The Queen 1 - Compose

The 3rd in a series following the composing of music based on Chess pieces. In this episode, Glenn Scott Lacey writes a sketch of a theme for “The Queen.” Topics include, modal harmony, modes of the melodic minor scale, and Mixolydian b6. The sketch in Dorico uses Musical Sampling’s new Parker Oboe.

[@GregDerochie]

Beautiful stuff!

[@GlennScottLacey]

Thank you Greg!

[@tofuleg]

Nice ending as well.

[@GlennScottLacey]

Thank you! That’s very nice of you to say.

[@CharlesScalfani]

Really like the sadness conveyed here. And the tragic ending. The oboe was a great choice. Can’t wait to hear the lower woodwinds in the full orchestration to give a some real gravity.
There’s a hopelessness that is really captured well in the melody except for that brief moment of misplaced hope right before you modulate.

[@GlennScottLacey]

Thank you, I very much heard oboe as a solo instrument for the melody from the beginning. In this case, using it while sketching helped to craft the melody to take advantage of the oboe’s registers. The bulk of the melody is in the oboe’s middle register which is its most emotive and lyrical register. The high C and B at the very end are in the oboe’s high register where there is a color change that helps add to the “shocking” aspect of what the music represents there. The oboe sound I used for playback from Dorico is Musical Sampling’s new Parker Oboe, which is currently on sale at an introductory price of $49.00.