Equestria's Online Orchestra

[Taquito]

Hi to all!
I had this idea awhile back, and posted it on ponychan, but apparently their music base is not that strong. I got pointed over here, so here I am. The idea I had is still just an idea as of right now, and all I'm asking at this time is feedback on the idea and a general interest in the group. I'll put links to the original threads below, if you want to read more into the origins of the idea and stuff, but what I'll put here is the "what you need to know" info.
So, Equestria's Online Orchestra is an idea I thought up last week. What it would consist of is a group of talented, classical musicians recording themselves playing their part(s) of an original piece, and sending it to one person. That person would layer all the tracks together and release the song on the internet under the name Equestria's Online Orchestra.
That's the group overview, and these are the details of what I'm thinking right now. I think that EOO would play majorly pony music, but I don't want to restrict the group to just that. I don't think I'm the only person who has written a piece with no group to present it to. On that note, I don't think the group will have a designated composer. There will definitely be a form of administration who will decide what to play, but I feel that everyone should have a chance. The process of passing out music and recording will be something like this; the director of EOO will have a master list of emails of all the musicians and what they play. They will send out a mass email to everyone with the MIDI version of the piece and a click track. Then, they will send a follow-up email with that person's designated part. Each person would record audio of themselves playing their part (listening to the click track as a metronome, ensuring everyone plays at exactly the same tempo), and then email it back to the director (or possibly another person assigned specifically for audio mixing). That person would sync all the tracks together and release the song on the internet somewhere (youtube, bandcamp, soundcloud, whatever.). I think this method will protect the composer's works, because the score would never have to leave their computer, and the only person with all the parts would be the director. This way, the possibility of plagiarism or unwanted copies being made is reduced down to a single person, and you know who to go to if there are problems. I know that sounds a little ridiculous in this fanbase, but it doesn't hurt to be cautious.
In the end, though, this is merely an idea I had.
Here is what I ask of you all. All that I want right now is feedback. Tell me any and every thought you may have; negative criticism will be just as welcome. If you like the idea even a little bit, I have a little survey-thing to help me centralize and organize feedback. All I want is to be 100% positive in the outcome of this idea. If it flops, I know I tried my hardest. If it succeeds, then I'll be very happy.

Official Site
https://sites.google.com/site/equestria ... orchestra/


Thank you all so much for showing interest in my idea, and I hope to hear from you all very soon!

[Doctor Science]

This sounds pretty cool! My main instrument is viola, and although I'm a few months out of practice and wasn't planning to really continue playing instruments, I'd be willing to pick it back up again.

[Doctor Science]

Kyoga I can't even express how glad I am that it was a guitar player that followed my post and continued the LOTR thing

[MorteMcAdaver]

And MY PRECIOUS.

But seriously, I can offer vocals (my range is bass and baritone), guitar (not Kyoga-level of awesome, but competent), banjo, piano/keyboard/any sound associated with a keyboard), and even lyric-writing if you need it. If anything else is needed, I have female vocalists who work for me, as well as an enthusiastic brony metalhead drummer.

I think this is an awesome idea, and I'd definitely be down to do it!

[MorteMcAdaver]

Ladies make the most beautiful music when played correctly.

...ahem, SO HOW ABOUT THAT ORCHESTRA

[MorteMcAdaver]

Since I was a weird little kid! Been in choirs since 2nd grade, but I started doing solos around 18. So...professionally, singing for about ten years ("professional" being a term I use loosely).

[LunchBagMusic]

I am actually willing to jump on and help you run this, if you would like an extra pair of hands.

You have my well greased trombone at your disposal, as well as my piano fingers.

Also would gladly assist with arranging/composing.
Just filled out the survey too.

[MorteMcAdaver]

Huh...the survey link doesn't appear to be working for me. Would it help if I PM'd my gmail address?

[LunchBagMusic]

Here's a working link

[MorteMcAdaver]

Aaaand done!

[LoreRD]

Sounds like a great idea! I'd love to try my hand at something like this, especially as a musician but I feel like I'm probably not good enough
Filling out the survey now.

[Peak Freak]

...

[Camsy]

I've filled out ze application thingo!

[Lavender_Harmony]

I'd gladly contribute revised scores of my work for an ensemble to perform. I'd also be happy pulling all the parts together.

[Taquito]

Wow guys! I went to bed expecting maybe one or two responses to this. This is great!
As it stands, 9 people have had at least a slight interest in the idea, myself included. I think that if it gets up to about 15-20 people before the week is out, I'll start working on a demo for us to try- just a proof-of-concept song to get ourselves out there.

[WavesOfParadox]

Survey finished.

(I hope I typed in my e-mail correctly)

[digitalbrony]

Bass guitar?

[Sai]

I'd like to volunteer as a violin player (piano seems to have been taken).
I'm still in the process of actually buying a mic for recording, though. Also, I'm not really sure how much use I'd be.
What with people coming in and being all like "HEY GUYS check out my eons of experience ", and all.

[Doctor Science]

I reposted this on the MLP reddit, and someone said that we should only accept people with solid recording equipment. I agree, and I think the quality of the recording should be something considered in the auditions.

[TechnoMetalDude]

So... Anypony want some drums and percussion?

[Taquito]

Thanks for spreading the word, guys!

The recording equipment thing occurred to me, but I didn't want to discourage anybody from the idea. I guess I didn't expect the idea to go over this well. As it stands right now, we're at the magical 15. I'm rather tired tonight, but tomorrow I will start emailing you all about my questions for you, and other comments I may have.

I'll edit this into the original post, but I'll say it here first; please only tell me instruments you have access to. It's great that you're well-versed in 19 different instruments, but when you say "I can play whatever you need me to," it doesn't help me any. I need to know what I have to work with.

Hopefully, I'll get a start on the "demo" piece tomorrow as well. You guys have given me some great suggestions, and what I am going to attempt to make is a "Hush Now"/"Intro Theme" number. I think it's a simple starting point that has enough variability to play something worth listening to, but not like we're trying too hard. If any of you want to try to be the first composer showcased by this group, I'm not going to steal the limelight from you all; send me an email or message me and I'll tell you the current instrumentation we have. I'll keep everyone updated on how I am progressing, and if someone else finishes first, I'll give it a thumbs-up and start distributing.

One thing I want to stress with EOO is that it's a community effort. I don't want one person to have all the power; anyone could get their works performed by us. Obviously, we need someone to judge which pieces should be performed, but what I mean is I don't want to showcase one person in particular. This is a open group, and that won't change.

[TechnoMetalDude]

If you need drums or percussion, i have bells, marimba, woodblock, triangle, snare, toms, and the most important instrument of them all.. Cowbell.

[Taquito]

That helps me out a bunch, TechnoMetalDude. You might have to record yourself more than once depending on what other people have.

[LunchBagMusic]

I don't have direct access to recording equipment, but I can get access to it within 7 days.

Also if this is going ahead (as it looks like it is) should we have a better place for discussion rather than a forum thread? How about a google group?

Also, Taquito, I'd like to have a shot at composing the demo piece. (If you have it) throw me your skype name (you can PM me if you don't want it public).

sosososososososososo excited

[EnnervateIndustries]

I'd actually quite like to do this, I play clarinet and bass clarinet, but I have arguably the worst recording setup ever and the most annoying schedule of all time, so I'm going to have to pass. Sorry.