Difficulties with transitions

[mediumaevum]

I am having difficulties composing convincing transitions like what happens
at 2:30 in Ralph Vaughan Williams "Fantasia on a theme by Thomas Tallis".

I have no idea how to compose a transition like this, and I cannot read sheet music.

I would be happy if someone would teach me how to compose a transition from one section into another. Usually I have only used rolls (timpani and cymbals) but I want to achieve the effect/build-up/transition using strings and/or horns.

Like in the Europa Universalis Main Theme (The Voyage), at 2:55.

I actually enrolled in the Evenant Cinematic Music Course, but there is nothing on how to create transitions like this.

Someone please help me!

[Gamma-UT]

I cannot read sheet music.

This is really going to cramp your style if you want to do anything with classical-style orchestration other than banging out block chords. Pretty much any resource that's genuinely useful is currently out of your reach short of a paint-by-numbers video tutorial on a piano roll.

However, the 'transition' in this case is combination of a rising melodic line coupled with a change in expression - the strings go from quiet to loud as the line plays.

[mediumaevum]

I cannot read sheet music.

This is really going to cramp your style if you want to do anything with classical-style orchestration other than banging out block chords. Pretty much any resource that's genuinely useful is currently out of your reach short of a paint-by-numbers video tutorial on a piano roll.

However, the 'transition' in this case is combination of a rising melodic line coupled with a change in expression - the strings go from quiet to loud as the line plays.

Ok, seems like there is no other way around this than learning to read sheet music.

There is plenty of other stuff I want to learn from the masters of classical composers.

[ChamMusic]

"I have no idea how to compose a transition like this"

Neither do 99.99999% of the composers in the world! :0) V.W. was a genius and this is one of the greatest pieces of music ever written!

Above someone mentioned the rising strings and increasing dynamics, but there is a much more fundamental reason why this transition is so intense...

At the beginning of it, the music, (after some meaningful meandering) has firmly landed in the key of G Major.

The transition rises up gloriously in the same key and then suddenly (at its peak) unexpectedly twists back to G Minor just before the next phrase which continues in G minor.

Writing you own transitions:

There are some basic techniques that you can experiment with:

Transitions move the music from one section to another...

You could use little fragments of music from the material in the first section?
You could use little fragments of music from the material in the second section?
You could use little fragments of music from the material in both sections?

Raising the intensity:
Increase the number of parts / layers through the transition.
Generally the melodic lines should rise.
They can rise quite slowly at first and then increase in pace?

Lowering the Intensity:
Do the reverse of the above ideas.

Don't be afraid of the dramatic STOP + PAUSE...can be very effective.

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 4&t=502880

Just before 1 min: Texture / layers rapidly increase towards the end of a phrase

around 1 min 40 secs: The dramatic stop / pause

[mediumaevum]

Thanks for the tips, ChamMusic, will try it out.