Hi,
I am struggling to finish one of my pieces, the ending does not sound big at all. Here it is:
link

I tried to add 2 horns, replace single toms with ensemble, maybe there's only little high frequency content, that might be the reason. The sound is overall too "mixed" at the end, missing some sense of clarity. There's too little dynamic range, I might be pushing it too hard. Is there any way how to make it sound gradually bigger? Ideally I want to achieve it without dynamic compression/limiting.
The trumpets are probably too bold.

Please don't laugh, we all learn at our own pace. Thank you

 

Well one idea of compositions is to orchestrate properly to obtain the desired effect. In this case you are looking for a nice crescendo. I would start with less intruments and then add layers of other sections like strings (first softly and then increasing in dynamics), woodwinds and brass (trombones too not only trumpets, tuba). In the last section it is not clear the dynamic change: trumpet are not enough aggressive as they are when you blow them to obtain a forte. Therefore I would suggest to change this sound with a better vst that has this dynamic change between a piano and a forte. In the last section I would add also some timpani and taikos properly equalized to make the rythmic part shine. Hope this helps. :dancing:

 

There are taikos playing mf, but they are buried under the toms , which I added today. The trumpets play ff all the time, it might be a good idea to play just single f and then at the end boost it.
Well I guess it's appropriate for all sections to play at this grand finale. Perhaps making the end 8 measures longer...
Thinking out loud...

Speaking of which, how can I write Bells Up for Horns (in written score)? I couldn't find it in any book.

 

You simply write "Bells in the air"!?

 

OK, just wondered if there's a symbol for it. Probably not, so I'll just write "Schalltrichter auf", just like Mahler.