PROF

COMPOSITION

SCORE

COMMENTS

Elevation

The 60s Blues

7.30

I like the feel of this tune, but think it could use some polish… melody parts are a bit simplistic, where a sweet jam would have done nicely. Rhythmically, excellent… but needs tightening up, technically.

Gaspains

7.30

If not for the choice of voices (specifically the distorted guitars), I would have scored this higher… Expressive voices like violin or horns would have given this a more sultry feel, which would have been more natural, in my opinion… The guitars, aside from some nice trills here and there, got a little tiring

Red Islands

8.20

This could have been flavored with some sweet guitar licks like something from Dyer Straights... I like the caribbean flavor and the whole rum cocktail feel to it...

Piano Concert 1, mov 2

Altman Sonata for piano

9.30

This is extremely well organized and presented... cascading harmonies very tasty...like pie ala mode. I would like to hear this evolve into a movement for strings. Piano is so well done, that it does not leave me wanting, though. Impressive, expressive, and technically... light and tight. Beethoven would be happy, so how can I argue with him? :)

Friday's Waltz

Alien Wars

2.30

This one sounds like a dog in the clothes dryer blowing a rape whistle. Ouch.

Funk (A Brief Insanity)

7.40

What's funky about this? Unless that's Thelonius Monk in a powder wig and tails... heh… I think the percussionist should go out for a cigarrette break and let the strings do their thing… I would use the orchestral drums or timpani for accent, but there's no need for the rhythmic backbone... this tune could stand on it's own, methinks, without the metronomic thump. Try more chorus on the horns.

Piano Concerto #6 Mov3 Op38

8.90

Would have scored a 9.3 but I subtracted 0.5 points for leaving your name in the file, Simon. :) This piece rocks, but I think you could have developed a couple of spots more thoroughly where you used
redundant patterns.... sounded somewhat weak and thready compared to other works you've done. Impressive, nonetheless.

Accordions Duet Op42

7.60

happy-go-lucky pasta-eatin' tune. For accordians, which I don't really care much for, I think this one was pulled off well. Harmonies sound slightly distorted.

Trio No 1

8.90

This one melts my butter, man… ooohh yeah.. Light and flowing, get's me right outta my chair, and inspires me…. This one will be playing in the back of my mind for quite some time. A real cool groove.

Battle of Fleetzan 2002

8.20

Mike, this tune's best asset was the simplicity of it, yet it was so moving... Good work, one of my favorites, but I think simplicity was better.

Horses of the Time

7.90

Sweeeeeeeet as molassas... nice patient intro, short strokes with the bow give a neat pizzicato effect that gives the piece the structure the rest of the voices build upon.... Very well done build... but I can see it's not going to be long enough to develop the kind of power and dynamic it so badly craves!.... I'd like to hear some drums come in with a mean guitar lead.... makes me salivate...

Standing Man

7.90

Belongs in an old kings quest computer game or something

Walk of the Grave

9.00

I can feel my flesh peeling away from my bones. If titles were worth points, I'd have to score extra credit because the theme so well fits the title. Dark thematic twisted haunting procession that grabs ya and won't let go. Uncommon for slow pieces, for me, anyway.

The Eagle and the Child

7.20

I like the pan flutes and the short huffs against the sustained strings, although it grew a bit on the monotonous side to me. Fine for a butterfly to flit along lightly at the same rate, but would be neat if it turned into a fire breathing dragon every now and then, just to keep the lepidopterists guessing, and maybe even running for cover. hehe... Tranquil fantasy? My fantasies are nothing like that. hehe..

Mary Edna

9.30

I'd like to meet this lady and spin her around the dance floor. This one could wake the dead, and put a smile on anyone's face. This is the apple in a barrel of potatoes. … actually, maybe it's even apple cider…mmmm . I loved this one, and needed the boost at the time. Well done... BRAVO!

Never Again

2.20

Cuckoo clock run amock… I'd recommend NEVER AGAIN smoking whatever it was that inspired this.

Piano Studio 3

8.00

I love these spooky minor key pieces... Well structured for it's simple design... Leaves me wanting though, And kind of trails off into the end like a bob-tailed cat.... In other words, lacking balance for the grace it could have had... (ever see a cheetah run?)... Watch the tail... balance.... Much like a good book, a good composition should conclude with a reminder of the beginning... so it comes full circle... That's why this one is lacking in my opinion... The fragment alone is well done, but needs development.... and closure..

A Strange Song

6.50

Reminds of some movie tune.. Like Streisand or something… strings are a bit on the abrasive side.. Use finer rosen

Handel's Great Drunk

7.00

Where’d that bit at 2:30 come from? Under the bar? Heh.. Would be good music for marionettes

Reinvent

8.00

Very cool use of trailing melodies... classic style, could go far... but this one, like the other one I griped about.. is unfinished.

Circa 21

6.90

I can't see doing the charleston to this… This is more like shotglasses full of some Brandenberg brandy while watching Star trek's lost episodes.

Sister Ann Joins the Carnival

mine

I would give myself an 8.9 for this one, 9.5 for insanity, and 8.5 for arrangement, but then again, I'm partial to my own crazyness. This is why we don't score our own pieces, I suppose. :)

Hungry Heart

6.20

Reminds of Procal Harum in an Egyptian skating rink.. hehe... Work on timing a bit more, and spend more time on blending....Your strength is in the structure, your weakness in the arrangement and tightening up the transitions. Great concept that needs only more time, patience, and of course, MIDI tricks to round it out and bring it home... Don't rush it.

Pilate Shrugged

7.90

Cool upbeat tune, a little too Peter Paul and Mary to me, where I expected something more powerful to evolve... I know that's vague, but Gerry term: "toe-tappy" put's it well.... get them toes tappin, fine, but work up to the knees and get me outta my chair...

I Am Myself

6.20

on the redundant side on the redundant side

Shadowplay Waltz

7.00

Grand waltz 3 ? ...or Shadowplay?... Why the name change? This becomes very confusing when the song title is named something
other than the file name, which I explained last month... I said I'd give messes like these a zero if I had to hunt for the tune just to score it, but you got lucky, as I found it without much trouble... but PLEASE keep the filespec consistant with the song title, eh?

Entrance of the Scholars

7.10

The melodic toms are a little too much for me, the brass and strings a little too harsh. I think this could be improved greatly with just some time spent on the arrangement. Study Seth Neuffer's arrangements.

The World is Round

6.80

I beg to differ, everyone knows that if you sail too far out, you'll fall off the edge of the earth. For my tastes, the melody is a little on the trite side, albeit well done… a matter of taste, so don't take my comments to heart, I think for what it is, it is a fine piece of work, but to be blunt, it bores me. Too "toe-tappy" as Gerry would say.

Hallelujah Chorus

7.20

Choppy... use more sustain on the strings, and don't be afraid to overlap one voice over another... for example, often bells will
give your organ a crispy edge, while pan flute will mellow and soften it... Try using 32nd note arpeggios with a slow string to carry a voice out with a natural reverb sound, instead of trying to sustain a whole note, for example... the decay is too fast, but arpeggios work well if the voice has a soft attack, to fade the sustained notes so they don't make mud.

Chesh Lank

8.20

I like this. Energetic and light. Nice tight arrangement… sweet rolls… I'd like to have seen you work with it and move it into something…. Well…. more…for lack of a better word…. using this theme as a launching pad.

String Quartet mov 1

9.00

Ludwigs cocktail napkin scribblings are given life. Impressive, to say the least. Would be a shame to leave them in their 2 dimensional state under glass in a museum… Bravo! Humbling piece of work here. Your works with Beethoven inspired me to work with some Bach. Molto expressivo... Those two redefined passion, no?

String Variations

8.90

From one highballer to another, you know what this piece lacks as well as I do… It was your eyes that were crippled, not your ears. At 5:26 it finally hints at the expression you are capable of, but why not sweeten it up a bit instead of keeping with the same bunch of fiddlers... stand one up alone, and change up the bow.... Try using volume expression more, and vary the tempo a bit here and there.. sustain that last note in a phrase... Don't ride the same flat line, or birds will start to perch on it. Beautiful work, but I'm taking points off because I think you are sandbagging. Fuguettaboutit. Try making a tea with parsley and fennel, strain and cool it, and apply with an eyedropper... the fennel will soothe, and the parsley will take the red out like plucking the pimento outta the olive. Then when you can see better, rework this, because I know what could result if you focused a bit more. Do send up the result, it'll be a keeper for sure. Cheers.

My One and Only Love

7.90

Ever see "Ghost" ? Of course you have.

The Enchanted Storm

9.60

SWEET midi tricks! What an intro! Kudo's to ya!… this is what I like to see… the extra effort put into the sound itself…Powerful, dynamic, and wonderfully thematic! My gawd! What a great use of effects… Hat's off ! Fatten up your horns with chorus.. the trombones have much more expression with a fat chorus you'll find.

Dawn

8.80

Boris and Natasha

8.50

Great cinematic piece... very true to your style, yet a bit beyond, which is a good thing... heh...

Scherzo on Bee 10

8.90

Beethoven meets Vivaldi over a plate of spaghetti and 3 bottles of Sangria... moves from a classically structured piece into a dizzying arpeggio that could use some foundation from the tenor and bass end... a great effect, for a while, but becomes ... well... dizzying... About 2/3 the way through, the piece regroups, but again, I think you could have arranged the parts so that they were better set apart, using other members of your orchestra... Structurally, this deserves a 9.5, but the arrangement could use some work on contrast. Don't fret, though, 8.9 is almost gold. :)

End of the Storm

8.90

Why not couple this with the other, as the next movement? Don't understand why you broke them up into 2 files. This one is not nearly as expressive as the other, but if it were presented as one piece, would not seem like it were so… err… orphaned?

Symphony 2, mov 1

8.90

Kind of jump in with both feet don't ya? Hehe… didn't expect the sudden entry, nor the quick change into the sustain then the pizzicato part… After the first minute, the piece becomes a lot more cohesive, and begins to flow, by the 2nd minute, I feel like things are moving along naturally... Nice how you isolate a voice for short quips, then reintroduce the theme.... Into the 4th minute, I can see the notes float around the room... There's that flute from Peter and the wolf again... heh.. Work on the intro through 2 minutes into the piece, so it doesn't seem disjointed... pull it together.

Symphony 2, mov 2

9.00

Suspenseful start… interestingly arranged, but bordering on lack of communication… that is… instruments are saying different things, instead of 1 conversation on the same topic.. Back and forth.. Am I making sense at all? Heh… hard to explain, but that's my first impression... You eventually develop this into a VERY cohesive and interesting theme, so don't get me wrong.. I'm just saying a little foreplay goes a long way... Don't stab... slice..

Gran Ciaccona

9.10

Sweet, prim and proper. Powder wig is well fitted, and doesn't fall off when bowing. Ballroom bingo, this one's on target, and belongs in a music box on grandma's dresser. I will dare to say, though, that this is so tight that it borders on predictable.... The violins expression is your saving grace, like honey on the tongue... By the fourth minute, everything is airborne, and flying around the room. This month's contest is hell to score, so many premium works. Yeah, ya got my vote for cream of the crop, but this month it's almost butter.. heheh... Well done.

Concert 43, mov 1

9.10

Familiarity, in this case, breeds humility, not contempt… hehe… Honey on the tongue, once again

Veliki Traven

5.50

One legged toe-tapper with one string missing on his old box guitar, but it's a nice day to sit on the porch with Andy and Gomer, especially when Aunt Bee jumps in on that old honky tonk. Nice piece, but underdeveloped.

Astro Odyssey

7.10

theme is on the "neufferesque" side (I just invented that word heh) Reminds me of Seth's ideas without the development

The Proposition

mine

I'd give this an 8 I suppose, but I admit I hope for more… heh

Fantasia

8.80

rock on

Rock on the Town

5.00

Monominop beedoobeedoobie Monominop beet doobie doo Bass riff is the only thing that appeals to me, I'm afraid.

Chinatown

6.60

Somewat punchy and thematically repetitive. I liked the progression just before the end.

TOTAL AVERAGE

7.64