Music making

[Lunar Sonata]

I thought I'd share some music I am working on for an old school style platformer.

I compose quite a bit in my free time and would love the chance at getting a few objective opinions of the music outside of myself.

I am going to go ahead and provide the files in OGG format. If you guys need an ogg player, I'd highly recommend Audacity. It's a free recording, music editing/sequencing program. It's mostly for audio work though.

The game involves a frog on a journey... we are attempting to put together some ideas. This work is mostly thematically based, with a few minor acceptions.

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Stage 1 (main theme)

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/FrogattoStage1.ogg


Frogatto Stage Theme3

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/FrogattoGradius.ogg


Counterpoint

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/DungeonBaroque.ogg


World Map

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/FrogattoWorldMap.ogg


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There are many more works to share, but at the risk of blabbering endlessly, I'll just put these up for now!

(If you guys have music you are working on, feel free to adorn this thread with it.)

 

[Lunar Sonata]

Jeez guys, don't everyone come in and praise/lambast me all at once. :lol:

I am thinking I would have more replies by providing mp3 files of the music instead of OGG... I'll try that out and see if that doesn't improve thread circulation.

This is a piano piece (with a fairly generic name) that is currently in the works. The organization is far more classically motivated in terms of the organization and development of the ideas than other works. The theme is motif-based. I'd like to add a more 19th century Russian chordal feel to the music to give it a larger sense but more on that later. I haven't begun adding too much in the way of articulation and dynamics, so bear with me and offer suggestions if you hear something that could work or doesn't. Expression is something that is still in the planning phase and will come along as the piece continues to take shape.



Crits? .

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/Fugue2009.mp3



And this is an underwater theme I am writing for a video game. I'll provide screenshots of the game later on to gauge interest in possibly revealing more works from the game.


http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/UnderwaterFantasyFinal.mp3

 

[Unidentified]

1. I don't like the main melody, but everything is on beat, I didn't expect anything to even be on beat and seem like a piece of music, a lot of change ups, which is nice.

2. Percussion is too simple to be so repetitive, main melody is better, percussion just changed now, which is good.

3. This has too many sounds, too much going on, it sounds all mashed up, ahhhh too much going on melody wise...levels aren't mixed well on this...the drums near the end suck, they sound really random.

4. The drums don't go well with the timing of the strings, it's on beat but just seems out of sync. I don't know, I just think you could've picked a better drum pattern.

All in all, as full pieces of music, not breaking anything down, this stuff is decent. It's all better than I expected.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

1. I don't like the main melody, but everything is on beat

I am glad the variation in the piece seems to be working out. I can only imagine how cool the piece would've sounded with a tighter, more traditional melody. lol. It is fairly esoteric as is but it was an interesting experience attempting to make a piece out of such an unwieldy, meandering set of notes. Kind of goofy and out there. That 'modal' ideal for the melody and the way that it makes restatements in the course of the game will hopefully work well with setting a mood that compliments the overall game design and graphical presentation... The game is looking to be pretty goofy.

It's nice when things are on beat. I am happy you noticed the way the piece changes.

I love to modulate. (THIS IS HOW I ROLL !)


About the percussion being repetitive.

Yea, I am kind of meh at this point with the rhythm. I tend to stray on the side of caution with drum patterns in pieces of this type, especially in pieces where I don't want the percussion to become a focal point I feel that I could make the drums more interesting but at what cost?

I wanted the drums to help provide an aural function as opposed to a more integrated role in the foundation of the music and maybe that's where I went wrong. The drum sound itself sounds a little stiff too. Any ideas on how I might add more definition behind the percussion?

Drums vs. melody - It's a difficult balance to strike and it seems I haven't quite figured it out yet. I will keep on that.

I appreciate your frankness.

3. This has too many sounds, too much going on, it sounds all mashed up, ahhhh too much going on melody wise...levels aren't mixed well on this...the drums near the end suck, they sound really random.

I thought for a while I had the eq's for the instruments in the perfect spots, until you mentioned otherwise. [funny how a little outside view point can confirm gaps]

I don't believe there are too many sounds. I think the eq ranges for instruments are convoluted to the point where the whole landscape runs together in a wash of muck.

To rectify this, I would probably go back in and surgically separate some of the lead instruments and take a bit more time to understand and identify more clearly a sense of roles within the arrangement so I can focus on making each sound fit its role a bit more.


Also, perhaps the sound palette has become too convoluted for its own good. I've used too many effects on the instruments and as a result nothing either stands out or fades into the background. It's a giant sonic blur. I don't think there are "too many" sounds, per se but perhaps the sounds need to be separated and clarified in more dynamic ranges, perhaps?




It's always good to have a helping ear

Thanks for listening.

 

[Unidentified]

I don't think there are "too many" sounds, per se but perhaps the sounds need to be separated and clarified in more dynamic ranges, perhaps?

Yes.

Re-mix it, remaster it. Start from scratch.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

Naw. lol First of all, that piece isn't really worth any more wasted time.

if I go back and change things up, I am not going to start over from scratch unless there isn't any other way. If it happens, that's fine. It would probably be a better idea to begin a new project with the knowledge gained so I am not starting out and ending with a mess.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

I sat down on the piano last night and began working on developing a new piece.

This piece is kind of a mixture of many different elements. Jazz, baroque, classical pop among a few. Kind of a mutt.

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/ModalSunset.mp3

A sort of bastardization of old and new. lol It features jazz chord voicings and melodic voice leading and reverts to 17th century fugue counterpoint about half way through. I don't think I could explain the piece much beyond that. Though the piece of obviously modal, I took as much as liberty as possible to organize and develop the piece behind a fairly rigid melody. fairly intricate in regards to organization thematically, albeit rough transitionally in a few sections.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

Variation on a frog theme.

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/House.mp3

 

[GegoXAREN]

I prefer ogg/vorbis over MPEG1 Layer 3 music any day.... fuck I rip all my music to flac, and DL all my music of jamendo in ogg/vorbis..

one plus ith ogg/vorbis and ogg/vorbis+theora is that it plays in Shiretoko (FireFox 3.5.x) w/o any plugins...

Open Formats > Bad Ones..
Vorbis > MPEG1 Layer 3.

BTW:
and your music is good...


edit:
most modern music players (banshee, winamp, rythembox, amarok, foobar2000) does take vorbis..

 

[Lunar Sonata]

I prefer ogg/vorbis over MPEG1 Layer 3 music any day.... fuck I rip all my music to flac, and DL all my music of jamendo in ogg/vorbis..

one plus ith ogg/vorbis and ogg/vorbis+theora is that it plays in Shiretoko (FireFox 3.5.x) w/o any plugins...

Open Formats > Bad Ones..
Vorbis > MPEG1 Layer 3.

edit:
most modern music players (banshee, winamp, rythembox, amarok, foobar2000) does take vorbis..

It's really nice to hear that for a change, be it that you and I are in the minority. OGG is more lossless than mp3 and the mixes just sound more dynamic when whittled down from larger source files. It's probably a matter of convenience for some.

There is also practical application for using vorbis files, where many indie developers wouldn't be able to afford having to pay royalties for using mp3 in projects, OGG works just fine. File sizes are smaller, it sounds better... and it's free.

Pretty unbeatable.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

This is a battle piece I'm writing for a free online strategy game, Battle for Wesnoth. If you guys haven't played the game, it is pretty sweet! There are solo campaigns, but you can also challenge and fight against other players online/

http://www.wesnoth.org/


Here is the piece. I can see this piece easily being 20 to 30 minutes long, but this is what I have so far.

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/DarkOrchFinal.ogg

 

[Lunar Sonata]

Scary ambient theme

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/FrogAtmos.ogg

 

[TonyBtheEG]

It's music that makes me giggle because I love the synth sound.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

lol. I am happy you like the sound. I get the feeling it may be a bit too muchery.

The synth is way over the top. But in the intended environment, it should be fitful... I hope.


New piece/

I had a few hours tonight to work on some thematic development. Solo strings

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/StringExercise.mp3

 

[Clotifoth]

This is a battle piece I'm writing for a free online strategy game, Battle for Wesnoth. If you guys haven't played the game, it is pretty sweet! There are solo campaigns, but you can also challenge and fight against other players online/

http://www.wesnoth.org/


Here is the piece. I can see this piece easily being 20 to 30 minutes long, but this is what I have so far.

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/DarkOrchFinal.ogg

Hehe, I been playin Wesnoth since roughly ver. 1.2. LOVE that game.

 

[Lunar Sonata]

Glad to hear it!

 

[Lunar Sonata]

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/CaveTheme2009.ogg

Cave theme for an rpg... but you might've guessed that already

 

[Lunar Sonata]

Just thought I'd post some chip tune music I was working on. I'd love for this music to find itself in a game at some point, but even so it was enjoyable creating some music that is very much from the heart,

I am sure we have a few fans of those old chip tunes at this site. I haven't really worked extensively in the medium yet, but this piece is kind of meant to be an overture, featuring different thematic development of different stages and emotions, though all of it correlating with 1 main idea.

Anyways, enough talking, I'll let the music do the talking for me.

Hope you guys like it.

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/Zorph8bitOverture.mp3

 

[GegoXAREN]

oooo.... I Love Wesnoth.... good story in the complains...
and I love the music....
Kudos again!

FrogAtom.ogg was just super!
CaveTheme2009.ogg not so cave-ish... more town at night IMHO... at about 1:30 the tempo changes and becomes more of an odventure theme, like for some intro video/end credits.. (/me is damaged by VN:s)... at 2:00 it becomes more aquatic IMHO ... then it goes in to random mode.... hard to place.... like town again... 4:30 it sounds like "YAY SUCCESS"... then goes bock to normal... 4:47 battle, more cave like IMHO ... 4:55 castle.... ........................ it is to random to review the whole song like this.... but it is still relay good.... the last part was weary "Ocarina of Time" like...
DarkArchFinal.ogg Do not know.... is the player playing as Dark Orc? if so... it is a little bit to light. but i do not know the story...

 

[Aurorum]

I sat down on the piano last night and began working on developing a new piece.

This piece is kind of a mixture of many different elements. Jazz, baroque, classical pop among a few. Kind of a mutt.

http://www.allacrost.org/staff/user/rain/ModalSunset.mp3

A sort of bastardization of old and new. lol It features jazz chord voicings and melodic voice leading and reverts to 17th century fugue counterpoint about half way through. I don't think I could explain the piece much beyond that. Though the piece of obviously modal, I took as much as liberty as possible to organize and develop the piece behind a fairly rigid melody. fairly intricate in regards to organization thematically, albeit rough transitionally in a few sections.

I LOVE IT.