5 COMPOSERS 1 THEME - 1 ORCHESTRA! (ft. Adam Neely, Bec Plexus, Ben Levin, Tantacrul)
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 31 ต.ค. 2019
- Special thanks to Orchestra of the Swan
orchestraoftheswan.org
and to Tantacrul:
/ martinthekearykid
PDFs and MP3s of all the pieces will be available on my patreon: / davidbruce
Tantacrul's Channel:
/ martinthekearykid
Adam Neely's channel:
/ havic5
Ben Levin's Channel:
/ nimajqeb
Ben's Follow up video: • MIDI VS HUMAN ORCHESTR...
Bec Plexus's Channel:
/ bnvd15
Thanks to Joe Parrish for permission to include his awesome metal version of Holst's Mars:
• Mars, Bringer Of War (...
★ Support the Channel on Patreon ★
/ davidbruce
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🎧 David Bruce Composer Spotify Playlist 🎧
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No one:
Tantacrul: *Play it dirty for me mister sax man*
I couldn't stop laughing haha
I would like but I refuse to be the one to destroy the 666
So consider this my like
Whelp destroyed anyway so like
Not Tantacrul, but *Ben Levin* . It was in his score. It starts with "Sombre night time" direction to the piano, continues with "So dirty", "You are the jazz sax person" and "moody with some pitch" directions for sax and ends with "dirty bendy" for woods.
I will watch this on lonely nights at sea, when all seems far away and dreary, and I will smile every time.
Yours was great!!
I am literally sat on an oil rig in the middle of the North Sea and it's fucking dreary.
This should be good.
you absolutely killed it on this one
Ben your talent knows no bounds, your piece was beautiful
I could have picked your piece from a lineup Ben. Even your orchestral arrangements have that classic Ben Levin sound.
Just a shout out to the great editing of this video. There were so many more threads to pull together this time around but the flow was still brilliant. A pure joy to be a part of :)
Your piece was outstanding. I think you hit that superhero feeling right on the head. I kinda wish it could have been longer. I feel like you could have done so much more with it if you had even another thirty seconds or so.
You are the best music essayist imo..Kudos to u as always
You do realize, don't you, that you'll never hear the end of this?
You were absolutely the best with your orchestration. Superb work!
Hell yeah; projects like this gotta take a hell of a long time to put together, and long as the video is, it doesn't waste time. Its own brand of skillful composing.
I love how most people didn’t react to hearing their own themes in someone else’s piece, but hearing Tantacrul’s theme in any context prompted TANTACRUUUUUUUUL
It's just a fun name to say, isn't it.
Definitely the most "superhero" one there.
Outer-Space Cowboy Bebop Lonely Jazz-In-Space is my favorite music genre
Me too, especially the stuff from that Ben Levin guy. One of the many greats of the genre.
Same
So... Space Lion, basically?
@@inf0phreak so Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me?
Halo ODST
"I thought it'd be an outer-space, cowboy bebop, lonely, out-in-space thing..."
"...How Gershwin of you."
Sometimes two completely different things are the same thing and I think this is one of those times
5ilver42 the jazz harmony with a string section is a very Gershwin song
How Gershwin or William Grant Still!!!
Imagine u in this orchestra, just getting a random piece from the conductor titled, “I guess I have to name it now, lol” 24:17
That was odd, but hey...
Ragnar Þór Guðmundarson agreed, I only watched this video for Sir Adam
@@rewindoffical5280 But you stayed for the whole thing :)
My final for AP Music Theory was to write a piece for my high school's band, and my brother Ben was in it. So I titled it "Sorry, Ben" because he plays the flute and the flute part was really boring.
Great job to all of you, and David for putting this massive project together!! Sorry I had to back out of this one! :)
Sorry too Nahre! As you can see here in the comments, lots of people missed you on this one!
@@DBruce yeah
I want Ben to finish his little piece so bad. It could be very cool song.
yessssssss
It still is very cool for what it is
It was just begging for more
Yeah it was like a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, so cool and surprising.
I know right. Kinda reminds me of Film Noir music.
I like that Bec picked to do Adam's theme too bc she was a fan lol
That look in her eye when she said Adam. Haha.
And his first comment is, "Alright, I don't really know Bec..." haha.
@@ChristianLoftusMusic that honestly broke my heart a little but then Adam ended up loving what she put down. and tantacrul with the Stravinsky comparison was such high praise. Bec was an awesome choice to fill the void Nahre left
If I remember right, didn't David also put both their themes in 5? Makes sense they'd also both fit together.
Timestamps for anyone who wants to listen back to pieces:
10:03 - Tantacrul's piece, Tantatheme
14:34 - Ben Levin's piece, Approaching The Astro Fair
20:10 - Bec Plexus' piece, Cutting In Line
24:17 - Adam Neely's piece, i guess i have to name this now, lol
28:00 - David Bruce's piece, Swan Themes
u r a god
We have a legend on our hand
Thank you thank you so much! Really appreciate it Tyler!
Bless
Got a little teary listening to Ben's piece. Great work everyone!
For those who have trouble counting along with the songs:
3/4: Strawberry
5/4: Hippopotamus
6/8: Pineapple Pineapple
7/8: Epstein didn't kill himself
My favorite cross-section of interests, music and progressive activism
Well played, Spencer. Well played indeed.
i’m lost
6/8: Pass the god damn butter
Oh shit, I don't know how to count from 1 to 7, now I'm saved !
Big hand for David for organising this epic endeavour! So generous and fun.
sup. yall did awesome!
You did great!
Please do more stuff like this. You have a lovely voice.
You basically got a villain theme somehow, did you notice that? lol
I am so thankful to the TH-cam musician community for introducing me to so much amazing stuff. Adam Neely -> Nahre Sol -> David Bruce -> Now you. Subscribed.
Man Ben's piece hit me in the soul. I love how the intro portrays that loneliness only because we know there is a full orchestra there. What a genius choice. Then it builds so nicely with the strings. I wish there was more!
Yes, for me the piece by Ben was just a introduction fo something much bigger. He should try to continue his piece. Ben has so much potential. I am always impressed.
Ben has done the most intellectually stimulating thing two collabs in a row. the way he used restraint to his advantage in the first one, and the way he wasn't afraid to focus on soloists with only a minute. just brilliant. genius, even. you can tell by how the other composers reacted that he was doing some high brow stuff.
While I was wishing for more too, I thought the ending was so powerful - it really had an emotional effect on me, those harmonies in that sudden ending. Perhaps it worked so well precisely because it was "too short".
Ben's sound was so rich! It reminded me of Jade Warrior, which I've been listening to lately... th-cam.com/video/MBGzB3ask4g/w-d-xo.html
@@brownie3454 And we can't stress that this was his first time writing for orchestra to this level. And he just aced it.
David: gives a theme in 5/4
Adam: gives a piece in 7/8
He can’t help it. I genuinely believe if you imply a time signature to Adam, he will refuse to use it.
Not to mention Tanta... "I don't want to be too hard on the orchestra"
@@theMikeChastain well well, with respect to what the others demanded, lmao, evil composers! :D
5/8*
“When am I gonna learn to let go and not care so much?”
We all felt that.
Loved this! A jazz big band one would be fantastic for a next step.
I agree sooo much!!!!
This would be very cool, indeed
@@bruno_semi Definitely
+1
someone please make that happen
its crazy how this serie revealed the talent of ben to me
Psypau watch his improvisation Journals on his channel he’s been on another level for time
his compositions here are just incredibly beautiful.
As Ben Levin said last time:
"I can hear the funk in you David Bruce."
The same applies this time, too.
underrated comment
To my ears David's piece sounds very much like it was written by someone used to writing for orchestra and it just gets on with being a piece of music, whereas the others are like, someone gave me an ORCHESTRA! :-)
my thoughts exactly!
Don't agree for Tantacrul's one, it was perfectly mastered
Yes it does sound like he knows how to use the timbre of the orchestra to its best.
Tantacrul also has experience writing for orchestra so I think his definitely comes of as a more "sophisticated" orchestral piece
Honestly that one was my least favourite. Just sounds like a bit of a mess to be honest. It has a lot of tension that never gets resolved, like the build up to a climax that never happens. If that's what he was going for then he nailed it but I feel like that was unintended. Reminds me of Prokofiev piano concerto 2 for some reason, but that piece works because there is a payoff.
Wow might sound strange but I want to give a thank you to everyone involved in this piece. I know it probably doesn't mean much coming from an anonymous TH-cam comment but thank you so much for taking your time to make content like this all of you. It was fantastic. Great to be introduced to Bec as well!
It means a great deal. It's very inspiring to hear people say things like this!
I agree with Sir Hannibal. I want to say so much, but I feel I would not do justice to video. Just big thanks and huuuuge appreciation to all involved.
15:07 The lick but with an octave shift in the middle
Thank you
Why would you do this.
I applaud you sir/ma'm, didn't catch it
Thank you! I was disappointed that I never heard the licc - so glad someone found it. The video no longer feels incomplete
Would like but it's on 69
Adam: "RAW! RAW!"
Ben: "IIII'm nervous again.."
God I could listen to that Ben Levin melody for the rest of my life
I think I’m starting to fall into that loop. Pls send help, but at the same time, don’t.
This was so inspiring.
I liked every piece in their own way. I wish Ben's was longer. It was so, so, so good, but so short.
I love the leitmotif.
You can say that there's a sort of charm to it just breaking off like that, it's like you're set in a dream state and the final rise wakes you up from your bliss. That's my interpretation of it at least :)
@@karl-emilvik5591 and a beautiful and welcome one it is
It was as you could say so dirty
Yeah, Ben and Adam's pieces both made me want more, like they had just started. Bec's was amazing and felt like a full song even though it was just one minute since it mostly only revolved around one idea.
“It’s got a Stravinsky vibe” “It’s kind of French, like something Satie would write” “It’s like a starfish with a ruby in the middle - a Pokemon” 😂😂😂
I love this series but it's also bittersweet due to how short all of the pieces have to be, it's like getting a teaser for something that fell through the cracks and will never see the light of day in a completed form. Ben's particularly hurt, it's like the start to a beautiful 5-10 minute epic that just abruptly cuts out after the intro. What if that could have been a new favorite song? How can we continue through life with this burden of unfulfilled dreams?!
Anyway, thanks for the existential anguish. Can't wait to see what happens next time.
This is the beginning of something beautiful. David is laying the groundwork for crowdsourced music creation. I can picture an ensemble being assembled specifically to commission these collaborations. That way they wouldn't be limited by tight time constraints and would have the ability to record full pieces.
Little kruta is pretty much that.
That's what it was like growing up with Hit Clips...
Ben Levin's rambly comments are the soul of this series.
man this is such a cool series :)
The best thing on TH-cam for sure
Yea man. It's awesome.
Yeah, if you have a basic understanding of music.
I thought they were going to give ONE theme to FIVE composers, to see how each fleshes it out into a chamber piece.
SAD.
Bassoons unite!!
I love how you can just hear when people are dutch on the internet.
You find them in the most unexpected places
same, i love it
G E K O L O N I S E E R D
her accect was so dutch i was worried her song just going to be a giant windmill
*I VOTE FOR 1 MINUTE ARIAS!* like, each composer gets an emotion picked out of a hat or something :D
Satyasya Satyasya YES!
Like an Arioso each? That would be fun, though you would need more then a minute.
5 Composers 1 Acapella Band, feat. VoicePlay.
Ben's staryu analogy is probably the cutest in thing I've ever heard
The "Tantacrul" motif just makes me think of The Incredibles
Same
Odd. I immediately heard of the old 'Trojan Man' jingle: th-cam.com/video/RJVVoMXgfzU/w-d-xo.html
I was getting a little bit of an Avengers vibe in his piece. Loved the power!
I bet Tantacruls's piece was unconsciously inspired by his Dmitri Shostakovich video about his 9th symphony
How do you guys not hear Brahms's lullaby?
I found it hilarious.
I really enjoyed Ben Levin's piece, really cool.
I love how Ben's theme is basically a tritone, but he made it sound sooo sweet!
Tritones can be sweet, they just need to be loved.
Thankfully Ben Levin knows his way around a Tritonr as he uses Lydian and #4 chords quite often.
Ben's was just my favorite. The restraint in the beginning with everything swelling/ blooming made the whole thing so satisfying to listen to. I'm not super well versed with all the abstract abilities that music has. I'm pretty basic. I have to bust out my intellectual cap to appreciate the other pieces, but if I just wanted to listen to something and feel something emotionally, I'd go back and listen to Ben's.
Up next : Writing for a jazz big band. Lovely series David.
Definitely! I feel they could do so much with that
Hell yeah I would love that
Yes please
i fifth this
everyone else: ok we made it easy enough for them to play but still interesting
adam: *so...*
Bec's piece had a very Stravinsky-esque feel that surprised me, dang
Edit: oh Tantacrul said the same thing that's cool
You separated "Cowboy" and "Bebop", but I'm almost certain he was referring to the anime Cowboy Bebop.
Cowboy Bebop has such great music
The look on the orchestra's faces makes me think they needed a little more time to get comfortable with Adam Neely's "Adam chords" as Tantacrul refers to them. I wish would could have gotten some comments from the conductor on what she thought about the works.
Bet the pianist washed his hands after that one extra crunchy chord
composers of the world, unite!
arrange the planet! xD
nothing to lose but your chord changes
their only crime was creativity :p
#musicansriseup(bytwooctaves)
composers unite!
finally after so many years know what the German exchange student meant by H chord xD
Ben Levin's is my favorite. It's the most emotional piece. It's full of human emotion. But I loved David's almost as much as Ben's, for completely different reasons. I guess that I have a sweet spot for Leonard Bernstein's more abstract passages in WEST SIDE STORY... and that's what it came to mind listening to that beautiful blend of Latin rhythms with jazzy harmonies. Excellent job.
All right @DavidBruce so How About This for a next challenge:Find a 1 minute video (that is free of copyright issues, necessarily) and get the 5 composers to score it. Should be fascinating.
8:30 This discussion about making it entertaining made it quite entertaining.
Yeah, good thing he didn't put that in the video.
I spent a lot of time trying to film entertaining shots. I kept deliberately plugging Hyundai products the whole time to make them funny. I guess the downside of doing that was that they were actually unusable 😬
It is a new mission of mine to work a mention of Hyundai into David's channel...
Ben definitely wins the thumbnail. I think that terrifying perm comes in second all on its own.
Yeah, the thumbnail is great I really enjoy Davids and Tantacruls stare. Concious and prepaired for everything.
Would love to see y'all write something up for maybe the Chinese orchestra or traditional Chinese instruments, to see y'all get out of your comfort zones!
probably wouldn't be the best choice in this social climate
Worlds collide! My old teacher plays (mostly) timpani for this orchestra, and another old teacher is in the percussion section! Great stuff David!
People complain that orchestras sometimes only have 3-4 Rehearsels for a popular peace, and here they get 10 minutes...
So, I'm REALLY wondering what Orchestra of the Swan thought about these pieces, and whether they performed them that night.
Since this series was inspired by Andrew Huang's series, I'd love to see a future video include Andrew as one of the composers. Granted, Andrew is more of a producer than a composer, but he is such a skilled musician I'm sure he'd be up for the task. Maybe he could get a little extra help arranging his score.
Or maybe do composer teams for a future video? Andrew Huang and Grant Stinnett would complement each other well on a team challenge, Grant bringing to the table the orchestral arranging perspective.
Ben's piece actually gave me chills, I swear my eyes watered a little bit
yeah i was all about the weeping for that one
I'm so damn impressed with this! Music is mostly very barely accessible to me because of my hearing issues and just strange psychology (kinda afraid to listen to new stuff because I'm scared of missing something out), but here am I on a Friday evening, exhausted AF and still I found this very much enjoyable! I honestly have no idea how y'all do it. Maybe it's the way you illustrate your themes - no way I could've heard them without visual guidance, but this is such a great aid I literally have no words! And while you say this is less accessible than the previous one, somehow I disagree. Maybe it's my love of progressive metal (& rock) helping me to open up to different ideas, but the very way these pieces are presented helps a lot. Please keep doing that! Please please please!
I love how their "Avengers" theme is just Mars but metal
LISTEN I LIIIIIVED!!!!!!😍😍😍😍😍👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿👌🏿
To be fair, Mars was metal before metal was possible.
Mars is metal on its own!
@@anidemolimacnauj I mean you're definitely not wrong
A 5-meter in a different music style for 5 composers with different backgrounds in music. Very appropriate :p
To me, Tantacrul's sounded like a superhero type theme, which is a big "duh" because that's what he was going for. Ben's sounded a lot like the ending to a noir-type drama, so I felt like the length was pretty awesome. Bec's sounded like a smaller movement in-between two larger movements of a symphony, and I really felt it having more to tell and more it already had told. I've settled on Adam's sounding like the opening to a cop/spy drama (could also be a comedic drama). David's is a bit more ambiguous, sitting between the opening of an action rpg reminiscent of Kirby and some kind of informative TV show (a travel show sticks out to me the strongest). I'd love to analyze these pieces more to help justify why my brain associates them to these specific subgenres of music, but I'm just proud of the work everyone put in to have something done in such a short deadline. Composing is a tough job, and this is all very inspiring (as was using the old name method for forming musical ideas, which I will gladly exploit asap).
Exploit away
Bec's sounds like your playing pikmin and fighting boss.
There's not enough gushing over how much of a musical genius Ben Levin is in this video. I keep coming back to this video just to manually loop his piece and the reactions. That emotion-first design approach he has to composing yields incredible results.
Wow, the premiere of this video was such a happy, wholesome experience! Love this online music fam!
Yours was my favourite. So very Zappa-esque; absolutely loved it! And such a great way to be introduced to you & your music!
Me too, I liked yours the best! A fairly open-sounding yet full orchestration, and clear structure. And like Adam, I loved the crunchy ending!
You were an awesome addition!
You definitely brought something special to this collab. Glad you were able to be apart of this so we all could discover an awesome music youtuber
I just subbed to you! lol
"You can always count on Adam to make something badass" - Ben Levin
Tantacrul just smashed it. Every piece was great, but man, Tantacrul. So tight.
Adam wins the "Best Name" category, hands down
Ben Gruver agreed.
ben is just an absolute unit. i swear, he just does his own thing and does it perfectly and it comes out amazing and i love it. the 1 minute didn't do him justice. i loved it
I think it would be cool if y’all did this for wind ensemble next
Yes! I love the available timbres of a wind quintet. Super cool.
I actually had the great opportunity to play with a few members from Orchestra of the Swan a couple of times! Coventry University holds a yearly collaborative event called Mixup and i was a part of it during all three years of my studies there.
David LePage is a phenominal violinist and an absolute pleasure to perform with!
I adore this video, David! Keep up the brilliant work.
For those who wish to go back through the pieces and additional sections, here you go:
Tantacrul's "Tantatheme"
Explanation of Piece: 8:58
Orchestral Playing: 10:06
Reaction: 11:12
Ben Levin's "Approaching the Astro Fair"
Explanation of Piece: 13:32
Orchestral Playing: 14:34
Reaction: 15:40
Bec Plexus's "Cutting in Line"
Explanation of Piece: 18:37
Orchestral Playing: 20:10
Reaction: 21:12
Adam Neely's "i guess i have to name it now, lol"
Explanation of Piece: 23:17
Orchestral Playing: 24:17
Reaction: 25:13
David Bruce's "Swan Themes"
Explanation of Piece: 27:33
Orchestral Playing: 28:01
Reaction: 29:10
ben's piece is so sensual
I’m at work just smiling the whole time with ear buds in
I left work before it was done so I am out sitting in the car listening.
This series just proves that David is an orchestration god.
o: Bec is so cute! But like, not as an euphemism of attractive or whatever, she really just has something about her that suggests joy and affection.
Thingaloo yeah agreed
My favourite this time was Ben Levin, gave me goosebumps, and was just the kind of smooth and easy listening I needed while I'm not feeling well, the others a bit grating and overwhelming for me right now.
Scott Davie have a zoogie mate you’ll be sweet
What an incredible project. Hats off to David, the orchestra, the production crew and especially to the composers. An interesting and enlightening way to spend 33':45" of one's life: totally worth it, thank you to all 💞
Except it has been 101m 15s of my life, plus all the reading comments time as well. So far ...
Just a suggestion. Ben Levin should make it a full song. Please Ben.
2:31 I see you Mr. Horn playing that Tchaikovsky 5 solo
All of the pieces are spectacular. Adam's in particular reminds me of the score for The Incredibles, and I think Ben absolutely nailed the feel he was going for.
Outer-space cowboy bebop lonely jazz-in-space... Ben just described my favourite music... Everyone did such an amazing job
This is amazing, David. Just breathtaking of an endeavour. Great pieces by all, my favourite was Bec's, but Ben annotating "dirty" on the sheets was the best part.
I gotta say Ben's sounded like a TV show theme, the kind that gets you excited and sets the mood for the show
David's piece put me in mind of La Valse.
What you have with this exercise is 5 distinct pieces, each of which has to start, develop and finish within one minute. Would be fascinating if you could do a sort of 'pass-the-parcel' development, where the 2nd composer picks up where the first left off, develops it further, and so on.
That glissando in Adam's piece was wanderful, but my favorite was once again Ben Levin's piece
He surprises me everytime
I love how you can always see the timpani player counting out loud
The orchestra's conductor has some SERIOUSLY EPIC ENERGY holy crap!
If you don't feel the music, Beethoven will kick your butt. Something like that, keeps 'em in line.
Obviously Tantacrul went on wisest path. Keep it simple. Don't strain players. In just few minutes without thorough rehearsal (s) that many people in orchestra have very little chance of comprehending complicated rhythmical constructions and execute it well in synchronised manner. I like to listen to outtakes of Star Wars main theme I've got. First takes were complete mess, and the thing started to sound as we love it after like twenty takes! Adam and Bruce. Appreciation for ambitious approach. I can only imagine how differently it would sound after many rehersals and thouthfully mastered interpretation.
Next Video Idea:
5 COMPOSERS 1 LIBRETTO
5 composers one haiku?
ben's piece is like the epitome of sweet loneliness, you dont realize how lonely you are until you think about it, and then comes the tears at the end
15:22 that's my old drum teacher!! small world.
also, please keep doing these, they're suuuper inspiring!
To quote Count Basie: "leave them wanting more."
My grandparents used to have a dog named Basie.
I want to see the orchestra’s reaction to playing Ben’s piece for the first time. Must’ve been awesome.
Ben Levin's piece "Approaching the Astro Fair" is really aptly titled, like a grisly character limping, dirty sneakers against grit and mudwater of an illegal astro blackmarket held somewhere behind thick toxic fumes. The corners of neon lights, an elegant wiremesh of vintage and modern machinery, scrapped from various sources over time. Off-kilter, lonely, haunting... a man out of place, out of time, with strange motivations and a sense of danger, tension. Amazing how you nailed such an evocative atmosphere with texture, Ben!
I aggressively love this series. Everyone involved is phenomenal!
I was really really hoping for a new 5 Composers 1 Theme video! It was so great! My personal favorite is Tantacrul's piece, although you could kind of guess the direction he would go based on the theme (he and the orchestra nailed it though). I also love Ben's writing too, but I ended up being very frustrated that it stopped after a minute or so. Adam and Bec parts are unnecessarily too busy and overly complicated for my taste, especially considering that the orchestra only had little time to deliver. David is the boss. Challenge idea/request: instead of 5 independent pieces, the challenge would be to sequence them one after the other with each composer in charge the transition to their piece. Here, Ben would have had to pick up where Tantacrul's piece ended and manage a smooth transition to his piece, etc.
I think this is an excellent idea.
ben levin u just killed it like last time incredible
As brief as it is, I can't imagine Ben's segment as any more of a full piece. Those few seconds are such distilled perfection that expansion would only feel like dilution. What a piece.
Ranking them least to most favorite:
5- You can’t rank them!
4- Each composer is talented.
3- Each composer is unique.
2- Each created something interesting and fun.
1- *TAAAN TA CRUUUUUL*
that sax solo was so good. i can easily see ben's song being the theme throughout a sci-fi space movie and this specific version being played when the main character is lost in space during the climax or something. 14:34
This *must* happen!
Everybody's so nice. Here are my professional, constructive comments:
10:03 Tantatheme - notationally speaking, the piano is written out very awkwardly; really, it should just be a dotted rhythm instead of tied 16th notes.
14:34 Approaching the Astro Fair - for such a "short" assignment (1 minute), the opening is too long. If he expands on the piece as a whole that's one thing, but the 16-bar intro (at that tempo!) is like half the piece already. I would've cut the phrases in half; 2-bar vamps before harmonic change for a total of 8 bars. Or, 8 bars with a 4-bar vamp and go through the harmonic cycle only once.
20:10 Cutting In Line - Not too much to say here, only that I wish it would settle on a more distinct "melody" during its short run. I think there are too many motivic ideas and it feels more pastiche than organic. But I recognize the challenge of only having a minute to write something.
24:17 i guess i have to name this now, lol - last five measure, the little counter-motif in the second flute and sax doesn't come through at all, it just gets lost in the texture. Maybe should've had both flutes play it with the sax, or something, just to get it to pop out a little more.
28:00 Swan Themes - probably my favorite because it's the most cohesive I would say. But the opening figure in the saxes is super tricky to convey with such a short rehearsal. Maybe a triplet or some sort of visual clarifying marking like a "tuplet" might've helped the sax players understand how it lines up with the strings. (Maybe the whole thing should've been written in cut time). And the strings are too "divisi" for the size of the orchestra. I wanted a fuller sound from the strings, like the size needed to be at least doubled. Not saying their playing is bad, just that David wrote a piece for full orchestra but had it played by a chamber orchestra-sized string section for the amount of divisi he wants.
If any of the composers happen to read this, please don't misunderstand where I'm coming from. I'm a working composer in the LA area myself, and this video series is very inspiring overall. Just wanted to give my two cents. Because it's sooo easy to rave about everything that is good about these pieces (I could do that as well), but I always appreciate the other side of the coin, as it were.
How great to have that constructive feedback!
Okay, but Ben's piece was perfect though.
@@rome8180 yep. To add on to this - the abrupt way the song ends adds to that lonely feeling. Emphasizes that ephemeral vibe
Do you ever feel bad for liking someone's work so much that you go into a video featuring them, hoping you won't like their piece the best, but then of course they blow you away yet again?
Ben, you're a blessing to this planet.
Approaching the Astro fair gives me chills every time. Hits the loneliness and the sci fi visualization is very vivid with this piece. Wish there was a whole soundtrack like this.
Ben's composition it's really Cowboy Bebop-like! Great!
Loved the lone sax & piano; I think an euphonium somewhere in there would have also suited the piece
I love this series; gives me so much inspiration
I want to hug Ben Levin, he seems like such a huggable human being
I love Ben's piece.
Would have been interesting to also hear some reactions of the orchestra musicians.