Actually, the "instruments" are all wav samples of actual instruments, and I am not terribly pleased with some, because whoever did the recording had a different notion of what constituted a good basic sound. With certain very expensive programs, studio equipment, and a lot of patience, I could potentially make them sound better, but I'm primarily a composer, not a studio tech. Spending weeks tweaking the sound of one or two particular instruments for a piece when I have ideas wanting to be expressed and put down isn't currently worth that kind of effort. What I need to do is hook up with someone who does enjoy that kind of work, has the equipment, and collaborate. Perhaps someday. (And perhaps someday, I'll find a willing orchestra, too.
) But I do have to say, imperfect though what I have available may sound when compared to a live orchestra, it's immensely better than what I had available when I first started writing these pieces. I just recently started working with yet a new set of instrument samples, which is much more extensive and varied than anything I've had before, but so far, I haven't had a chance to rescore any of my symphonic works using them. So much to do, so much time required, and so little time. *sigh*
And you're right about taste, Nogrod. As a musician, I have certainly been exposed to just about every kind of music there is, and naturally not all have been my cup of tea, but when I sit down to compose, I must be true to my own artistic vision, however much or little others might like it. Art is an expression of self, and this is a part of what I am. My own tastes tend to run toward the Impressionist and Romantic periods, and I'm sure that's reflected in my music. I'm not afraid of dissonance; I have written some quite dissonant pieces in the past, but since I write what I hear in my head, dissonance just wasn't what I heard, here, nor what felt was right for what I was attempting to achieve. I have a feeling that if I was ever to sit down and compose something about the Children of Hurin, I would find a lot of dissonance creeping in...
But in the end, as in all things, to each their own, and to thine own self be true.