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Symphony #6, 1st movement


Jerry Gerber

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I am posting the 1st movement of my 6th symphony and including the score. 
Though I have completed my 11th symphony this year I am particularly happy with my 6th and 8th symphonies. 

Keep in mind I don't put dynamics, hairpins, and a few other instructions to the players not because I don't know how but because there are no players!  This work is conceived and produced for virtual instruments.  A brief statement about this is here.

This piece is part of the album Time Shadows.

Here is the link to the recording and score.

Enjoy listening.  If you have any questions please ask!

Jerry

Edited by jsg
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Hi Jerry . . . an enjoyable listen on my Saturday night ! It has great dynamics, and I really appreciate all the thought and pre-planning you must have to do, to accomplish these pieces. Since you've invited questions, I've always wondered about your create process . . . how do you start a symphonic movement like this . . . do you start with piano composition mapping the themes, or do you just start playing sampled instruments and piecing it together . . . perhaps there is a visual component in staff view ? 

However the method, the results are always astounding. You write in the style of the classical composers, but also introduce some electrical components, like you did in this one. Always great to hear your postings here Jerry !

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14 hours ago, noynekker said:

Hi Jerry . . . an enjoyable listen on my Saturday night ! It has great dynamics, and I really appreciate all the thought and pre-planning you must have to do, to accomplish these pieces. Since you've invited questions, I've always wondered about your create process . . . how do you start a symphonic movement like this . . . do you start with piano composition mapping the themes, or do you just start playing sampled instruments and piecing it together . . . perhaps there is a visual component in staff view ? 

However the method, the results are always astounding. You write in the style of the classical composers, but also introduce some electrical components, like you did in this one. Always great to hear your postings here Jerry !

Thanks for listening noynekker!  

I'll often get ideas from sitting at the piano and improvising.   At that point I don't record anything, I don't notate anything, I just play and listen and experiment.  Actual composition begins when I am in front of Cakewalk with the notation editor open.  I sometimes begin with a melody or a short melodic motive, or a rhythmic pattern, or sometimes a harmonic progression.   There's no one right way to begin composing a piece!   I do have some idea before I begin writing what I want, for example, is it going to be a symphonic movement?   What length?  Will it be for samples only, synths only or both?  Will it be a short piano piece?   A song with vocals? Once I decide what I am composing then I start to write.  If, after 20 or 30 measures I start to feel it's not going anywhere (about 20% of the time) I abandon it and start over.  But if the opening begins to grow on me I get inspired and go to work.  I am a big believer in the "economics of composition", meaning how does a composer make a lot out of a little?  In most longer pieces, in order to achieve unity and cohesiveness, there are only a few main ideas; perhaps a main theme, one or two sub-themes or motives, and that's that.  Too many ideas creates disunity, too few ideas spread out over time can result in too much repetition and/or predictability.

So there you go!  I hope this is helpful to you in your own composition efforts. 

Best,

Jerry

p.s.  For those who don't think that CW's notation editor is a very useful tool, I think my compositions and recordings show otherwise.   It would be impossible for me to create the kind of music I do by using the piano roll view.    I spend most of my composition time in the notation editor, the event list, the controller view and the tempo view..

 

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