Bell Witch Haunting complete concert suite

[dcoscina]

For those who wish I could just write a piece longer than a minute, here's a complete version of my Bell Witch piece. It's a 3 mvmt work although the middle section is short but thankfully. It's very atonal and dissonant. Anyone who doesn't like violent scary music be warned. The final section is more pastoral, almost impressionistic. Enjoy!

p.s. I had to use compression rate of 128kbps instead of my usual 160kbps because this piece is so long and the higher resolution wouldn't fit on the server I use. Bummer because the high compression ruins some of the sonic coolness.

- Dave

Bell Witch Haunting Suite

[TheVamp]

Dude, I got a 404 on your piece. Damn, I was soooo looking forward to hearing it!

[dcoscina]

Originally Posted by TheVamp

Dude, I got a 404 on your piece. Damn, I was soooo looking forward to hearing it!

It's fixed. Give it a listen. I'm happy with the middle section but the last section...well I tweaked it, edited it, and I think it still needs some adjustments.

[drew]

I think Suite is a bit of a misnomer. More like 5 minutes of underscore, but very well done if that was your intent.

[Andrew Sigler]

Snap!

says Drew

[Philzy]

Hey Dave

Great tension track I like it. it would fit really well under a horror movie. I'm just near the completion of a horror track at the mo, just because I wanted to try a different style, which I will post when completed and you can let me know what you think to my attempt at the horror genre.

I really like your middle part adds a very different element to the track still building tension but letting the listener know there out of the creepy situation, (if that makes sense)???

Great track

Kind Regards Chris

[TheVamp]

Got to listen to your piece this morning. I thought it was really, really good. Liked those pizz strings in the middle, and what is that rasping metal sound?
So, you've already fessed up to playing some of the parts, lol. Did you use notation for the more lyrical ending? Also, I'd be very interested to know how long this piece took to do and do you think it would have been simpler to do with pencil and paper?
To another of your earlier points, I must say your command of the orchestra certainly lends a lot of realism to your work. If someone played this for me and didn't tell me it was samples, I wouldn't know the difference. But, whadda I know?

[dcoscina]

Originally Posted by TheVamp

Got to listen to your piece this morning. I thought it was really, really good. Liked those pizz strings in the middle, and what is that rasping metal sound?
So, you've already fessed up to playing some of the parts, lol. Did you use notation for the more lyrical ending? Also, I'd be very interested to know how long this piece took to do and do you think it would have been simpler to do with pencil and paper?
To another of your earlier points, I must say your command of the orchestra certainly lends a lot of realism to your work. If someone played this for me and didn't tell me it was samples, I wouldn't know the difference. But, whadda I know?

The scratching sound is called Penderecki Vlns and it's one of the many very cool effects patches found in Gold Pro. The rapid, aleatoric pizz. is also violins which I alternated with the scratching sounds. Horns were clusters as were the trombones. Also used some gongs (maybe that was the metallic sound you heard).

The middle section was more repetitive or simpler in structure than I'd originally imagined it. I changed it partly because I didn't want an overly atonal piece and partly because I heard this piece going in a different direction. It would have taken much longer to write by notation. I can spend an hour on 8 bars in Overture because I get really focussed on the details.

The final section was largely played into the sequencer but I spent the most time taking notes out, adjusting decay times and volume (CC7) etc. because I wasn't originally happy with the transition between the middle and final section.

I would characterize this as a suite though because it has 3 sections that aren't motivically or thematically related but occur in a unified piece. It might not be as melodic as people might be used to by structurally I do think it falls under that category.

I appreciate the great comments from everyone though. Very helpful!

-Dave

[Counterpoint]

Hi Dave,

Very nice work...! It really reminds me of the background music used in sci-fi/thriller TV shows from the 50's, 60's...

The first part makes me think of the Twilight Zone... I could imagine it being the backdrop for a Rod Serling narration.

The second part is neat with all the hits and 'special effects'. Very creepy.

The third part is really nice too, it sort of reminded me of the type of incidental music that was used in the first few Tomb Raider games... there's a sort of sense of "ancient discovery" and solitude.

Overall it sounds really good... definitely gives me more incentive to save my pennies up for Gold XP. It's very clean and natural sounding.

Cheers,

- Matt

[tchoyy]

Very nice demo Dave, you did a great job, the overall ambiance is very good