An Unexpected Party - The Hobbit

[Plowking]

Fresh off the DAW is my 5th 'Hobbit' piece.

For this one I wanted to revisit some of the themes I had previously, which would make sense as this in theory would be the 'first' piece. It's kind of an 'opening credits' - and then into the first chapter.

The dwarves in Lord of the Rings have always been given that 'scottish' lilt, so I threw in some pipes.

http://alonetone.com/gplowman/tracks...rty-the-hobbit

Regards
Graham

[qccowboy]

Beautiful move from minor to major in the very opening.

would you consider doubling the bass in those few opening measures with a soft bass clarinet or a bassoon? just the string sound seems... empty.

I LOVE your huge main theme! That is SO epic!

A suggestion? in that wonderful fortissimo main statement, augment the bass part with rising "agg. cello" arpeggios? (in 16ths or 8ths, fast enough.. depending on the actual basic tempo).

So, when do you start work on Peter Jackson's film?

[Plowking]

Haha, thanks - yeah I'm expecting Peter to call any day now.

I'm always looking for ways to improve the orchestration - so I'll look at what you're suggesting. Ram is getting to be an issue...as you could probably imagine after hearing that main theme and everything that is going on there.

Freezing tracks and flattening works, but it's a hard to decide on that when I might want to tweak something later on.

Really glad you liked my epic theme - I really pushed for that sound and worked on just that part for a day.

[Michael A. Wiktor]

"...Wiktor's a Jekyll-Hyde personality..." - Lycos Music
http://www.miserymadebeautiful.com

[Plowking]

Thanks Michael - It's certainly a field of music that I would love to be making a living from - but I also just enjoy creating music for the sake of having a creative outlet and something I can share and listen to again from time to time.

I have a small short film soundtrack commission underway which is mainly going to be a soft piano track, and I'm a new member of the Irish Film Network website - so the feelers are going out.

Thanks for listening, pleasure as always to get your feedback.
Cheers
Graham

[rbowser-]

Hi, Graham! I've been looking forward to another trip to Middle Earth with you and Bilbo - now here it is. MMmmm boy this is tasty! I gobbled it hungrily, and think some notes splashed on the front of my shirt as I devoured the music.

To make something a "favorite" is kind of silly, because I can enjoy a large number of diverse things without making any my actual "favorites"--but, that being said, I'll still say that I think this "Unexpected Party" is my fave Hobbit piece.

The abrupt ending took me by surprise - That's because it's meant to segue attacca into the next segment?

You made me look up some of these libraries you're using for your gigantic movie-style sound - things you mentioned on earlier Hobbit threads, since obviously most of this isn't done with Garritan instruments, and isn't the sort of sound the average user can get.

-WOW--Symphobia, the one you said you're using the most - it lists at $1,500. - ! - Nice budget you're working with there! I see Symphobia is full of ensemble samples, for instant results - That must be very fun to work/play with!

And the CineOrch, now that's more in the realm of the average user's budget - I see that listing for $150--except the full version of Kontakt is needed, and I think that's around $350. Tutti octaves, and Tutti chords - amazing--a full orchestra Wagnering (new adjective) the listener with gigantic chords. That has to be really useful for game composers who need to come up with Instant John Williams on a daily basis. Interesting pieces of software!

One note, on that title frame I see at your "AloneTone" site, in the YouTube player - You sub-title The Hobbit as 'An Original "Mock" Soundtrack.' -- I understand what you're wanting to get across with that phrase, but the word "mock" still bothers me - it sounds a bit tawdry, apologetic even. Why not something more bold, like "A Cinematic Journey" or "A Middle Earth Suite" - You have to understand, I always shudder when people refer to their recordings as "mock ups"--I'd rather have computer recordings just be what they are, recordings in their own right, and not necessarily substitutes for the "real" thing.

Super fun stuff, thanks for the journeys, Graham!

Randy

[Plowking]

Hi Randy,

Glad you liked my latest journey into middle earth as much as I like crafting it.

These libraries are uber expensive. My composer mate is in a band, rock and blues stuff, and owns all of these libraries. He originally thought about doing this kind of music on the side, and some as backings to their album tracks. But as time went on he found he never really bothered to sit down and use them much. What a crime! So I asked as nicely as I could and since then I've been using his license and laptop. The total cost is well over a few grand, and so I offered him a price for license transferral and we're still wrangling a bit over it. Needless to say, I'm being cheeky and looking for a big discount.

The libraries are very much aimed at producing a professional sound from a desktop. Game development, and TV - tight budgets, tight deadlines - needs to sound good, but needs to be fairly rapid too. You can see the testimonials on the PS site from numerous big game composers. But I've still a lot to learn about using the various articulations and individual patches to build up natural ensembles - something I loved doing in Finale with GPO4.

Everytime I listen to the ending of this, I say the same as you...did I make that 'too' abrubt! I originally envisioned Bilbo giving the door to bag end a nudge closed, exhausted, hoping the dwarves won't be troubling him again.

And I also agree on the 'mock' soundtrack comment, and really like your suggestion about 'cinematic' theme or journey. I put that there as you know, to be sure I'm not saying here's the soundtrack to the hobbit. I'll think I'll redo those vids when I have the time

[rbowser-]

Hi Randy,

Glad you liked my latest journey into middle earth as much as I like crafting it.

These libraries are uber expensive. My composer mate is in a band, rock and blues stuff, and owns all of these libraries. He originally thought about doing this kind of music on the side, and some as backings to their album tracks. But as time went on he found he never really bothered to sit down and use them much. What a crime! So I asked as nicely as I could and since then I've been using his license and laptop. The total cost is well over a few grand, and so I offered him a price for license transferral and we're still wrangling a bit over it. Needless to say, I'm being cheeky and looking for a big discount....

Everytime I listen to the ending of this, I say the same as you...did I make that 'too' abrubt! I originally envisioned Bilbo giving the door to bag end a nudge closed, exhausted, hoping the dwarves won't be troubling him again.

Sweet! That's fantastic you gained access to those libraries - hope the deal settles down nicely in your favor. I really appreciate the opportunity to hear a talented person use them.

Ah yes, I see what you're saying about the ending. The theatre person in me would want to try a more obvious, un-subtle way to underscore that action - Percussion for the door, and a comical punctuation directly following that to illustrate Bilbo drooping in exhaustion. Corny hmm? hehe.

Thanks again for all these.

Randy

[Michael135]

Your strings still bother me a bit... If you send me the midi files, I might be able to fix it up a bit for you. You've done a very good job on the solo instruments. Good enough to make me question if some of them (the bagpipes in particular) might be real.

I really like this piece.... The strings sounding a bit fake are really the onlything that's keeping it from being a great rendering of your piece. It's good, but the strings keep very loudly distracting me from the rest of the instrumetns that you've tweaked so nicely.

[sd cisco]

Hello Graham!
Awesome work here, and in the other pieces you have posted in this series as well! What an imagination you have! And a splendid skill-set and knowledge of the genre; clear thinking and good planning, all-round impressive and entertaining! Keep up the great work!!

Best regards,
sd cisco