrast to the ensembles previously heard. It would also be a real treat to hear this performed. I think I'd end up crying if I did... The string orchestra and handbells were an excellent choice for Winter and definitely provided the right atmosphere; I could literally hear Santa! Oh wait, that was the sleigh bells... Anyway, impeccable selection of instruments that further complimented your already-fabulous work. Top marks!

Presentation - 8/10
You have all the required formatting for this contest, so no marks deducted there for you. You've even got rehearsal numbers! People really could play this! And it is indeed playable. I wouldn't go as far as saying sight-readable, but it'd come together nicely after a number of rehearsals. Your use of dynamics, articulation and tempo markings is fantastic! I'd give it a big tick if that was given to me to play. Oh, your score isn't too cramped and is set out nicely in portrait orientation, but I still think landscape would be better. Winter is especially awkward; I was turning pages like no tomorrow to keep up with it.
Also, some of your notation could be a little better, especially for reading purposes. You have an impossible 4 beats in a ¾ bar in the cello part at bar 18 of Spring. I'm impressed Finale allowed that! Try not to beam over beats that makes the musician have to think about what they're playing; it just looks messy as well. I'm talking about violin 2 bar 16 (beat 4). It shouldn't be attached to beat 3. The flute part at bars 23 (beat 1 and 2) and 24 (beat 3 and 4) of Spring. Avoid that to avoid weird looks. Make sure you check your rests; you've got a lot of them that could be simplified, such as two crotchet rests can be a minum rest instead at bars 28 and 31 in Spring. I know there's a huge thing about not using dotted crotchet rests in music, but believe me, it's THE thing to do in any compound time. Summer could look a lot nicer if you changed all of those rests to a dotted crotchet instead. I also advise not writing a semibreve in a 9/8 bar; write a dotted minum tied to a crotchet so you don't confuse someone. You've got a lot of little rests in Winter that could be fixed up as well; change the rests at the end of bars 4 and 8 to dotted quaver rests to make it easier to read. Also, I'm not sure why instrument names are missing from the score in Spring and why there's three violin names in Winter when there's two parts... Apologies for being nitpicky; I do this when I like something a lot!

In conclusion, that's an absolutely amazing and moving suite you've put together there, Oronoco. I'm so tempted to find the musicians to get this played because I reckon it's worth the effort! Excellent work!

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Total

Criteria: 13/15
Creativity: 14/15
Preservation: 8.25/10
Orchestration: 8.75/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
Popular Vote: 12/15 (Second place)

Total: 64.5/75

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[Latios212]

Final Results

Ready?

Did you read the above stuff yet?

Are you sure?

If you did, then you already know the final scores!!

...

Okay.

Fine.

You can look now.

NOT JOHN CENAAAAAAA

4th place: Bloop with a score of 61.5!
3rd place: InsigTurtle with a score of 62.5!
2nd place: Oronoco with a score of 64.5!
1st place: MaestroUGC with a score of 71.75!

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And that's all, folks! I would like to once again thank all four of the participants for finishing their arrangements in a timely fashion, and the four judges for their support and critique. Congratulations to Bloop, Insig, Oronoco, and Maestro – all your arrangements are super awesome and I loved listening to each one of them! (That's why I'm not a judge – I'd want everyone to win :3)

MS paint winner banners gogogo

[braix]

Spoiler

maestro should've gotten 2nd place again ;^)

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[Dudeman]

NOT JOHN CENAAAAAAA

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Latios I love you forever

[BrainyLucario]

Great job everyone!!! Soooo....when's the next one? I wanna host something...

[MaestroUGC]

From the desk of Maestro; President, CEO, and Founder of Maestro Enterprises LLC, Home of the Original Maestro Home Game^TM, "the game where you can be like Maestro and rule the 5 Cosmic Spheres and never lose because there's literally no way to lose when you're Maestro":

Offical ME Transcript

Huh.

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[Tobbeh99]

Congratulations Maestro! That piece was incredible!

[Bloop]

Great job everyone, and congratulations Maestro! The moment I felt my piece was finished, I thought I'd get a good rank, because I thought this piece was one of the best pieces I've ever written. I noticed that prediction was harder to maintain when I listened to the other pieces. Even though I became last out of four, I'm still happy about the outcome. Everyone deserved their ranking!

Also, great job to the judges! I learned a lot from your commentary!

[mikey]

bloop how come you're so not here lately D:
you're so chill