I hate my work project

[dbjorck]

Hi!

I've been working on something at work for 18 months now that never ends. It was supposed to only take a few months. It is frustrating, because it was actually finished a long time ago, but my boss says no; he keeps devising new ways to test it, and each leads nowhere.

With that frustration at the top of my mind, I recorded this - which I think is one of my best recordings yet!
Star Wars Theme - MP3
It's an awful lot of notes and instruments!!!

Attached MIDI is not to be played on a PC, it will only play properly on a CVP.

Brgds

Danny

[Carlo]

Hi!

Thank you, Danny, for another amazing creation of yours.

All energy and colour of John Williams' score of Star Wars is rendered with absolute freshness and passion.

I like most your recording by setting the basic tempo to 140 (with all other values getting automatically adjusted), which gives more brilliancy to the first part. Have a try and tell me what you think.

As a side issue, I guess your job problems derive from the implementation of some software system...
I know only too well what that can mean ..., whence the title of my post!

Best wishes of solving everything!

Greetings,

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Thank you. I actually started out at 140 myself as a basic tempo. But to me that isn't maestoso enough and loses the expression of some of the instruments. The start is noted as 108, and that's what I use. However at bar 4 I increase it to 150 - I felt 108, as it is written, was way too slow there. The presto parts later are actually noted as 168, but that was WAY too fast for me - sounded crazy.

I wanted a maestoso feel.

Brgds

Danny

[kempedkemp]

As usual, I tune in just in time for one of Danny's delights!

I wonder why you think this represents your best? I think everything you have shared is positively remarkable... unable to select just one favorite.

I'll say it again: I think you missed your calling.

[JohnDiV]

Hi Danny, sounded good as always. What software do you use to record/edit and download? Do you use the Midi?

Thanks
John

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Originally Posted by kempedkemp

As usual, I tune in just in time for one of Danny's delights!

I wonder why you think this represents your best? I think everything you have shared is positively remarkable... unable to select just one favorite.

I'll say it again: I think you missed your calling.

Thank you. I do wish I could become a professional, but I don't have the contacts or the money...

Brgds

Danny

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Originally Posted by JohnDiV

Hi Danny, sounded good as always. What software do you use to record/edit and download? Do you use the Midi?

Thanks
John

You already asked me that in the other thread.......

Brgds

Danny

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Originally Posted by kempedkemp

I wonder why you think this represents your best? I think everything you have shared is positively remarkable... unable to select just one favorite.

I have problems selecting a favourite too. But considering the ratio difficulty/work/result, I think this is the most successful attempt. John Williams is absolutely amazing in his scoring. When I recorded the individual voices, it sounded nothing like Star Wars. Only when it was all put together did the unique John Williams sounds come out. He is truly a musical genius. I didn't have to do much other than follow his instructions - and it all came out beautifully. After recording I'm starting to understand how he does it a bit, and I would never have thought of what he does. I wish I could do the same. It sounds quite straight forward when you hear the result, but believe you me, the notes and harmonies behind the "simple" melodies are very complex.

I have made a minor remix - I tried to make it more clearer, distinct, and intense: Star Wars Theme - MP3

Attached MIDI is as usual not to be played on anything other than a CVP as it uses CVP specific voices.

Brgds

Danny

[Carlo]

Hi!

Thank you for the remixed version, which I have tried to listen at 125 as the basic tempo (less than 140 ).
The fairly solemn beginning gets more and more animated, and the presto section starting at bar 98 does not produce a blurred effect.
The very complex bass lines also emerge more clearly, but do not overwhelm the upper lines.

Originally Posted by dbjorck

Only when it was all put together did the unique John Williams sounds come out.
...
It sounds quite straight forward when you hear the result, but believe you me, the notes and harmonies behind the "simple" melodies are very complex.

I suppose that Williams deeply studied the styles and orchestrations by Richard Strauss and Sergei Prokofiev.
Every now and then, however, he picks out of the magic hat a melodic theme that would also have pleased Tchaikovsky, and the total audience is fully delighted.

What do you think?

Best regards,

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Originally Posted by Carlo

Thank you for the remixed version, which I have tried to listen at 125 as the basic tempo (less than 140 ).
The fairly solemn beginning gets more and more animated, and the presto section starting at bar 98 does not produce a blurred effect.
The very complex bass lines also emerge more clearly, but do not overwhelm the upper lines.

So... does that mean you like it better now, even at the slower speed......? Or is 140 still a requirement?

Originally Posted by Carlo

I suppose that Williams deeply studied the styles and orchestrations by Richard Strauss and Sergei Prokofiev.
Every now and then, however, he picks out of the magic hat a melodic theme that would also have pleased Tchaikovsky, and the total audience is fully delighted.

Yes, I see what you mean. His music is very reminiscent of all three, and especially his nack of producing totally new, but enchanting melodies - like Tchaikovskij did. A little Rachmaninoff in there as well.

Brgds

Danny

[Carlo]

Hi!

Originally Posted by dbjorck

you like it better now, even at the slower speed......?

It is exactly so.
(I wouldn't dare to put requirements on any musician I esteem).

Originally Posted by dbjorck

A little Rachmaninoff in there as well.

I do agree, especially for the theme we hear at the end of the film (in the throne hall), when Princess Leia awards medals to the winning heroes (Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Tchewbecca, and the two droids), in front of all lined-up soldiers of Republic.

Best regards,

[JohnDiV]

Danny, you are just one of those special musicians that is truly gifted. Your music reading is remarkable. I struggle one note at a time and use my ear more than my eyes. I was a lazy and still am a lazy music reader. You make me want to practice to read better again. The only way you learn and get better reading music is to read, read, read it.

This is one of the best works you did Danny and you have done a lot of really good pieces.

Keep them coming

John

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Originally Posted by JohnDiV

Danny, you are just one of those special musicians that is truly gifted. Your music reading is remarkable. I struggle one note at a time and use my ear more than my eyes. I was a lazy and still am a lazy music reader. You make me want to practice to read better again. The only way you learn and get better reading music is to read, read, read it.

This is one of the best works you did Danny and you have done a lot of really good pieces.

Keep them coming

John

Thank you very much indeed, John! I'm especially happy that I can be a source of inspiration. As I gave up on being a concert pianist, you are my virtual audience, and an occasional applause really warms my heart.

Brgds

Danny

[JohnDiV]

Hi Danny, I am hating my job also. I think as time goes on I believe it gets harder to be motivated, especially in today's environment. They want the job to start and finish before they (Project Managers) even scope the darn thing out to know what they or the client wants as a finished project. To many managers to workers ratio. I am ready to start selling flowers on the corner.

Hang in there.

[dbjorck]

Hi!

Originally Posted by JohnDiV

I think as time goes on I believe it gets harder to be motivated, especially in today's environment. They want the job to start and finish before they (Project Managers) even scope the darn thing out to know what they or the client wants as a finished project. To many managers to workers ratio. I am ready to start selling flowers on the corner.

I totally understand what you mean. My motivation vanished years ago. Yet I was a project manager myself for many years. And then a programme manager, overseeing hundreds of projects. Having seen the problem from both sides, it still gives me a headache just thinking about it. At the moment, it is the opposite though - there is no project manager here. When I had just started in the company, I was asked by my boss how long it could take to migrate a certain application to a new environment, and in the process simplify it. All I knew about it, was that it calculated bonus payments for our major customers. Seemed simple enough, so I said a few months. 6 months later I was still documenting what on earth the old application actually did - it was a lot more complex than I thought - hence the request from my boss to simplify it... The analysis document ended up at over 300 pages. Only then could I design the new application. We are now almost 2 years later, and we've spent the last 6 months testing it. We've changed testing strategy 4 times. My boss keeps insisting that the result must be 100%, and so when we don't get that, he changes how to test so we have to start all over. We've even been at 99.8%, but that was still not good enough. The problem is that the test methods my boss wants used, all rely on comparing the old solution to the new. But the old version has a lot of bugs, that we have fixed in the new... So as I've tried to tell him again and again, it can never be 100%, and we don't want it to. But he doesn't listen. And no formal project, project manager, scope, requirements, or test acceptance criteria that have been properly discussed with the customer. Yet, it is number 1 on a company wide priority list. We lose 10 million a year until we get it migrated.

Rant over (writing from work, waiting for another test script to finish running. I'd much rather be home playing my CVP And rather than selling flowers, I wish I could sell CD's of my recordings)

Brgds

Danny