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M G Jacobs (mgj32)
07-14-2006, 10:51 AM
This is the first movement (so naturally posted last) of the symphony whose other movements are in Piano, then orchestra, and other similarly named threads.

The thematic material in the symphony is about half and half, original and either take-offs or quotes. In this movement there are two direct quotes, the first of which will be readily identifiable to most. The Coda I first heard as a square dance, "Gonna Raise a Ruckus Tonight," which I also heard by a bluegrass band with vocals, and was originally a Negro spiritual.

The form is classical, with a rather long development section, though fiddle soloists in a classical piece I never heard before. I may still add a banjo in the sections where the fiddles appear.

all best,
mgj

<center><table border=1><tr><td>http://www.notation.com/discus/icons/attachment_icon.gif1st movement, allegra
1 Allegro NEW MID.mid (http://www.notation.com/discus/messages/35939/1_Allegro_NEW_MID-28576.mid) (197.0 k)</td></tr></table></center>

Fred Winterling (harbor1)
07-14-2006, 04:36 PM
Hi MG,

Oh my gosh! I don’t know what to say about the 1st movement of your symphony. It exudes pure genius! I just spent almost an hour listening to it 4 times already. Everything about it simply amazes me. I don’t know how you can go so far out and bring it back so cleverly. That work is masterful. I could never even consider attempting anything like that. I don’t have enough years left in my life to complete even one of the movements. You bring so many things together with such balance, it just fascinates me.
Solo fiddles in a symphony? What a brilliant idea! I bet you would be right at home in the Bayu.
BTW, thanks for the additional tips. I fully intend to experiment with all of them. It may take me a while, but I think I should be able to make good use of your suggestions. Take care and keep writing that great stuff! I’ve got a ton of space left on my hard drive.

Cheers,
Fred

Lee Eschen (leeschen)
07-15-2006, 01:27 AM
Magnificent, MG. I just wish my MIDI facilities were better equipped so the sound quality was better. I'm currently stuck with the sound "card" built into my laptop. I have a USB-MIDI interface from Turtle Beach, but it won't work correctly with Windows XP Pro, "Pro" being the stumbling block, according to their support people.

If I could get it outside the box, I've got a few "toys" to make things much better. OTOH, my old desktop is on Win98SE, rapidly losing support and until I can afford a major upgrade, it will just sit as a web access backup.


Lee Eschen

M G Jacobs (mgj32)
07-15-2006, 07:30 AM
Hi Fred,

Glad you enjoyed it. The other three movements were fun, but this one got to be very frustrating. It's not done, but I'm going make some changes to the other movements, that I've had in mind, try to get a decent recording made of the whole thing, print a hard copy, and move on to trumpet and violin concertos, already started but idle for months.

I disagree that you can't "even consider" an extended work. I've heard enough of your compositions to be pretty sure of the opposite. I would have said the same thing four years ago. Though I have listened for over a half century and even wrote some fairly short and not very complex things, I never imagined when I discovered that computer programs could help me produce music that I wouldn't have to re-copy (and re-re-re-re-re-copy), that I would attempt anything for more than at most four instruments. Then one night I thought it might be kind of fun to just see what a ragtime piano piece might sound like if I used orchestral instruments. That turned ,after about three months, into the 3rd movement of this symphony. It took three months to get a draft because I had to learn a lot of things. For example, although I've followed scores while listening, many times, I never even took note of what the standard order of parts in a score is. So I think the important consideration is wanting to write something, rather when you start it.

While I'm thinking about it, I didn't envision the 3rd movement as the scherzo of a symphony until I had finished the draft. I was just thinking I was writing a raggish piece for orchestra, which might have been called 'Raggish Overture,' or something. It's only about six minutes long. Put a couple of your pieces together and you've got that much.

all best,
mgj

M G Jacobs (mgj32)
07-15-2006, 07:46 AM
Hi Lee,

You don't know how sorry I am to hear about sound card woes. I installed a good card on my computer, but it didn't have enough memory to make a lot of things work properly. I was finally able to get a new computer, so now I have plenty of memory, but it has a built-in sound card, which doesn't even have bass/treble adjustment controls, and I get the feeling that installing my good sound card would be difficult, if not impossible.

So my sympathy is more than a mere formality. I'm glad enough came through that you enjoyed the piece, though.

all best,
mgj

Lee Eschen (leeschen)
07-15-2006, 11:22 PM
Actually, MG, replacing a sound card is not all that difficult in a desktop type computer, and the external USB type can be used in most situations, including most laptops. Mine just won't work correctly with the "Pro" version of WinXP. And XP itself won't allow a downgrade to the "Home" version. I'd have to reformat the drive, reinstall windows, reload all my software and restore all my data (yes, I do have backups).

A desktop can also be configured with 2 separate sound cards, as many of my ham radio friends have demonstrated, and a "built-in" type can be easliy disabled if necessary.

If you like, I can advise you via direct email or you can get assistance via search at http://www.PCWorld.com .

Lee Eschen

M G Jacobs (mgj32)
07-16-2006, 06:10 AM
Hi Lee,

When I said it might be impossible to use the card I installed in my old computer in the new one (it's an Audigy 2 Zs), it's a compatibility problem that I fear. When I ordered the new computer, the options were the built-in Sigmatel or the OEM version of SoundBlaster's X-fi Xtreme Music card. I tried to order the latter, but was told that with 4 GB of memory it would cause a conflict. Tech support said only that it would be a motherboard issue. So I could have either the built-in with 4 GB of memory or the X-fi card with 3 GB. Since my concern was composition rather than gaming, I went for the former...only to find out it did not have two hardware synths. This means that I am limited to 16 midi channels.

I can install the Audigy 2 Zs (then download the 100MB of updates), and turn off the on-board audio controller. That part is straight forward. It's the potential for incompatibility that I fear. Thanks for the link--I will certainly take a look. I'm also about to contact Dell and Creative support to see what I can find out about any problems people have had with my card and the system I bought.

All of this with fingers crossed, of course...

I have heard about two cards in the same computer and looked into it a little when I bought the Audigy 2 Zs for the old computer and had problems with it. It turned out the card was defective, so a replacement was sent, which worked well. So I never got very far with the two card solution. In the current computer, there is only one expansion slot, so it's really not an option. The USB external card isn't an option, either, since I sunk every dollar I had available into the computer; so I'll have to get the Audigy 2 Zs in and working or just make do with the on-board audio.

Regarding your compatibility problem: it would seem that Turtle Beach should replace your USB card with one that works with Win XP Pro, or update the drivers, or at the very least, return you money so that you can get a compatible external card.


Thanks again,
all best,
mgj