Can't even guess how long this took to get to this stage! But this is my testimony to not quitting on a piece of music.

https://soundcloud.com/dan-hoch-784636941/perseverance

Credits to BIAB for the initial groove and inspiration. Then further developed in Scaler2 and eventually the cheery on the top with Spitfires BBC Orchestral sounds.

Best part, there is more of me on the keys than I would have imagined just a couple of months back. I can attribute that to retirement.

Thanks for listening.

The two sections are both lovely. The opening with the emphasis on piano has a very nice progression and melody. I'm glad you were not averse to repeating. That's where the power is. The second one is, of course, more fleshed out orchestrally. My nit is that the levels between the two are too far apart. When the second part hits, it's quite a jarring change. Once I settled back in, however, it finished nicely, though the ending suffers a bit from the same problem, to my ears...a too sudden drop in volume that seems out of character.

Dan,

An excellent piece.

The piano is really pretty. The orchestration is well done. I did not find the change as "jarring" as expected (from Tangmo's comment), but it was "sudden" (which might be your intent). If you want to "soften" it a bit, you could add two short stabs leading into it to "get the ear ready" (or not). After the initial start, the "surprise" fades quickly.

I really enjoyed the listen. Well done!

fj

Sorry if the transition startled you. It used to startle me and I was going to adjust, but I think I just got used to it. So this is the warning to others who come along

Thanks for the comments, much appreciated. Now will take what I have learned and move on to the next project.

hi musicstudent excellent peace of music really well done thanks for sharing eric

Pretty melody and nice arrangement. Just a minor niggle, when your orchestra took centre stage, the drumkit cymbals that appeared around two minutes in seemed a bit too tinny and thin to match the change in mood. Larger cymbals and some timpani might have been a better choice. Nevertheless, I enjoyed my listen. Well done.

You have a good ear. I introduced the orchestra with the kettle drums but that is pretty much the extent of my orchestral percussion sounds. So I kept the EZD2 rock kit rocken. I planned on buying the 29USD Orchestral Percussion sounds from Spitfire but hesitated. I guess now I have no choice. Thanks for noticing.

I thought it was fantastic! The orchestra transition was a little hard for me, that's the only ding. Very impressed with what you did, kept my ear attentive throughout the piece.

Dan, this is really nice.

Melodic right from the first note, enticingly musical from so many different aspects, with dimension.

Enjoyable keyboard work throughout (good job) and the driving orchestral music has certainly delivered what you clearly set out to achieve.

Retirement must be working

What a great retirement you are having. Piano sounds great. Nice touch and taste. Man, when those strings came in at 1:30ish, I pushed back on my chair as if to avoid them. Haha. Then I quickly embraced them as if they were part of the 2nd movement. Loved it!

Marty, your comments gave me a big laugh this morning . Thanks

I liked this track from the very first notes, and I thought about the first section as a gentle invitation to the listener. Before the orchestra came in, I was thinking what a great tutorial on the value of simplicity. Good development of your basic statement as you built it up throughout the piece.

My input, for what it’s worth, is that I would back off on the high hats a little bit in the first part.. Use a little more understated percussion component. For my taste, I haven’t found the high hats that I like… They’re always a little bit too clangy and I’m looking for something very gentle and soft… Probably there someplace but I can’t find it!

Lovely, lovely music!! This would be great in a film!! Love the change....very marked and dramatic but it fits.....also would work great in a film! GREAT stuff!! Take care. Greg

Beautifully simple with the drama of the orchestral entry making for a breath take or two.
Very well done!

Robert

Very cinematic!

A startle is good every now and then

Excellent composition, arrangement and performance.

J&B

Really do appreciate the input and kind words. I don't spend much time over in this specific PGM forum since my recordings are few and far between, however, I am hoping that will change in time to come. The fact that you folks take time to listen to my offerings encourages and humbles me.

This tune started out a long ago as my Grand Opus. But I never could flush it out. So don't be surprised it you see this come back in some revised mutation.

In the mean time, if you see me over in the other PGM forums, be sure to say hi.

Dan