Long time no see! ;D Just finished my semester and had a couple of projects here I thought I'd share with my lovely colleagues!

I can't wait to hear what you guys have been doing the past couple of months. I have been doing some work for a friend's game lately too. I love getting opinions from people who know music. Where I am, everyone says "wow that's good" emotionlessly. I appreciate the honesty I find here.


Er, uh.. rambling. So here's some new stuff!

I may sound strict to you - but try to get what I'm saying before you get to conclusions...

Confusion: Let me put it this way: I found this uninteresting. I see this piece as more of a contrapuntal expansion of a i - V progression with color tones every now and then with "motif 1" then playing around with it, then "motif 2," then some sort of other expansion. (To be fair, I am disdainful to constant repetition and such repetitions, as a note.)
Dreary: same comment as Confusion - again with the whole i - V repetition. Then you switch the key somewhere, which doesn't help much. Then you try to mask the repetition through new timbres (i.e. the synth noises), which doesn't help much. Then you repeat the whole sequence again.
It Was Better Before: a little more variation with the progression, but yet it's repetitive again. Same comment with the repetition and contrapuntal expansion deal - and is still uninteresting because of its lack of variation (or small amount).

Overall: As my Music Theory teacher says, any kind of music that is just based off of some repetitive progression "can be made by anyone" and lacks any kind of uniqueness. Because of my disdain toward such kind of music, I find these pieces to be uninteresting to my ears and to lack variation with attempts to add variation, as I mention earlier in this post, by expansion of counterpoint in the same progression (which I consider repetitive improvisation or at least something closely related), modulation (but still with a similar progression), or change of timbre. I personally do agree with my Music Theory teacher's statement because of the simplistic nature of such pieces.

As for what I suggest you do: try to compose something that does not have the same sequential chord progressions throughout the whole piece.

Your Music Theory professor's point is valid in some sense too, however I don't think that "anyone" can make music based on the same progression, or any progression at all for that matter. If that were the case, composers like Nobuo Uematsu, Motoi Sakuraba, and Yasunori Mitsuda wouldn't be so renowned. ;) (This is purely my opinion, and I don't mean to take a dig at you or your professor, I promise!)

That aside, I appreciate your input, and I don't take it personally. Mostly because I agree with you. I tend to run into this problem of repetitiveness because first, I like a chord progression so much that I forget to move away from it, or because what I'm composing is intended only as a backing track.

If you have any suggestions on some ways for me to practice more intricate variation, please feel free. I'm glad you were honest with me, because your points are all very valid.

Not ALL of my music is as painfully repetitive as these 3 sub-par pieces. However, I tend to scrap most compositions within an hour or so, and at that point I start to lose inspiration, because I get frustrated when I can't find that note. So I say, "oh well, loop it I guess."

Edit - I realize some of that may have come off as rude, and I assure you it was not intended in that way. I'm really thankful that you put your opinion out for me to see. My style of composing is very much influenced over whether or not I have inspiration, and, as I'm sure you can tell, these are not very inspirational pieces. I almost feel a need to prove that I can do much better than this! ^o^

Your Music Theory professor's point is valid in some sense too, however I don't think that "anyone" can make music based on the same progression, or any progression at all for that matter. If that were the case, composers like Nobuo Uematsu, Motoi Sakuraba, and Yasunori Mitsuda wouldn't be so renowned. ;) (This is purely my opinion, and I don't mean to take a dig at you or your professor, I promise!)

That aside, I appreciate your input, and I don't take it personally. Mostly because I agree with you. I tend to run into this problem of repetitiveness because first, I like a chord progression so much that I forget to move away from it, or because what I'm composing is intended only as a backing track.

If you have any suggestions on some ways for me to practice more intricate variation, please feel free. I'm glad you were honest with me, because your points are all very valid.

Not ALL of my music is as painfully repetitive as these 3 sub-par pieces. However, I tend to scrap most compositions within an hour or so, and at that point I start to lose inspiration, because I get frustrated when I can't find that note. So I say, "oh well, loop it I guess."

Edit - I realize some of that may have come off as rude, and I assure you it was not intended in that way. I'm really thankful that you put your opinion out for me to see. My style of composing is very much influenced over whether or not I have inspiration, and, as I'm sure you can tell, these are not very inspirational pieces. I almost feel a need to prove that I can do much better than this! ^o^

Sure - what you can do to start is compose a piece that is typical of VG music, like something in the style of Uematsu's music; just a simple piano piece, let's say. Then, what you should do is start out writing - create a chord progression that has a sense of direction and has adequate variation. When you get to about 10 bars or so, think to yourself: does this sound good to me? Does this idea sound too suddenly put in this spot? Do I really need to repeat this idea again or should I make a new idea or create some sort of a variation? If you can't think of any ideas to write at a point, don't write and be patient with what you write- or, if you feel like you have a good idea that will not work for your piece, stash the idea somewhere so that you may use it for later (which is a technique that I use in case I can't think of anything to write later). Such an idea could be everything from four notes to 60 bars of stuff that you don't want to use but will save for later - I have lots of these sketches in my Finale folder, some of which have come in handy when I've needed them. There's no better substitute than practice when trying to write something.

Dreary: same comment as Confusion - again with the whole i - V repetition. Then you switch the key somewhere, which doesn't help much. Then you try to mask the repetition through new timbres (i.e. the synth noises), which doesn't help much. Then you repeat the whole sequence again.
Maybe I'm wrong, but it sounds like Dreary uses the i, VI, & III chords. Didn't hear a V. I didn't hear a key change either, but then again, maybe I was distracted when it happened.

I think I have to agree, at least to some extent, that the music is a bit repetitive, but it's not that bad. They certainly get better as you go from one to the next, since each one is less repetitive than the previous piece. I actually thought "It was Better Before" was pretty good. I can actively listen to it multiple times all the way through without zoning out. The other two kinda work better as background pieces, such as in a video game map, where the listener is only passively listening to the music.

Everyone hears music just a little differently, so don't be too discouraged if the comments seem to be too negative. Recognize that other people might be a bit harsher on what you think is good, and just keep trying to improve, but don't feel you have to depart your own style too much in order to please everyone. However, I should add that if a majority of people have some qualm with a particular piece, then there might just be something to their complaint. In which case, you should keep their advice in mind on how to improve over it.

I liked Confusion a lot. I would partially agree with clarinetist that the i-VI progression - despite how you embellish the arrangement - gets a bit redundant. However, I don't hear much in the way of contrapuntal development. Was that your intention?

Also, the flute part starting on measure 17 is kind of awkward. It comes in for four(?) measures but doesn't really contribute anything. You might confuse (lol pun intended?) the listener with a 'pseudo' theme - I'd say it's 'pseudo' because measure 17 is a ripe time for the A theme to come in, but instead you derail that very natural form and disrupt the flow of the piece.

In terms of chords, the i-VI gives the piece it's initial 'mood, you know? I would suggest throwing in a i-iv for development. i-iv is very strong and would really push the melody somewhere else. In these types of pieces, the V chord is actually not the best choice. It's way too strong. IMO this piece is modal (aeolin) and not just based on natural minor. A lot of j-pop follows this same trend, avoiding the V of a minor key; in those songs, the most common way to reach the minor tonic is through IV-iii-vi or IV-V-vi (although this last perspective is kinda flawed because IV-V-vi in that case isn't really to be seen as a deceptive cadence IMO).

I guess these comments also apply to Dreary (Although I like how you briefly shifted to major. Maybe you could expand on that harmony?)

I'd like to hear these through synths too ;) crappy midi doesn't do them justice.

I liked Confusion a lot. I would partially agree with clarinetist that the i-VI progression - despite how you embellish the arrangement - gets a bit redundant. However, I don't hear much in the way of contrapuntal development. Was that your intention?

Also, the flute part starting on measure 17 is kind of awkward. It comes in for four(?) measures but doesn't really contribute anything. You might confuse (lol pun intended?) the listener with a 'pseudo' theme - I'd say it's 'pseudo' because measure 17 is a ripe time for the A theme to come in, but instead you derail that very natural form and disrupt the flow of the piece.

In terms of chords, the i-VI gives the piece it's initial 'mood, you know? I would suggest throwing in a i-iv for development. i-iv is very strong and would really push the melody somewhere else. In these types of pieces, the V chord is actually not the best choice. It's way too strong. IMO this piece is modal (aeolin) and not just based on natural minor. A lot of j-pop follows this same trend, avoiding the V of a minor key; in those songs, the most common way to reach the minor tonic is through IV-iii-vi or IV-V-vi (although this last perspective is kinda flawed because IV-V-vi in that case isn't really to be seen as a deceptive cadence IMO).

I guess these comments also apply to Dreary (Although I like how you briefly shifted to major. Maybe you could expand on that harmony?)

I'd like to hear these through synths too ;) crappy midi doesn't do them justice.


Well, I wish I could answer your questions but I have a couple of issues.

1. I don't know any of the technical terms, my theory knowledge is very limited as of yet.

2. These pieces... they don't reflect my real style. This is just some stuff I whipped together during my (very little) free time throughout the semester.

I'm not trying to play down the fact that that these few tracks are... uninspiring. There is a lack of composition because they're more or less just several ideas laid out on the table with no foundation or anything to hold them together. I tend to just sort of spit my ideas out as they come without finding ways to blend them, or realizing that one idea might not work quite so well in a particular piece.

The intention for these pieces was really just to write something for the hell of it, but most of what I do is intended to sound RPG-esque.

Thanks for your input though. I'm sure if I understood the terms you used, we'd probably be on the same page. xD

is Yasunori Mitsuda the composer for the video game called xenosaga?

Yes. He composed the Music for Xenosaga 1. Xenosaga 2 and 3 was composed by Yuki Kajiura.

i like that guy!... especially "escape(d?)". you know the song for the last part where they have to escape through a whole lot of debris. ahhh... brings back memories.

Okay, this is what I'm currently working on. It's still a very early, sort of alpha stage of the piece. As of right now, all you'll hear is several ideas pieced together without very smooth transitions. I have a lot of ideas for this one, and I plan to work hard on this and maybe have a real sense of accomplishment when I'm finished with it.

This piece was inspired by a photo a friend sent me, and they titled the photo "Endless Skies"

I like it at 0:56+ The music sounds determinate, like someone is going seriously, determinate to accomplish a goal. A F.Horn, trombone or Flute would make that "determinate" mood work better in that part than the single violin, though that is subjective and personal taste.

Okay, this is what I'm currently working on. It's still a very early, sort of alpha stage of the piece. As of right now, all you'll hear is several ideas pieced together without very smooth transitions. I have a lot of ideas for this one, and I plan to work hard on this and maybe have a real sense of accomplishment when I'm finished with it.

This piece was inspired by a photo a friend sent me, and they titled the photo "Endless Skies"

I understand that you're in the preliminary stage with your composition right now, but I have one suggestion: broaden your use of the string instruments (instead of using them as chords, for example).

Alrighty. I tried to take note of some of the suggestions I have received over the course of my time here at Ichigo's. As of right now, I'm at the stage where I'm putting all of my ideas down where I want them to go, before I really smooth out exactly how I want to get them there.

@Clarinetist - You said something about broadening my use of the strings. When you said that, I decided to cut back on adding instruments, and try to make better use of the strings. Let me know what you think on that end. :D

@Nyu - I agreed with what you said about the violin around 0:55, and decided to change it up a little bit. The melody is still somewhat lacking, but it definitely sounds a bit more powerful in a way with the horn instead of the violin.

@Clarinetist - You said something about broadening my use of the strings. When you said that, I decided to cut back on adding instruments, and try to make better use of the strings. Let me know what you think on that end.

It is better - but I don't know if I'm actually getting to you what I actually call a broad use of strings. Let me give you an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdZeaWHiUKk .

Here are the string parts of the first few bars: http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j266/Bbclarinetist/Strings.jpg


Notice the fast moving counterpoint that adds interest to the piece and adds quite a texture. I mean, I don't expect you to write such elaborate string lines, but this is just for an idea of what I mean.

...Eh, I just felt the ending was a bit too abrupt; it was nothing like the beginning >_>

Yeah, you might want to even give your strings some melody, or at least some counterpoint with the piano....?

Hey guys, I'm still hard at work on that composition, but I thought I'd show you guys this.

I composed a piece for a public service announcement about a month ago and it was just uploaded to youtube. I just saw it for the first time a few minutes ago, and I thought maybe you guys could appreciate it.

here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eryWyyauu3Q

The music works nice with the visual, both are simplistic but effective. The music can be polished though, but is doing its work.

Hello everyone. I know I haven't been around much lately. Been doing a lot of work. Good work :D! I've been chipping away at this composition, but only piece by piece. If I think I have a good idea, I put it into this in some way, or I write it down. I hope you guys can give me some pointers on this, it's not quite finished but it needs help. I'm still fresh at composing somewhat, so I need as much help to learn as I can get.

EDIT: Forgot to upload >_>

I really liked all the different Ideas that you had put in this piece, I just don't think that they all fit together. And I think that was the biggest problem with it for me. The piece just had a lack of plot as far as I can tell. However I can tell that you tried to put some common theme with in each "section" (for lack of a better term), and thats very good! =]

But I absolutely loved your chord progressions in this piece. And that gave you some major bonus points in my opinion. The only other issue I have, is that some of the rhythmic things sound really complex, for no reason. Usually at the more intense parts this happens. So it basically sounds kinda muddy at spots just because the music is so busy. But this could because the percussion is really loud for me for some reason. xD

I pretty much have to say what Etaroko said.

i like the ending part of the song.

Thanks guys for commenting on Endless Skies. I couldn't finish it. I grew unhappy with too much of what was going on in the song, and decided to scrap it. It's filed away under "i" for incomplete.

On to bigger and better things now!

This is a piece I have begun to refine after writing down some ideas, rather than just winging it. It was inspired by a little game called "Ico" that I'm sure many of you are familiar with.

The cadences are a little sloppy. I want to keep it as simple as possible without taking away from the emotion.

Well here you are. :) Hope you like it!

Sounds like it would be related to something about love. It's cute.