im atma, im 18 and ive been composing for about a year and a half now.
my music interests are anything but mexican folk songs and opera (yes that includes rap AND country AND classical in my interests.)

i wrote this song... um... i noticed that some people tell what they were trying to convey as someone listens to their piece... well.. yeah, i just sort of write what comes out...

anyway here...

it was windy outside when i wrote this... ps it has few dynamics... i wrote this before i got printmusic and havent gotten around to fixing it up...

cant find this song on my comp anymore... o well

i was just waiting till someone dl'd one of my other songs.. it didnt take as long as i would have thought... :think:

o well! heres another!!

this one was gonna be longer, but i got stumped. realy stumped. so i just threw on an ending.. you can probly tell...

well ya its a bit short but its nice :lol: . The left hand could be more elaborated on.
It kinda sounds like a village theme or town i dont know.

lost the waltz too :unsure: o well, heres a nintendo medley (hasnt everyone tried one of these?) just to fill this post...

i was just listening to my song ^ to see what needed changing, and i bent my neck sideways and the music did sort of a slow-down thing... it was wierd... :blink:

your waltz is pretty good (and considered it's your first one :)), but you should stick to your melody, some parts sound very random and the harmony is sometimes a bit off.
I like your instrumentation though :P
Keep it up ^^

I noticed some of the harmony was off at some points too... but i just cant seem to pinpoint them. i tried to keep everythng at sixths or fourths, but at some points it seems to go into an awkward second or seventh... im probly gonna take a harder look later today...

but thanks for the compliments! i thought it was pretty good too. but im my biggest critic, so your opinion of it was probly better than mine. XD

ps, ur sig is friggin awesome!
what gif program u used?

Wild Growth

Not much to say about this song. I don't really see how it could be changed that much, exept for the ending which needs a little work. Nice and simple, good job!

Refletion

Wow, this song is really good! It definetly sounds like a waltz, but it is also has a peaceful feeling to it. You definetly need to change the harp part once in a while, it keeps the same part over and over again.

Overall you did a pretty good job on your songs.

Rocko

Overall, it was very calming and nice. ^_^

But I didn't like one part where the mood completely changed. I liked the drums with the two bass drums then the sticks, but in some parts, you put random things with the drums. Try sticking with two or three different beats, and only change 'em dramatically during a climax (in this case, there isn't one).

Billowing Gale

I like this song very much, although it doesn't remind me of a gale of any type. I imagine a determined troop rising the crest of a hill to fight evil demons. :D

Well, anyways, the only thing I didn't like too much was when the drums entered abruptly. You could've entered a bit more slowly with the drums, maybe start with a few closed hi-hats; but those snare drums were too strong to enter so suddenly.

Wild Growth

Interesting way of getting the audience's attention with that continuous LH part at the beginning, but later on, it sounded as if the LH lost almost all of its pizazz when it started to stray away from the chord progression. I'd suggest making it broken chords rather than just all the same note each measure in the LH. The RH was pretty good. I like how it keeps weaving in and out of the piece. Overall, it's an interesting piece, and I do kind of see what you mean by the title! :)

Reflection

Pleasant way of layering the instruments upon one another and providing decent counterparts for each. However, the harp part at a few occasions sounded to be too drone-like and neglected to fortify the chord progression. The harp part is very repetitious throughout the piece, but if you mixed it up just every once in a while, it'd hide this fact a lot easier. Unique form in bringing the instruments out into the spotlight for just a few measures each. Some of your supporting parts seem just a tad dissonant at some parts, but I think that's easy to fix. An unresolved chord at the end? Methinks you should put a cadence in there before it ends. But anyway, good job!

My advice:
1) Study chord progressions and learn how chords are formed.
2) Work on making ostinati parts less overbearingly repetitious, because they can easily get mind-numbingly annoying after quite a while.
3) Use a Contrabass (Doublebass or just "Bass" as it's called nowadays) once in a while and permit it to only play the root of each chord in each new progression in order to strengthen the tonality and memorability of the piece.
4) Study cadences and learn how they work and how to implement them. The bass part will come in terribly handy here. :)

Nice to see a new face here, Atma!

Rocko

Hmm... this song was okay. The percussion part needs to be worked on, it doesn't really enhance the song like it's supposed to. Try to find a better melody. This one seems a little boring. Don't get discouraged though, keep trying and you'll get better.

Why didn't you post this on your other thread? :think:

Billowing Gale

Yeah, I agree with Marlon it doesn't sound like wind at all. Well I thought it was fine how the drums came in, but they did seem just a little lacking. The part at :30 with the repeated notes could use more melody. Maybe try adding an instrument to play just that section? It was a good song. Overall you did a nice job.

Again with another thread?! :/ It's a lot easier to keep all your compositions on one thread. That way people don't have to look all over to find the right one.

I merged all your threads into this one, atma. Next time think before posting, thank you.

Lol, sry bout that! :lol:

thanks for all the comments!
this is really gonna help me stand out eventually, once i get into my career of choice
(hold onto these files, they might be worth something someday! XD )

just got a few questions (polka comin up!)

what would be a few nice-sounding chords to keep a song sounding peppy?

where would i find a listing of different chords (prehaps with the general moods they convey?) on the web?
why does the harp part (repetition aside) almost always sound good in general with the song?

I-IV-V works for just about anything, including peppy stuff. But as for what chords convey what moods, why don't you just experiment yourself? See what kind of chords you can just come up, just bangin' away at a keyboard, and reflect upon their effects. Then, apply them to your compositions as you see fit.

I'm not too sure what you mean by the "harp part"... maybe you just like how it sounds. A lot :P.

Yay! my polka is finished!

i used a new program for this one, so i could get some better midi samples, and some more noticable dynamics, but its harder to use, so it took longer.

Oy, you weren't kidding when you called your polka "blasmusi" (German dialect for "wind music"; I'm from Austria, and you get those brass bands playing at festivals, and I HATE them...).

Oh, but what you did with the Polka is a lot more interesting than the generic stuff. For example, there is no Tuba playing the same two notes throughout the entire piece. Despite an acquired allergy to brass music, I quite enjoyed it. ^_^

thanks! it took me a while to get all the chord progression set up. it kept sounding like a dirge at the beginning. but i got it straightened out in the end. if there are any suggestions anyone would like to add, feel free. i enjoy reading your replies (good or bad!)

blasmusi

Wow, that song sounds very different from a lot of the other songs here. I don't know what to say about this song because I don't even know what a polka is really. :heh: I'll just pretend I do. Good job.

I hate it, but it isn't your fault. I just have to agree with Dawnstorm that I hate these bands and that type of music. Otherwise, it would be a decent song...heh...

yay im back from michigan.. that was the most boring trip ever

anyway, about halfway through my "vacation" i started humming this tune, and i couldn't get it out of my head. i knew i had never heard it before so i decided to write a song out of it. the tune i was hearing is the baseline for the song.

tell me what u think!

here is the midi and the .mus file

Blasmusi - all i gotta say is :drinking: :beer: :cheers: :drunk:

Blasmusi - all i gotta say is :drinking: :beer: :cheers: :drunk:

word... :cheers:

Chicagoish: ooh, that grooves. Perhaps you could add a few sax-blasts to emphasise the beat? Like it. :)

Chicagoish- Ya that does a nice dance thing going on. I think you could even add more and make it better.

okay, here is chicago with a tenor sax. i decided to do more than a few blasts, and i also fixed the ending chord. lookie!

I think it sounds alot more exciting. Nice additions. ;)

To be honest, I like the first version better.

The reason, I think, is that the piece sounds... um... "softer", now. Instead of emphasizing the rhythm, you've tamed the beat by longer, carrying notes. The bass-line gets pushed too much into the background.

It's still a good piece to listen to, but the first one had a hypnotic quality that the second one lacks, IMO. The opposition of the driving bass (at times augmented by the left hand of the piano) was an interesting contrast to the eerily flirty right hand of the piano. Now, the tenor sax steals the show.

I'm not sure I'm making much sense, here. Taste is hard to describe...

IMO theyre both good songs, just depends what you're looking for i guess

neither of em took me more than 20 minutes to make (the editions took 5) so i wasnt really expecting perfection :heh:

anyway, here is one i just made when i pushed a wierd chord on the piano, and i liked the sound, so i spent an hour on my comp adding to that one chord. it turned out pretty good i think.

here it is (just for piano, if you want to try and play it, anyone... ;) )

What's the "weird chord" you are referring to? It sounds all pretty normal to me...:unsure: Oh well, still a nice little tune, though admittedly really improv-y like with the constant rhymthic breaks.

:heh: ya, it was just me sortof sitting at the keyboard playing what came out of my head (fingers?) but it turned out ok i guess.
i added the grace notes and repeats after i recorded it tho...

edit: i dont know what exactly the wierd chord was. middle C+D+G? i think... (i dont really know chord names... x_x )

When I was hearing it I thought it was a nice tune but repeated a bit in the beginning.
I was saying is there suppose to be a bottom hand, but the bottom kicked in after a while I just thought it took a little long to get there. I thought it got better when you finally added it though. :)

When I was hearing it I thought it was a nice tune but repeated a bit in the beginning.
I was saying is there suppose to be a bottom hand, but the bottom kicked in after a while I just thought it took a little long to get there. I thought it got better when you finally added it though. :)

ya. i tried to hold out for the LH part, just to see how long an intro i could do maybe it was a bit drawn out... :hey: . the main theme is the high notes (do-dee doo-dee dooo-dee etc.) but i added some syncopated chords so i could give the LH the spotlight for a few measures. all i did was basically play a chord with the RH and go through the notes "scale-style" with the LH sometimes i did an arpeggio but mostly just "scale-style"... w.e that mean...

kk heres a few songs i wrote a long time ago.

except for marchy, these are for my game im makin w/ rpg maker 2k3

I loved Cafe Latte Jazz. It was fun to listen to and catchy. =D

Crystal Fortress sounds a little empty and that's because, while you only have a piano (which I don't think you should for a dungeon, anyway, unless it's accompanied by other instruments or is going to be so dramatic that it won't need anything else), you don't really use it effectively. A recurring problem I notice with you (having only listened to your first and third page of music) is that you often neglect bass. Using more bass in the piano and slowing it down a bit would've made it sound fuller. Same thing with Benevolence. And a pedal would've made it sound better, too.

Marchy was cool, but repetitive. The same phrases just kept repeating themselves and nothing new ever came up. At least one more phrase would've been better. = \

Prideville was cool, also. Very soothing and relaxing. There's that bass problem, again. Introduce some.

Same Crystal Fortress and Title Theme have the same problem, too.

i took your advice and did one with some bass.
also this one has a different phrase in the middle of each half of the song (pizzicato strings! XD)
its sortof an italianish song, but with a piratey twist... <_< i guess... <_<
remember: made to loop... ;)
whatever! :P
smileys rock! :muscle:

i call it:

THE PIRATE KING!

isnt that a cool name?

heres a new one. this is sortof a mexican/southwestern style piece..

ps, thanx everyone for all the suggestions so far! i really appreciate your help!

also, heres the improved version of marchy. the parts switch around, but the phrases are generally the same.

The Pirate King-This fit the theme nice, it got kinda repetitive though.
This almost reminds me of the old donkey kong. :heh:

Hazienda-a nice change in style. This one I thought to be better.
Nice percussion.

Marchy- it sounded like a nice marching theme.

Marchy - Ah, the stereotypical march rhymth, eh? Well, I guess it's something that never really wears out, no matter how much times it's done ;). Anyways, it's pretty neat, though in the beginning, I'd add more dynamics if you were going to keep the percussion only parts that long (I expected the flute/piccolo to come in half-way through). The theme is pretty repetitive and doesn't go anywhere until the sudden end, so maybe expand on that a bit more if possible. Otherwise, it's pretty well-arranged. Nice job.

Haha, hey bro! You already know I like your music! Keep it up!

p.s.: See you next week!

blasmusi

Reminiscent of some sort of German march, it seems. The bass line(s), though repetitious, provide just the proper backdrop to the playful melodies built over the rest of the instruments.

chicagoish

Love your use of piano flourishes and embellishments! The percussion line, however simple, is a great background feature in this piece. Reminds me of some kind of jazz club in a video-game. Your chord choice is greatly advancing. The ending is a little bit iffy, but it's not bad. The bass line is the most memorable part in this piece -- quite a rare thing, indeed.

chicagoishwithsax

The saxophone parts are well-ornamented and synchopated to perfection. Unique addition; either edition could function on its own.

benevolence

I like the tender melody in the RH. The LH is almost absent at times, but perhaps that is because it has such long pauses at times. Either that or it is intermingling with the RH in such small intervals that it's hard to detect. Anyway, it's got a free melody, and I especially like the phrases where you have playful jumps over large intervals. Some of the chords you use are a little questionable, but that's ok. Ah, there's the real LH part, halfway through the piece. You may want to consider using a more stable arpeggiation/broken chord pattern in the LH as it currently sounds just a tad random or sluggish. This piece seems to be struggling a little, but it's certainly not bad.

cafe latte jazz

The melodic line(s) stand out right away. I like that. Sounds like some sort of "flight theme" that could be used in a video-game. You truly are a connoisseur of synchopation, atma!

Crystal Fortress

Nice name. This melody is playful and light-hearted, but it may benefit if you added a synthesizer pad in the background to reinforce the "crystal" theme it is supposed to convey. Some chords are kind of off, it seems, especially near the end. However, it doesn't take away from the quality of the piece in whole.

marchy

Reminds me of a great war march. Wow!! Once that high melody comes in (recorder? ocarina? whistle?), my attention is immediately drawn in. The ornamentation is wonderful. Such a catchy song.

Prideville Theme

The harp part is interesting. I like the melody, too, though it isn't quite as catchy as some of the previous ones. Make sure you don't draw out phrases too long to the point that they're hard to keep track of. Also, the parts where the melody is doubled and harmonized with supporting parts really convince me that you've developed a pleasing style of composition. I definitely see the "town theme" quality in this piece.

title theme

The chords in the LH seem to be a bit clumsy near the beginning, but once the rhythm kicks off about a third of the way through, it's greatly improved. Once again, I think this piece would benefit from a sustaining instrument to backup the chord progression and highlight the melody. If you implemented strings, it would sound more epic and complete, I think.

the pirate king

This piece is sure a swashbuckling song. Great rhythm in the supporting parts. The pizzicato is a great choice. I like the tremolo guitar parts, too. The melody is constantly passed from one instrument to another, and that is a true sign of great compositional technique. Good ending.

hazienda

Interesting use of rhythmic accenting. Clear and precise chord progression. Although this style is not something I am accustomed to, I can tell that you fully understand how you want to present the piece.

You're coming along very well as a musical composer, atma. I look forward to seeing you and your style evolve. Keep it up! :)