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Vote - 3rd JWFan Competition "Harry Potter"


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Choose your favourite Harry Potter inspired score  

37 members have voted

  1. 1.

    • Hermiones Crush
      15
    • Magic
      3
    • Prisoner of Azkaban Suite
      14
    • The Second Task
      3
    • Doby The Elf
      2


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Well here they are ladies and gents, here are the entries for the 3rd JW Fan site competition.

Just a quick reminder what the brief was this time:

"Write a theme for any Harry Potter related character, already having appeared in one the movies or just inspired by the books. Your choice of style and orchestration is up to you, as long as the theme fits the character. You may take Williams' music as inspiration but your theme must be original."

Five pieces were entered, here they are:

Hermiones Crush

Magic

Prisoner of Azkaban suite

The Second Task

Dobby the House Elf

Thanks very much to all those who entered. I?d also like to thank Chris Afonso for hosting the mp3 files and MSM for coming up with the competition topic.

The polls will close in four weeks

Good luck everyone and enjoy!!!

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My vote goes to Magic, I really enjoy the catchy theme and the nice string motifs, lives up to the title very nicely

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Hermione's Crush is the one. Gorgeous woodwind there at the beginning (is it clarinet?) Borrows very well from Williams' style. Prisoner of Azkaban Suite was likewise good, but overly complex in its layers, in my opinion. Hermione's Crush had one clear theme and it was just beautiful!

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I'm with Disko. Hermione's Crush is a very good cue. Magic is also good. PoA Suite has some real good orchestration in it. The second half of Dobby is fun too.

Justin

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For me, it was between Hermione's Crush and the Prizoner of Azkaban suite. I liked the melody in the clarinet in Hermione's Crush - it was very prett! - but eventually, I had to choose the Prizoner of Azkaban suite. I really loved the orchestration and the style of the piece itself. Very Harry Potter-esque! I like the middle section at 0:45 - it captures the darker side of the HP world. I also really like the last minute or so of the piece - it really captures that dramatic side of the HP world... and I like how the piece doesn't end on that final chord at 4:03... it keeps you intrigued until the very end. Overall, I think it's an excellent piece of music.

Congrats to all the people who submitted pieces! They are each good - and you all had more guys than I to even write a piece for this contest! ;)

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Wow. Absolutely great effort by everyone, these are fantastic!

Hermione's Crush was very beautiful, with a nice theme.

Magic was so much fun, very mischevious (love the pizzicato)!

The Second Task seemed very fitting for the scene, great atmosphere.

Dobby the House-Elf was fun too, and appropriately silly.

In the end, though, there was no question for me - I was blown away by the PoA Suite. Special kudos to the composer! A thrilling piece of music, and I wouldn't be surprised at all to hear something very similar from Williams in the future HP film. Excellent job! BTW, I would be interested to hear what the different segments of the suite represent.

Thanks Forge, Chris and MSM!

Ray Barnsbury-who loves these competitions

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I'd like to know too. Also, what program was used to create these files? It sounds better than Finale 2004 which I have.

Ray Barnsbury

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Hermione's Crush. It fits the character, and it has a great theme. I like this one most.

The PoA suite is pretty cool, but perhaps a bit over-complex. I like Magic a lot as well. You know, I like all of them. ;) But Hermione's Crush is the winner.

- Marc

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Wow - more than 120 views but only 12 votes. Maybe some other folks could listen to these great pieces and put their opinions to good work. Have at it, folks!!

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I've asked to have this topic made a sticky item and advertised on the Main Page, so we'll see what happens.

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Wow...those were great compositions. I wish I was able to do it. It seems like I can never get pass the first ten measures without hitting a road block. But anyway, in the end my vote went to The Second Task....it was close but that composition just stuck with me.

JWFAN4LIFE

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They were all great, but I think Hermione's Crush is my favorite (BTW- I was the first one who voted for it!)

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randomly i have actually found myself relistening to hermione's crush. well done, composer.

i have some constructive criticism though, mostly with orchestration, it seems - the piece almost seems atonal around 1:51, unless my ears deceive me... i disagree with bringing the strings so high at the end there; i also think the bass around 0:30 could have been more pronounced since i cant even tell what notes are being played, they are so low. at 2:05, those low strings repeating the theme could have been a bit louder, as well.

1:33 - gorgeous!

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Heh, I think I would've entered if the use of John Williams' themes was allowed ("Harry's Walk and the Dementor Attack" from The Order of the Phoenix, that would've been fun to score).

But anyway, this music is great.

Hermiones [sic] Crush I think misrepresents Hermione...she's supposed to be a strong female character, but she gets a tender, romantic theme...a bit disturbing, too, considering her age. As for the music itself, though, it's great! The atonal (?) strings near the end were a little weird, but very nice job!

Magic is short and simple, but it works. Seems to draw on "Nimbus 2000" a lot.

Doby [sic] the Elf is perhaps a bit too pronounced for such a, well, minor character, and the synth brass is no fun, but it's great compositition.

The Second Task is the only one that isn't a "concert suite," more cinematic (not necessarily better, but I happen to like the style). The Gryffindor theme would be awesome here, or Harry's theme, or something, but of course the rules wouldn't allow them...atic. Thematic. I'm way too thematic. Anyway, the piece turns kind of sinister, just as the book does. Maybe an "underwater" musical effect would have worked here...but standard orchestral music is still good. Kind of trails off at the end; a triumphant/comical motif at the end (where Harry resurfaces, having rescued all the "prisoners") would have been good.

Prisoner of Azkaban Suite is very like Hedwig's theme, but not a crude imitation of it. It introduces some great themes...sound quality is the best on this one, by the way. Wow. This is so John Williams-like. Prisoner of Azkaban Suite gets my vote.

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I voted for Hermione's Crush. I really liked the POA Suite, as well as Magic (which was rather Elfmanesque, circa Pee Wee's Big Adventure), but Hermione's Crush was so beautiful. I really enjoyed it.

Anthony

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I voted for Magic. The very end is great!

Well, they are all great! Bravo!

Maybe not every one is sutable for Harry Potter, but good music anyway!

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Hmm, I was tempted to vote for Prisoner of Azkaban Suite but it seems quite derivative so I voted for Hermiones Crush.

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Hermione's Crush by far !! ;) Tt's a bit derivative from Star Wars but not more than Williams could have done it:) It comes pretty close to Williams' style too. The theme might not be that memorable apart from the Star Wars part, and it could really use a "B part" but I think it could sound really good recorded by an orchestra or as a nicely done MIDI mockup! I don't know how fitting it would be for the character - it would have to be in connection to some love story obviously.

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I'd be interested to know whether a Clarinet sample or a real clarinet was used in Hermione's Crush? Surely you'd need to use a midi wind controller (e.g. WX-5) to get that sort of realism from a Clarinet sample.

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I'm not Hermoine's Crush composer, but I did the rendering of the version you heard. It was made with my newly adquired Garritan's Personal Orchestra libraries. That was one of my first tries in using the library, I could have done it better (the libraries sound especially great when you play the notes, instead of using a notation software). They are a great value and one of my favorite toys. I hope to use them in my own stuff soon :sigh:

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Using a wind controller on samples doesn't give you that many benefits. Sure you can assign it to a filter and volume, but thats about it. With synths like VL1 you can really use it to change the timbre of the instrument. This clarinet from GPO doesn't sound that realistic here - VSL has recorded each interval to and from all notes (an octave up and down) and therefore captures valve sounds etc., which makes a much more realistic performance.

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Cheers for the info Simon. I am debating whether to buy a wind controller. But your saying I wouldn't see any benefit with using samples, I'd need to get a VL synth to get any real improvement?

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a VL1 or VL70m is created to be used with a breath/wind controller. The instruments are not samples but physical modelling. You will get very expressive instruments, but on the other hand they won't sound as real as samples. I will take samples any day for orchestral emulations....

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Congrats to all the Composers, all tracks are Nice,

I´m gonna give 3 Votes.,

Best Orchestration and composition to................

PoAzS

Best Motive and emotion Track to......................

Hermione´s Crush.

And Finaly Best Harry Potter Theme..(And the vote that Counts)

Doby the Elf.

D.M

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I had to go with Prisoner of Azkaban suite. I think that it is marvelous composition that not only captures the essence of Harry Potter, which it does marvellously, but also evry magical Williams score, as well as some John Barry-esque things that went on, I felt.

That said, I must commend every composer here. Great work. Hermiones Crush truly is a moving piece. Magic makes me smile. It is really magic. The Second Task, though I miss its context, is wonderfully powerful. And Dobby the House Elf catches the playfullness of a mischievious character set free. I love all of the music.

Great job!

~Conor

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Wow! it's been a long time since i visited this site again and i find this amazing composing contest:

What a pity there isn't more compositions, 'cos the ones in here are just wonderful!!

But i had to choose and i decided (after a careful listening at each cue) that my vote went to "POA suite". I like it very much not only for the style in it, but also for the atmosphere that creates: it sounds so much like John Williams!!! :|

The other compositions were also very beautiful and charming! I don`t think "Hermione's crush" fits to the character but the composition is great and very progressive till a nice "climax" towards the end.

"Magic", well, the title suits the composition 8O Great cue, I enjoyed it very much. I always liked JW's themes from "Home Alone" and this track has a lot of that spirit.

"The Second task", also a great composition, although i think that those drums over the first two minutes reminds me more an atmosphere from a war film. But the rest of the cue is very depicting (is that spelled that way? i'm spanish and i have my doubts about that word, hehe), just like Mr. Williams like to do. Also, good changes of the rythm, perfectly chained from my point of view.

"Dobby the elf", an excellent cue but i felt it was a bit saturated of themes and motifs; one after other, without a rest for the listener. But those were very enjoying, i can assure 8O

Well, i have to be grateful for having enjoyed such great compositions; i'd vote the compositors reviewed their own cues after the voting is finished, wouldn't it be interesting?

A salute for everybody, this forum carries on with that great atmosphere that made me got in here a year ago 8O

P.D. My paragraphs, phrases and words may (i'd better say:"surely" XD) contain errors who may lead to misunderstandings, i hope not. But if that's the case i feel sorry and i would ask you to inform me. I've been learning english for almost ten years but i still have a long way to walk to a full understanding of your language.

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Best Orchestration and composition to................

PoAzS

I would concur and thence goes my vote. Hermione's Crush is nice but IMO, it just sounds too epic and sad for a prissy schoolgirl at Hogwarths.

Yes, JW went that direction for Anakin and Padme, but there's the whole context of that being a forbidden union etc. Across the Stars is one of if not his darkest love theme.

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  • 2 weeks later...

After listening to each track a few times, I cued up both Harry Potter movies on my DVD player and played each peice over the scenes I thought they matched best. The one piece that could realistically replace a cue from one of the films, AS IS, was definitely the PoA suite. Like the other posts have mentioned, the other cues have some great parts, but my vote was based on the whole piece. I think I even heard a little Raiders influence in there! Great Job!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Sorry been away for a couple of days.

Well it was a close race between "Hermiones Crush" and the "Prisoner of Azkaban Suite" and I thought the latter was going to just come through in the last minute. But in the end "Hermiones Crush" won through.

The winner of the 3rd JWFan Competition goes to "Hermiones Crush". My congratulations goes to AI for a truly inspired theme.

;)

Lets not forget the "Prisoner of Azkaban Suite" by Jason Graves which came a very close second, for its superb orchestration and its John Williamsesque sound.

Well done to all the rest who submitted and thank you to everyone who voted. The standard of the scores just goes up and up with every new competition.

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OMG, I was so busy I forgot to vote... :)

Damn, now I don't have the right anymore to complain about people ignoring the previous contests! ;)

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Thanks for the votes everyone! and a big thanks to CharlesK for his rendering.

I thought the POA Suite was very good indeed. And the other pieces were also good.

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Congrats, AI. I was very impressed with your work.

Thanks to Forge for the contest, as well as his work on converting my MIDI file to MP3 format. Thanks also to the three votes and all the kinds words for my piece, The Second Task.

To the other composers, I say great job. I liked all the pieces. Can't wait for the next competition.

Anthony

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi,

I'm very interested on the score/sheet music of the Prisoner oh azkaban suite.

I'm Nicola Ventrella,an italian orchestra conductor.

Is it avaliable?

Many thanks

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keep checking back at

http://www.halleonard.com/search_items.jsp...00&type=product

There are many other Williams suites there, including other Harry Potter suites. For each score, there is the option of buying the conductors' score only, or the conductors' score WITH all individual parts for each performer.

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I think they were referring to the score for the original suite which was composed by AI. Not by John Williams.

The "Prisoner of Azkaban Suite" was composed by Jason Graves. AI's score was "Hermiones Crush".

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Jason Graves, this is a great honor, to have a conductor offer to play your music with an orchestra. I assume that is what the sheet music is wanted for. However, I assume that you used a sequencer for this and that the piece is not properly engraved. I was a professional engraver for Hal Leonard, and I would be more than happy to create "Signature Edition" quality sheet music for this. If you sent me a midi file, along with detailed program assignments, I could make this a reality.

-Jesse

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've not looked at this thread until now, but I must say I've greatly enjoyed all the themes contributed to this competition, but I adore Hermione's Crush, what a fantastic melody!

Notwithstanding Williams' prowess at symphonic arrangement and complementing (or even propping up) onscreen visuals, I feel his greatest strength is his gift of melody - and in that respect more than any other, Hermione's Crush feels like a Williams piece.

Next time a competition such as this comes up, I can't wait to hear what comes on offer.

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  • 2 months later...

The day of recaning is coming! MUWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!!!

I have a keyboard with MIDI and a 3 1/2 with all kinds of options. Borrowing from a friend, I will learn it all and try to enter one of the contests one day!

By the pricking of stefan's thunb, Something Wicked This Way Comes! :)

I can't wait.

I'll be seeing you ;)

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