I'm taking requests, for anyone who's interested. I mostly enjoy creating character themes, but I also enjoy composing for locations and events.
If you're an artist, I'm more than willing to trade works.
My songs are listen in order of composition. The mediafire links are more up to date than the youtube videos.
A battle theme I wrote using the chord progression of Downcast Eyes. It was heavily inspired by classic RPG battle themes, and that shows in many parts. Though the structure is the same as Downcast Eyes (and the two can be played on top of each other), the harmonies are much more rhythmic, and the melodies are more energetic. To make the connection between the two songs stronger, I added a track playing Downcast Eye's melody.
Despite being one of my earliest pieces, this is probably my favorite one.
My first commission, from YoshiBlue. I tried to make it as strong as a western sound as I could, using as many western chord structures as I could find (which wasn't many), as well as instruments normally associated with western media. I think the harmonica is too strong, but overall I love the way it came out.
Originally composed for Qoxolg's PSA-jam, I decided it deviated too much from the assigned theme. Still, it came out pretty great. This time, the theme I used was for a summer beach party. Somehow, this one was heavily inspired by many fun Mario songs. I used an approach that I tried and failed at in Wild Blue, and gave each instrument the chance to play the melody, as well as changing the mood of the song at that point. Despite being my most repetitive song, each part of it has something new going on for it. Definitely my catchiest song so far.
This is the song I ended up entering to Qoxolg's PSA-jam. I thought since I already tried to make Downcast Eyes as aquatic as I could, I'd be borrowing too much from that. But this one definitely has its own flavor that Downcast Eyes doesn't have. This is a deep sea theme. I have a bass and cello doing conflicting motions to simulate the ebb and flow of the current, and had the harp play a third above those two for an unsettling tone. The flute plays a subdued melody, contrasting with the energetic sound the flute creates. Overall, I think this piece lives up to its name. It ended up creepy and beautiful.
This was another piece composed for Qoxolg's PSA-jam. All of the songs I used as inspiration were far too short for me to use for a long piece. If I had to try this again, I would try to make the piece shorter and catchier. I'm not planning on going back to it any time soon, though.
My goal was to simulate the skills of child of a person learning the piano. At the start, many mistakes are made. The pianist quickly becomes more skilled, and is eventually joined by his student.
This was my backup for the PSA-jam Nostalgic Journey was supposed to in. This is simply a remix of Downcast Eyes. The chords were changed to their major thirds, and a plucked violin and bell give a cheerful rhythm to the piece. The melody is largely untouched from the original song, except for a few notes which couldn't be played in a major key. Despite how well I believe it came out, it took only a few hours to complete, making this by far my quickest piece to compose.
My second commission, this time for a friend of mine. He was as enthusiastic about this one as I was, always overloading me with things to add so much that they started conflicting with each other. This one is simply his character's theme. Since his character is a hybrid aztec/hispanic special ops, I was able to do some interesting things for this one. First, the first half is an ambient stealth section, using mostly tribal instruments. I have to tell you, it was a pain getting the right sound, both from the instrument selection and the notes themselves. One of my constraints was that there wouldn't be a melody, which was really difficult for me to do. And later on, I kind of failed at that. But still, I managed to pull through. The eerie, empty sound is created by using a different mode of chords, dropping a flat where it's not supposed to be.
The second half is the ambush section. This uses more upbeat tribal music mixed with a spanish style. All the chord progressions are taken from spanish styles. I don't have too much to say about this section, other than I love making battle themes.
This is a bard's song about Torva, the protagonist of my fifth dream. I need to thank Skyrim for giving me both the inspiration, and giving me a bunch of junk to steal. I'm sure this one sounds much simpler than my others, but it wasn't any easier to do. To do this one, I wrote a poem, then add a melody to the poem, and add interesting but simple chord progressions to the melody. This is also the first time I had to work with a human, which was a pain. He just couldn't sing the right notes or put the right emphasis in the right areas. I'm never going to work with myself again.
A song heavily based on various Dark Falz encounters in the Phantasy Star universe. I used a low piano to simulate genesis bass notes, and had it play smooth and rough beats. Violin, Oboe, and Organ play against each other in mismatched and sometimes non-existent chords to create an evil atmosphere. I wanted something creepier, but I don't seem to have the skillset for that yet.
A commission for Sayara, I tried to capture Tingle as well as I could. Skittering strings pluck away inhumanly fast, while bass and viola create beautiful nonsense together. Periodically, lucid bells chime in innocence, and a mad organ roars to remind you of mad truth.
A commission from Shinureal for a game he's working on. He told me to write for some silly hijinks in the jungle, and that's what I did. A tribal drum beat and a fun bass lick keeps the jungle vibe, while a panflute and trumpet plays silly melodies against each other. It was tons of fun to write, but unfortunately, it doesn't have as much staying power as my other pieces. After a the one minute mark, I couldn't add anything substancial to the piece. I may come back to this and throw some stuff in it.
A warm, calm piece to celebrate time with your family. A guitar strums calmly, while flute and viola sigh in relaxed enjoyment. A gentle shake of jinglebells moves the piece forward.
A harsh, repetitive piece focusing on chaotic rhythms, fast melodies, and shrill instruments. This was a commission from Neith for his character Teika, who has violent impulses and fights aggressively. I thought a metal battle theme would fit her well.
A haunting piece, made for a horror game of a team mate. Uses piano, strings, and a music box (glockenspiel, really) to create a pained, nostalgic piece.
Changelog:
Spoiler!
3/25/14
Added "Ghostly Echoes" and "Stolen Memories" to the list. Added a work in progress to the thread.
12/12/13
Added "Bananigans" and "Warm Hearth"
12/08/13
Added "Captivating Madness"
11/29/13
Updated "Downcast Eyes", now at v3. Expect a v4 sometime in the future.
11/21/13
Added "Vile Pandemic"
10/19/13
Added my notes of each piece, for people to get a summery of it without listening to it.
9/02/13
Updated Beauty of the Battlefield. Both parts are up now.
Tested some soundfonts with Peripheral Gaze. I uploaded the results.
8/15/13
I started a changelog.
Added Mediafire links to the thread.
Updated the Mediafire links with an updated Downcast Eyes, Peripheral Gaze, Nostalgic Journey, and Playful Guppy.
Renamed Playful Guppy to Timid Guppy. Because Levia is not playful.
First song reminded me of something but i couldn't put my finger on it. Did have a music box tone to it though. Nice overall. Now to brace thyself for people asking for themes.
May 15, 2013, 03:05 PM
VANNO
This is pretty awesome!
May 15, 2013, 03:59 PM
Zorafim
Quote:
Originally Posted by yoshiblue
First song reminded me of something but i couldn't put my finger on it. Did have a music box tone to it though.
Not surprising. I used a really popular chord progression. I think it's most similar to "Heavenly Flight" from DQ3. But you said it specifically used a music box? I'm not sure what that could be... Alan and Cerl, from BoF1?
Quote:
Now to brace thyself for people asking for themes.
I will gladly trade themes for drawings of Levia. Just as long as people realize it took me three days of grueling work to get each song out.
Quote:
Originally Posted by VANNO
This is pretty awesome!
Thanks. I worked pretty hard on them. The second one especially. I think for every note I wrote in the first one, I wrote three in the second.
Strange though, I never really had to push myself until the MP4 conversion. Everything sort of just flowed.
May 15, 2013, 05:11 PM
Sayara
The program (?) you've used to make the music really makes the first ones lonely ambience work very well. That sadly didnt do as much justice for the 2nd one.
You gotta get yourself an orchestra to play your music maestro Zorafim!
May 15, 2013, 05:58 PM
Zorafim
You know... you're right. The second one is too empty. As it stands, it doesn't have as many channels as the first, and it needs more. I could add a counter-melody and a rhythm line. I also need to rebalance the bass and fix up a measure or two in the melody.
I guess I still have some sprucing up to do with it.
And... my program is really outdated. I'm using Finale 2004. It does what it has to, but not much more than that. I have a friend that can tell me what program I want to be using, but there's something about using a program you're used to...
May 15, 2013, 06:17 PM
yoshiblue
I did find the other song I was reminded of. Try to find the song im reminded of will keep me up all night. Heh heh
Oh of course, It took me a while to adapt to SAI and PScs5.
May 16, 2013, 02:38 PM
qoxolg
It's nice to see some more music here :D I think you have some strong melodies. Maybe just a few notes I didn't like.
You might wanna look more into the mastering part (which is probably one of the hardest parts of producing a song). Try to play more with the stereo image, though you'd need some good speakers to get that part right.
Also, you can just request a drawing of me without a song in return, you can make someone else happy with that.
May 16, 2013, 03:31 PM
Zorafim
Quote:
Originally Posted by qoxolg
It's nice to see some more music here :D I think you have some strong melodies. Maybe just a few notes I didn't like.
Funny. My melodies are actually the parts where I worked least. All that I really focused on in the melody were rhythm, and moving to the next chord. From there, the melody just came.
Quote:
You might wanna look more into the mastering part (which is probably one of the hardest parts of producing a song). Try to play more with the stereo image, though you'd need some good speakers to get that part right.
Yeah, I'm having trouble with this part. All that I've been doing is converting a midi file to an MP3 file, editing the volume of that MP3 so that it's not so soft, then convert it to an MP4 to prepare it for upload. I'm not quite sure what editing I can do to increase the quality besides that.
Quote:
Also, you can just request a drawing of me without a song in return, you can make someone else happy with that.