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Thank you! This is incredibly helpful! 

Yep percussion isn't my thing just yet, I've got some work to do on that. I think it can crescendo too, but recording this correctly will take some mastery of drum compression too, since drums get really loud before their timbre changes much.

I would say the beginning of this composition wise was good but failed to fully develop into the picture the beginning paints, would you agree?

I guess the line between funeral march and war march is also a fine one. I.e. the Imperial March is very warlike and is more awe inspiring, and that was based on Chopin's funeral march. But it was sufficiently boisterous to make it menacing rather than heavy.

I love the diggy diggy hole reference too, love that shit.

The additional context to this is that they are preparing to fight people who want something that is rightfully theirs simply because they want all the treasure under the mountain (so, things that Smaug pillaged that never belonged to the Dwarves in the first place), not just the things that were originally theirs. And they were gearing up for war, with only the band of them in the mountains.

So, while there is this heavy, dark context present, I think you are spot on about the energy not building up correctly.

I think whatever tune I end up landing on for Over the Misty Mountains needs to be similarly resolute so that I can be adapted to this to become warlike, and then also be adapted with more resoluteness to Farewell we call. I think the tone also needs more optimism to be appropriate.

I am a sucker for sad/dark/heavy music... lol. There's a good self observation that should also help me communicate.

Anyways, good stuff, super helpful.