Jaap: a lovely score! Beautiful, rich textures, delightfully contrasting woodwind colours. I like the pizzicato strings supporting them. Great balance between strings and wind. Very well done!

Diar: I enjoyed your reharmonization. Creative and well scored.

Diar Mouradi: nice idea to use the cellos at the beginning and nice woodwinds in the Allegro

Peter: an innovative approach! The introduction feels dream-like, with a beautiful handover to woodwind. The double basses are a big feature - and so is the brass chorale (with a warm contrabassoon).

Wonderful entry, Diar! Only a couple extra comments from me. First, in the 12th to 9th measures from the end, I think your mockup does not accurately represent the eighth notes in the Bassoons, but if you want it to sound like your mockup, you should notate it in one of these ways: 1. add slurs over every individual measure with dots on every eighth note; 2. omit all the rests and add slurs and dots as outlined previously (in option #1); 3. Do the same thing (presented in option #2) but put in tenuto marks instead of dots. Second, in the 8th to 6th measures from the end, the harmonization was brilliant, and since this is the only time any of your Oboes play, you could easily change the 2nd Oboe to English Horn for the excerpt to make it sound less "honky", as Thomas mentioned, and still sound like an Oboe.

Tonny: a uniquely modern approach! The colour blends and textures are unusual - and effective, for the most part. Thomas’s advice about trade-offs and blending would help you get the finish you want. Very enjoyable!

Wonderful entry, Liam! Great ideas all around, and I have no concerns to add to what Thomas has said.

Diar: another innovative approach! You’ve turned the standard approach on its head! The woodwind writing is exciting and gives the whole piece a wonderful lift. The strings coming in later adds to the drama. Very clever!

Tonny Vorrberg: nice change from brass to oboe/violins in the intro and what a nice butterfly-flute-trill in the Allegro

Peter Branyai: beautiful choirlike intro, especially the viola-line!

Alexander: Great work! The introduction is very carefully - and richly - orchestrated. With the harp and spooky percussion, it feels very cinematic - like the soundtrack to a moody Beethoven biopic (or a particularly gothic remake of Pride and Prejudice!) Lovely counterpoint and harmony. The violas and bass clarinet give a haunting rhythmic colour intensifying the melody above it, leading to a dramatic symphonic climax. Full of surprises and sparkling jewels!

Liam: a joyous approach! I loved the flute and first violins - at places they can be heard breaking through the texture like the sun breaking through the clouds. Beautifully Beethovenesque! (As a harp player myself, I’m not sure how much the harp would add to the texture in actual performance, but the mockup sounds good.) I love the drama towards the end with the trumpet triplets and timpani roll.

Great work, everyone! Chiming in with some bassoonist perspective for some of you: Diar: Nice parts, but I would prefer to see it all in bass clef. Easier to read for the conductor, especially for the 2nd bsn part, and no bassoonist would ever complain about reading a G in bass clef. Jaap: Great writing in the first bars - we love doubling violins an octave below! I agree with Thomas's very first point, though! (And a bit sceptical to the open G strings in the 2nd violins within this otherwise very nice writing.) Alexander: Sounds great! Just a few things: Confusing to have different lengths, articulations and dynamics of the first note. An orchestra would intuitively try to match all of this to a common expression, and having so many different things at the same time, might work against your intentions. Bar 3: wrong whole bar rest for the upbeat. Bar 4: Why is the articulation in bsn different from everyone else? Bar 7-8: Why does the bassoon reach its top dynamic before everyone else? And why don't we follow the trp/flugelhorn up to the forte? Bar 9-10: it will sound better and more precise if you detach the last note in the bassoon part from the slur. A downward octave legato is kind of risky on bassoon. 2nd last bar: slur over repeated notes in 1st bassoon doesn't make sense. Your options are articulated (which could be tenuto, portato or whatever), or tied - which would just be a long note.

@peterbouma3943

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This is exactly why I also read all comments. This is very insightful, thanks from this string player!

Jaap Cramer: The woodwinds sixteenth accompanied with the pizzicato strings is clever and nice!

PETER BARANYI: Beautiful arrangement, and it will improve once you incorporate more slurring. DIAR MOURADI: Very original score, there was some type of interesting harmonic differences in the tutti section. TONNY VORBERG: Interesting arrangement. The beginning seemed disconnected near the end. JAAP CRAMER: So very interesting! That "fp" was a fun shock! ALEXANDER VAKHITOV: Wow! Such a fun arrangement! I really wish you had done more! LIAM KENNEDY: Thomas said it - it has a NOBLE sound. Good job!

Hello Thomas! I am very sorry for the late reply. I have been applying your insights though in my newer attempts at orchestration, thank you very much! I got even more interested in orchestration, joined your Patreon, I'll possibly buy a book of yours in the near-future, you're an excellent teacher. Thank you for everything, I look ahead to the next challenge, hopefully I'll be on a level to give feedback on others' works too!

Peter Baranyai: I like your choice of instruments in the opening, and your use of brass. Diar Mouradi: Love the solo cello. I like the slurring in your winds. Well thought out! Tonny Vorrberg: Nice colourful arrangement. Jaap Cramer: You have a really good feel for writing for orchestra. Alexander Vakhitov: Beautiful, almost cinematic-sounding score. Liam Kennedy: Great sense of motion and momentum in your arrangement.

Liam Kennedy: i like your nice use of trumpets! :-)

Alexander Vakhitov: beautuful intro, interesting, effective rythmical fill ins of bassclarinet and violas

Amazing entry, Jaap! Generally, watch out that you eliminate collisions between notes and dynamic markings. Putting your Bassoon an octave below the melody in the 1st Violins and/or putting the Flute an octave higher are very Beethovenian touches. However, in the 4th to 5th measures after the Repeat Sign, do not put dots over the pizz. (unless you want a very dry sound).

Péter That's a really cool score, handing off to the brass in those last 4 bars before B is an excellent idea. A lot of the double bass part I feel would be more characteristic for the cello, especially if we're scoring Beethoven. Also I feel there could be a lot more slurring overall. Diar That cello solo at the beginning is just perfect. Really well done. My only major critique might be the last few bars of brass feeling a bit out of place. Maybe alternating between forte and piano in each bar could possibly make it feel more in line with what came before. Tonny Nice work, Tonny! I think you could be a bit more clear with your score markings. There's a lot of missing dynamics and slurs, and a lack of indicating which part is playing in the winds. Jaap Such a fun and creative score. Fantastic orchestration, Jaap! I don't think the flute needs to come in at mezzoforte, it should be heard fine at piano. Alexander I can't help but think how much more beautiful that intro would be with just solo flute (though it is still gorgeous as written). Still a great score, and very imaginative! I'm a bit worried the harp might be mostly inaudible, especially in the allegro section. Liam Beautiful work! You've done a great job of establishing character here. Like with Alexander I'm not sure the harp will be coming through much at all. The strings might also benefit from some more slurring in those first eight bars.

Diar.. I like your score mood... So original. Jaar: I like you gave all the instrument some interesting playing. It's kind of " No one will get bored on this."

Interesting score, Tonny! Before getting into the specifics, make sure that whenever you have "second voice" rests in your parts, you delete them unless you actually want the 2nd player (or 2nd part of a div. String part) to drop out during the rest(-s); and also make sure (as Thomas said on the 2nd page) you put dynamic markings in all the parts (think of each player's part by itself when you proofread, for the players only see their part in performance). More specifically, first, in the intro (or the first page): I think you should keep the 3-harmony going in the 2nd measure, rather than briefly dropping out the support in between the bass line and melody during the transition and not restoring it until the 1st beat of the next measure. Second, make sure that you use quarter notes instead of whole rests in the 1-beat measures immediately before and after the Common Time Signature, or else you might mess up the player's counting. Third, in the 2nd to 3rd measures after the Repeat Sign, you might want to try putting the Double Bass part an octave lower and combine the existing Cello part with the original Bass part, using div. to see if that reduces any "clogged" feeling. Finally, starting in the 5th measure after the Repeat Sign, I think you forgot to put "arco" markings over the Cello and Viola parts (Proofread!), or else the slurs in the Violas and the half note in the Cellos might be confusing. Overall, a great effort, but definitely watch and apply Thomas's video "12 Common Scoring errors".

Baranyai Péter Nice and gentle start. Maybe don’t double oboe with clarinet there, a solo would give it more personal expression. In bar 2, the last note in the second violin should be E flat (dominant 7th). I like your brass, simple and effective. The measured tremolos in the viola are a great idea. You don’t need the treble clef in the cello, keep those notes in the bass clef, or maybe tenor clef, but only if it gets slightly solistic. Diar Mouradi Love the cello solo! It’s a pity your sound set doesn’t play it very well. Wonderful woodwind setting for the main theme, and the leggieramente is also very lively and refreshing. I agree with Thomas on the over-abundance of bass drum. But altogether, very nice work. Tonny Vorrberg Some very nice ideas. Always good to see alto trombone. Nice flute trills, and the pizz. under the woodwinds figures are very good. Watch out for stray voices and rests in divisis (which you don’t really need here) and winds on a shared staff. Oh, and don’t forget to put your name on the score, it’s great work, nothing to be ashamed of! Jaap Cramer Lot to love here, very original ideas and pretty well realised. I like the syncopated accompaniment, very characteristic. The slurred staccato on the triplet runs will not sound as playful in the strings as you may intend. This bowing is actually a bit strained. If you want those notes light and separated, just write them unslurred (like the viola/cello), with or without staccato dots, then they will be played with a bright spiccato by default. Alexander Vakhitov It’s not exactly Beethoven’s orchestration anymore, but this score is great fun! I like the powerful trumpet-flügel combo, and the nice triplet accompaniment. The fanfare at the end made me chuckle. It’s not my style, but it’s very nicely done. Liam Kennedy The warm strings make a beautiful start. I’d give the second violins a bit more support if they have to play all the harmony against three whole string sections. I’d add more slurs to increase smoothness. Very lively score with quite a few good ideas, I enjoyed it a lot. Great effort.

Interesting entry, Peter! Some remarks from me would be: Generally, you should use dotted half notes (rather than a half note tied to a quarter note) on the 1st-3rd beats of a measure (this does not violate the "split the middle" rule). As for more specific details: First, in m. 1-4, the two-octave gap between the Cellos and Basses was interesting, but if you want a more solid bass sound, then put an F2 in the Cellos div., which would create octaves (F2-F3) and fill in the gap. Second, in the 12th measure from the end, I think the chord on the 1st beat (which continues until it changes on the 4th beat) is rather blurry and clustered (consider redistributing the pitches so that there is no D4, less density near bottom, and a Bb4 in the 2nd Violins to keep consistent octaves in the Violins). Third, in the 9th and 8th measures from the end, the Contrabassoon part is rather virtuosic. Fourth, in the 6th measure from the end, you should give the lower Strings a new marking of "f", or else they might not be heard against the Brass. Fifth, in the 2nd measure from the end, the Cellos should change to tenor clef (since the part does not go very high), or even better, not change at all (since you stopped your entry almost right after the Cellos went up into their tenor register). Sixth, and finally, in the last measure, you should only use a turn mark (not a turn and a mordent mark, which would be confusing) in the 1st Violins. Otherwise, a very innovative and pleasing arrangement.

JAAP: I liked the pizz. bass under the 16th-notes but thought the fp made the start of the Allegro section disjointed rather than smooth (which may have been your intent). Nice finish to the piece. ALEXANDER: A very lush opening (I liked the Snare). I also liked the joyful, extemporaneous finish. The Flugel and Trumpet made the start of the Allegro a little heavy for my taste. LIAM: I really liked the start of the Allegro and the forceful ending. I felt the piece was a little cloudy in the triplet section, but the ending clearly made up for it.

PETER: I like the way you brought the winds in at measures 3-4. I thought the start of the Allegro section sounded a bit thin harmonically, but I enjoyed the triplet-to-brass transition even if overlapping the Violin into the first note would improve the transition even further. DIAR: The Cello solo at the start was brilliant! I liked the entire arrangement, especially the Flute 1 doubling of the answering sixteenth-note figures. TONNY: I found the triplet section to be the strongest part of your arrangement. A better sound set would make your arrangement sound even better.

Great score, Alexander! Only a few little things to add from me. First, in m. 2 I felt the harp should also play the resolution chord (the F 6/4 in the RH) on the 2nd beat rather than just playing on the 1st beat (which is a dissonant harmony that Beethoven resolves on the 2nd beat). Also, you slur into the downbeat many times or over repeated notes, which could be confusing of troublesome. Otherwise, an expert study in counter-rhythms, polyphony, and texture.