Hi Everyone. I've been away for a little while, but I'm back now. So it's time to start a composition thread!!!

I can't upload anything yet, but you're more then welcome to see my music at 1 (or more) of the 3 website listed below!

ENJOY MY MUSIC AND FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!

Kevin.

web.mac.com/kevinpenkin (web.mac.com/kevinpenkin)

soundclick.com/kevinpenkin

http://sandbox.ea.ecu.edu.au/projects/waapa/composition/kevin-penkin-orchestral-composer-for-film-and-video-games/

I don't know if this happen to others, but the tracks I clicked, the audio was messed. I did not check all the tracks, so I don't know if I just clicked the ones messed.

Kevin, you need to proofread your website (the WAAPA blog). Besides that, your music seems fairly sophisticated, and does indeed seem to create a lot of good drama; I would love to see clips on your website of some of the songs synced up with some clips or something.

I personally feel you may be a little out of my league to actually comment on the music, though...maybe I'm just a bit intimidated by your resume.

Yes there does seem to be problems with sound click. I heard the video one and it was beautiful. Great job Kevin! I was also wondering if you create any sheet music for you compositions.

Yes there does seem to be problems with sound click. I heard the video one and it was beautiful. Great job Kevin! I was also wondering if you create any sheet music for you compositions.

Rarely, but I can. I tend to just do the sequencing unless sheet music is required. For sheet music, I just compose on the sequencer then open Sibelius and go thorough note for note. If you try to rip a sequenced file into midi and then onto a notation program...bad things happen.

Regarding messy audio. I blame Variable Bit-rate Encoding for that. I was unknowingly using it up until 2 weeks ago. As my music gets better, I'll gradually replace the old music with new ones. :)

Youtube Time!!!


Train of Dreams

This is an original video by me and my girlfriend, Kayla. She drew the artwork, I wrote the music. We did the story. It's not a happy story though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPKZjFkWh-A

Arjuna Rewrite

If you know an anime "Earth Maiden Arjuna" I've re-written some of the music scenes. Yoko Kanno did the original music. So as an experiment, I'm putting myself up against her...

There are 4 videos that are up (so far)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADoQlIgyyfU&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alGJpvmtWqw&feature=channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxWyWDx6wjc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43dBKHH-8f0&feature=channel

Train of Dreams was done very well. Can't really say anything more than that aside from great job to the both of you.

I got a chance to listen to some of your other pieces with the audio not messed. And I must say for your age you are doing very good. Professional sounding and very nice compositions. keep growing!

I got a chance to listen to some of your other pieces with the audio not messed. And I must say for your age you are doing very good. Professional sounding and very nice compositions. keep growing!

Yay! :) Thank you for your extremely nice feedback!

I'll always do my best. I'll upload some really new songs when I can. Probably in about 12-16 hours. That's if I don't forget haha!

Thank you again!!!

Hey Guys. I've decided to do a sort of song cycle! "12 Short Atmospheric Tracks." The title can be edited so I'd love some name ideas. I'm sure there are better ones. Pretty much, there will be 12 tracks evoking 12 different emotions/moods/feelings. I've composed 2 or 3, which I will upload 5-7 hours from the time of this post. :)

See you later!!!

Here are some atmospheric tracks. :) They're for a uni students short film., but I'm going to use them in the 12 track album :)

Enjoy!!!

Ahh hell. Lets be REALLY stupid/naughty and upload one more from the same movie. This one's hyper-percussive, and I will record my girlfriend's voice for this track, this Saturday.

ENJOY!!!

EDIT: Completed more!!! Now its got my Sop Sax playing! Ok. er...because of flute playing for school, my teacher banned my sax playing to preserve my beautiful :huh: classical tone... :( However my classical tone is going down the drain anyway due to jazz flute, so tonight I said STUFF IT! Soprano sax time!!!

Keep in mind, this is the first time I've picked up the instrument in 6 months, so I'm rusty. I'll practice like crazy until the weekend, when I shall record again. Ending isn't complete either.

Mental sounded "silly" to me if that can be a description of it. It makes me imagine silly/crazy things, which I guess you are after something like that due its name? The saxophones parts were fun to listen. I am wonder how this will end with the vocals; will be interesting to listen.

Btw are those Omnisphere synths?

Edit: Holy pie, a bunch of trucks were on the road pushing their damn horns, and they were doing exactly the same rhythms of your piece, Lol.

Wow haha. That's an interesting coincidence! Yes, omnisphere rocks! I was unable to record vocals on Saturday, by girlfriend (the vocalist) has the flu :(. No matter, it will be done ASAP :) Maybe this Wednesday.

Edit: Oh yea, Mental. Played during a scene of a guy going crazy. I might have to get rid of the sax parts for the movie, that was the experiment of the piece. But I'm definitely going to finish the sax version for my website/demo CD.

This a composition for a turn based RPG community game. The game's going to be in development for a while, so I might as well upload it now.. I'm eager to hear your comments (and hopefully impress you!).

Think...FFXII. Sort of like Hitoshi Sakimoto's style..

Edit: I've also decided to put on the original "thing" for this song. It's very badly played piano, but the final product is proof that something (hopefully) good can come from something...not so good.

This reminds me to an TV advertisement jingle, the harmonies and melodies are very alike; giving that adventurous feeling. I liked how the short counter melody entered under the trumpet; was a good touch. In some occasions in the piece I felt a bass was missing in some parts or maybe was not enough audible for me, lol. It is a good piece but I think you can polish it more.

This reminds me to an TV advertisement jingle, the harmonies and melodies are very alike; giving that adventurous feeling. I liked how the short counter melody entered under the trumpet; was a good touch. In some occasions in the piece I felt a bass was missing in some parts or maybe was not enough audible for me, lol. It is a good piece but I think you can polish it more.

Hey thanks! I used compression and limiters for this, so when bass comes in at 1,000 dbs, it's gonna get chopped off. I'll see what I can do!

Thanks!

Kevin

Hey I did a composition for my grandmothers birthday. She lives in England but I can't go back this trip because I'm in my final (god blessed...:\) year of high school...Love those exams. So I wrote her a song for my mum to take back :)

I've added the song, but also the postlude. I've left out the cheesy "happy birthday" message though..

Enjoy! Oh yea, excuse the name...haha

your songs are weird. gothic metal is better.... i don't mean it in a bad way. just that i like different genres.

Hmm... Is that opinion based off my music itself? (eg. orchestration or chord placing) or your own personal taste in music? There's not really much justification to your comment if all you're saying is "your songs are weird"... Please explain. Thank you.

Fantasy Fantastic: my personal opinion is that it would sound much less cheesy without the glockenspiel doubling the melody (except that one part where it's doubling the piano towards the end, during that really subdued section). I really liked most of the rest of the other stuff, especially some of your melodic material. I also liked the hymn-like moments that appeared here and there. One other suggestion; in my mind, the transition at 3:19 is more emotional with a deceptive cadence. VERY cool idea for an ending! Well done!

Postlude: I really liked this. However, there were a couple parts I feel you could have gone a little more outside the box. I'm not really sure how to describe exactly what I'm thinking of. :P

Fantasy Fantastic: my personal opinion is that it would sound much less cheesy without the glockenspiel doubling the melody (except that one part where it's doubling the piano towards the end, during that really subdued section). I really liked most of the rest of the other stuff, especially some of your melodic material. I also liked the hymn-like moments that appeared here and there. One other suggestion; in my mind, the transition at 3:19 is more emotional with a deceptive cadence. VERY cool idea for an ending! Well done!

Postlude: I really liked this. However, there were a couple parts I feel you could have gone a little more outside the box. I'm not really sure how to describe exactly what I'm thinking of. :P

Thanks! I guess listening to the glock so much, you get so used to it you forget what's cheesy sounding and what's not.. The postlude only used the 1st and 5th of the chord. The fact that the 3rd is not included in any of the first "half" would probably what you were getting at. I just wanted to be as simple as possible, letting the melody really just sing out over only two notes. I guess two notes may not be enough!

Thank you for your criticism. It is much appreciated!!!

Actually, two notes are probably enough, but you don't necessarily have to use only the first and fifth of the chord. You could add some pretty seventh chords that would still keep it pretty simple if you left out one of the notes in the chord (or maybe two, depending).

You're welcome!:heh:

I made my first Salsa haha. Me on Sax, computer on band. Just something fun :P

I also have uploaded a Sax and Piano ballad.

They're only short as they were intended for an advertisement.

Enjoy! Comments welcome!!!

Haha! I never thought a Salsa would appear here in Ichigos! Nice to see someone else apart of me that play with salsa. :P That music is very common here.

The sax mixed with a salsa seemed weird to me, I would have prefer to hear a flute instead the sax. It would be good to expand it more and add a good piano solo. Also the percussion seemed a bit weak. But this is mostly because there was not a timbal. And I doubt your samples have one.

There is a company that has a good latin samples where timbals and many other great samples with a carribean touch are included; but I don't remember the name.

Sax and Piano ballad: The piano did not get to shine here. The sax was too loud for the piano and the piano was too "dead". Balance the mix and make the piano to do a bit more and all will be fine! ;) Nice to listen; it creates a good atmosphere.

Ahh. I forgot to upload one of my most important compositions!!!

This is a song I wrote for my girlfriend Kayla. I wrote this close (enough) to a year ago. I got my friends together on our 1 year anniversary last August and performed a surprise lunchtime concert for her. She was so red in the face haha!

Oh, the next big announcement. Me and Kayla are starting an animation studio!!! Called: Happy Ramen Studios!!! We'll be making our own anime. Kayla does all the hand/pc drawn animation and I do the music. And we come together to do the story. I guess Train of Dreams was our first project, even though our company didn't exist then. But yea, if you see train of dreams, that how we will be coming together!!! The website won't be properly up and running for another week or two, but your more then welcome to check out a unfinished title page with the intro theme at web.mac.com/happyramenstudios (http://web.mac.com/happyramenstudios)

I'll make another post when we have the website running!

Edit: I've done more then just a title page now... Still not completed though...:P

Finished another battle theme for the same game :)

Enjoy :P

I've finished a serialist piece for my comp class tomorrow. Shame I can't stick to the rules. I made it impressionistic, and not traditionally serialistic because it has some sort of development as well haha. The recording only has the first sequence (you'll know what I'm talking about) instead of the full 3, but yea...

...

no comment...

ENJOY!

Wow, I really liked that; it totally reminded me of something from Twilight Princess. I need to learn some more about serialism apparently...

Post here are slow and not many members in the composition area.

That second battle theme sounds better orchestrated than your first one. I like this one, it sounds more like for a boss battle than an occasional battle in a game. The music flows very well here and it has more material than the other one for entertain the listener. I also like that little catchy melody you are using in this piece; but it makes me wonder if this was influenced by any other composer?

Yuki to Sakura called more my attention than the battle music, I found this one interesting and your instructions also. But those whole notes were just dull, I think it would have been more fun to find a way where you can have more movement there and still to be capable to stick it with different measures.

Edit: There is an orthographic mistake in case you print the score. Also I am more fond now with the whole notes and the mood created by it. :P

The battle theme reminds me of One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy, was that one of your influences? =)

Anyways, sounds nice!

Edit: Oops, just read your first post, and sure enough, it's FF! =)
Very similar styles.

Post here are slow and not many members in the composition area.

That second battle theme sounds better orchestrated than your first one. I like this one, it sounds more like for a boss battle than an occasional battle in a game. The music flows very well here and it has more material than the other one for entertain the listener. I also like that little catchy melody you are using in this piece; but it makes me wonder if this was influenced by any other composer?

Yuki to Sakura called more my attention than the battle music, I found this one interesting and your instructions also. But those whole notes were just dull, I think it would have been more fun to find a way where you can have more movement there and still to be capable to stick it with different measures.

Edit: There is an orthographic mistake in case you print the score. Also I am more fond now with the whole notes and the mood created by it. :P

Yea. I love my composers haha. The director wanted a darker battle theme and because he's doing an RPG, I thought of Final Fantasy. He mentioned he wanted a darker battle theme, so I thought of Libre Fratelli. So I sort of based some types of chords around that. That's pretty much it. Oh, the middle bit can make reference to Battle in the Forgotten City from the Advent Children Soundtrack, however it was not intentionally similar. They're just crotchet C's anyway hehe.

The battle theme reminds me of One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy, was that one of your influences? =)

Anyways, sounds nice!

Edit: Oops, just read your first post, and sure enough, it's FF! =)
Very similar styles.

Ok this is just pure theory, but, my guess is that Nobuo Uematsu composed One Winged Angel and Libre Fratelli back to back. After One Winged Angel, Sakaguchi simply went. "Ok. VII's done. Do this... "

If you look at the similarities between them, you'll see they're both dark symphonic pieces with choral. They also build tension similarly in some places.

Yes? No? Maybe?

Thank you for responses on the battle theme and yuki to sakura!!!

Whoops! See next post :)

This is "The Peaceful Pub" I did this after getting a midi controller with a mod wheel. So I could control an instruments velocity not just through pressing down on a key :)

I also have uploaded Outback sunrise. I composed this as an entrant in the "My Australia" competition. It was a comp for the upcoming movie (at the time) Australia. You could enter original artwork, movies and music.

Enjoy!

Peaceful Pub is a nice short piece. I like the start with the epiano and the flute. I get that peaceful sense, but later in the piece that peaceful sense fades from me when the strings are introduced.

Hey Guys,

I did a new piece for a xbox community game! I probably shouldn't let a download happen though, but you can view it at my WAAPA blog in my signature below. It's the first song on the list called "Waterfall". Under the category "NEWEST SONG"

Description: A full orchestra starts depicting a waterfall, however it slowly transcends into sort of ambient electronica, depicting water. This is before evolving into a daft punk sort of house part, then transcending into the orchestra to loop (it’s for a game).

I hope you enjoy it!

To be completely truthful, it doesn't really remind me of a waterfall at all. Maybe like some sort of dungeon with water in it, but not really a waterfall...

I don't really like how the techno part fits in with the orchestral part; I like the two parts separately, but in my opinion, if it's going to loop,the loop should be a little shorter and simpler.

"Waterfall" sort of reminds me of a cave, and waterdrops are falling from stalactites. And I agree with deathraider. Depending on what kind of game it is and where you plan to put it within the game, you should (more likely) shorten the piece because it's going to loop anyway, and the piece you composed has multiple feels to it. More often than not, a video game loop should have one feel throughout to emphasize one mood. What kind of game is it?

"Waterfall" sort of reminds me of a cave, and waterdrops are falling from stalactites. And I agree with deathraider. Depending on what kind of game it is and where you plan to put it within the game, you should (more likely) shorten the piece because it's going to loop anyway, and the piece you composed has multiple feels to it. More often than not, a video game loop should have one feel throughout to emphasize one mood. What kind of game is it?

It a Card Game. Basically it's your favorite card game (uno or solitaire for example) over some really pretty backgrounds. I'm writing the music for those backgrounds. There are things like forests, ice flowers, mountain ranges and a waterfall. I'll upload some of them. This one was the most experimental by far haha. It's strange, it's been received by the director, the development team, my local friends and my composition teachers really positively haha. It was the only song that got the comment “blown away" by the director.

Oh! Well, a card game should be fine. When you said Xbox community game, I automatically thought of all those Halo-type war games and all those RPGs, lol. The techno-ish part makes more sense now; I would want techno playing during a card game to keep me awake, especially with a calming waterfall background. Good job!

Yea haha. I wouldn't expect it to be in a RPG.

That does explain why it needs to be a longer loop. However, I would still suggest you make your transitions better; the sections just don't quite mesh for me...

Haha! I guess I can't please everyone hehe. Oh well. Thank you for your comment(s) anyway :)

Haha! I guess I can't please everyone hehe.

So true...XD

I thought the opening was waterfall like. I imagined it comming out slowly into view and what appeared quite small behind the trees turned out to be this enormous spectacle. This image disappeared with the orchestra though. I could not really imagine the theme from there on...hmmm. Music wise I thought it was quite nice. I especially liked the synth section. You certainly have a really big library of samples with whatever you're writing with, I'm jealous lol.

I thought the opening was waterfall like. I imagined it comming out slowly into view and what appeared quite small behind the trees turned out to be this enormous spectacle. This image disappeared with the orchestra though. I could not really imagine the theme from there on...hmmm. Music wise I thought it was quite nice. I especially liked the synth section. You certainly have a really big library of samples with whatever you're writing with, I'm jealous lol.

They're actually only 2 libraries hehe. :heh:

I did a big update on the Happy Ramen Studios youtube site! I uploaded most of the music for the Card Game with the pictures being used in the game! You can see and view the playlist here (http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E9CD7417237F99E7).

Enjoy!

I wanted to mess around with some synthesizers today, so I created a simple (but hopefully effective) piece of music, inspired by some of the songs in FF10

I also uploaded more videos of music from the card game onto youtube :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/happyramenstudios

Enjoy all!

Edit: I uploaded a youtube video. This song, FFX footage :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssIQlOQgcgM

Haha! I had to put this up! Apparently it's very Donkey Kong 64 haha. It's for a shooting game. The director only wants the stage music around a minute in length but hey, I think/hope it's cool!

The stage an African jungle base. I typed "Africa" into omnisphere search and used all the patches i could find with a jazz band haha.*There's African market and children samples, as well as a South African oil can that got sampled haha

Enjoy!!!

Hey. I did a FFX opening scene rewrite. Obviously this song would NOT be up to the standard of "To Zanarkand" but hey, I gave it a fair shot. Song attached, youtube link as well :)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01-8hEYPPqg&feature=PlayList&p=6DE50F316E786347&index=4

Okay, so I saw the Train of Dreams thing. Fire the artist. Or just wate ten yeats until they can draw. The layout itself isn't awful, but her technique is almsot comical.

Also, this is more literary than musical, but real love engenders joie de vivre. If you really love someone and they die that love should be a sustaining power, not a destructive one. Take Romeo and Juiliette. Romeo was an idiot who went from infatuation to infatuation. So in an act of teenage stupidity, he killed himself. Your audience NEEDS something more powerful and enlightening than teenage romance.

The music seemed like it was mostly mood music, but it was okay. It served its purpose.

Okay, so I saw the Train of Dreams thing. Fire the artist. Or just wate ten yeats until they can draw. The layout itself isn't awful, but her technique is almsot comical.

Also, this is more literary than musical, but real love engenders joie de vivre. If you really love someone and they die that love should be a sustaining power, not a destructive one. Take Romeo and Juiliette. Romeo was an idiot who went from infatuation to infatuation. So in an act of teenage stupidity, he killed himself. Your audience NEEDS something more powerful and enlightening than teenage romance.

The music seemed like it was mostly mood music, but it was okay. It served its purpose.

Well I guess everyone has their own opinion :think:

Thanks anyway..

You seem to like to say that a lot. What's the point of posting on these forums if you don't want constructive criticism of your music?

Most people want validation more than criticism. It's a good gauge to see how much somebody really wants to improve.

EDIT:
And man, I am pretty ashamed of the typos in that quote. It was pretty early for me. Plus, I meant to say teen suicide, not teen romance.

I want to see kevin's signature in the music. Something that will make me say: "Hey, this is Kevin's music! So many strong influences by other composers that always your pieces reminds me to someone else. Try to make yourself more individual with your music.

You seem to like to say that a lot. What's the point of posting on these forums if you don't want constructive criticism of your music?

I do take it in you know.. and appreciate it

I want to see kevin's signature in the music. Something that will make me say: "Hey, this is Kevin's music! So many strong influences by other composers that always your pieces reminds me to someone else. Try to make yourself more individual with your music.

I see what you mean and I can agree to a degree. I know I have strong influences, but I think it would take some more time for my own style to develop. Right now it's sort of like a mix, I know that, but I know that it will become my own eventually. Probably sooner then later :)

I think Waterfall was definitely more of an individual piece.

Yeah, I doubt that is just something that come in days or months. It take a long time where we explore, learn, experiment, etc. But wanting it or no, every composer always will have some influences from others. The thing is how to mix these influences in a creative way that you can find a more personal voice. Though you are doing very good at composing; just that aspect is what makes you fall.

But cheers! :D

Ok I don't know how this is going to work out but.......ONE WINGED ANGEL REWRITE!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiccJQ_CeTA

Hoping for the best! :)

Hey Guys! I rewrote the music to the opening scene to..........SPIRITED AWAY!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhVUX8Bdyek

Enjoy it! I think it's my best work so far!

I've uploaded the music as well. I would appreciate critique :) It takes 11 seconds to start though, it was synced to the movie.

After listening to the Chrono Cross soundtrack (which is beautiful) I decided to something with more of a Celtic feeling. Even though it's not really featuring Celtic instruments that much.

There's Piano, Harp and Celesta that image each other, a soft pad, an Irish flute, a 12 string guitar, bongo's and African shakers.



Edit: Uploaded final version following KaitouKudou's suggestion to get rid of a Irish flute bit. IT WORKS TOO! :) Thanks KaitouKudou!

Sorry, but on the Spirited Away opening Jo Hasaishi still has you beat by about 100,000 times. You should study the way he transitions his *different* melodies in his version of the opening. Also, your melody is much too happy!

Sorry, but on the Spirited Away opening Jo Hasaishi still has you beat by about 100,000 times. You should study the way he transitions his *different* melodies in his version of the opening. Also, your melody is much too happy!

So how does it not work?

Obviously Hisaishi's more advanced then me, but I thought the melody was very representative of Chihiro. Not too happy, not too sad. She is ten and even if she's unhappy in the scene, I think the melody represents her because of her nature. Especially when the flute comes in after the piano solo at the start. Thank's :)

I kind of study him, I just listen to him and let it happen that way haha. It has served me well so far :P

Sorry, I'm not saying it was bad, obviously. Good orchestration and such. I'm just saying Hisaishi's interpretation gives depth and foreshadowing. I actually think the melody he chose was kind of sad.

Sorry, I'm not saying it was bad, obviously. Good orchestration and such. I'm just saying Hisaishi's interpretation gives depth and foreshadowing. I actually think the melody he chose was kind of sad.

It's actually really interesting. Hisaishi's signature is actually just 4ths. When I found this out I lost it (figure of speech) because it was so simple. If you start with an f# and go up by 4ths until you hit a d, it's the opening chord to Train ride. Then if you simply play that "4th's" chord descending by a tone each time, then you get "classic" hisaishi haha. The melody is in A minor, but he spends a lot of time using Fmaj7, and Maj7 chords in general so it doesn't give the saddened feeling. I was going to do something like that, but I wanted to pretend I had never heard the music before. So I went with my own ideas, not Hisaishi's! @_@

While it is definitely good to be original, I think it would have served you better to try to copy the essence (which I still say is essentially sad) of Hisaishi's melody in an original clip (does that make sense)? I'm sorry if I'm being stubborn, but the opening theme of Spirited Away is just one of my favorite songs of all time.

Edit: I guess the thing that's missing for me is also the tension building that foreshadows the mysterious thing which are about to happen to Chihiro which occurs during the later half of the song.

While it is definitely good to be original, I think it would have served you better to try to copy the essence (which I still say is essentially sad) of Hisaishi's melody in an original clip (does that make sense)? I'm sorry if I'm being stubborn, but the opening theme of Spirited Away is just one of my favorite songs of all time.

Edit: I guess the thing that's missing for me is also the tension building that foreshadows the mysterious thing which are about to happen to Chihiro which occurs during the later half of the song.

Haha it's ok. Especially if it's one of your favourites, it's going to spark stuff like this. :) It's appreciated!

I'm probably going to say the essence is bitter sweet (don't really know the perfect word is). I can't say it's happy or sad. I went for innocent I guess hehe.

Crossing over was definately one of my favorite works you've written. The flute gliss from just before the 2:00 mark bridge was definately an unexpected surprise. Made me smile. Although the second one you put in around 2:43 made it feel a bit repetitive. I think it would have worked without it too. The flute could have had a vibrato I think. The bongos sound fun. Maybe i'll try a piece using it although i dun think I got the sample. Nice works as usual. ^_^

Thanks! :) I'm going to remaster a final version because I suspect the big african shakers are a semiquaver late haha. I'm also going to see about getting vibrato on the irish flute. Samples eh :P

Edit: Uploaded final version following KaitouKudou's suggestion to get rid of a Irish flute bit. IT WORKS TOO! Thanks KaitouKudou!

I am loving all your music, sir!. Especially this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpOTrl87B9I
Perhaps because I like jazz those most... lol
At any rate, please keep composing/transcribing!

How does it not work?

I feel that a lot of the time that the music is just the music. Sure, it fits in some places and a lot better towards the end; I just feel that it was "too much."

"Too much? What do you mean, 'Too much?'"

I feel that the music completely overpowers what is going on in the scene. It's like you're listening to a piece of music and there happens to be animation to go with it: THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE. Of all the people here, you should know what I am getting to. Music for a movie/animation/etc. is music set TO the movie; what you have here is a movie set to music. It's the feel of the music--- unless you are getting what I mean, I need to explain it so I can grasp what I mean myself.

("Okay, so let's break it down, Seth..")

Opening:

Perfect. I like the soft piano solo. I would have kept it a little quieter, myself. This was nice until the other instruments came in. I feel that you should have kept the orchestral sound out of the picture, but maybe just a few string instruments playing the chords quietly (and the doublings). Yeah, the strings are just too loud, and the melody needs to be brought out a lot clearer. I can't tell if I should listen to the strings or the winds...because your balance "violates the sounds voicing of counter-point and the melody."

Transition:

Okay.

March:

I like the transition. Balance is nice; still light and underlying.

Ending:

Oh my. This was quite surprising.. it fits, but this is when it gets too big; it's almost self-indulgent I might add. I mean, sure the animation gives you a lot of movement, but I feel the music completely over-exaggerated it and made it feel like they were going the speed-of-light, which might be good to explain that they're going to a weird dimension (in the movie's plot, of course) but we don't know that. Anyway, back to making sense of this, tone down the ending. It's some great writing, but just TOO MUCH.

How does it not work?

I feel that a lot of the time that the music is just the music. Sure, it fits in some places and a lot better towards the end; I just feel that it was "too much."

"Too much? What do you mean, 'Too much?'"

I feel that the music completely overpowers what is going on in the scene. It's like you're listening to a piece of music and there happens to be animation to go with it: THIS SHOULD NOT BE THE CASE. Of all the people here, you should know what I am getting to. Music for a movie/animation/etc. is music set TO the movie; what you have here is a movie set to music. It's the feel of the music--- unless you are getting what I mean, I need to explain it so I can grasp what I mean myself.

("Okay, so let's break it down, Seth..")

Opening:

Perfect. I like the soft piano solo. I would have kept it a little quieter, myself. This was nice until the other instruments came in. I feel that you should have kept the orchestral sound out of the picture, but maybe just a few string instruments playing the chords quietly (and the doublings). Yeah, the strings are just too loud, and the melody needs to be brought out a lot clearer. I can't tell if I should listen to the strings or the winds...because your balance "violates the sounds voicing of counter-point and the melody."

Transition:

Okay.

March:

I like the transition. Balance is nice; still light and underlying.

Ending:

Oh my. This was quite surprising.. it fits, but this is when it gets too big; it's almost self-indulgent I might add. I mean, sure the animation gives you a lot of movement, but I feel the music completely over-exaggerated it and made it feel like they were going the speed-of-light, which might be good to explain that they're going to a weird dimension (in the movie's plot, of course) but we don't know that. Anyway, back to making sense of this, tone down the ending. It's some great writing, but just TOO MUCH.

Thank you for your critique! I agree with some things you said. I choose to defend the orchestral sound after the first piano bit though. I did want that orchestral progression quite strongly there. The flute playing the melody for the second statement was particularly wanted, mainly because I think the flute can sound really, really innocent when it wants to. Being a flute player myself, to play that passage would be really uplifting for me because it feels like the melody belongs on the flute, not just the piano.

I agree that it is slightly muddy when the oboe, clarinet and come in. I think a mix of my orchestration skills and my ability to manipulate a virtual orchestra are mostly to blame here. They will be refined over time though :)

March:

I actually really wanted a tambourine playing lightly with the cymbals and bassoon in the little "march" part, but i didn't have a sample! :cry:

Ending:

I'm seeing where you come from when you talk about the final section. It is big. I'm just wondering whether the music feels exaggerated because there are no sfx or voice-overs. The opening scene's dubs (IN JAPANESE!!!) have a lot of panic and fear in their voices during that scene. I'm just curious if not having those elements changes the experience?

Thanks!!!

Hey, I'm doing a soundtrack for a XNA game called "The Dead Takumi". It's a 2D "beet em' up" game featuring traditional Japanese, but also grunge themes. Thus, the music is mainly made up of Japanese (and sometimes Asian in general) instruments, but also some heavy guitar and synth in places. The main theme is still the only piece written so far with guitar, but there shall me more! :P

I have 4 songs, but I can only upload 10mbs at a time. So this will have to be a multiple post. Sorry mods!

This post contains;

1) Title Theme
2) The Forest

Hey, I'm doing a soundtrack for a XNA game called "The Dead Takumi". It's a 2D "beet em' up" game featuring traditional Japanese, but also grunge themes. Thus, the music is mainly made up of Japanese (and sometimes Asian in general) instruments, but also some heavy guitar and synth in places. The main theme is still the only piece written so far with guitar, but there shall me more! :P

I have 4 songs, but I can only upload 10mbs at a time. So this will have to be a multiple post. Sorry mods!

This post contains;

3) Battle 1

Hey, I'm doing a soundtrack for a XNA game called "The Dead Takumi". It's a 2D "beet em' up" game featuring traditional Japanese, but also grunge themes. Thus, the music is mainly made up of Japanese (and sometimes Asian in general) instruments, but also some heavy guitar and synth in places. The main theme is still the only piece written so far with guitar, but there shall me more! :P

I have 4 songs, but I can only upload 10mbs at a time. So this will have to be a multiple post. Sorry mods!

this post contains;

4) Game Over

This stuff is super awesome, I won't lie. I love Asian music :P. Don't get a big head over it, though.

On "Game over", I think you should think about having the flute slide down at the end of some of the phrases (wow, I just tried to spell that "frazes"...), because I think that would help depict the whole "game over" thing, and that's just what I was hearing in my head.

That is the longer game over I have ever heard, lol. The electric guitar in title screen first reminded me to wwe or whatever is spelled that, haha. I think you did nice with the music. First I was wonder about the whole mixing part but when I plugged my old speaker all sounded better balanced.

This stuff is super awesome, I won't lie. I love Asian music :P. Don't get a big head over it, though.

On "Game over", I think you should think about having the flute slide down at the end of some of the phrases (wow, I just tried to spell that "frazes"...), because I think that would help depict the whole "game over" thing, and that's just what I was hearing in my head.

Don't worry. I'll keep my head normal size! Great idea! I'm definitely going to change that. Thanks!!!


That is the longer game over I have ever heard, lol. The electric guitar in title screen first reminded me to wwe or whatever is spelled that, haha. I think you did nice with the music. First I was wonder about the whole mixing part but when I plugged my old speaker all sounded better balanced.

I guess the worst part about my mixes is when it gets really loud, or when there are many things going on. Then they sound feel really restricted. :(


EDIT: Uploading an incomplete version of Battle 2 for The Dead Takumi. I need to get a new mic lead then I'm going to record a flute solo in the middle/end. But that will come :) Besides from that, it is pretty much grungy Drum n' Bass with Asian instruments and a flute solo in the middle (when done haha!). You'll know when the solo's ment to come in because there will be that feeling that something should be there, but it's not. Also, excuse the ending haha. It's 4 bars of free jazz at an added 20bpm. There should be "crazy flute" there as well haha.

Enjoy!

EDIT 2: Battle 2 complete, complete, complete!!

Whoa, where did you find such a realistic electric guitar sound. I've been looking through alot of programs without any luck:( but anyways, nice as usual. what's wrong with the ending? It's a battle theme so it technically won't have an ending will it? :p

Edit: Do I hear sadness and sorrow + atsuhime in game over?

Whoa, where did you find such a realistic electric guitar sound. I've been looking through alot of programs without any luck:( but anyways, nice as usual. what's wrong with the ending? It's a battle theme so it technically won't have an ending will it? :p

Edit: Do I hear sadness and sorrow + atsuhime in game over?

Atsuhime? an Anime?. You won't believe this thing about the guitar sound. It's a program by yellow tools called "Independence Free". NOTE THE FREE! It just kills your download limit. Around 2 gigs of sound. You can get it at http://www.yellowtools.com/

the direct link is http://www.yellowtools.us/cp21/cms/index.php?id=842

Thanks!

Ahh, I see how you could relate to Sadness and Sorrow. Not intentional :P They are a little similar. Sadness and Sorrow is better though and produces a deeper level of sadness then mine, but it's suppost to. I didn't want MAJOR SAD haha. I remember watching Naruto Epp 19 when this song was playing...No more said :'(

The guitar does not sound totally realistic, but for sure it sounds a lot great compared with the rest of samples! (Except the guitars of eastwest, lol). I am amaze they giving 2gbs for free!

Sakura Theme!!! I finished it!

It's for Dead Takumi. Featuring me on flute, un-quantized piano and guzheng and synthesizer manipulation....yea... I just tried to make that sound cool haha.

ENJOY!

You will recognize this from "Battle Pursuit" Mazeppa :P

Battle 2 and Sakura Theme were enjoyable! And this time the mix was a lot better in my crap speakers, haha. I think I would have liked to hear strings in Sakura theme, in special when the flute went higher. But without strings still is great and catch a better ambient. The synth at the end felt random because it was not heard before in the track or it was? lol

Thanks! I couldn't put anything else in Sakura Theme. I think it's pure this way and adding anything would upset it's delicate balance lol. I wanted the synth to come in at the end because it gives the song a warm uplift at the end. How random? haha

Atsuhime? an Anime?. '(

It's actually an old school drama that hit it real big in Japan. If you check it out on youtube, I think its their main theme. The kind of lonely pentatonic theme. I had played the tune on my piano and always wondered why it sounds so familiar and it wasn't until 2 days ago that I realized it was from some drama that I must have watched in Gr. 1 when I was still in Japan lol.

Edit: I can't read whats written on that site lol. Do I have to register to download it?

You have to register. On the top of the site you can change the language to English if the page start appearing in Deutsch.

It's actually an old school drama that hit it real big in Japan. If you check it out on youtube, I think its their main theme. The kind of lonely pentatonic theme. I had played the tune on my piano and always wondered why it sounds so familiar and it wasn't until 2 days ago that I realized it was from some drama that I must have watched in Gr. 1 when I was still in Japan lol.

Edit: I can't read whats written on that site lol. Do I have to register to download it?

Thanks. I'll check it out :)

You have to register. On the top of the site you can change the language to English if the page start appearing in Deutsch.

I tried to register but it asked me for a product serial number. Is this because I'm not in the right registration place or do I need to buy something from them before I can register.

I tried to register but it asked me for a product serial number. Is this because I'm not in the right registration place or do I need to buy something from them before I can register.

Nope. Are you sure you have Independence Free? Oh wait forgot! Register an account for free. Then click register on the Independence Free homepage. Try that, I can't get link right now, I need to upload a song here and go to bed. I've developed a flu. I think I worked too hard haha.

OK... BEHOLD! The incomplete version of the final boss fight for the Dead Takumi! This is sooooooooooooo going on my CD to Uematsu! I have a Bach reference at 3:33 too :P

ENJOY!!

PS: Will upload complete version when done, but need some more out there stuff to complete a crazy awesome cycle of rockiness awesomeness (eh?) before looping :)


EDIT: Removed this version. There's a new one on a later post :)

1) Change that main drum pattern... it just doesn't fit; I feel like it's that cheesy disco-beat with a rock melody.

2) Balance and volume... voicing needs some overall fixing

3) REVERB.

1) Change that main drum pattern... it just doesn't fit; I feel like it's that cheesy disco-beat with a rock melody.

2) Balance and volume... voicing needs some overall fixing

3) REVERB.

1) But I like the drum patterns :cry:

2) Agreed. Will fix for final mix

3) Where?

funny, the first thought that popped into my mind upon hearing Black Dragon was Chinese, then Jenova jumped into my mind ... then it sounded like some fragments of Bratja from Full Metal Alchemist.

Anyways I agree with the reverb sentiment. I think it would be good on the guitar and the voices. maybe add some more bass to the Electric guitar sound to fill it out (especial the power chord section starting at 3:45). Also (personal opinion here) I think the voice parts would do well with a full choir range. It carries more power that way, even if you want the prevailing sound to be the higher voices.

Also, the first entrance of the flute at 0:41 sounds out of place to me. It might be the program or sound font you're using or you might have entered something wrong. What were you aiming for there? and 3:43, very low flute sounds. Don't know if you mean to have this performed live, but most people will not have access to a flute that will play that low without a very breathy sound.

funny, the first thought that popped into my mind upon hearing Black Dragon was Chinese, then Jenova jumped into my mind ... then it sounded like some fragments of Bratja from Full Metal Alchemist.

Anyways I agree with the reverb sentiment. I think it would be good on the guitar and the voices. maybe add some more bass to the Electric guitar sound to fill it out (especial the power chord section starting at 3:45). Also (personal opinion here) I think the voice parts would do well with a full choir range. It carries more power that way, even if you want the prevailing sound to be the higher voices.

Also, the first entrance of the flute at 0:41 sounds out of place to me. It might be the program or sound font you're using or you might have entered something wrong. What were you aiming for there? and 3:43, very low flute sounds. Don't know if you mean to have this performed live, but most people will not have access to a flute that will play that low without a very breathy sound.

Yay Jenova :)

The Shakuhachi (the flute sound you're hearing) is a dominant instrument throughout the entire soundtrack, so it won't be out of place for this track (I think :))

I'm gonna up the reverb and bass lvl to :)

The choir is actually just a Japanese boy choir, so the low bit kind sounds worse, and also I don't really want to low section hehe.

Regarding the Shakuhachi at 3:43, I don't play the Shakuhachi, but I play flute. Those passages would not be a problem for me. It's probably a volume thing.


Edit: I was looking at the wrong Shakuhachi part at 0:43 haha! I see what you mean where it's sort of out of place. But I guess it just felt right to hear it before the small solo part it gets.

Down the reverb on the guitar... it sounds too much like the horrible guitar sound in Soul Calibur II.

And I am still sticking by the drum patterns. So many people like that + O + O + O + O pattern, and it gets reallllly annoying and predictable. I take it you don't play the drum [set] no?

Down the reverb on the guitar... it sounds too much like the horrible guitar sound in Soul Calibur II.

And I am still sticking by the drum patterns. So many people like that + O + O + O + O pattern, and it gets reallllly annoying and predictable. I take it you don't play the drum [set] no?

Woot! Soul Calibur II :P

No I don't hehe. I'd probably got too tired from playing it for more then 1 min haha! It would be interesting to attempt playing hehe. I like the reverb actually, the guitar sounds too dry without it I think. Also, considering nearly everything else on the soundtrack has reverb, it would be REALLY out of place. But I guess it can't hurt to try it out with no reverb. Or can it................................................ .................................................. .................................................. ...


EDIT: Re uploaded Black Dragon Demo with some mixing improvements and a few fixes.

hey sorry to bother you about this again but i still can't figure out how to register. It seems like no matter where I click for registration it asks me for a product serial number.

hey sorry to bother you about this again but i still can't figure out how to register. It seems like no matter where I click for registration it asks me for a product serial number.

Nah it's fine. I'll do some research now. I've almost finished Black Dragon so I'll upload and then run through the steps to get "Free" working. Just make sure you've registered an account. I think they keep their Independence Free product serial number in a strange place on their site. I'll PM you soon :)




EDIT: I think I found it haha. Scroll down the independence free main page,


To download your copy of Independence Free and the free instruments you have to create your personal account for the yellow tools user area.
This account gets created automatically with the registration of Independence Free. Simply switch to the "registration" page and register Independence Free the following way:

* Enter your personal details, select "yellow tools Independence Free" in the product pull-down menu at the bottom of the registration page and enter the version number and the serial number "INDE-FREE":

Black Dragon 95% finished!

This is not the final cut, but it's full length and near complete :)

Just needs some tweaks in places. Let me know how you think I can polish it more. I REALLY want this piece to sore! I had to make this Mp3 a 160kbps because it was too big for the normal 192 haha!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEENJOY :P

I have no heard the final one but, I heard the other one. I think what would help is if you use EQ. Try and see if you can get your track cleaner by eliminating unnecessary frequenzes. The composition aspect is fine, but the mixing is what hurt a bit the piece. If you already improved that in the final mix, ignore this post. :P

THANK YOU!! I got in!!:lol:

I didn't say take out the reverb; rethink it. (Listen to updates later.)

KaitouKudou: Woot! Awesome! Enjoy it!!

Nyu001 and Mazeppa: YES! Listen to updated version haha :P

Sakura Theme!!! I finished it!

It's for Dead Takumi. Featuring me on flute, un-quantized piano and guzheng and synthesizer manipulation....yea... I just tried to make that sound cool haha.

ENJOY!

You will recognize this from "Battle Pursuit" Mazeppa :PYou should precise it's from Naruto! I was expecting Cardcaptor Sakura :D

So, It's time for a change of pace :P

Tomorrow (May 22nd) is my birthday, so in the festive celebrations, I'm uploading a Happy Birthday song I wrote. It's not related to the traditional one, but it's happy hehe.

A short note though. I am not a piano player lol, or at least I'm not a very good one. So please excuse the average performance. :)

Happy Birthday!, even though there is a 1 in 365 + 1/4 chance that it isn't on the 22nd of May haha!

Ahh...Getting emotional. 17 in 2 hours...I guess reflecting on this year, I only regret 2 things.

One unrealistic, one realistic.

The unrealistic goal was not getting hired by Square Enix,

The realistic goal was not finishing my first Symphony.

I guess I eventully lacked drive? Maybe I was just not ready. I don't know. I did 2 and a half movements. All of which I will upload for you to listen to. Enjoy the Symphony that never got finished on time...Oyasumi mina.

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=9a0770fcd119932a75a4fc82078ae6c8e04e75f6 e8ebb871

Hey, Happy Birthday Kevin! Hope you have... well... had fun today! Which now is your yesterday...

I would listen to the piece. But I can't download it at the moment. Power not so stable and my internet is slow.

Joyeux anniversaire Kevin !

Hey, Happy Birthday Kevin! Hope you have... well... had fun today! Which now is your yesterday...

I would listen to the piece. But I can't download it at the moment. Power not so stable and my internet is slow.

It's actully now hehe. It's now 7am in Perth on May 22nd hehe. Thanks :P

Happy Birthday!

On the Symphony:

First movement - not bad. My main qualm is that it doesn't really have the "Presto" feel, to me...

Second movement - haha, your chords around the 1:00 mark totally reminded me of Halo. Your non-string instruments are going to get a little bored. Perhaps you could have the brass quietly double the string harmonies during the latter part of the second repetition of the first theme? I think that would add some interesting color. I love the piano in the third repetition.

Fourth movement - I love the bassoon in the first part and the color and depth it adds to the melody. I think you could have modulated for the second iteration with the brass to give it more interest. I think the quiet part with the harp/piano is cool, but I think it could be compacted a bit; it feels like it drags a bit. Parts of the melody actually remind me of BGM from "Rohan: Blood Feud", if anyone has played that.

If this is the last movement, I think you should consider trying to transition into a repetition of themes from the first three movements somehow in the last movement to give the symphony continuity. Furthermore, I think the ending (with the glock doubling the strings) was a little cheesy-sounding to be the end of a symphony.

To be honest. I didn't know what I was doing with the Symphony. Maybe I'll try again this year lol. One a year? This one complete!?

Tanks for your comments. I see where you're coming from with all of them. I'll have a better mindset for when I attempt my next one.

First of all, happy birthday. :)

~~~

Just a little blurb on my opinions of symphony writing before I start to critique:

Writing a symphony is an ambitious task, and not everyone can pull it off easily or at all. A symphony is not merely pretty melodies and harmonies plus grandiose orchestration. Symphony, as many already knows, means 'to sound together' in Greek. It does not specify how it should 'sound together'. Therefore, the concept of symphony as a form of music unique to symphony orchestra is not entirely correct. Stravinsky had explored this idea through his Symphony of Psalms and Symphony for Wind Instruments.

With that being said, one can say that the general term of 'symphony' could practically be anything the composer imagines. Therefore, a symphony magnifies the creativity, the technicality, and the 'pocketful of tricks' of a composer. Though, compared to pieces for small ensembles such as string quartets and woodwind quintets, composers can somewhat 'hide' their technical flaws by compensating through using more 'tricks'.

Symphony writing is also quite dangerous. Composers can easily be carried away by the palette they are given in writing a symphony. There is a tendency to 'fill all the bars' or add extra instruments here and there and etc... Even Mahler and Tchaikovsky fell for these traps. You may ask why that is bad, and the answer, quite simply, is: the more instruments/colours/technical passages/whatever you ask for, the more difficult to get a live performance. Not all orchestras can afford to hire a bass flute, or a contralto clarinet in Eb, and etc...

But anyways,

~~~

Movement I - Presto

It is an appropriate gesture to start a large work with a crash since your audience will then know something exciting is coming. However, by the time you are 40 to 50 seconds into the piece, I am already getting tired with the accompaniment. Rhythmic variation will keep your audience on their toes. If you just let it repeat and repeat, it gets boring really quickly. The contrasting part with strings as the melody was a welcoming change, but at the same time, it didn't build as the exuberance of the opening implied. Then, when the piccolo and horns were having their little conversation, the energy died. It felt like that you needed something perhaps percussive to keep it going.

By the time the main theme recurred, I was beginning to feel doubtful about the piece. I can somewhat see that your contrasting sections were your development... But it didn't develop enough. The biggest reason for that is because your statement didn't build. If your primary statement is not strong enough, the development and recapitulation will follow.

If anything, the first movement of any music should be the highlight of a piece. This is what the audience will hear first. Despite the fact that many disagrees, first impression is everything.

Side note:

Piano is a good addition to the orchestra. It does everything practical and orchestras usually don't mind hiring one because they're quite easy to find nowadays. I also see that you have a harp. But honestly, in my opinion, I think having one or the other is sufficient. I am also leaning toward piano. There are quite a few reasons:

1) Piano can somewhat emulate harp in higher registers, so having two instruments of similar timbres isn't being that practical.
2) Harp and piano can both be very bulky instruments on stage, so they can cause problems if you have a small stage.
3) Harp is inferior to piano and most other instruments of the contemporary orchestra, thus, unless you amplify it through electronic means, you wouldn't get much harp in a tutti passage anyways. Contrarily, piano has a larger dynamic range and could be heard better.
4) Harpists are hard to find. Good harpists are harder yet. As well, they are expensive people to hire. Meanwhile, pianists are everywhere.

~~~

The end of the first movement left me somewhat unsure because it just kind of... 'ended'. True, the symphony isn't over yet, and you'd want to keep your audience's attention. However, give us something slightly more substantial.

Movement II - Molto Adagio

Despite the fact that I have stated that symphony could be anything a composer wants to 'sound together'. I think you still need some sort of logic behind it all. The material for your second movement is relatively different from what you had in the first movement. In that case, why are the two movements one single piece? Why are they not two pieces if they're not related in some sort of logic? When composers write multi-movement works, they are somewhat obliged to keep all the movements 'intact', or related. If not, why not just write one big movement? Even if you used what was suggested above, it's very likely that the audience doesn't catch your intelligent gesture. Therefore, it's very important to make your versatility of your materials obvious.

There are many very nice moments here and there in this movement. However, there are moments where long, sweeping notes were tiring. Despite the fact that you want it solemn, make sure you have some contrast. For example, those arpeggiated chords in the piano you had in the latter half of the piece was rather refreshing. Approach the rest of the piece in a similar concept.

I was also somewhat hoping that the staccato clarinet motif would recur somewhere in the end. When you're doing large projects like a symphony, everything important should be stated more than once. If you do it just once, it's going to stick out like a sore thumb because it doesn't quite 'fit' in the entire context of the piece. But also note that if you state same thing exactly the same way twice, it's going to be boring. As in real life, you won't say the same words twice with the same expression.

Movement IV - Andante

English horn solo! You did well accompanying this instrument with lighter elements. As an English horn player myself, let me warn you: the fact that you gave it more than a minute and a half of solo is somewhat risky for lesser orchestras; it's a long blow.

I found it somewhat amusing when you had French horn playing after English horn... My twisted sense of humour senses something political. ;) But anyways...

Your strings accompaniment, as in the first movement, dragged on and on. Make it more interesting. Interesting accompaniments that are good will not cover the melody, but highlight it. Think about what more you could do.

When the piano came in, it became very atmospheric. So atmospheric that it became ambience and went nowhere. Go somewhere. This movement had yet to have contrast from its opening elements. Contrasting doesn't always mean that it should be fast and tense. It just means that something need to differ from the primary elements. It's like reading a book; if your characters and plot don't develop, what's the point of reading the book? Furthermore, if you have contrast, coming back to these first elements will become much much more worthwhile.

As things started to move again, it became repetitive. We've heard the same melody many many times already! We get the point! Despite the fact that you may say you're changing timbre, it still didn't change enough. Variation is the key here.

The ending, like your other two movements, kind of... well... died. End with the excitement/energy/interest like the start. The picardy third idea was also a bit strange. Maybe if was more modest, it would've been better; but this is a matter of taste.

~~~

Overall:

Being the critic I am, I haven't given you much praises you deserve. But then again, do you really need it? Composers know their own strengths, so there is no need for another person to tell you what you already know.

On the criticism side, I'm not quite sure about this entire piece qualify as a symphony. I mean, you can call it whatever you want and symphony doesn't possess any particular meanings. However, as stated before, the fact that you made it multi-movement, you would want a lot more thought into this. I don't know how much you pre-plan when you write music, but for something ambitious like this, you would want to. You can't really write-as-you-go for larger projects. It's very important to actually sit down, think about it, and jot down everything that comes to mind. Then afterward, it's merely putting all the pieces of the puzzles together.

Phew! That was long! Good luck with your future pieces.

Wow. All that was incredible critique haha! I didn't do any pre plan, which may of been why it stalled? For the next try I will definitely think it through more. I composed off a vision of me conducting this Symphony. I guess that's good but the piece itself eventually just stalled. But I learned a lot from the experience :)

It was really nice of you to give such a critique. Thanks to you as well deathrider!

Piano is a good addition to the orchestra. It does everything practical and orchestras usually don't mind hiring one because they're quite easy to find nowadays. I also see that you have a harp. But honestly, in my opinion, I think having one or the other is sufficient. I am also leaning toward piano. There are quite a few reasons:

1) Piano can somewhat emulate harp in higher registers, so having two instruments of similar timbres isn't being that practical.
2) Harp and piano can both be very bulky instruments on stage, so they can cause problems if you have a small stage.
3) Harp is inferior to piano and most other instruments of the contemporary orchestra, thus, unless you amplify it through electronic means, you wouldn't get much harp in a tutti passage anyways. Contrarily, piano has a larger dynamic range and could be heard better.
4) Harpists are hard to find. Good harpists are harder yet. As well, they are expensive people to hire. Meanwhile, pianists are everywhere.



Good points here; however I am inclined to disagree that piano should be equated with harp. One of my favorite passages in Ravel's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G Major is the harp passage in which the color of the harp is used to echo the jazz theme in the piano with a little bit of a darker coloring. I think that it is valid to have both if such effects are being used. Nevertheless, you are right that in some cases there is no need for both.

Funnily enough, playing Piano, Harp and Celesta is one of my favourite things to do because of the sound the 3 create. I'll upload some stuff showing it off because it's really, really cool, even if it's impossible to play :P

Good points here, however I am inclined to disagree that piano should be equated to harp. One of my favorite passages in Ravel's Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in G Major is the harp passage in which the color of the harp is used to echo the jazz theme in the piano with a little bit of a darker coloring. I think that it is valid to have both if such effects are being used. Nevertheless, you are right that in some cases there is no need for both.

The two instruments are not equated, of course. Harp could do things piano can't, but if you're going only for the notes, the runs, and the basics, the two honestly don't make a big difference. And I would even say piano is more effective. In Ravel's case, it was a piano concerto, so the context is slightly different since solo pianists take a different approach.

To respond to the comment above: yes, celesta and harp is a very popular combination, but also a very expensive one. Celestas are hard to come by these days. If you want a similar effect, there's always vibraphone or glockenspiel with the piano.

In Ravel's case, it was a piano concerto, so the context is slightly different since solo pianists take a different approach,

I was hoping someone would say that. :)

I'm uploading a song :) It's for the same movie as Mental is. Obviously different mood though. It features some vocals my my girlfriend, Kayla too :)

Enjoy

The piece is very nice. The mixing need a bit of work!

Voice too loud/soft? I'm not hearing what you are. My speakers are pretty much ground zero. They don't provide and bass boost, eq but provide a clear sound. What are you hearing?

Thanks :P

I heard in some parts everything is sounding near the same level of loudness. I listened to it with my crap speakers, and with the better one. And still I heard the same. Maybe I have the worst speakers in the world? XD

Well I'm sure you don't, it sounded fine to me but if someone else says the same thing then it's confirmed. can you say the timeframes where it's unbalanced?

I will tell you later today when I get chance to listen to it again. But was these parts when all was being played. And sometimes the synths were louder than the piano. And confused me where to put my attention.

Something that can help you is to try your track in different systems and speakers. That is something I have saw in the recording areas. They test how would sound the audio in different system, then they see what to do for that. What sound good in a speaker can sound bad in another. It sucks, I know; haha.

That's happened many times haha! Many, many times! I've had more general luck with speakers lately, i'm not sure if it's because I'm bouncing at a better bit rate, but it's gotten better.

Sorry, double post :P

I did a rewrite of the leaked "Trico" trailer. It's a fantastic trailer so I'm happy just to complete something for it. I wanted to use more orchestration, but like Running Home, I couldn't find too many spots for it. Sir Dot Dot Dot. Do you teach orchestration!? haha.

Enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjOZWLX_7w

Can I ask you what DAW, VST, and equipment (audio interface, headphones, speakers, computer specs, etc.) do you use for orchestration? Just curious. Trying to be Nobuo's pupil means you're very serious, so I'm guessing you have a nice home studio for serious music making as well, or at least it's a goal when you have income.

Hehe. Ok. Let me gather information. I'll edit this post with a list :P

Ok. We have.....

Hardware:

Mac Pro with 9 gigs of RAM (http://www.apple.com/macpro/)
Apogee Duet Sound Card (http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/duet.php)
Yamaha P-70 Electronic Piano (http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail.html?CNTID=63175)
Axiom 49 Midi Controller (http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/Axiom49.html)
Yamaha HS80M Studio Speakers (x2) (http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jun06/articles/yamahas80m.htm)

Software:

Logic Pro 8 (http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/)

Vienna Symphonic Library (Special Edition) (http://vsl.co.at/en/211/261/182.vsl)
Omnisphere (http://www.spectrasonics.net/instruments/omnisphere.php)
Kontakt 3 (http://www.native-instruments.com/index.php?id=kontakt3)
Ivory Grand Pianos (http://www.synthogy.com/)
EW/QL Symphonic Choirs (http://www.soundsonline.com/product.php?productid=EW-182)
Voices of Passion (http://www.soundsonline.com/Quantum-Leap-Voices-Of-Passion-pr-EW-174.html)
BFD 1 (Big F'ing Drums) (http://www.fxpansion.com/index.php?page=1)
Independence Free (http://www.yellowtools.com/)


Trying to be Nobuo's pupil means you're very serious,

Thank you! :) It means a lot to hear that!

NP! Nice list ^_^ Is the room acoustically tuned as well? Are you using multiple monitors? It's epic when you work on multiple monitors lol. Sweet rig (9 gigs of RAM should be plenty I hope). Post a pic of your studio if you have time. I've been meaning to create a club thread dedicated to all ichigos members who own a DAW home studio, but I don't have my own home studio yet (just a laptop and a digital piano worth $6000). Until I get cash in my pocket, this'll be my first priority. Owning my very own DAW home studio ^_^ Being an audiophile, I'll eventually go broke after shelling out money for the best sound possible:heh:

Wish you luck on your music career. And stay away from the "loudness war" trend. This is something you'll deal with later on in the music industry. They're ruining music! :cry:

I'm uploading a song :) It's for the same movie as Mental is. Obviously different mood though. It features some vocals my my girlfriend, Kayla too :)

Enjoy

Nice piece, but I have to agree with Nyu about the mixing bit. The reverb is a nice effect with the piano, but it starts to sound kind of muddy when more instruments come in - the pads especially, having this this almost strobbing effect which sounds unpleasant to me (I'm listening on headphones, though).

Also, I do like those big synth swells, but maybe toning down the volume a bit would better the balance.


Sorry, double post :P

I did a rewrite of the leaked "Trico" trailer. It's a fantastic trailer so I'm happy just to complete something for it. I wanted to use more orchestration, but like Running Home, I could find too many spots for it. Sir Dot Dot Dot. Do you teach orchestration!? haha.

Enjoy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVjOZWLX_7w

This was quite a nice piece, and pretty fitting for the trailer overall. Only thing that bugged me a bit was those awkward accents in the cello(?) part. Though, it may just be the fault of the sample library, since it only happened for that one note and not others. Anyways, good stuff.

Nice piece, but I have to agree with Nyu about the mixing bit. The reverb is a nice effect with the piano, but it starts to sound kind of muddy when more instruments come in - the pads especially, having this this almost strobbing effect which sounds unpleasant to me (I'm listening on headphones, though).

Also, I do like those big synth swells, but maybe toning down the volume a bit would better the balance.



This was quite a nice piece, and pretty fitting for the trailer overall. Only thing that bugged me a bit was those awkward accents in the cello(?) part. Though, it may just be the fault of the sample library, since it only happened for that one note and not others. Anyways, good stuff.

I will blame the sampling hehe. Eh!? I'm still not hearing what you are haha! That's it! to the crappy car! :P


NP! Nice list ^_^ Is the room acoustically tuned as well? Are you using multiple monitors? It's epic when you work on multiple monitors lol. Sweet rig (9 gigs of RAM should be plenty I hope). Post a pic of your studio if you have time. I've been meaning to create a club thread dedicated to all ichigos members who own a DAW home studio, but I don't have my own home studio yet (just a laptop and a digital piano worth $6000). Until I get cash in my pocket, this'll be my first priority. Owning my very own DAW home studio ^_^ Being an audiophile, I'll eventually go broke after shelling out money for the best sound possible:heh:

Wish you luck on your music career. And stay away from the "loudness war" trend. This is something you'll deal with later on in the music industry. They're ruining music! :cry:

Waa! 6 grand!? Is that US dollars? If by the loudness war you mean something like this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcxhuMtOebc) then yea. I will never ever do something like that! haha.

I uploaded a picture. Is this what you wanted to see? The room isn't acoustic, but it doesn't really need to be. It works well for me :)

Hmmm...the mixing sounds fine on my speakers (although that is not my area of expertise...my hardware/software consists of Finale 2008 with some decent Logitech speakers; I only have 1 GB of RAM).

Ok, with a chair like that I would die!

At brncao: Is not that the new Roland?

My "studio" practically is in my room, lol.

Ok, with a chair like that I would die!

I added a pic of the new chair haha! It's probably worse, but I can't afford a good studio desk yet..:( Saving basically everything for Japan.


__________________________________________________ _______________________________


I also added a small something...:think:

It's called "Yokobop". I'm going to be flash :huh: and write it this way too hehe. ヨウコBOP. Because I'm cool like that...............

It's for my comp class tomorrow. We has to do a rhythm exercise. So I did a 25 second "thing" for Flute, Piano and Drums. I'm not sure, but it could be classified as contempary jazz or "out there" jazz?

The rhythmic part of the composition is where the instruments have accents on different beats. Thus, it creates some interesting rhythmic effects. I'M NOT GOOD AT EXPLAINING MY WORK!

I've included an Mp3 and score. Enjoy! :)

Awesome setup! It's interesting to get to know how everyone makes music.


That's it! to the crappy car! :P
Mastering is a pain in the ass lol. Next up, iBuds! XD


At brncao: Is not that the new Roland?

Yamaha CVP-307 (negotiated and dealt at $6K USD). It's a remarkable digital piano. Yamaha makes the best digital pianos imo. At the time of purchase it was second best in its class (before the flagship cvp-309). It's been 2 years and I still haven't used it to its full potential yet. There's just so many things still left unexplored @_@

I thought it was the new V-piano by Roland.

http://rolandus.com/products/productdetails.aspx?ObjectId=978&ParentId=72#

Wow ~$6K for that?

Wow ~$6K for that?

A $6,000 piano. How awesome is it!? haha. NOT the "Wow ~$6K for that piece of sh*t?" question. NOOOO

Does it have mod wheels etc? Can you post a picture?

Unless it's MSRP. So to be fair Yamaha cvp-307 is $8400 MSRP and I got it down to $6000 at a piano dealer. No mod wheels, keep in mind this piano (as well as the Roland V piano) is for performance and what not (an alternative to acoustic piano), not midi sequencing. For midi control and sequencing, that's from an entirely different line.

Pic of my piano or Roland V piano?

Unless it's MSRP. So to be fair Yamaha cvp-307 is $8400 MSRP and I got it down to $6000 at a piano dealer. No mod wheels, keep in mind this piano (as well as the Roland V piano) is for performance and what not (an alternative to acoustic piano), not midi sequencing. For midi control and sequencing, that's from an entirely different line.

Pic of my piano or Roland V piano?

Yea that would be cool haha. Wait...Light just turned on.....Google......x_x haha. Sorry about that :P

If you spend that kind of money on anything else but a Steinway, I feel sorry for you and your wallet.

Ahh. To have your own Grand Piano :) (dreams). Friend of my mum's got a 1930's (aroud then) German grand piano for approximately $3800 USD! It has the most gentle tone and considering my favorite type of music is feminine music, I have to see if I can inherit it somehow!

Anyway, Doing some music for a game. It's about a young girl who wakes up in a hospital. Alone and with no memory. It's similar to Silent Hill or Resident Evil, but I haven't done any action music yet.

Piano Detune - the girl is walking alone and scared. This in an interesting track. I loaded 4 pianos onto the sequencer, each one with a lower AA.

Piano 1 is AA 440
Piano 2 is AA 432
Piano 3 is AA 427
Piano 4 is AA 420

The track consists of one melody that is repeated 4 times in total. The first time is just with Piano 1, but the second time has Piano 1 and 2. Third time is Piano 1 and 3 and finally Piano 1 and 4. Thus, creating SPOOOKYNESSS :ghost:

Wake up Cassie - The girl wakes in a bedded hospital room with no memory of how she got there. The room is dark but moonlit. The piano "pluck" at the start represents her eyes opening.

Hallway - This is for a little later in the game, so the player doesn't hear all the emotions produced at the start of the game. Imagine there isn't anyone trying to kill her, but she's wondering along a long hospital corridor, her torch is her only source of light.

I really like the idea of the piano detune. And the atmosphere you created with it. Very nice! The reverb seemed a bit too much.

Wake up Cassie is another one that I liked and if I had still my headphones I would go to bed with it on. Nice production here, the sound quality is great and I like the mixing! I like to listen to music like this. :P

Hallway reminded me to some old movies that used to leave a soft pad sounding for a very long time. I like this track also. Well I like the three tracks, well done!

ooooooo. You like sound arrangement and ambiance? Thank you for your comments ^^

Yes, I like audio manipulation in music. It just give more possibilities to the composer to do more interesting stuffs and to expand him/herself with new ideas. And it is fun! I do like ambience music also. But I like many different things, so is not just that.

Some ideas that come from sound art are pretty out there, but if you ever visit/study at WAAPA then you'll see some pretty insane stuff. My friend/lecturer Cat Hope recently did a piece for 24 electric basses called "Music for the deaf".

The audience was outside on the street because it was too intense to be heard inside the building and they had to board up all the windows because otherwise they would shatter. The basically made it feel like there was an earthquake. I didn't go (grr) but the feedback was pretty much....AWESOME! haha

The piano song is pretty damn neat, but it would be even better if you made the transitions between the de-tunings seamless.

Thank you! Are you thinking more times through the melody and making the change even more gradual? Played 7 times or something? Thanks again! :)

Mmm, yeah, the whole concept of detuned pianos playing together is brilliant. The songs are great for a video game--not too complex, and heavily atsmosphere-centered.

May I ask how you came up with which AAs to use for the four pianos?

Not much thought went into it. I guess I just imagined the girl walking down the hospital corridor. Ah! I listened to a song caleld Harmon from the anime School Days (what an anime!). The was short, but it freaked me out majorly. Especially if you're watching the end of episode 6... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvM4NIGzW2g&feature=PlayList&p=820EDE1730B94CF3&index=17). Just after 6 mins or so.

ANYWAY haha. So the minor seconds played like that are freaky, but since the idea has already been done I didn't want to so it myself.

First I just did a "as freaky as possible" melody on the piano (tuned). I used 7th's (Minor and Minor/Major) because normal Dmin and Bmin chords would be too conventional. I added A LOT of reverb because it will make the sound much more empty (the good type of empty) then with no reverb. I actually saw the pitch bend on my midi controller while playing the freaky melody, I wanted the piano to bend. I tried to make a grand piano pitch bend....

So then I loaded another piano and changed the AA. Then I played (experimented) and tweaked the tuning enough to make it sound different. After smiling as I played the melody, turning the piano from around AA 435 to 420 (the lowest the VI could go) I pretty much was done. Why is this sounding like an autobiography now!?

At WAAPA the sound artist students do some pretty weird things, but in their performances I saw that they TOOK THEIR TIME, transforming their sound slowly over time. Some guys piece was over 30 mins long and it was just an E7 chord played on a guitar going through a mammoth amount of effects for 1hr 30 mins! we didn't listen to all of it...

There were only around 4 spots on the available tuning that sounding contrasting enough, however what I will do now that I'd had some really nice feedback, is load another 4 pianos, but change the midi output so the sequencer reads them a semitone lower then whats actually going to be played. (Thus if I hit a B, it will be a Bb.) THEN I will make another 4 de-tunes and play the melody another 4 times, totaling 8.

A short note though. NONE of this was though out, nor did I have any clue what I was doing. This recollection of my thinking process is all subconscious when it happens. Even studying the other students and teachers is never thought about. I never analyze what I'm doing, ever. Everything I compose is either complete in my head, or I have a general idea of what I want and they are complete as they go down into my sequencer. Maybe that's why I write music so quickly :thinks:. Most of my stuff is finished in 1 session. I did the "Trico" rewrite in about 2 hours and I didn't make any edits to anything. It's almost like melodic dictation maybe? Still, I don't think about anything. I just do.

PS: Perfect pitch is probably the key as to why it happens so quickly and why I have such a complete picture of what I want out of the composition :think:. Gahh. This sounds WAYYY too analytical...No likey haha :P

Stupid people with perfect pitch...

It's finished....it's finally finished....my big project for the first semester of school.....The Hoshi no Koe (Voices of a Distant Star) complete soundtrack rewrite is FINALLY COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA

Also, I have to submit sheetm usic too, so I shall upload it when done!

so.............ENJOY!

Part 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpMDHsH69xs&feature=channel_page)

Part 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BY0SenWLhi4&feature=channel)

Part 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI9mpWQFIcU&feature=channel)

YAYAYAYAYAYA
YAYAYAYAYAYA
YAYAYAYAYAYA
YAYAYAYAYAYA


PS: Buy the DVD! :P

Urgh, that animation bothers me greatly! I guess when it's all done by one person that's what happens...

Personally, I felt the music was partially effective. However, it got old after a while; it felt like the whole thing just had the "emotionalist" feel, and you mostly used piano (I realize that sometimes it was accompanied by other instruments, but it still just felt like piano most of the time). It would have been nice if you had even just done some more risky orchestration during some of the pieces. The chord progressions were very simple and cliche, which is fine besides that without switching up any of the orchestration it got pretty tedious. Any thoughts behind why you did it that way? I know you're capable of excellent and interesting orchestration ideas, but this did not show that aspect of your talent off.

I guess what I'm saying is that the simplicity of the music itself was really good, but I feel like there still needs to be some element of risk in there to build tension and to break up the monotony. Make sense?

Urgh, that animation bothers me greatly! I guess when it's all done by one person that's what happens...

Personally, I felt the music was partially effective. However, it got old after a while; it felt like the whole thing just had the "emotionalist" feel, and you mostly used piano (I realize that sometimes it was accompanied by other instruments, but it still just felt like piano most of the time). It would have been nice if you had even just done some more risky orchestration during some of the pieces. The chord progressions were very simple and cliche, which is fine besides that without switching up any of the orchestration it got pretty tedious. Any thoughts behind why you did it that way? I know you're capable of excellent and interesting orchestration ideas, but this did not show that aspect of your talent off.

I guess what I'm saying is that the simplicity of the music itself was really good, but I feel like there still needs to be some element of risk in there to build tension and to break up the monotony. Make sense?

Thank you for your comments!

You used emotionalist! :cry:

I see where you came from. I will say this in my defense though haha. The movie is really delicate. There are only a few times that I felt the scene wasn't brittle enough to handle more instruments and....also..... I like the piano haha. (A completely legit reason...)

I guess the risk was the middle, where there was the "battle" music. It's funny, but I used a lot of old compositions and melodies in this piece. Actually, there was only one new thing created specifically for the rewrite and that was the second half of the opening song. That part that was sung.

The main melody is actually my girlfriends melody (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9PwTt0c4os&feature=channel) (yes, she has a melody haha) that I wrote for her last year then embarrassed the hell out of her by performing it in front of our peers on our one year anniversary last august. :P So considering the theme of the movie, this was perfect for me to use. Then you also have that sad space melody which I also used for the Zanarkand rewrite. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01-8hEYPPqg&feature=channel_page)

I think the stuff it mostly piano because it felt more right. Piano, Synth and Violin were pretty much all I needed. Except for the song I Cha Ri (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EBmLgOdzxA&feature=channel) in the middle, which I was going to enter in Noir7's $100 contest funnily enough....Didn't though.....don't know why......:think:

Obviously I arranged all the linked tracks for the rewritten OST though :)

Anyway I think I responded to most of your response haha. I'll edit if I forgot to say something :P

You used emotionalist!

Well I HAVE read the heading on your website, you know.

I still stand by my statement that you could have taken risks; I was pretty sure I had heard a lot of that music before, so I'm not surprised about that, but that, in my mind, only serves to prove my point that you didn't really take many risks with this soundtrack. Anyway, it's not bad, either way, just not spectacular either.

You read the heading on my website! :cry:


Fair enough ^^ Off your review, I will definitely me making more unique additions to future music I do! Thank you so much for your critique!!!! Now I have to write the sheet music..........GAO.........

Just to make sure you understand me correctly, I still love the simplicity of your "emotionalist" style. Don't lose that.

Just to make sure you understand me correctly, I still love the simplicity of your "emotionalist" style. Don't lose that.

Haha! Don't worry, don't worry I know :P! I'd never stop playing like that. It's too loved! But it will be good to see how far I can push some boundaries ^^

Yay! Finished sheet music for the hardest song in the Voices rewrite :P

If you guys don't mind, It would be great to get a critique on how I wrote out the track, but also the song ^^

Enjoy :)

Last updated: 3:18am, June 1st, GMT +8

Sounds and looks really good to me!

That's good to know ^^ I'll comment on the new breath eternal ASAP! I just need to get a bit more of the score finished, it's due for school in about 2 days :P

PS: Uploaded the score AGAIN because I needed to add a piece of boxed text :P

ALL DONE NOW :)

I don't know if the things I saw you fixed them, but I will mention them in case.



- First page must have all the instruments' staffs. After first page you can omit these that will be quiet for a while.

- Measure #8: The piccolo has a... I don't know how is called in English. The breath thing, lol.

- Measure #13: You don't need to put the word legato and the curved line. One can be enough to understand it.

- Measure #28: You got a collision between the Violin II and the Violoncello.

- Measure #30: Another collision. The forte with the div. between the Contra-bassoon and the Trumpet.

- Measure #31: Change word Cymbol to Cymbal.

- Measure #49 to #52: Text collision with notes. Move the staffs a little bit there.

- Measure #57: One last collision.

All these things are minor, but is good to have a score perfectly notated. ^^

---------------------------------

About the piece, is actually the only one I could listen in your videos. :cry: For some reasons the audio died here when I changed of speakers. And the loading was taking me an eternity. But anyway, I like the piece. In special when the choir enters playing at 1:54.

Edit before clicking the edit button: My comment went to the one before the last upload you did of it, lol.

I don't know if the things I saw you fixed them, but I will mention them in case.



- First page must have all the instruments' staffs. After first page you can omit these that will be quiet for a while.

- Measure #8: The piccolo has a... I don't know how is called in English. The breath thing, lol.

- Measure #13: You don't need to put the word legato and the curved line. One can be enough to understand it.

- Measure #28: You got a collision between the Violin II and the Violoncello.

- Measure #30: Another collision. The forte with the div. between the Contra-bassoon and the Trumpet.

- Measure #31: Change word Cymbol to Cymbal.

- Measure #49 to #52: Text collision with notes. Move the staffs a little bit there.

- Measure #57: One last collision.

All these things are minor, but is good to have a score perfectly notated. ^^

---------------------------------

About the piece, is actually the only one I could listen in your videos. :cry: For some reasons the audio died here when I changed of speakers. And the loading was taking me an eternity. But anyway, I like the piece. In special when the choir enters playing at 1:54.

Edit before clicking the edit button: My comment went to the one before the last upload you did of it, lol.

You rock! haha. Another upload :lol:

Here's the other one that's "complete" lol.

It's a simple emotionalist one. "Lovers Torn Apart by Space".

Is there enough detail on the score?

Haha...I guess that just showed how closely I looked at that score and how late at night it was... :P However, I wish I could figure out how to make my sheet music look this nice in Finale!

I really do like the second one as well, especially measures 3-4 for some reason. I just had a random thought, though. Have you ever heard the soundtrack to the newest Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley? The harmonies and such are probably a little different, but parts of it have the same sort of minimalist, piano-centered score. I'm not really sure how to describe the similarities that I see in my mind, so if you haven't already, you should just listen to it and see if you learn anything from it.

Haha...I guess that just showed how closely I looked at that score and how late at night it was... :P However, I wish I could figure out how to make my sheet music look this nice in Finale!

I really do like the second one as well, especially measures 3-4 for some reason. I just had a random thought, though. Have you ever heard the soundtrack to the newest Pride and Prejudice movie with Keira Knightley? The harmonies and such are probably a little different, but parts of it have the same sort of minimalist, piano-centered score. I'm not really sure how to describe the similarities that I see in my mind, so if you haven't already, you should just listen to it and see if you learn anything from it.

Can't hurt at all :) Thanks! I got pwned over some things in I Cha Ri (good sort of pwned) haha so I uploaded...AGAIN haha. More stuff soon.

*Cue big band*

hhhhhhhheyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! FFVIII "Waltz of the Moon" rewriteeeeeeeeeeeee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lkwmJWLIk


GOD i need to stop getting side tracked with rewrites, I'll get in trouble soon for not doing homework on time. But they're so fun though! hehe

I think the character of the music was too serious for the scene. And the piano get some bad dissonance with the reverb or maybe the pedal. I would have prefer to hear a flute carrying the melody instead the piano.

I liked the second section of the piece, it was a nice contrast. I think I heard like 2 notes that reminded me to Eyes on me.

Anyway, I think the piece works better by its own than fitting with the scene. There is a lot of room for continue it and improve it. Hope to hear more of it. :D

Edit: Eww that emote teeth...

Haha. The funny thing is that the piece actully has a live recorded flute version. But I don't like it. The recording is bad etc. etc. It
is unlikely I'll revisit this for a while, but I will keep those suggestions in mind if I do! ^^

Thank you!

School's out and it's time to catch up on all I missed this year. ^_^

Lovers Torn Apart by Space: Beautiful piece, very RPG inspiring. It wouldn't surprise me to hear that piece in a video game in the near future. SCORE THE WHOLE GAME IT WILL BE EPIC!

At The End of the Tunnel there is Happiness: Why...yes there is. ^_^ Very emotional piece, I can tell that you were very close to your emotions while you were writing it. That is the perfect state for a composer to have and by you being able to pour your soul into your music so effectively leaves no doubt in my mind that you are moving towards great things. Keep up the good work.

The Peaceful Pub: You have such a wonderful way of weaving a melody along a progression that takes me back to my days of playing Square RPG's (Before they started to suck) This piece goes in the ever growing playlist of awesomeness.

Keep writing, my ears want more.

Wow. Such kind words ^^

You made my day hehe. If you wish for more then there's my YouTube channel or the WAAPA blog if you wish. I will listen to you stuff really soon!!!

Another one for Voices rewrite. Enjoy and please let me know if I can improve the score! haha. Promise I will comment on everyone's threads really soon!

Last updated: Monday, June 1st, 1:52pm, GMT +8

Very very lovely piece, soothing while still in motion. Awesome combo. In your score you forgot a roll in the piano part at measure 41, and at 63 the 16th notes in the right hand are almost inaudible, although it could just be that my hearing is going. Having two violin parts that play in unison the entire time though seems redundant to me, so just write it out for an entire violin section and save score space. On the whole though very nice, you labeled it a rewrite and I'm getting the feeling that I would be disappointed if I heard the original after hearing your version of it.

Side note: You must tell me which software you use for your sounds, it is wonderful, also how the synth-voice words? Unless of course you had live help, in which case my apologies to the vocalist.

Thanks :)

I fixed those things ^^ THANK YOU but you wouldn't be disappointed at all with the original. The vocals are recorded live. The singer is by girlfriend! :):):)

Regarding software, I posted a full list with links on post #127 :)

Sankkyuu!!! :P

Another! "Through the portal".

Also used for my Zanarkand Rewrite ^^

Another again :P "The First Message"

For violin and piano.

I'm Baaaack. xD

First Message: Measure 13 was slightly disappointing, I was anticipating some sort transition. However being able to deceive the ear of the listener all comes down to what the listener is accustomed too. Very lovely piece, beautifully melodic use of the violin. Almost should be marked cantabile. Loved the use of accents on the first motif.

Through the Portal: @21 A-Natural... way to make use of melodic minor, kudos to you it's not done enough. ^_^ Again like so much of your music it feels very square inspired, obviously you have been enjoying RPGs for a very long time, if not just their soundtracks. (<------Square is amazing this should not be taken as an insult to originality) Sorry for the disclaimer you would be amazed at how touchy people can be when you label their style.

Very lovely pieces, can't wait to hear more.

I'm a heavy gamer as well haha. Well used to be lol. don't have the time to pwn people of Super Smash Bros nowadays :( but believe me, I can PWN! I bow my head (I just wrote "heads", so that's a good indicator that I NEED SLEEP haha) to Metroid Prime, Shadow of the Colossus, Pokemon Colosseum/XD Gale of Darkness, Demons Crest, Smash Bros Melee/Brawl, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn and ALL ANIME! haha.

Saying it sounds like square isn't a bad thing lol. I hope it's "old square" though hehe. 2001 and backwards.. I want to work at square anyway and bring back good music. FF music has changed...I will say for worse, but that's personal opinion :P

Speaking of which, I think it's time for a non-voices related comp haha. For an RPG game. Violin, Piano and Cello. I think it needs some more mixing though...

Enjoy :)

PS: thank you again! and....er...I used melodic minor? lol? OH! I figured out how I compose! I can put in into words now!

Ok. It all improvisation! I produce the entire thing in my head on the spot, but becuase I have perfect pitch I can just play it on piano note for note straight into the sequencer where it's "caught"! Gyapo!! It doesn't work with the full orchestra in my head though :( That's why I am making up a story for an anime that probably won't ever happen, but it sounded cool when I made it up haha. I'll make the summary sound cool and make sence on paper before I post it though haha. Well, this had taken up enough time for the mp3 to upload :P

Jaa ne:P

Saying it sounds like square isn't a bad thing lol. I hope it's "old square" though hehe. 2001 and backwards.. I want to work at square anyway and bring back good music. FF music has changed...I will say for worse, but that's personal opinion :P


Agreed. Its because Uematsu isn't doing all of it anymore.



Ok. It all improvisation! I produce the entire thing in my head on the spot, but becuase I have perfect pitch I can just play it on piano note for note straight into the sequencer where it's "caught"! Gyapo!! It doesn't work with the full orchestra in my head though :( That's why I am making up a story for an anime that probably won't ever happen, but it sounded cool when I made it up haha. I'll make the summary sound cool and make sence on paper before I post it though haha. Well, this had taken up enough time for the mp3 to upload :P


I must say it's a very lovely piece especially for improv, but the fact that you have perfect pitch makes me very envious. (Lucky.....<_<) You+Square= me with an empty wallet because i buy my games based on soundtrack most of the time. Keep up the good work.

Square + Job = WOOP WOOP WOOP/Dream come true for years :) I would love to move into anime though. If I got the chance to write music for an anime such as Arjuna, Wolfs Rain, or anything, I would work myself to the bone to nail the soundtrack...Back to dreaming! :P

*Cue big band*

hhhhhhhheyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! FFVIII "Waltz of the Moon" rewriteeeeeeeeeeeee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lkwmJWLIk


GOD i need to stop getting side tracked with rewrites, I'll get in trouble soon for not doing homework on time. But they're so fun though! hehe

I decided to check this out and was, overall, somewhat pleased. I don't have much to say since the material given is fairly short and it's better to critique the picture you're setting instead of the "music" itself.

I felt that this was going to be more of an innocent type of scene, but the music was fairly dramatic. I do not know the game or the plot of this specific scene for that matter, but it seems rather unfitting. The music, on it's own, was pretty nice, but it didn't fit the visual. I saw a slightly flirtatious girl pulling a man that she is obviously into. He's a little dumbfounded and maybe cautious, (confused even?) but he eventually follows along with it. I felt that the piece should have that happy and mysterious feeling at the same time; it's hard to explain. Have you listened to much Debussy? I have the perfect piece; it's actually in my repertoire currently. It's called L'isle joyeuse ("The Joyous island). Here's a recording of it: Maurizio Pollini plays Debussy L'isle Joyeuse (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlGFfjY_vrY). Enjoy, no pun intended. :P

Remember, though, this is all just my interpretation of the scene, but I wanted to be fairly blunt when I was watching it and after the second time I felt more relaxed and my view of the scene set in and the music just didn't "go" with it.

Thanks Mazeppa ^^

The original is a lot more uptempo hehe. A lot more bouncy and jolly in mood, I however wanted to go with more "being swept off your feet," 1) because it was the first mood to pop into my head, 2) because jolly was done in the original. I wanted to do something that was "me" hehe. But I completely understand where you're coming from :P

I will check out the Debussy ASAP, unfortunately I can't look it up on the school computers....Its exam week so I can go home, but it's raining! I'm trapped at school when I don't need to be! haha

Thanks :)

I'm a heavy gamer as well haha. Well used to be lol. don't have the time to pwn people of Super Smash Bros nowadays :( but believe me, I can PWN! I bow my head (I just wrote "heads", so that's a good indicator that I NEED SLEEP haha) to Metroid Prime, Shadow of the Colossus, Pokemon Colosseum/XD Gale of Darkness, Demons Crest, Smash Bros Melee/Brawl, Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn and ALL ANIME! haha.

Saying it sounds like square isn't a bad thing lol. I hope it's "old square" though hehe. 2001 and backwards.. I want to work at square anyway and bring back good music. FF music has changed...I will say for worse, but that's personal opinion :P

Speaking of which, I think it's time for a non-voices related comp haha. For an RPG game. Violin, Piano and Cello. I think it needs some more mixing though...

Enjoy :)

PS: thank you again! and....er...I used melodic minor? lol? OH! I figured out how I compose! I can put in into words now!

Ok. It all improvisation! I produce the entire thing in my head on the spot, but becuase I have perfect pitch I can just play it on piano note for note straight into the sequencer where it's "caught"! Gyapo!! It doesn't work with the full orchestra in my head though :( That's why I am making up a story for an anime that probably won't ever happen, but it sounded cool when I made it up haha. I'll make the summary sound cool and make sence on paper before I post it though haha. Well, this had taken up enough time for the mp3 to upload :P

Jaa ne:P

Sounds like a pretty nice piece, but a bit strangely performed (by the sequencer). The melody has a nice flow to it, and I really liked the imitative parts at around 1:30 or so, but the instruments themselves sound very "stiff" at part (especially the cello). You might be limited by your software in terms of expressiveness, but some more dynamics definitely would've helped for this intimate sort of piece. The beginning sounds like it'd work better at a softer dynamic, building up to that more dramatic section after the first minute or so. Also, the notes leading to the the piano should probably trail off more gradually, so that transition is smoother. Also, the cello had some strange suddenly louder notes for some reason - maybe due to the humanization function if you've used it. Also, the reverb sounds too stuffy to me, which is mudding up the mix some more - try using other room settings or make it less "wet" and more "dry" to see if you can get a clearer sound.

Thanks! will make edits :P

Me, Kayla and a friend made another Happy Ramen video! It wil be uploaded today ^^ I tried uploading it last night but it didn't work because of the format of the video :( I'll post link soon :P It's directed at teenagers though hehe.

Uploaded the Happy Ramen film ^^

You might like it/find it interesting. It "talks" about teenage suicide. Not the most positive subject in the book, but it's powerful according to my friend and teacher. Enjoy :P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEeVzYWn6oM

Yay :) New song :) I've had what I guess you could call "writers block" for the last few days so I'm happy to come up with something nice!

To explain the piece, it's pop. I imagine lyrics sung in Chinese (it feels right :P) sung by a voice similar to this beautiful voice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enUewoV4gic&feature=PlayList&p=BD55503B1CC34B43&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1). :P

The opening and feel is based off Yoko Kanno's "Cloud 9 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQkn8dwSh6k)", hence I named it Air 10 haha.

Obviously I don't have Chinese singers on sight at 8pm-1am at night haha, so the melody is played by synth :P

Enjoy :)

PS: WOOT! 5,000 views! :)

Hmm, I feel this piece does not have a chorus but a little tension build that seem to want to lead to a chorus that never happen. It feels more like is getting ready to go to the chorus that part.

With a vocalist the piece would express itself a lot better than using a synthetizer. The synth sounds too 'dead' to me, giving no expression and lacking dynamism. Maybe your gf can help with the vocals there? ;)

Hmm, I feel this piece does not have a chorus but a little tension build that seem to want to lead to a chorus that never happen. It feels more like is getting ready to go to the chorus that part.

With a vocalist the piece would express itself a lot better than using a synthesizer. The synth sounds too 'dead' to me, giving no expression and lacking dynamism. Maybe your gf can help with the vocals there? ;)

I didn't realize it had a chorus haha. Well, I think it flows ok so I don't think I should add one haha. Definitely getting Kayla to sing this hehe, but the problem I guess is range, but she's a soprano, so maybe she can hit an A lol.

thanks! ^^

Air: I definitely feel the flow that your talking about but I have to agree with Nyu. The piece is very lovely, but with backgrounds like that the inclusion of a chorus almost seems necessary. That is not a knock at the piece, but it feels as if it should lead to chorus and then it doesn't. It's funny too, I've been listening to a lot of your work and am trying to find the trait that your music has that makes it yours. (Your a tough nut to crack xD) I can't find it, that is not a bad thing I promise. :heh:

Edit: It almost sounds like it could be in a sequel to Chrono Cross (Terrible game cannon wise, but awesome soundtrack), only it needs to be set around the same time period that FFX was suposed to be.

Air: I definitely feel the flow that your talking about but I have to agree with Nyu. The piece is very lovely, but with backgrounds like that the inclusion of a chorus almost seems necessary. That is not a knock at the piece, but it feels as if it should lead to chorus and then it doesn't. It's funny too, I've been listening to a lot of your work and am trying to find the trait that your music has that makes it yours. (Your a tough nut to crack xD) I can't find it, that is not a bad thing I promise. :heh:

Haha. You'll find something maybe hehe. It's not a "must have" trait, but look for dominant melody and extended chords such as Major 7ths, the use of 1st and 5ths with an added 9, and particularly this chord (can start on any note)

Ascending, C G D Eb Bb

My favorite chord hehe. Also the opening chord from Spirited Away if you play it in F :P

PS: THANKS!

About the new video: I think that in the "animated" parts it's really hard to tell what's going on. Honestly, it also just seems really dumb to switch back and forth between the two mediums. Do you think you could find an alternative way where maybe you just do live action throughout? Furthermore, it should be "More than half of the people who jump off a bridge" rather than "more then". Where on earth does that number come from anyways?! If they actually jump, how do you whether or not they regret it?

Music-wise, the vibraphone just doesn't give the emotional effect I think the music should have...I'm not sure what else to suggest, but maybe you might think about trying some different instruments.

On "Air", I feel that for some reason I should ask whether you have listened to any songs by Switchfoot?

About the new video: I think that in the "animated" parts it's really hard to tell what's going on. Honestly, it also just seems really dumb to switch back and forth between the two mediums. Do you think you could find an alternative way where maybe you just do live action throughout? Furthermore, it should be "More than half of the people who jump off a bridge" rather than "more then". Where on earth does that number come from anyways?! If they actually jump, how do you whether or not they regret it?

Music-wise, the vibraphone just doesn't give the emotional effect I think the music should have...I'm not sure what else to suggest, but maybe you might think about trying some different instruments.

On "Air", I feel that for some reason I should ask whether you have listened to any songs by Switchfoot?

Well we just got pwned lol. Since it was another school project, we didn't have a lot of time to do the animation in detail, so Kayla had to cut some quality because of time and her own studies. This is also the same reason why we included live action. We couldn't put everything on Kayla. Of course the viewer will not be eased into the mediums perfectly, but that's why I added in the youtube description to try and see past those things to the deeper meaning. Also, we couldn't do live action, Kayla wasn't prepared to jump off a bridge and Andrew and I weren't prepared to follow her to get the shots we wanted haha :heh:

Regarding sources for the "regret" comment, I first heard about it watching an episode of Medium a few years ago. Obviously I can't just believe the TV so I did some research. I think Yahoo answers has some good comments to support the text.


yea my cousin and friend tried to commit suicide, and when they were dying they told me they were freaking out in their minds of how they shouldnt of done that and so on, thank god the ambulance got to them b4 they did and saved them . But i would assume if you know your ending it all, that their would be some thoughts saying omg omg why, how could i? its gonna be over omg i dont want it to be over, helpp noooo!! ect....


There was a documentary about people who have jumped off the Golden Gate bridge and there was one guy who survived. He did change his mind on the way down, but the decision was irrevocable. Luckily for him, he got fished out and received medical treatment. Had a lot of broken bones, though.
There were more sources somewhere, but I can't remember where haha. But the info remained in my memory.

The vibraphone was going to be replaced with voice, but it never happened lol. I guess I grew a custom to the vibraphone so I didn't change it. Nor did I have any complaints from it until now haha.

I haven't heard of/any Switchfoot. I will research ^^

Thanks for your feedback!

No one really want to die. These people that commit suicide or want to die does have a will to live. But the situations that they are in, are forcing them to take such drastic decisions. But don't you see they take their time to commit it? They think it, they prolong it; there is a desire to be alive. They just screaming for help and to be away of all the negative of their life. Plus other possible reasons also.

Anyway, I felt to say that. And still have no watched the video, lol... I hope soon I will get a chance! Stupid slow internet I have!

No one really want to die. These people that commit suicide or want to die does have a will to live. But the situations that they are in, are forcing them to take such drastic decisions. But don't you see they take their time to commit it? They think it, they prolong it; there is a desire to be alive. They just screaming for help and to be away of all the negative of their life. Plus other possible reasons also.

Anyway, I felt to say that. And still have no watched the video, lol... I hope soon I will get a chance! Stupid slow internet I have!

This is getting deeper ^^ I agree. That not the only situation that someone could be in, but that does exist. It may be in some cases when someone gets pushed over the edge and gains the willpower to go through with suicide. It may be to escape their life and/or to feel like they finally have some control over their life for the first time in a long time, or even their entire life. However, once they have tasted the feeling of freedom given to them my jumping off a building, they may be pushed under their breaking point, resulting in regret. But then it's too late because they've already done the act. Maybe?

Well perhaps you could word it differently so that it sounds less like a statistic, since it's not really one. Anyway, not a big deal I guess. Good job.

I enjoyed that last song quite a bit, but that synth-thing playing the melody ruined the whole thing in my opinion. It was a bit to repetative for my liking as well. But that is just taste I guess ( the melody I mean).

Well perhaps you could word it differently so that it sounds less like a statistic, since it's not really one. Anyway, not a big deal I guess. Good job.

Fair enough haha. Ok ^^ Thank's!


I enjoyed that last song quite a bit, but that synth-thing playing the melody ruined the whole thing in my opinion. It was a bit to repetative for my liking as well. But that is just taste I guess ( the melody I mean).

I'm actually really liking the synth now haha! :heh: I think I will just have 2 versions. Sung and Synth hehe. Woot! I got my girlfriend to write lyrics for the song! ^^

Air 10. This is a nicely written piece, but it's really nothing more than background music..for anything. It's not a "bad" piece, but that necessarily doesn't make it "good." I listened to it a couple of times, and then it got fairly boring and un-exciting. The melody doesn't do anything interesting and it doesn't have a very catchy tune to keep me going. The harmonies are fairly bland and have an extremely cliche quality to them. I know that this is your "style," but it's not good to have a style that doesn't work for you.

Maybe a singer would work? But at the same time, I feel all it'd be would just be a disconnected piece at first guess, and that's what I expect-- but I could totally be wrong (I wasn't critiquing the timbre, but only the musical quality of the melody and chords).

Moving on, the topic of this piece NOT having a chorus. It needs one. You have verses and developments all over the place, but not something that keeps the piece together. If you're bringing in your girlfriend to sing, I would rework the structure of this piece. I will give a suggestion of a lyrical form to you, done to keep the integrity of the piece:

Intro Verse

Verse I
Bridge

Verse II
Bridge

Chorus
Bridge

Verse III
Bridge

Chorus
Bridge

Development
Bridge

Chorus
Chorus

Outro Verse

Just a suggestion. To keep on, I'd like to touch base with the background. I love what the piano and the guitar does. Don't change those, but I'd suggest you change that drum pattern up and bring it out, since I have to turn the piece up at FULL volume (and my speakers at a fairly large level) just to hear what's going on. Adding to that, I don't even hear a base. In my own theories on the chords you use (because I went through a stage where I could only use the types of chords you use, and I got quite good at voicing them)... You need to have a strong bass note and an evenly layered chord structure.

Going back to the drums, since you're familiar with Yoko Kanno's work, have some fun with that drum pattern; I admire the way she incorporates drums in her electronic pieces. The patterns she writes are similar to what you have here, but it needs variation. A lot of variation. Make it feel that it isn't a drum loop, but something that adds a rhythmic flair to it. Just imagine, a piece with awesome chords and tight beats behind them!

I would suggest you reading this over a couple times to see what I am saying for real. Thanks for taking the time to consider some things, and I'd love to see what you end up doing with your synth and voice versions.

No! Thanks for taking the time to write this! THANK YOU!!!

I like the simplicity of the melody, but I'm DEFINATELLY taking everything you talked about with the drums into practice haha. I'm not sure what I will do for a structure. I'm still thinking if I want a chorus...I know it’s pop, but like those video clips like Train of Dreams, they're not really your traditional video clip. They're a sort of narrative based short film that stems from a video clip. So it's sort of like that I guess lol. It might not make it as appealing but I don't want to add anything that doesn't flow well.

You could just make the chorus be musical, and just write different lyrics for each chorus. I mean, if you want to write something like that, it's a lot of lyrics being written if you want to tell a story, basically. Brace yourself ;)

EDIT: And I know you love the simplicity of the melody, and there's nothing wrong, but it's anticlimactic.

You could just make the chorus be musical, and just write different lyrics for each chorus. I mean, if you want to write something like that, it's a lot of lyrics being written if you want to tell a story, basically. Brace yourself ;)

EDIT: And I know you love the simplicity of the melody, and there's nothing wrong, but it's anticlimactic.

I see where you're coming from.

Yup. Basically everything Mazeppa said. Listen to him. I too am writing two songs and I will have to go back and revisit every note I've already writen. Maybe even start a new. There's just a lot of elements that have to go right to make it catchy and therefore something you'd pay a dollar to listen to. Production is one part, which you seem to almost have down to a tee. Just some balancing issue mainly. A catchy progression, a talented vocalist, a great melody, MEANINGFUL lyrics, etc. also go hand-in-hand. I've been learning for my past production a great deal. One thing I would suggest is to take things a little slower. Your ears can only give you unbiased judgment for so long on what's working for you. Rest them. Get the song completely out of you mind for days/weeks. Then, come back to it and you should have a better perspective on things. Why do you think artists sometimes debut albums years apart? In my unresearched opinion, its because it takes that long to make a truly great song. Sure they can come up with a twelve track album in a month if they please, but it just won't live up to that quality we all hold our favorite songs up to. Every single second of the song basically should be pure gold and nothing less.

Yup. Basically everything Mazeppa said. Listen to him. I too am writing two songs and I will have to go back and revisit every note I've already writen. Maybe even start a new. There's just a lot of elements that have to go right to make it catchy and therefore something you'd pay a dollar to listen to. Production is one part, which you seem to almost have down to a tee. Just some balancing issue mainly. A catchy progression, a talented vocalist, a great melody, MEANINGFUL lyrics, etc. also go hand-in-hand. I've been learning for my past production a great deal. One thing I would suggest is to take things a little slower. Your ears can only give you unbiased judgment for so long on what's working for you. Rest them. Get the song completely out of you mind for days/weeks. Then, come back to it and you should have a better perspective on things. Why do you think artists sometimes debut albums years apart? In my unresearched opinion, its because it takes that long to make a truly great song. Sure they can come up with a twelve track album in a month if they please, but it just won't live up to that quality we all hold our favorite songs up to. Every single second of the song basically should be pure gold and nothing less.

Thanks for the advice and support! It isn't a bad idea. To take things slower, but I guess I can be hyperactive in composition at times haha. Good idea about revisiting in a few days/weeks!! I've done it before and most of the time, something new happens haha.

I agree with what you said about people writing something quickly but then going back again and again, editing. I know that wouldn't work all the time for me. Sometimes it just happens then, there, complete. (Mainly the atmospheric and emotionalist songs haha). But definitely sometimes it is/should be a longer time frame on writing something haha.

I'm taking everything in! :)

Ok. I've made some drum edits on Air 10. Hopefully it makes it more interesting haha. I also did a bit of tweaking here and there. No thought on chorus yet. Still may/may not be added. I'll think about it more haha!

I'll give you some drum fills and such that you can get ideas from instead of playing only with the hat, snare and kick drum. It's funny how when you play an instrument, you can see how many possibilities are available to make a song sound really good.

I still strongly advise you to add a chorus.

I think the biggest threat to this song is how not memorable the melody is. The production value is actually peachy. But jeez, I could never sing back that melody to save my life. I saw that the album is a demo for Uematsu. If you look at Uematsu's work, it's all rather catchy. So I think he'll be less interested on if you have the cash to splurge on a high-quality program, and much more interested if you can put a piece together that's charming to the ear.

This is weird haha. Are we listening to the same song!? haha. I thought/think the melody was fine lol. Simple and catchy. Weird...

EDIT: It's also extremely fun to play live haha. OOOOOOOO!!!! I came up with an awesome idea for me to play compositions live. I transport my studio to the scen and then create a special versions on the sequence where certain parts are muted (eg melody or chordal part) and play it live! I this this melody would be awesome to play if I got a live drummer and bass player haha.

I suppose it depends on whether you are used to J-Pop melodies. XD

PS. I so have an idea for a chorus...

Haha. Yea. I guess I am. It may be the type of melody that it is. How much J-Pop do you guys listen to? Since it is a J-Pop song, not everything happens conventionally. Melody and structure can be different. Kayla did a presentation in class on the opening song to Blood + and she was talking about how it starts in E major (can't remember) and then the chorus is in F# Minor haha. The teacher was saying "that can't be.." then she figured it out on piano and it was "sou" haha!

This is weird haha. Are we listening to the same song!? haha. I thought/think the melody was fine lol. Simple and catchy. Weird...

You did come to Ichigo's to get opinions and make your composing and compositions better, right?

Then listen to what we've all been saying.

Mazeppa, of course, and I am. Didn't you hear how I was putting in more drum fills? I you suggested that idea. Please don't confuse this with me saying what I think is strong about the song.

Regarding the post you responded to. It was an off topic joke post. I know you couldn't hear my vocal tone to suggest so, but that was what it was. "Are we listening to the same song!?" WAS the joke haha so don't take that badly.

Yeah, I don't have a problem with the catchiness of the melody so far.

Something interesting haha. I'm trying to combine soundtrack, classical and jazz influences together lol. I think I didn't go too well on the classical part though haha. I don't know though haha. :P

It's good, but I felt like the forte section towards the beginning could have had a big theme melody; as it is it kind of feels like the piece doesn't go much of anywhere.

Something interesting haha. I'm trying to combine soundtrack, classical and jazz influences together lol. I think I didn't go too well on the classical part though haha. I don't know though haha. :P

Rather liked this one, especially the soft string textures. A lot of the 'jazzy' parts felt actually felt kind of impressionistic to me, but whatever. Nice piece.

Ahh! Forgot to respond haha!

Deathrider- I agree with you haha. Does it almost feel like 3 ideas that are not mixing together as well as they could? I'm starting to think that haha. I'm trying to have an analytical opinion of my music, a day or so after listening to it haha. I think I should extend it too. I am happy to get that the minor 6ths on paper (or sequencer) finally haha. Melody would be a good idea. The trouble is I didn't want to have such a royal melody, which was the only type I could think of at the time haha. That and the fact there are no more instruments to play it (I don't want to sacrifice the trumpets playing their chordal notes haha). But it's a good think to work on next time I look at the piece hehe. Any suggestions on what instrument to use for the melody? Preferably not trumpets, but if they're the only thign that will surpass the rest of the orche then so be it haha.

Shizeet - Can't complain about it being impressionistic haha. I think...I agree with you haha. 6th and 7th chords are definitely impressionistic haha. Especially when using a classical orche haha. (Excuse me obviating orchestra with orche, I've been watching Nodame Cantabile and it's use of the work "orche" is right now my number one word to use haha!

Edit: Woa! Now I'm really seeing the melodic emptiness in the "big" section haha. Music must be fixed...

I like the first and last section, and it does feel like 3 different ideas that are not mixing so well. Each part looks very individual from each other. But well done with the music.

By the way, have you noticed how many times you say "haha"!?

I like the first and last section, and it does feel like 3 different ideas that are not mixing so well. Each part looks very individual from each other. But well done with the music.

By the way, have you noticed how many times you say "haha"!?

Waaaa! A lot! I never realized hah....HEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY :P Joking. Maybe I'm just compensating for the lack of the human voice lol. I dunno. I don't think about it :P.

Thank's on the "well done". Now.......to improve...is it possible...:think: PS: How long is someone able to survive on 3.5-6 hrs sleep a night?

By the way, have you noticed how many times you say "haha"!?

I've been wondering when someone would point that out :lol:. As for suggestion for the instrument playing the melody, maybe a french horn and/or penny whistle? Penny whistle might help transition into the next part since the flute plays the melody-snippet during the transition. If you go with the french horn idea, maybe try doubling it with bassoon.

the music is good but the sound came out all croaky and weird.

Ahh! Forgot to respond haha!

Deathrider- I agree with you haha. Does it almost feel like 3 ideas that are not mixing together as well as they could? I'm starting to think that haha. I'm trying to have an analytical opinion of my music, a day or so after listening to it haha. I think I should extend it too. I am happy to get that the minor 6ths on paper (or sequencer) finally haha. Melody would be a good idea. The trouble is I didn't want to have such a royal melody, which was the only type I could think of at the time haha. That and the fact there are no more instruments to play it (I don't want to sacrifice the trumpets playing their chordal notes haha). But it's a good think to work on next time I look at the piece hehe. Any suggestions on what instrument to use for the melody? Preferably not trumpets, but if they're the only thign that will surpass the rest of the orche then so be it haha.

Shizeet - Can't complain about it being impressionistic haha. I think...I agree with you haha. 6th and 7th chords are definitely impressionistic haha. Especially when using a classical orche haha. (Excuse me obviating orchestra with orche, I've been watching Nodame Cantabile and it's use of the work "orche" is right now my number one word to use haha!

Edit: Woa! Now I'm really seeing the melodic emptiness in the "big" section haha. Music must be fixed...


How many haha's and hehe's do you write?:heh:

the music is good but the sound came out all croaky and weird.

Pretty sure that's something wrong with your computer.

We sort of already commented on the whole "haha/hehe" thing, so you needn't have double-posted about it.

Hmm...Maybe I should stop :think: even though I like using them...Gahh. It feels un-natural not to do so now!

Hahaha, I'm pretty sure it's ok if you want to keep using it. To me, at least, it isn't particularly annoying, just kind of funny.

Good to know haha! I did some massive piano stuff last night haha. I did a near-7min piano improv and also a 13 and a half min piano version of Sleep Please (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFfZBzGbuS4) hehe. So...........I will upload soon hehe :P

What? I just tuned in to see what sounds good and now I have to wait?! I will check it out once it is up... Wait its already up oops. It's beautiful. :sleeping:

Pretty sure that's something wrong with your computer.

We sort of already commented on the whole "haha/hehe" thing, so you needn't have double-posted about it.

Well sorry I didnt know someone had already commented on the hahas and hehes and Kevin its ok you can keep writing hahas and hehes.
:ph34r:

Well sorry I didnt know someone had already commented on the hahas and hehes and Kevin its ok you can keep writing hahas and hehes.
:ph34r:

Fine, but you should still know not to double post whenever possible because that is in the forum rules (which I'm sure EVERYONE reads when they join the forums :shifty:). Furthermore, it's generally good to read some of the things that other people have already posted before you so that you don't look like an idiot.

Sorry about the off-topic rant, but I had to teach the noob how we do things here.

Ahaha. Last time I saw the word "noob" used it was on runescape. Ahh. Memories :) I love the runscape music!!!!!!

The other one is "newb", people that are new to the thing in question? Is that how you spell it? lol

Yeah, as far as I know, noob=newb. I just think the aesthetic quality of noob was more what I was going for in that circumstance.

Yeah, as far as I know, noob=newb. I just think the aesthetic quality of noob was more what I was going for in that circumstance.

Ahh I see. I thought noob = wanker and newb = new to the game lol.

How could you think noob was wanker?!?!

And keep us updated about Seattle! Hope all going well. :D

Lol. Runescape. I guess I got told wrong info 3 years ago haha. Oh shit. Seattle haha. All is good lol. I get to sit in on the dress rehursal tomorrow so I get to have a nice chat with Uematsu. CD's ready and things like that. Got my Japanese teacher to translate the message so he doesn't have to listen to my broken Japanese to try and guess what I'm trying to ask etc. etc. lol.

Nice! I didn't realize that was going on right now! Good luck! Maybe it does mean wanker in Australia, but I don't have any idea where that would have come from...

Nice! I didn't realize that was going on right now! Good luck! Maybe it does mean wanker in Australia, but I don't have any idea where that would have come from...

Wanker comes from England I think ahaha. Yea lol. It happens tomorrow. I haven't heard true Australians use wanker or tosser much, but I was born in England and moved here (there/everywhere :P) so I tend to use it more lol. I just don't know how wanker became an insult, because the lit. is...well....a natural act lol.

That's not what I was referring to, exactly. Unfortunately, I am well aware of the origins of the word "wanker". I was referring, rather, to the origin of the word "noob" referring to a "wanker".

Awkward conversation! XD

Ahh oops lol. It doesn't really. I just used it. There no rule on what word to use to define noob as far as I know. You could use idiot, dipshit tossers etc ;). why the he'll did I just use so many swear words ahaha!?

We just spent an entire page discussing this...lol

and it's awseome!!!! :P

O_O I came to ask if you could post the sleep please music sheet and I find this... A whole convo on the word noob. I live on the other side of Australia and it still doesn't mean... yeah...

Anywhos, Kevin can you please post the Sleep Please music sheet for piano and violin. I'm in love with the song and want to learn it on piano and make my friend do the violin.
Thanks if you can. :)

Lol. It can't hurt to write it out soonish lol. Post on youtube if you do. That would make my day ahaha.

Thanks so much. :) And I don't think I'll be posting it on youtube. We'll make it sound so bad that... let's just say you'll regret it.

But thanks.

Demo for new experiment. NOT FINAL VERSION (http://www.box.net/shared/ab2208vhj0).

It's a 13 min, minimalistic, orchestral cannon based on the 3 opening chords from "Sky Barnet". The interesting thing is that the repeated melodic phrases are all at different lengths, thus when you're around 6 mins in you can hear how they all are "weaving" in and out of each other.

EDIT: FINAL VERSION COMPLETE! This link does not work anymore.

Cool! I may take a listen today when I wake up! :D

Sleep well! and get well soon!

I enjoyed the piece very much. I've been getting into contemporary music and minimalism in the last month or two, so I was especially happy to see somebody else giving it a good go. I really think you got the concept of the layering of the main theme with different "speeds" of playing them and how they all sound overlapping themselves. Everything moves into the next stage and it doesn't necessarily go to one specific place.

Nice job, Kevin. I think this piece was a big step for you (I'd like to hear it finished, since it isn't quite done, yet?).

I enjoyed the piece very much. I've been getting into contemporary music and minimalism in the last month or two, so I was especially happy to see somebody else giving it a good go. I really think you got the concept of the layering of the main theme with different "speeds" of playing them and how they all sound overlapping themselves. Everything moves into the next stage and it doesn't necessarily go to one specific place.

Nice job, Kevin. I think this piece was a big step for you (I'd like to hear it finished, since it isn't quite done, yet?).

THAT'S FANTASTIC TO HEAR :) THANKS!

It's 95% done. I just want to add maybe a rolling bass and snare drum at the end, and up some of the velocity levels with some of the instruments. Minor stuff. Let me know if you think the bass/snare is over board though! :)

The idea of it isn't very appealing. Maybe somewhere in the weaving you could do something numeric with the melodic values and then put the numeric values of the notes to rhythms and somehow place them interestingly with the texture.

That would be very minimalist. XD

I seriously hate how fast/often you can write music like this. I'm lucky if I get a real piece finished every month or so...