Battle of the Super Heroes

[Sicmu 0]

Hi ev'rybody,

to pay tribute to JW and SWIII I wrote this piece :

http://your-sicmu.zftp.com/Battle_of_the_S...uper_Heroes.mp3

Ive been a huge fan of JW for many years(having deconstructed alot of his scores) and I can now imitate easly his style, just for fun.

Wat think the experts of this pastiche ?

[nisomer 0]

very nicely done, great use of orchestration and style. the format is kinda like DOTF.

my suggestion is that you need a more developed/stronger theme. it seemed to be a little weak. also it doesnt seem energetic enough, but this is probably because it isnt played by real people, and probably done just on finale or something. GJ!

[batmanand 0]

TBH, when I downloadeed this I thought "oh not again. a wannabe composer thinking they can be like another great composer". But this piece is great! Unfocussed, yes. Lacking in much structure, yes. Overly dramatic, yes. But fun! And good orchestrations. Loved those choppy strings int eh middle section, and the choir near the end. Seriously, this (if done with real performers) would be awesome!

[stewdog1 50]

Very nicely done. Your skills far exceed that of Zimmer already.

Did I hear a little Superman near the beginning? As in the part of the theme that screams "Superman!".

[King Mark 3,631]

It's not bad.

That said, if your planning on beeing the next JW,you still have your work cut out for you.

K.M.

[jamesie 1]

I already like it better than Battle of the Heroes. ! Seriously!

[King Mark 3,631]

I'll try to forget that I read that while you edit your post.

K.M.

[Jacck 23]

I'll try to forget that I read that while you edit your post.

K.M.

lollololollollololollollololollollololollollololol x million

[jamesie 1]

Hey I have my own opinion on John's most uninteresting concert piece of the last several years.

[Sicmu 0]

Thank you guys for listening and for your comments,

I'm now more in concert music and I just wrote this piece for fun and because I really admire JW, I try to do something different when writing "pure" music.

You know the sound libraries limitations and no doubt that it would be more powerful with real chorus and orchestra, you could also notice exactly the opposite with the original "Battle of the Heroes" played by computers.

King Mark, you deserve your avatar !

Stewdog 1 , I can't find the quotation you mention, maybe because my piece is almost entirely in minor mode where Superman theme is in C major, can you tell me the timing ?

[Luke Skywalker 1,810]

Hey I have my own opinion on John's most uninteresting concert piece of the last several years.  

yes evryone is entitled to it.

And suffer the consequences

[stewdog1 50]

Stewdog 1 , I can't find the quotation you mention, maybe because my piece is almost entirely in minor mode where Superman theme is in C major, can you tell me the timing ?

It's in the 0:59 - 1:03 range. Not exactly, but it really stood out to me the first time I heard it.

[Henry B 50]

Are you "Lundquist"?

[David Coscina 4]

Thank you guys for listening and for your comments,

I'm now more in concert music and I just wrote this piece for fun and because I really admire JW, I try to do something different when writing "pure" music.

You know the sound libraries limitations and no doubt that it would be more powerful with real chorus and orchestra, you could also notice exactly the opposite with the original "Battle of the Heroes"  played by computers.

What sample library or libraries did you use for this? I thought I heard some VSL string repetition tool sounds but the brass sound like either GPO or EWQLSO.

this is a very good composition. I suspect if you had this played by a real orchestra it would be very very close to Williams in terms of its sound. Stylistically you nailed it though. the harmonic suspensions, the wind flourishes complementing the action, the low string short repeating figures, everything is deftly done.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

Pretty neat. It would be great to hear this played by a real orchestra. Very Williamsy.

[Karovd 0]

That's pretty good, I like it, it also has some typical JW moments (e.g. at 3:12 with the woodwinds & Xylophone)

Usually I'm pretty good at hearing what Sample libraries are used - it does sounds like EWQLSO to me, but not entirely, care to elaborate?

Cerrabore: He is not "Lundquist" - because... well, I am.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Your work is puerile and under-dramatized. You lack any sense of structure, character, or the Aristotelian unities.

[Sicmu 0]

Thank you for listening,

Who is Lundquist ?

You were right,this almost entirely done with EWQLSO Gold but the muted trumpet.

I agree that "battle of the Heroes" is not the best Williams we can hear but because he is a professional he never did a bad score.

It's kind of paradox that to me, this film music is better enjoyed as a standalone (since I was ten).

[David Coscina 4]

Nice job using EWQLSO Gold. Were you also using the new Symphonic Choirs? You must because of the text that's being sung. Very good sir.

Did you use a notaton program like SIbelius or Finale or Overture to compose this? The only reason I ask is that it seems very much step-entered. Some things don't flow sonically as well as if they were played in realtime. The brass short repeated figures in particular have strange cut-offs. Just a question.

But hey, the music is really top notch! I'd love hear this played by a real group.

[jamesie 1]

{Stefancos: Your work is puerile and under-dramatized. You lack any sense of structure, character, or the Aristotelian unities.}

That sounds like something Wednesday Adams said in The Addams Family Values..........

[Sicmu 0]

Thank you for the kind words Fiery Angel,

The choir is "Advanced Choir" from Peter.S : it's a pretty old library but it still works good with syllables.

I already post this song on the EWQL forum just for fun : just to show that it's still possible to use old libraries and give the feeiling of words, it's almost impossible to understand words when the choir blends with the orchestra.

Anyway that's one reason that does not make this song an entry for the monthly contest but there are others reasons :

- The contest is judged by members so it's much a matter of how popular you are in the forum than musical considerations.

- I already won a contest in december for a christmas song (pretty much in the Home Alone style), the price was the Upgrade for the Gold lib (not released yet !) and that's my point : the fast repetitions on brass sound fake simply because it's the same sample repeated again and again, the Upgrade should come with fast recorded repetitions but I'm suspicious because of tempo issues.

- I entered the notes directly with the Sequencer and it's quantized : that's why sometimes you can feel the lack of rubato. Usually I just play the notes on keyboard regardless of the tempo : it's more natural but the midifile becomes a mess and I had some latency issues with record and playback.

Thank you for your interest.

[Damo 0]

Very nicely done.

Pretty neat. It would be great to hear this played by a real orchestra. Very Williamsy.

I agree..It would be great to hear this played by a real orchestra

[David Coscina 4]

Your work is puerile and under-dramatized. You lack any sense of structure, character, or the Aristotelian unities.

Hmmm, the first sign of music illiteracy is an abundance of completely useless adjectives.

Steef if you knew the first thing about music composition you'd also respect Sicmu for the hard work and solid craftsmanship this track reveals. Get past the superficial sampled orchestra- it's a damned good piece.

[Henry B 50]

Cerrabore: He is not "Lundquist" - because... well, I am.

Ah, I see. The synths used sound the same as the ones you used with your Dark Forces soundtrack conversion, that's why I wondered.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

I'm a sucker for synthy rhythms and this had it very nicely. It's good that most people here liked it, but some snobs are quick to criticise other film score fans who write their own music because they think they're feebly trying to be like their idol. I'm sure John Williams didn't look up to other composers for inspiration when he was starting out either.

[Jeshopk 8]

Thumb up! Keep up the good work. And even though you say this is derivative, don' let the apple fall TOO far from the tree in your own style, like some composers do.

[Sicmu 0]

The style of John Williams, though impossible to mistake for another is a combination of a lot of classical composers styles : if you listen to a few seconds of Walton's second symphony you will agree.

It's dangerous to be an imitator indeed, that's why I concentrate much more on concert pieces now (including chamber music), to develop my own style while the concert music of JW doesn't impress me a lot.

thanx for listening.

[Jeshopk 8]

The style of John Williams, though impossible to mistake for another is a combination of a lot of classical composers styles : if you listen to a few seconds of Walton's second symphony you will agree.  

It's dangerous to be an imitator indeed, that's why I concentrate much more on concert pieces now (including chamber music), to develop my own style while the concert music of JW doesn't impress me a lot.  

thanx for listening.

The learned composer can indeed fall into the trap of attempting to re-invent the wheel when searching for their own style, when indeed, they might have found it earlier without the guidance of professors telling them they needed to break new ground. Like Spielberg said, there's nothing wrong with being derivative to learn your ABC's, but eventually, you must add something of yourself to the mix, which is impossible to avoid anyway. Therefore, I find the search for my own voice not to be an effortful quest, but a natural development that occurs the more I write. Listen to conventional early Jerry Goldsmith scores and you may be hard pressed to separate him from many other professionals of the day. At least he was highly influenced by them. He did write experimental music which would become part of his unmistakable signature, but the major part of his success is attributable to his manipulation of melody and orchestration. He could never have gotten there without being derivative.

And your concert music is of interest here. Where can it be heard? We're not just interested in Williams!

[Luke Skywalker 1,810]

We're not just interested in Williams!

Humph!

Ban him!

j/k