I recently wrote a piece that I would like to share with everyone and if you have any comments or critiques, I'd be happy to hear them.
All that I can say is that this was composed as a love theme for an AGS game currently in-progress.
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/jbg6s87tb94e9t3/LoveTheme-AKSmith.mp3
Second time I've heard your stuff and I just want to say you've got a really good grasp on ambiance in your music. I mean, the music is interesting and calming and sets the distinct theme you go for while still being something drifts to the background. Like it's effortlessly experienced, you get the effects of the music without really noticing the presence of the music. Great game music kind of blows my mind, you barely think of it while you're playing, but if it wasn't there you'd just know and the experience couldn't be the same. And when you're not playing and think about your gaming experience the music drifts into the back of your head. Great work, keep it up. I really look forward to seeing your music in a project.
Quote from: Weston_Kaunk on Tue 04/02/2014 05:49:10
Second time I've heard your stuff and I just want to say you've got a really good grasp on ambiance in your music. I mean, the music is interesting and calming and sets the distinct theme you go for while still being something drifts to the background. Like it's effortlessly experienced, you get the effects of the music without really noticing the presence of the music. Great game music kind of blows my mind, you barely think of it while you're playing, but if it wasn't there you'd just know and the experience couldn't be the same. And when you're not playing and think about your gaming experience the music drifts into the back of your head. Great work, keep it up. I really look forward to seeing your music in a project.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Maybe one day, we can work together on a project. :-)
:-) I look forward to that.
Wow, that was a really awesome track. Reminds me a lot of Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy tunes (Aerith's theme in particular) which only improves the experience for me. If that is intentional, I applaud you. Only noteworthy things I could criticize: Around 1:35 when the song gets really powerful the audio quality drops noticably. Another thing is that in the beginning I had a hard time grasping the rhythm of the song because of all the soft strings and the pacing. Only at around 0:50 I was able to listen to it without concentrating too much because the other instruments start supporting the song.
That said, I loved it and I want to hear it in a game! Combine this with a well written story and you will break my heart.
Quote from: Pablo on Wed 05/02/2014 18:25:32
Wow, that was a really awesome track. Reminds me a lot of Nobuo Uematsu's Final Fantasy tunes (Aerith's theme in particular) which only improves the experience for me. If that is intentional, I applaud you.
Thanks so much for your kind words. I'm glad you liked it! This was not inspired by Aerith's theme, I'm sad to say. But I do enjoy that piece of music! It is very beautiful!
Quote from: Pablo on Wed 05/02/2014 18:25:32
Only noteworthy things I could criticize: Around 1:35 when the song gets really powerful the audio quality drops noticably.
I noticed this too, I plan to fix this issue. Glad your brought it up to remind me!
Quote from: Pablo on Wed 05/02/2014 18:25:32
Another thing is that in the beginning I had a hard time grasping the rhythm of the song because of all the soft strings and the pacing. Only at around 0:50 I was able to listen to it without concentrating too much because the other instruments start supporting the song.
Let me start by saying: When I write a theme for a semi-large to large game (a game that will require a lot more than 3 or 4 tracks and musical themes are going to be essential), I like to first develop the theme and write it as if it were going to be played as a stand alone orchestral piece (well, orchestral in this case). I wanted to give the introduction of this piece somewhat of a free meter feel. The idea is that it presents the main theme but in a way that's not so obvious. The conductor would conduct very freely with several tempo changes and things like that - however he was feeling in that moment. So, to address your comment more properly, this piece (as you hear it in this version) is intended to be heard that way.
Now, sometimes, a piece like this may not be used in the game at all. But, I know have a theme. A theme that we can do other things with. A theme that can be rearranged in different ways - depending on what the game needs.
Quote from: Pablo on Wed 05/02/2014 18:25:32
That said, I loved it and I want to hear it in a game! Combine this with a well written story and you will break my heart.
Again, thanks! And I have been informed that I am allowed to announce that this theme is the female lead's theme (and love theme) for the upcoming AGS game:
Indiana Jones and the Seven Cities of Gold (http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=40184.0)
Very nice! The melody is simple and effective, and you used the orchestration to great effect. Just a couple of quick comments:
- There's a somewhat dodgy chord sequence around 2:32-2:40. It goes from Dm to Bb (which works nicely), then Bb to B and back to Bb with nearly parallel motion, which doesn't really work.
- Try putting the violins an octave higher at 3:01. This is the big climax, it should sound like it. :)
- I'd put in some nice timpani roll hairpins around 3:22, 3:41 and similar. In general, I don't think you've used percussion just about at all, and it can add some spice to key points of your piece.
You could use some more realistic instruments (especially the French horn sounded quite artificial), but I think this piece worked quite nicely overall. Thanks for sharing, I'd love to hear more!
Beautiful :~(
I agree with Viking about some percussion around the end of the track.
Just out of curiosity, what music genre is your specialty? Can you do jazz?
Quote from: Viking on Sat 08/02/2014 20:33:28
Very nice! The melody is simple and effective, and you used the orchestration to great effect. Just a couple of quick comments:
- There's a somewhat dodgy chord sequence around 2:32-2:40. It goes from Dm to Bb (which works nicely), then Bb to B and back to Bb with nearly parallel motion, which doesn't really work.
- Try putting the violins an octave higher at 3:01. This is the big climax, it should sound like it. :)
- I'd put in some nice timpani roll hairpins around 3:22, 3:41 and similar. In general, I don't think you've used percussion just about at all, and it can add some spice to key points of your piece.
You could use some more realistic instruments (especially the French horn sounded quite artificial), but I think this piece worked quite nicely overall. Thanks for sharing, I'd love to hear more!
Thanks for the advice and I'm glad you liked it. This isn't a finished piece. It will undergo revisions. I'll play around with some of the modifications you suggest and see if I like them. As far as more realistic instruments, I know. :-/ I'm looking into upgrading.
@Monkey424My specialty is probably modern orchestral (such as this piece). But I do not have problems writing jazz. In fact, in many ways, it's much easier for me to write jazz.
This doesn't really sound like "Indiana Jones" to me so I'm curious as what the rest of the soundtrack sounds like.
Still, this is a pretty nice track that adequately conveys the idea of love :)
Quote from: Daniel Eakins on Tue 11/02/2014 18:25:09
This doesn't really sound like "Indiana Jones" to me so I'm curious as what the rest of the soundtrack sounds like.
Still, this is a pretty nice track that adequately conveys the idea of love :)
You should listen to Marion's theme from Indiana Jones then. This piece was heavily inspired by that.