Feedback on Orchestra Sonata

If you have not seen my previous post on a little “Intro to Orchestra” topic, (Short Orchestra Pieces for the Taking) I have went back and remastered the Sonata form I had made. I recently bought a much nicer VST, BBC Symphony Orchestra Core, and used that for every orchestral instrument. I feel as though it adds much more depth but there’s still some mixing to be done.
Thought I’d see if there’s any feedback I can get with how it sounds/ideas for mixing when it comes to the orchestra!

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Sounds amazing!
I’m sadly not a composer, so can’t really give you any feedback when it comes to that but if it’s up to me, it sounds great :slight_smile:

Overall, this would do well as background music to a video game, but alone it doesn’t stand on its own.

Wait!!! I’m not telling you this to be mean or to say you’re a bad composer; not in the slightest, actually. However, I do want to offer some points of criticism here:

  • Stay away from the Alberti bass! - What is Alberti Bass? It’s the sort of 1-5-3-5 repeating ostinato you used in the beginning. Although this can work under an ensemble, on its own it sounds way too classical and not right in the theme you are going for.
  • Make sure harmony plays a more important role! - What you’re doing is something a lot of young composers do: separate the bass and the melody line too much. When something needs to come out more, melody obviously needs to rise above the rest. However, it feels like most of this piece revolves around a simple melody with a bass accompaniment. There are some nice instances of countermelody, but make sure there is good flow and that the instruments feel natural rather than robotic.
  • Don’t rely too much on the strings! - Now, there may be some bias here, as I am a horn player, but there is so much amazing tone color and quality that can be added with the addition and proper use of all the winds. It is an “Orchestral Sonata”, no? Thus, use the full range of instruments this ensemble gives you! The deeper level of sound able to be achieved makes a piece sound far more interesting and diverse.

Remember, this is all just food for thought. I’ve been composing for about three years on my own and have strengthened my own skills through one thing: practice. Yes, it’s overdone and cliche; however, don’t underestimate the power of solo experimentation when it comes to the creative arts. Performing arts are very different, but having the freedom to do things on your own is extremely valuable and should be taken advantage of. Masterclasses and YouTube videos can teach you technique, but never art itself. Best of luck to you and your future compositional endeavors!

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I appreciate the feedback & will use it for my other compositions but for this one I purposefully went with Alberti bass for that classical sound! My intention of this piece was to be a simplified straight forward sonata form for orchestra.
With the better “tone color” I’d suggest looking at the updated piece (on this topic Two Orchestral Songs) as I did go through and mix together each instrument a bit better.

Again, thanks for the feedback even though most of it was intentional!

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Amazing melody! Is it possible for you to provide me the source of the Strings Plugin? :sparkles:

I’ve used the BBC Symphony Core for every instrument!

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Thank you so much! Really appreciate it :heart: